Artificial Devils and Natural Devils (1)
"Devils are born in two ways. Naturally occurring, or artificially created."
The devils commonly known to the public were basically understood to have 'naturally occurred'.
"You know the cause of the first one, right?"
"Blackening?"
"...Yeah. Blackening."
In cases of natural occurrence, it was mostly determined to stem from a 'superpower user's rampage'.
Desire to grow stronger. Craving to possess something. Hatred toward another. Grief from losing someone precious. Rage and thirst for revenge. Obsession with a concept. Madness born from mental strain.
"There are all sorts of factors that drive superpower users to blacken. The scary part? Those are emotions anyone—even ordinary folks—goes through."
Humanity's impure emotions exploding, turning superpower users into devils—this had been common knowledge as 'everyday life' ever since the great cataclysm.
"The first devil showed up in 2002. One of the 00-born kids, around three years old...? Anyway, it started from infancy."
"I remember. The one where the parents got murdered...?"
"Right. Intruders broke in, killed the parents, and the baby awakened its superpower amid their agony—became a devil."
Those who turned into devils grew exponentially stronger, one and all. Their bodies mutated, physical prowess soared beyond limits, they transformed into non-human entities, or they kept a human shell while becoming evil incarnate.
"That kid set himself ablaze at age ten and took his own life. After him, more devils cropped up. Kids awakening young got called 'monsters!'—then they'd see monsters on TV or in movies, think that's me, and project it onto themselves."
"The Mt. Fuji 'Yuki-onna' incident?"
"Yeah."
A small rural village near Mt. Fuji in Japan. A girl whose hair turned white from awakening got teased as a yokai by the local kids. Convinced she was a real yokai from TV, she became one—a yokai devil.
"Froze the kids solid, then sealed herself in ice. A tragedy. That's why we raise superpower users in isolated spots like Sejong Island, away from civilians."
Kids who awakened young had no choice but to be quarantined. To stop themselves from turning devil. To keep non-powered safe from slaughter.
"And now, with society stable around superpower users... folks with a bit of fire in their veins are making devils themselves. One way or another."
Their hunger for chaos, destruction, and slaughter dwarfed anything in normal people. They'd wipe out anything to achieve their goals.
"Devil, superpower user, villain—whatever you call it, it's a power too horrific for baseline humanity to counter."
So.
"...Like always, superpowers get researched to death."
Couldn't we harness a devil's power? Turn normals into superpowered? Use devil strength to awaken them?
"Non-powered craving superpowers? Inevitable."
And if so, why not ditch an aging midlife or elderly body—live eternal youth as a devil?
"No cases of normals becoming superpowered yet. But the devil's seed aims straight for human devilization."
"...Desperate enough to become a devil for powers?"
"Yep. Dunno how much deeper Jumo's intel goes than mine, but I know devils better than anyone. Part of why I came to Sejong Island? Devils."
"Sejong Island studies devils."
"Right. Labs nationwide in Korea, plus spots like here doing the most intense, varied experiments."
Say "devil," read "superpower user."
"They use low-rankers a lot. Below C-grade—those stuck short of B or A who rampaged. Not just accident-making villains, but ones who shed their humanity to become devils."
I fired up a video on the streaming site linked to the TV.
— Video Playback —
"Cahaha! Now I'm perfect!"
"Tons of superpowered users blackened, fell to corruption. Internalized villains, baddies, devils from media. But those have 'motifs,' right? Capture 'em, exploit 'em. Among the half-assed mutations, the controllable ones for tests."
"Like that 'Jeon Yu-bin'?"
"Yeah. Succubus. Remember the one I two-phased and killed before? Lilith."
"Oh, the devil from the Solar Platinum standoff?"
"Yep. If heroes nabbed her, high odds she'd end up in some other lab getting vivisected—not the same one as Jeon Yu-bin."
I pointed below.
"Devil's seed? This."
"Gametes... right?"
"Exactly. Made from female ones, especially. Sejong Island dials it back for optics, but elsewhere? Horrors you can't even voice."
Experiments too brutal for words.
"Not just Korea. Human trials everywhere globally. State-sponsored too."
Madness revealing humanity's depths of depravity, unfolding worldwide.
"Jeon Yu-bin's type? Probably had gametes 'extracted' regularly."
"...Least once a month. Or just yanked fresh."
"Maybe worse—forced to 'birth' devil seeds."
"You check the experiment logs?"
"Nah. No need, no want, no patience for watching researchers bolt mid-read. Slaughtered 'em all meantime."
At my level, one glance tells all.
"Culture eggs from female devils? Devil hatches. Weaponize those eggs into cells? That's..."
"Devil's seed."
"Got it."
"Creepy as hell."
Jumo swallowed hard, face ashen.
"Way more brutal and cruel than I imagined. Gives me chills knowing this happens on Earth."
"Reality, though. Jeon Yu-bin was likely both test subject and 'dam'—produced seeds already."
"Basis?"
"Guesswork, but Lilith looked like Jeon Yu-bin? Cells pulled from succubus Jeon make a seed, it roots in a host, sprouts mom-lookalike."
"...So devil resemblances aren't just ripping off old tales?"
"Nope."
Someone could go Dracula-motif naturally. Or extract seed from a Dracula-devil, turn another superpowered the same.
"How's it feel? Toes dipped in a deeper, darker, filthier world."
"Horrifying. But gotta know. Imae Mangnyang doesn't treat devils like villains or recruitable allies—pure enemies. Same for Dokkaebi, Total Leader."
"Yeah. Devils just wreck world conquest."
Imae Mangnyang fights devils head-on. Every superpowered has the potential, but with them as core execs, they eradicate devils full-throttle.
"Wipe devils that trash our world to rule. Peak Imae Mangnyang, Total Leader mindset."
I guard my own star.
Sometimes it hits different from your average villain outfit.
"So watch yourself, Jumo. Any superpowered could devil-out, trash Earth like tissue for their whims."
"And you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. If Dokkaebi went devil, what kind?"
"...Who knows."
Never pondered it, but probably dwarf any Earth devil—stronger, nastier.
"If I did? Hope you'd call me this."
"What? King Dokkaebi?"
"Nah."
"The World Closer."
Or, the devil of midwinter. Under another name.