Midnight Demons
By the time evening fell, we had recovered from all our wounds and fatigue in the infirmary and returned to our respective dormitories. I needed to sleep soon if I wanted to attend classes tomorrow and enter the Soul's Training Ground. Unfortunately, it looked like bedtime would be delayed tonight.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
It was late at night, the hour when everyone should have been asleep, yet someone had come looking for me. Still, the visitor showed proper manners by knocking first. At my permission, they opened the door and stepped inside.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Two sets of footsteps. The guests who had come to see me weren’t alone—they were a pair.
“Welcome.”
“So you knew I would come.”
“Of course.”
I turned to greet the woman who had sought me out—Alpha, whom I had met earlier that day. Beside her stood a man with a long scar near his eye. He frowned at the sight of me and spoke to Alpha.
“So it was true?”
“Of course. You know I would never lie to you, Omega.”
The butler who protected Arsha alongside Alpha. Omega slouched onto the edge of my bed and actually put a cigarette to his lips.
Housekeeper my ass. How can he act so rudely?
That rude bastard. I’m gonna punch him right in the face!
Of course, both Cheonma and Hoya’s gazes turned icy at Omega’s behavior. And I felt exactly the same.
How dare he walk into my room without even removing his shoes and then try to smoke?
“Put that cigarette away right now.”
“Why should I?”
“Omega. Put out the cigarette.”
“Tsk.”
He ignored me but listened to Baal. Man, that really pisses me off.
I already knew what he was like, but he truly was an unpleasant “demon.” Like Alpha, Omega had his real name. He was the very last of the 72 demons of Lemegeton—Andromalius.
“I didn’t expect to find you here, Halpas.”
Andromalius—Omega—spoke while crossing his legs. His shoes were still firmly on his feet.
“Hey. Take your shoes off if you don’t want to die.”
Not only that, there was dirt on his shoes. Which meant he was leaving footprints and dirtying my room. This bastard.
Did he think I was Halpas, just like Baal did? Exactly what had the relationship between Halpas and Omega been, anyway?
“Has the crow that only likes corpses grown bold?”
“Take your shoes off before I pickle you in snake wine.”
Ah, so they hadn’t gotten along. While Omega and I engaged in a fierce staring contest, Alpha cleared her throat to draw my attention.
“I never imagined you would be in a place like this, Halpas.”
“So~ the guy who stank of the demon world is here. Doesn’t the room smell too? Ugh~ at least open a window~.”
“Omega. That’s enough.”
“I didn’t say anything wrong~.”
I was getting angry. Really angry. I wanted to open the Lemegeton right then and drag Halpas into Goetia for a meeting. He must be lonely by himself; maybe this was the perfect chance to recruit a new resident.
But with Alpha here, capturing them would be difficult.
Omega aside, Alpha wasn’t an opponent I could defeat easily. On top of that, since they enjoyed Arsha’s favor, it was hard to touch them carelessly.
Still, I can’t just keep letting that Omega guy walk all over me.
“Hey.”
Yeah. Since it had come to this, it was time to redefine our relationship a little.
“Baal. Andromalius. If you two don’t want to die, take off your shoes and clean up the mess you made.”
“Huh? Are you seriously calling out both me and Alpha right now? Are you out of your mind…?”
As I spoke, I pulled out the Lemegeton.
Click. Shing.
But before I could fully draw the Lemegeton from my coat, I felt a cold sensation against my neck.
“That’s far enough. How do you have that book? We definitely burned it.”
“Did you secretly keep it, Halpas?”
Alpha and Omega, reacting instantly to the Lemegeton, were now pointing a sword and a gun at me. The blade, honed to a terrifying edge, gleamed coldly as if promising to sever my throat the moment I made a wrong move. The gun loaded with bullets capable of piercing my heart stood ready to fire.
Unlike others, these two knew the terror of the Lemegeton better than anyone, which was why their reaction was so intense. They had already crossed the line from vigilance into open killing intent.
Only after seeing them like this did I decide the atmosphere was finally suitable for conversation.
“First, let me correct you. I’m not the Halpas you know.”
Until now they had assumed I was Halpas, so I hadn’t been able to find a proper opening. It felt like a reunion with old classmates—something I had never actually experienced. The mood was more brutal than before, but at least now we could focus on the actual discussion.
“Baal. And Andromalius.”
“You even know our names.”
“If you are not Halpas, then why do I sense his true body from you?”
