Episode ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠3) While Asleep for 99 Years (2)

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What is a demon? Aside from the Archdemons confined in hell, all entities subjugated to the demonic energy of the Demon World are collectively called demons in the Middle Realm.

And among those demons, there are various categories. There are evil spirits that failed to properly form consciousness and possess only a plant-level mental world, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magical beasts that possess the physical bodies and consciousness of beasts, and those with the highest consciousness are called fiends.

However, even among these, magical beasts have truly diverse traits per individual; while most individuals are always starved for slaughter, some of the rest possess intelligence, and a few of them even speak languages perfectly.

In my case, of course, it was a bit different. My body had become so thoroughly that of a beast that I could no longer speak human language, and the only thing intact was my consciousness.

Should I call it the feeling of a human soul trapped in the flesh of a magical beast? I suspect it's probably a side effect of that drug called elixir, and was that all the reason why returning to my senses wasn't easy?

Well, anyway, these are all just guesses. I hadn't figured out anything properly yet to be able to say for sure.

Just how long in the world have I spent in this state all this time...

A complicated mood constricts my chest, and the future is bleak. Isn't this no different from the plight of a shipwreck survivor drifting in the middle of the sea...

Dadadada-! Tahak...!

I ran and ran through the forest and reached a certain lakeside. And there, I was able to face my own appearance for the very first time.

'W-What the hell is this...?!'

Naturally, I had no choice but to be startled. How could I not be shocked when some pitch-black beast pup was baring its savage teeth at me... It took quite a bit of time to accept that this truly was my real appearance.

'What... What the hell happened...?! What the...'

Grab- I grabbed my head and struggled somehow to recall what had happened. However, whatever remained in my memory were only fragmentary scenes.

Elixir... Kartia's minions binding me... Behind them, Kartia couldn't hide her look of surprise, as if something was unexpected. And it was the same for me... Black fur sprouted from my skin, and my mouth stopped producing a human voice. My muscles twisted and my flesh began to rearrange...

And up to there. Just like a drunk person's memory abruptly cutting off, I couldn't remember anything after that at all.

"Kuk... Grrrt..."

Chwahak- At that moment, a net was thrown at me once again, binding me, and infuriated by that, I turned my head to look toward where the demons were hiding.

"Uwaah... We've been spotted...1?"

"Well, of course we'd be spotted! It can't be helped, if we go on like this, we'll lose him again. There's nothing else to do but catch that bastard directly..."

"Those of you holding spears, put them down on the ground for now too... and let's all rush him at once! Now's the time, let's go-!"

Wadadadada- Kudangtang-!

The bastards flocked in a mob and started clinging to my limbs. In total, about 12 of them... Coupled with the net making it impossible to move my body as I pleased, these guys holding onto me and acting annoying was driving me up the wall.

"Kuaaack...!"

I twisted and shook my entire body to shake the bastards off. Because of that, the demons ended up hanging unglamorously from my body like laundry fluttering in the wind.

"Ggaak...! This bastard... His strength is making no sense, this is...!"

"Uh, uh-uh...?!‍या" -> "Uh, uh-uh...?!"

"Uheoeo... Aaaaack-!!"

Kwagwakwak-! Ultimately, as one guy was flung far away as if thrown out, the force binding me began to weaken somewhat.

After that, two guys, three guys... Eventually, I succeeded in shaking all of them off me, and I immediately slipped out of the net and surveyed the situation for a moment.

"Keuk...! Kuk..."

"Ahish, fucking asshole...!"

Hwaruk...! When one of the demons suddenly flared up fire in his hand, all the rest panicked and started scolding him.

"Hey, you punk! I told you you can't use magic?! If you end up scorching this bastard like that, you'll really die by the Chief Warden-nim!"

"Damn it... That damn Chief Warden... What kind of hardship is this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all because of that parachute bitch-!"

"Now it doesn't matter anymore... If anyone dies from this, that's a meaningless death! Making out like we're catching a single magical beast, does it make any sense for us to throw away our fucking lives?!"

Not a single person could rebut his words. Since everyone already had thoughts like that deep inside, they had no choice but to somewhat affirm his words and actions.

But I, as expected, still had no clue what was going on. It was because I couldn't understand why these bastards were raising their voices. Naturally so, since I don't know a speck of the demons' language.

'Is it because they're demons, but their squeaky voices are quite grating to hear. Though maybe I'm one to talk...'

'...Maybe my hearing has just become sensitive.'

I began to carefully observe the appearance of the demons surrounding me. The guys were all fiends... But most of them were small and pathetic enough to be called lesser demons, and a few were quite large in build.

The fellows were dressed in some sort of suit-like attire, but honestly I couldn't get a feel for what kind of guys they were. Seeing them trying so hard to catch me like this... Zoo zookeepers?

There was no way. Zookeepers working in suits—no matter how different the culture of the Demon World is from the Middle Realm, there wouldn't be a difference of that scale.

'Anyway, it's certain that I have no choice but to fight these guys head-on... Because it'll be hard to expect anything good to happen if I get dragged off by those bastards...'

'I can do it. Since my strength seems to have gotten quite strong... Looking at those guys, they all seem scared shitless, so if I say I'll fight with all my might, it's not like I don't have a chance.'

'Damn it... 12 against 1... Even so, I'm originally specialized in assassination...'

After that, when I lowered my upper body and took a stance to truly dive into the fight, the demons who saw that flinched and couldn't hide their astonishment.

