Do You Desire Power?

A sky painted in the dying light of sunset.

Inside what appeared to be a school building.

Beyond the mirror, a woman was racing through the wreckage, children in tow. White gloves covered her hands, and in one of them she gripped a long whip. She lashed it in a rapid arc at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the black gargoyles diving toward them.

Slash!

The gargoyles' bodies split clean in half, dark crimson blood and flesh spilling onto the floor. The woman beyond the mirror lowered her whip and planted a hand on her knee, gasping for breath.

"Hah… hah…. These things just don't stop coming."

"Unnie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. We're almost there. I've already requested backup from the Association—if we just hold out on the rooftop, they'll come save us."

"Okay. Got it, Unnie."

The children nodded. After a quick check of their condition, she turned to look out the window.

Outside, a devil with a body the height of the school's second floor was circling the athletic field—a gray, one-eyed giant of a creature, clutching a club in its massive hand.

Grrr. Grraaahhh.

KRAAAASH!

The devil swung its club and smashed the far side of the school to rubble. With every blow, dust and debris rained down onto the black-haired woman below.

Watching it all through the mirror, I felt a rising anxiety take hold.

…Is she heading for the rooftop because of that thing?

That was far too dangerous a call, no matter how you looked at it. Trying to evacuate to the rooftop while the building was collapsing around them…

And though the children hadn't noticed—beneath the black fur cloak covering her shoulder, there was a wound that looked like something had clawed her open.

How is she even swinging that whip with an arm like that…

The black-haired woman clutched her injured shoulder with her free hand and began climbing the stairs.

…I couldn't just sit here and watch this. Wasn't there some way—any way—to help her?

At that moment, a status window appeared before my eyes.

Devil poison…? Remaining survival time?!

In a space that held nothing but the mirror, reading those words made my heart blacken and burn like the void around me. If this was true, Association backup meant nothing. She would be dead long before they arrived.

Cold sweat beaded on my skin as the anxiety clawed deeper—and then the status window refreshed.

A contract…? Me?!

The word contract sent a memory from my previous life flashing through my mind. I had been driven to suicide by the devil I'd contracted with—and now I was supposed to do the same thing that devil had done to me?

No. I couldn't. I absolutely couldn't…

My mind screamed refusal, but my hand was already moving toward YES of its own accord.

…No. I won't be like that. I won't become what that devil was. So it'll be fine. It has to be.

Vmm.

…

I spent a moment carefully reading through every line of the status window. And in that moment, another crash of collapsing structure thundered from beyond the mirror.

KRAAAAAASH!

"Unnieeeeee…!"

"Kids, I'll hold them here! Stay put on the rooftop and wait for me!"

On the stairs leading to the rooftop, the ceiling came down—shattered by Han Seorin's own whip. She shouted after her younger siblings beyond the rubble, then turned her back and drew the whip taut.

Grrrrrr.

"…Honestly. How far do I have to go before you're satisfied?"

The black gargoyles surrounding her dove in, long claws outstretched to pierce her through. Without hesitation, Han Seorin forced her injured shoulder into motion and began swinging the whip.

There's no time…!

Seeing how little survival time Han Seorin had left, I slammed the YES button without another thought.

"You there. Do you desire power?"

"…!"

After a few coughs, I spoke to Han Seorin beyond the mirror. Mid-swing, she went wide-eyed, her face flooding with confusion.

Did she think it was a hallucination? Then I'd say it again…

"I asked if you desire power, human."

"Wh-what? Seo-ah? Is that you messing around?"

"Stop spouting nonsense and hurry! You have almost no time left!"

"…"

The raw urgency in my voice stripped the confusion from Han Seorin's face. Her whole body sagged. Clutching her wounded shoulder, she looked around her.

The gargoyles were swarming in from both sides of the corridor like a plague of midges—far more than she could handle now. Listening to my voice ringing inside her skull, she clenched her teeth and gave a single nod.

"…I do. I want to protect my siblings."

"Even if it is a power that will lead you to ruin—if you can accept that, then we shall form a contract."

Whish! Whish!

"I'll do it. So give me power…!"

"I accept your will. The terms of the contract, I shall explain in detail later…"

As the status windows cascaded one after another, a black aura began to coil around Han Seorin's body. She pressed a palm to her forehead and screamed.

"Ghk—graaaaaaah…!"

"U-Unnie?! Are you okay?!"

…What? Had something gone wrong?

No, that can't be. I did exactly what it told me to…

While Han Seorin's throat-rending howl tore through the air, the nearest gargoyle dove at her with claws extended. Those long, razor-sharp talons were a hair's breadth from sinking into her throat—

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash…!

Han Seorin's black irises flared crimson, and she began whipping the air in a frenzy. With every crack of the lash, five or six gargoyles were carved into pieces and piled onto the floor.

How many minutes passed like that? At last she turned the whip on the final gargoyle and butchered it where it stood.

Only then did reason return. Han Seorin collapsed where she stood, letting the whip fall from her grip, and stared at what she had made—the carved-up corpses of gargoyles. The thick, reeking blood-stink of devils hit her nostrils hard, and she leaned back against the wall and let out a hollow laugh.

"Ha… haha. Hahaha…"

Thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup-thwup!

"Unnie! The helicopter's here! The helicopter! You have to come too!"

"…Okay. I'll be right there."

Han Seorin beyond the mirror picked up her whip, braced herself against the wall, and rose to her feet. Then she swung the whip one last time at the rubble blocking the stairs.

BOOM!

Beyond it, her younger siblings waited quietly. And through the crack of the rooftop door, the Association helicopter was just visible. Han Seorin took the stairs at a near-run.

Then she threw her arms around her siblings and began to cry.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you…"

"…"

Han Seorin was offering her gratitude to the one who had given her power.

…To me—who had become a devil.

I did it. I—even as a devil—I…

The strength went out of my legs. I dropped to my knees before the mirror and hung my head, letting out a long breath of relief.

I had saved countless people as a Devil Hunter… but I had never imagined I would still be able to save someone after becoming a devil.

Thank goodness. Truly.

I pressed a hand to my chest, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let my body go slack.

…A devil's contract. It might produce good results for now—but in the end, it would lead the contractor to their own ruin.

…Is it really something to be thankful for?

I had made my first contractor without meaning to. And even as relief settled over me, the question of what to do next was already beginning to weigh on my mind.

Han Seorin boarded the rescue helicopter with her siblings. On the flight back to the Association, she rested her chin on her arm against the window frame and found herself replaying what had just happened.

Do you desire power?

Even if it is a power that will lead you to ruin—if you can accept that, then we shall form a contract.

I accept your will.

What was that, exactly?

Han Seorin tried to picture the owner of the voice that had rung through her mind. Not a god or an angel—that much seemed clear. Hearing it had sent something dark and wicked surging up inside her.

…So a devil, then?

But the voice had carried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a sincerity that felt like genuine concern for her—hardly something she could simply dismiss as demonic. It left her unsettled. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't place the identity of the one who had granted her wish…

Ah—my shoulder…

She suddenly remembered the wound and carefully peeled back the fur cloak to check. The place where a gargoyle's claws had pierced her—where three long scars should have been carved into the uniform—was covered by intact fabric. She rolled the shoulder, twisted her body every which way. Not a trace of pain.

…Maybe it really was a god?

While she was still marveling, running a hand over her unharmed shoulder, a status window appeared before Imp Asmode's eyes.

…

Imp Asmode read the status window, let out a long breath, and began to tremble.

The power she had feared was beginning to open.