A Series of Incidents (4)
A sound spread through the air. I could easily guess who the owner of that voice was.
"Didn't expect a demon to show up."
The point of this episode was to confirm the appearance of black mages, the continent's enemies, and the existence of demons. So, no demon was supposed to actually appear. It was only natural, since I'd taken out the black mage before the summoning ritual could finish.
Then the demon's voice responded to my words.
"Hoh, so you knew and still interfered. As expected of the Arden bloodline."
"……."
In Akacheonma, it spoke like a race on par with dragons—arrogant from the very tone.
I ignored that kind of reaction and sent a signal through the communication tool before speaking.
"Everyone okay?"
The replies came right away.
⊳ [Professors arrived. About to head out.]
⊳ [Just finished up. Escaping now, hyungnim.]
⊳ [Already out!]
Fortunately, all three had resolved things without issues, just like in the novel.
'That means this anomaly only happened to me...'
It shouldn't have happened at all—something that didn't occur with the protagonist or the supporting cast.
So there was only one cause.
'It has to do with me.'
The demon might have jumped out on its own. The Ardens had been second only to the Holy Kingdom in slaying demons for centuries.
Of course, even if not, there could be some other reason I didn't know.
"How long do you plan to ignore me?"
The demon's voice came from nearby. It seemed to have finished manifesting its body.
I turned my head toward the source of the sound.
Horns stretching high from both sides of its forehead, wings on its back, skin as black as darkness. The textbook image of a demon.
And with that muscular build, it was the type that fought up close rather than with magic.
I gauged its energy to assess its level.
"Not a viscount... barely an earl, huh."
"...You know your stuff, like an Arden. Then you know you can't escape alive?"
"Can't escape? Please."
A hollow laugh escaped me. A mere earl—not even a marquis or duke—talking big like that.
Demons were basically divided into five ranks: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron. Like nobility, their strength varied by position.
Sure, there were demon kings and archdukes above that, but whatever.
An earl was mid-tier. Equivalent to a human Master.
But even Masters weren't equals. There was a racial gap between humans and demons.
So an earl wasn't something to dismiss lightly for a human.
But its strength was none of my concern.
Because...
'A stroke of fortune walked right to me. How could I say no?'
A demon's body and soul were elixirs in themselves. Its appearance was nothing short of a heavenly opportunity.
'I was just thinking I needed a spec boost soon.'
I'd considered picking up something decent at the free city's auction house.
But here was an elixir dropping in at the perfect timing.
I had to kill it and make it mine.
I grinned at the demon.
"Wh-what...?"
Sensing something ominous, it let out an un-demon-like flustered voice.
I ignored it and slowly walked toward it.
For the record, demons were pretty tasty despite their looks and viciousness. At least in my old world—who knows about this one.
Crunch!!
The demon's leg in my grip twisted grotesquely, bones and muscles shattering.
"Gaaahk—!!"
The demon howled in agony. Without pause, I yanked my arm to rip the leg off and swung my sword.
Boom!
A deafening crash as part of the altar crumbled. Debris scattered everywhere.
The demon that had been there vanished.
I looked up from my spot.
The demon was clinging to the ceiling.
"Trying to run now?"
"Hahk! Hahk!"
Blood pouring from its leg, the demon panted heavily. Gone was the ferocious charge from before.
Its red eyes had lost their glow, its overall energy greatly diminished.
Then it stammered out a shout.
"Th-this makes no sense! How can a mere human...!"
Another hollow laugh.
"Since when couldn't humans beat demons? My dad alone could wipe you out."
Decal Arden could handle dukes with ease. Archdukes might be tougher.
"Stop stalling and come down. Or don't—I don't care."
I released aura from my soles and leaped.
In an instant, I closed in on the demon and swung Karsa wide, channeling power into it.
A massive black arc hurtled toward it.
"That's what doesn't make sense! How can a human wield demonic energy?!"
"Oh, that? Thought you were just whining 'cause you're losing."
But I didn't reply—instead, I moved my sword and body.
The demon didn't sit idle either. Cloaked in demonic energy, it punched out in counter.
A swollen mass of demonic energy shot forward.
Kraka-boom—!!
Demonic energies clashed. Black light swirled amid the roar.
The differing densities kept the two forces from mixing, whipping up a vortex around us.
For a standoff moment.
The demon moved first. It recalled the surrounding demonic energy into its body, channeling it to its wings, which swelled with power.
"Die!"
With its cry, spines formed of demonic energy assaulted me.
The attack, brimming with intent to impale, came from all directions without gaps.
No room to dodge. Breaking through head-on was tough too.
The demonic energy I'd absorbed from it was running low.
A crisis, if anything. Getting hit would pierce my body clean through—instant death.
But I didn't panic. I had a way.
If not, I'd have died to it already, unable to match a Master-level earl demon.
