Let's Raise Yoo Hwa
Three days had passed since the battle with the Great Legacy. As expected, nothing had happened during that time. The Association was quiet, and no monsters had shown up.
Even if one had, I wouldn't have moved anyway. I'd gotten hurt in phase two and rolled into phase three, so honestly, wasn't I entitled to a few days off? Not that it was a proper vacation, mind you.
'You probably get the gist.' I thought as I stared at the vial containing Baerdis's power. After the fight with the Great Legacy, what should I call it... my knowledge had deepened.
It wasn't like encountering a pseudo-demon like Re Nerd; I'd seen a real demon in the modern world. Thanks to that, investigating this power had gone much faster. And today, I'd finally found a lead.
'This is a lump of demonic energy.' I'd known it was something akin to demonic energy, but I hadn't expected it to be pure demonic energy itself. Of course, I'm not an idiot; if it were just plain demonic energy, I'd have recognized it at a glance.
To put it in perspective... it's like the demonic energy during my phase three. The demonic energy had solidified inside the body, hardening into something dense. That's the idea.
At a glance, it might seem like I'd figured this out just from using phase three myself. The Great Legacy had indeed helped. I'd seen the demonic energy flowing through its body, which gave me the insight.
In short, it's demonic energy of an absurdly high purity. My phase three self and the Great Legacy were on a higher level, able to wield this ultra-pure demonic energy freely. Baerdis was on a lower tier by comparison, so squeezing out its energy had only produced this much.
Getting even this amount by wringing out its energy was impressive in the first place.
'So what do I do with it now?' I'd figured out what it was, but I had no real use for it. The only info I'd gleaned was that 'the demons had used some method to extract the original Baerdis's energy.'
"Sigh." I leaned back casually and seriously pondered uses for this energy.
Just feed it to Yoo Hwa? Wouldn't that make her stronger? Yoo Hwa was mid-to-upper tier in the monster world, but she was still a bit lacking to keep up with me. So whenever anything remotely important happened, I'd shove her straight back into the Demon Realm.
Honestly, her presence was fading. Even her junior, Frame, had overwhelming survivability—just hide in any electronic device—and insane information-gathering skills.
In this incident, all Yoo Hwa had done was follow me around and hunt minor monsters. I felt sorry for her as her position narrowed more and more. If I used this right, couldn't I make her stronger?
'Just shoving it down her throat would kill her...' Obviously, feeding her this ultra-pure demonic energy straight up would kill Yoo Hwa. Why do monsters die from eating demonic energy? Drink too much water at once, and you die.
'Let's process it.' I picked up the vial of Baerdis's demonic energy and headed to the living room.
"Oh? You're out?" There was Yoo Hwa, sprawled on the sofa, lazily munching snacks. Here I was suffering because of her, and this girl was living it up...
"Come here."
"Sure~."
I called to Yoo Hwa, who was lying down, and she rolled over to me. At least she listened well. If she didn't even do that, I'd be screwed.
"From now on, I'm going to feed this to you."
"Pardon?"
Her face twisted. Anyone would think I was shoving poison down her throat. It was poison, technically.
"Not raw, obviously. I'm going to process it somehow... but first, try a little."
"Th-this...?"
"We need to see how much your body can handle."
Yoo Hwa started trembling in fear, but I ignored her and uncorked the vial. I extracted just a tiny bit—really just a smidge—and held it out to her.
"B-but why eat this?"
"To make you stronger. Honestly, you're weak right now."
"Guhk..."
She clutched her chest at the sudden fact bomb.
"If you can somehow absorb all of it, your demonic energy quality and quantity will skyrocket. By Association standards, you'd hit 3rd Grade at least?"
"R-really...?"
Yoo Hwa eyed the small amount on my hand cautiously. Really. Not Re Nerd level, but with her base, she could reach around there. That alone would be a huge help going forward.
"Al-alright! I'll try it!"
She snatched it from my hand and swallowed it in one go.
"It's a bit bitter... but, delici—"
Thud.
She collapsed.