"What the hell, that bastard...?! He's striking a pose. He intends to beat the crap out of us!"

"Didn't they definitely say he was a guy without intelligence?! Doesn't this change the story a whole lot-?!"

As the fiends panicked and bustled about in confusion, some kind of confidence began to well up in me. I can win... I started to become convinced of that.

However, at that moment-

Hwiik- Tak! Along with a sound parting the wind, something flew and embedded itself in the back of my head. And a slight numbing sensation spreading a moment later... I could tell. It's poison... This is....

Grab! I immediately pulled out the object stuck in the back of my head to check what it was. A shuriken... An item that looked like it was ground down from stark-white bones.

Still, because it wasn't embedded deeply, the bleeding wasn't severe. Of course, where it stuck was the back of the head so it was a bit dangerous, but... I was lucky.

"...Keuk."

"Krwaack...?!"

Hwiik- The sound of parting the wind, heard from somewhere once again...

Tadak- Tadadadat-! By the time I reached out my hand to block it, 5 shurikens were already embedded in my body.

"Khaack...! Keuk!"

Thud... I ultimately ended up collapsing after kneeling down, and when I barely managed to raise my head to observe the opponent, one more shuriken flew in and embedded itself right between my brows.

Tak-! My entire body ended up paralyzed by the poison, and I buried my face into the dirt floor.

"...You useless bastards. You couldn't even properly pull off a simple task like this, forcing even me to step in?"

"Ch-Chief Warden-nim..."

"We really worked hard... We couldn't even sleep properly for two weeks, seriously..."

"Shut up-! Put out the fire in that bastard's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand over there first before talking... Didn't I clearly tell you to bring him before me without letting a single strand of hair get hurt?!"

"S-Sorry..."

"Lift this guy right now and move him to the prison camp! If you don't move your asses quickly, I'll make it harder for all of you together then, so hurry up! Now!"

"Y-Yes-!"

"..."

"U-Um... Chief Warden Sirbel-nim..."

"I told you to drop the name and just call me Chief Warden-nim!"

"What is it this time?!"

"Uhm... Well, this guy... you might have used too much poison, because he's not breathing."

"—! What?!"

"Ah shit... Dammit... Step aside!"

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When I opened my eyes again, I was inside a pitch-dark iron cage.

Barely raising my body and looking around, there were several animal cages in addition to the place where I was, and inside every single one of them were fiercely looking magical beasts.

Of course, no matter how fierce they looked, it was less than my own mug that I saw at the lakeside earlier, but...

"Kyahak-!"

When a large leopard-like guy in the opposite cage bared his teeth at me and hissed, I, irritated by that, returned it in kind.

"Kwaaaaaack—!"

At that, the leopard guy's gaze suddenly turned gentle, stared blankly at me for a long time, and finally averted his eyes.

'It hits me anew that I've really become a beast pup...'

'Damn it, how did things turn out like this? Where on earth did Kartia go... Could it be, because I turned into a magical beast, she lost interest and threw me away? In this Demon World?'

'...If you put it that way, this absurd situation right now makes some sense to a degree.'

Clatter- When a door far in the distance opened, red light seeped into the pitch-dark room, and all the magical beasts inside the breeding facility jumped up from their spots and looked at a woman walking in through beyond the door.

"Walwal-! Keong-!! Grrrrrr..."

"Sahaaaack— Shiiii..."

"Kuwooooooong-!"

"Ha jeez, it's driving me nuts with the noise... This is why I hate coming into this room."

I also observed her appearance. She was a rat beastman, not a demon.

However, judging by how she braided her stark-white hair into twin tails and had quite neat attire, she seemed to be of quite high rank in the Demon King's army, and there was a subtle sense of formality felt even in her gait and voice. Even though it was just subtle...

Clack clack... Tak.

She walked further inward and stopped in front of my cage, and the expression with which she looked down at me while narrowing her red eyes... felt as if she were suspecting me of something.

"...Is it because the paralysis hasn't fully worn off? You're not barking? Despite looking like some murder-maniac ghost. Hmph..."

"Or does that mean you really have intelligence, just like the other guys said?"

"...Hey you, if by any chance you understand my words, raise your left hand up high. Right now."

But there was no way I could understand those words. It was because she was speaking in the demons' language.

I shrugged my shoulders and made a gesture indicating I couldn't understand what she was saying. It was an expression of my will to somehow attempt communication.

But it didn't work. Since I was lying down and just shrugging my shoulders, it seemed my meaning wasn't properly conveyed.

But it couldn't be helped. Because I was in a state where I couldn't even control my body properly due to the poison...

"...What, then of course."

"Stupid underlings... making such a fuss over nothing."

Clink- The woman handed me a rice bowl across the iron bars. At a glance, it was a chunk of questionable raw meat that a human shouldn't eat, sprinkled evenly with some white powder that looked like medicine, and the smell was quite foul.

"It's an antidote. Eat it... Your body seems a bit sturdy, but taking some medicine won't make it any worse..."

"..."

Afterwards, the woman stared blankly at me once more before walking back out.

Clack clack clack- Clatter!

'Damn it, I haven't even finished checking out her chest yet...'

'...'

'Anyway, this doesn't seem right... You want me to actually eat this? Seriously-?!'

"Keuk... Ugh!"

Sniffing and properly checking the smell of the meat once again, I scowled hideously and immediately began pondering ways to break out of this cage.