And above all...
'I can't lose to a demon.'
Dying to a race born of nothing but desire and malice? Way too pathetic.
I gathered the demonic energy wasted in the fight so far, shaping it into armor to guard my vitals.
My already enhanced body grew stronger still.
I could've used it for attack, but this was best now.
Shuuuk!!
The spines reached me, engulfing me.
Pfshk!
They easily pierced flesh. The sensation of them tearing muscle and organs hit unfiltered, blood flowing from the wounds.
"Guh, fucking hurts..."
Pain twisted my face as curses spilled out.
But I didn't stop there. The moment they invaded, the spines were already wrapped in my mana.
"You can't absorb this! Just die already!"
A desperate yell. True, these spines emphasized mass and form over demonic traits.
And that meant one thing.
"So what? This isn't demonic energy anymore?"
"I don't know how a human handles demonic energy, but not this time!"
I snorted.
"What a predictable thinker."
Yeah, better to show than tell.
I circulated my mana. The demon's power followed, drawn to my pure mana.
Demonic energy has a strong property of corrupting other energies—no matter what the demon did, it couldn't escape that nature.
It invaded my body. Agony like my whole body exploding surged in waves.
Demonic energy wasn't something ordinary humans could handle.
I kept my mind steady, guiding it to my dantian.
Kyle Arden's body, already adapted and optimized, accepted it effortlessly.
I immediately activated my cultivation method to process the demonic energy.
First: Purge the malice within as much as possible.
Second: Extract the violent, darkness-filled power.
Third: Synchronize it with my own mana.
Less than a minute.
My dantian filled. Vast energy still churned through my meridians, on the verge of spilling out.
Sensation expanded again, power overflowing. An omnipotence like I could do anything.
But it wouldn't last. This was forced containment.
The demon paled in horror at how easily I absorbed and wielded it.
"What... what the hell are you?! Only an archduke—no, the Demon King himself could do that!"
I replied simply.
"What else? Human."
Then I focused all the energy into Karsa and swung.
The slash cleaved the demon in half at the waist.
Splat!
Two chunks hit the ground: upper and lower body.
I landed too, stepping toward the separated demon.
It looked drained, no strength left to fight without its demonic energy.
"I-I can't die like this... How did I even end up in this world! I can't die pointlessly...!"
Normally, summoning binds a fragment of a demon's soul into a human-prepared body—for safety.
But now, its true body and full soul had descended from the Demon Realm.
Death here meant total annihilation.
Desperate not to die easily, the demon blurted.
"W-wait! Tell me what you want. No matter how unreasonable, I'll ask an archduke to grant it...!"
"Well, I do want something."
Its face lit up.
Too bad I had no intention of indulging that hope.
"What I want is your body and soul. No last wishes."
I extended my arm, placing hands on upper and lower halves.
Then cast compression magic, slowly reducing its volume.
"Spare me! If you do, I'll be your slave...!"
"Don't take demon underlings."
"Spare—spare me!"
"Talkative one."
Almost done. The lighter lower half finished first; I froze and preserved it with magic, storing it in my subspace.
Now the bulkier upper half.
I looked at the shrinking demon.
"Don't worry. I'll put your body and soul to good use."
The pitch-black cavern had no light, so who knows how I looked—but the demon screamed in terror.
"D-demon! A real demon is here...!"
"What nonsense. Who's the demon?"
"Aaah, aaak! ……."
The voice cut off. Once the head compressed fully, it couldn't scream anymore.
I magicked it too and stored it away.
"Phew, finally over."
I wiped sweat and sat on the ground.
For a moment.
The communicator buzzed.
Rana's voice. I replied immediately.
"Coming soon. Finishing up."
I cut the comm and pulled out the sculpture.
Better not linger—this could get messy.
Just as I activated the magic...
"Hm? What's that...?"
Amid the altar rubble, a dark red gem caught my eye.
I recalled the novel's info and identified it.
"A black magic stone, huh..."
Also called the essence of black magic. It amplified black magic effects several times over and doubled as mana.
"Didn't see this coming."
Like the demon encounter, totally unexpected.
Probably the black mage I'd just killed had it.
"Might as well take it."
I pocketed the black magic stone and activated the sculpture.
Today's luck was pretty good.
I transferred to Tianis and rejoined the group.
The cavern where the battle had just ended. The altar was now unusable.
Footsteps echoed.
Soon, a figure emerged from the darkness toward the altar.
"Success."
I hadn't been here from the start, but I'd clearly seen Kyle Arden take the black magic stone.
"Understood."
The man activated his magic tool at the command.
Feeling his body lift, he muttered.
"Kyle Arden."
His rage-filled voice echoed through the air, his clothes faintly visible in the mana-born light.
"You're done for too."
It was the uniform of a Tianis Academy student.