"Aigoo." I'd given her just a tiny bit. How long would it take to feed her the rest at this rate?
"Hyaak?!" Yoo Hwa jolted awake on the sofa with a shriek as Frame blew a whistle from my phone.
"Wh-what?! What did I eat?!"
She immediately started gagging to check what she'd swallowed.
"Stop that and check your body status."
"My status... huh?"
Yoo Hwa patted herself down and yelled.
"I've gotten a bit stronger!"
"If that tiny amount made it noticeable, what happens if you absorb it all?"
"I'd be super strong...?"
She said that but avoided my gaze, looking nervous.
"Still, eating that felt like my head was exploding..."
That bad? I was a little surprised, but that's why I'd tried processing it myself.
"Then don't eat it?"
"Pardon?"
I held out the vial again, but the contents were different now.
"Oh? It's a pack?"
This wasn't for eating—it was a pack to apply on the body. Slather it on and let it sit; the demonic energy absorbs naturally. How? I smashed it to bits, melted it down to a spreadable paste, then filled the layers with my own demonic energy. When applied to Yoo Hwa, my energy pushes Baerdis's into her. Essentially a pseudo-manual method.
"Want me to apply it? Or do it yourself?"
"Does it have to go on specific spots?"
"Nah, anywhere's fine."
At my words, Yoo Hwa pondered briefly.
"You've worked hard, Seol-ah, so I shouldn't make you lie down, right?"
"Yeah, fucking right."
"Then I'll do it myself."
Yoo Hwa poured the pack onto her hand and started slathering it on her arms and legs.
"There's more than I thought."
Still some left, so she slathered her neck and thighs too.
"Done... ugh?!"
"It'll hurt a bit, endure it."
"It's not 'a bit'—owww!"
I began manipulating my demonic energy to shove Baerdis's into her.
"Uwaaaah!"
"Focus—endure it!"
Pushing a steady amount at low intensity required serious concentration for phase one, so her pained cries were a huge distraction. I kept shoving the demonic energy in. Monitoring her status while working was exhausting, but stopping now would be disastrous—the inserted energy would reflux and pour out her pores.
"Done!"
"Eeeugh..."
Finally, after pushing it all in and stopping the manipulation, Yoo Hwa collapsed, drained.
"If we'd gone the ingestion route, it'd have taken half a year seriously. Better to endure a bit of pain and finish in one go."
Either way, it'd hurt enough to knock her out.
Scraaape.
"Peeling off the pack?"
I started scraping the hardened pack off Yoo Hwa's body with a spatula. Time had made it crusty; couldn't just wipe it.
Scriiich.
This felt oddly satisfying.
"Don't compare it to food."
I peeled off the last bit and tossed it in the trash. Residue without demonic energy was just garbage.
"Hmm... hope it worked."
I placed my hand on her forehead to check her status. My confidence had dipped a bit after tangling with the Great Legacy, but even in phase one, I was a 1st Grade monster. Gauging the combat power of anything below me was effortless—just touch.
This much... '3rd Grade?'
As expected, not quite Re Nerd level. He'd researched it for ages to absorb it, so mastering it in a day was greedy. Still, stronger than I'd thought.
'Re Nerd was just shy of 2nd Grade...' This put her in upper 3rd Grade, maybe? Pretty satisfying for one day's work.
Twitch, twitch.
Collapsed Yoo Hwa twitched. She'd taken all the pain, so she suffered too. Should wake her and buy some tasty food.
'Let's see.'
First, I calmed the roiling demonic energy inside her. If she moved now, the unadapted energy would leak out. Like skipping the rest period forcibly. I could assimilate demonic energy instantly, but...
Actually, that's why escaping the Association was such a pain—worried it'd become my energy.
Tap, tap.
"Mm...?"
"Wake up."
I tapped her after finishing to rouse her.
"How's your body feel?"
"Uh... no big change?"
She got up, hopped lightly on the sofa.
Crack!
"Kyaaaaah!!"
"Uh... hello?"
She'd smashed through the ceiling with her head and greeted the upstairs neighbor.
Fuck.