Halpas’s energy was understandable. Contracting with him alone would grant that much. But the true body was different. The true body meant Halpas’s physical form in the demon world. Sensing that energy was essentially the same as saying Halpas himself was present. That must be why they had mistaken me for him from the very beginning without any real doubt.
But do only these two know about this?
Could the 72 demons share such information among themselves? If others could sense it too, things would become extremely troublesome. Especially if it reached the church…
How terrifying.
I needed to confirm this for sure.
“I’ll ask you first. You said you can feel Halpas’s true body from me? How did you detect it?”
“There’s no reason we would answer—”
“Should I take out the Lemegeton?”
“…It’s because we are his kin.”
“So only fellow demons can sense it?”
“In ordinary cases, yes.”
That was somewhat fortunate.
Thud.
The blade pressed against my neck. Its edge was so sharp that the slightest pressure would slice my throat open.
“Then answer me. How is it possible that I sense Halpas’s true body from you?”
“To put it simply, I ate him.”
“Ate him?”
I finished drawing the Lemegeton and shook it lightly. The blade bit a little deeper during the motion, sending a stinging pain across my neck, but it couldn’t be helped if I wanted to explain.
“It really is the Lemegeton.”
“But even if sealed inside that book, the main body should return to the demon world.”
“We can only conclude that this human is greater than Solomon.”
Did Baal know all of the Lemegeton’s abilities?
“Are you affiliated with the church?”
“No way. If anything, it would only give me a headache if they found out.”
In fact, I was in the same position as these two—I had to hide my identity. Baal seemed to realize my answer was truthful. She lowered her sword and relaxed her stance. She must have decided that open hostility wasn’t necessary for the moment.
“Aren’t you going to lower yours?”
“Omega.”
“Tch.”
Of course, our dear Omega was still doing everything he could to make me hate him more.
“For now, I accept that you are not Halpas.”
“But since we still don’t know your true identity, the situation has only grown more complicated.”
“Yes, Omega is correct. Therefore, we ask that you explain what happened with Halpas.”
It was phrased as a request, but their eyes made it clear it was nothing short of a threat. If I refused, they would probably resort to force.
“I refuse. I have no information to share with rude people like you.”
But what could force do? In my current state, I could handle both Alpha and Omega as they were. The only reason I had avoided fighting was because subduing them without sustaining injuries would be difficult. And if we fought, I would inevitably use the Lemegeton. The reason I couldn’t simply devour them into Goetia was the existence of Principal Arsha.
“But Halpas was our comrade. As fellow members of the 72, we believe we have the right to know the truth behind his death.”
“Where do you get off acting all righteous? You don’t care how other demons die anyway.”
Yes. That was the nature of demons. They didn’t spare a thought for their kin’s deaths unless it affected them personally. These two were simply wary because I possessed the Lemegeton and—unlike Solomon—had claimed everything that once belonged to Halpas.
The world really has gone to hell. To think demons would act this pathetic.
Aren’t they also from the 72? Yet the way they’re behaving is just…
Rustle.
Before I knew it, the Lemegeton lay fully open in my hands. Their bodies flinched even at that small movement. They really were watching my every action.
“Shall I keep going?”
“……”
“Let’s stop here.”
In the end, Alpha was the first to back down. Well, if they had truly come at me with killing intent, it would have been extremely troublesome for me as well… but fortunately it hadn’t come to that. It was a relief that the rational Alpha was present. If only Omega had been here, we definitely would have fought.
“Instead, please tell us just one thing.”
“What?”
“Do you intend to seal all the 72 demons with that book like before?”
If I could, it would be ideal. I would gain the fraudulent effect of increasing every stat by 720 through Goetia. But knowing the main scenario and the stories tied to certain demons among the 72, I knew it was impossible.
“No. I’ll only devour the ones who pick fights with me and harm the world.”
Still, that would cover the vast majority. The demons who didn’t fit that description were an extremely small minority.
“I see. In that case, we will take our leave now.”
Did they judge that they themselves did not meet that condition? The corners of Alpha’s mouth lifted in a small smile as she bowed to me.
“Wise King’s successor. May peace and tranquility bless this world.”
“Hey.”
She was trying to make a cool exit. I called out to Alpha and Omega and pointed at the floor—specifically at the dirty footprints they had left behind.
“Clean up the mess you made before you go.”
I was this close to opening the Lemegeton for real. Want to get devoured by Goetia?