〈 Demon Race (1) 〉
Hubert frowned.
An ordinary-looking young man with black hair and black eyes.
However, the two ram horns that sprouted from either side of his head and the pale, purple skin showed that he was by no means an ordinary being.
‘devil?’
Residents of the ‘Demon World’, a subdimension adjacent to Outerica, such as the spirit world or the abyss.
Of course, I already knew about its existence.
The succubus Siana, one of the executives of the Immortal Army, was also one of the demons from the demon world.
‘The problem is why such a being suddenly came to me…’
〈???〉
– A demon tribe whose affiliation is unknown. I am very excited to encounter cultural relics that I never thought I would see here.
-Key characteristics: Massive horsepower
-Reliability: ???
Although I barely used “Analysis,” I didn’t find out much else.
The other person’s status may be high, but it would be greedy to hope to understand everything after just speaking a few words.
Still, I didn’t gain anything at all.
‘I was excited to encounter cultural artifacts that I thought I would never see here…’
That one sentence contained many meanings.
And considering his previous actions and words, the most likely thing is—
“…What did you just do?”
That was the moment when Hubert organized his thoughts in accelerated thinking.
The demon, who was still hiding, spoke in an unpleasant voice.
‘Did you notice this?’
I attempted to “analyze” as secretly as possible by using “Limit Breakthrough,” but it seems that it was too much to completely deceive the senses of the opponent who had reached transcendence to that extent.
However, Hubert, who already had a rough idea of the other person’s identity, opened his mouth casually before the devil reacted sensitively.
“Because I was so confident, I used every means available to me. Suddenly, an unidentified uninvited guest came without a plan. “It’s nothing new, right?”
It’s okay to shrug your shoulders and say that it’s just a normal procedure from your perspective.
The devil seemed to be taken aback by his shameless response, but Hubert raised his head proudly, putting an iron plate on his face until the end.
It seems as if he was just doing the obvious.
It was an inappropriate attitude to take in front of someone who could take his life at any time, but for someone who had something he strongly believed in, it was nothing special and courageous.
‘And it doesn’t seem like he’s going to harm me now. Of course, there is no chance that the other side will come out by force, but…’
If that happens, it remains to be seen who will regret it later.
If the weak younger brother gets beaten up outside, the scary older brothers who support him reliably will never stay still.
Just like it did once in the past.
“…Well, okay. It’s true that this person came suddenly, so let’s skip it for now. But never twice.”
Fortunately, the other person didn’t pick on him anymore.
I don’t know if it’s because of his confidence that it will be impossible to see through himself completely no matter what he does.
“So you haven’t answered my question yet?”
“Well, it seems like you already know, so there’s no use trying to explain it.”
“What do you mean?”
“okay.”
Hubert coolly agreed to the devil’s questioning again.
“I am from Earth.”
I could have come up with any number of means to get rid of the pretense, but I didn’t bother to do it.
That’s the only way to do it—
“Looking at it, it seems to be the same for you as well. How about we at least look at each other’s faces and talk clearly? “It was fate that people from the same neighborhood met each other like this.”
Because the next story will proceed smoothly.
“Hoo? Aren’t you afraid of dying? I don’t know what you believe and why you are so calm. “The moment I make up my mind, that head will fall off before I even choose to return to Earth.”
“Didn’t you come here because you wanted something from me? “I don’t think there was any intention to hide it from the beginning.”
Hubert slowly stood up.
While calmly talking to the Earthling who has become a demon who is still hiding.
Then, they began arranging various foods taken out of subspace one by one on the large reception table in the center of the office.
“…that?”
From beverages including cola and cider beer to foods frequently eaten when eating out, such as chicken, pizza, and sushi, and all kinds of sweet desserts.
A plentiful Korean meal was set out on the table so much that it was hard to tell whether this was another world or Earth.
“Let’s eat comfortably and talk. “Anyway, poison doesn’t work on you, right?”
I deliberately showed off my abilities in front of him.
This is the unique skill he has.
Thanks to this, I was able to become commercially successful, and I have no power to harm you.
Gulp—
I could feel the demon swallowing a little as the scent of freshly prepared and preserved food wafted out.
The fact that he sensed such a reaction from someone who had completely hidden himself was proof that his guard against Hubert had dropped.
‘I don’t know how long ago that guy was transmitted…’
As soon as he found out that Earth’s cultural artifacts were being distributed, he rushed to find himself, the person in charge.
Perhaps the longing and longing for Earth was not normal.
I already knew from Siana that the taste of demons is not that different from that of humans.
As long as she had magical powers, she could survive without eating, but when it came to eating something, she was even more obsessed with gourmet food.
What would be even worse if you were a person on Earth who was accustomed to all kinds of spices, including MSG?
“Don’t hesitate and come along. “You can bring as much food as you want.”
Hubert, a ruthless businessman, smiled warmly and pointed to the sumptuous feast laid out on the table.
‘…the awakened ones of the demon world, the devil, and the earth. How else can this material be used?’
With squinted eyes, he hides his busy, calculated intentions from being revealed.
***
These days, war clouds are deepening across the continent by the minute.
Like everyone else, the Immortal Army executives were also busy with their days.
[With this… everything in the Principality of Rohan has been sorted out… Thank you all for your hard work…]
[The work of turning the monsters in the mountains into undead and organizing them is also going smoothly. If you have a king’s command, you’ve finished all your preparations to invade the continent at any time.]
[Nicks – You will be able to bypass the Kain Castle of the Shaotti kingdom that has recently fallen. In the process, we will be able to disperse the human forces to a large extent.]
By hunting monsters, we constantly swelled our forces, occupied the already defeated Principality of Rohan, established an invasion route connecting the mountains and the empire, and continued to generate random waves to destroy the humans. It put me in fear.
There were quite a few sacrifices made in the process, but the Immortal Army no longer moved lukewarmly as it did in the early days of the Immortal King’s resurrection.
‘I still don’t understand why he did that, but… how would I know what the king was thinking? ‘He must mean something.’
And the succubus Siana was also very busy.
As the person in charge of the internal affairs of the Immortal Castle, he managed the warlocks and other converted humans and the captive crown prince, while as an imperial noble, he collected information and prepared various behind-the-scenes operations.
Simple information is nothing compared to Olivia, but it is also true that it is difficult to obtain advanced information as humans are also wary of the ghosts under her command.
In that respect, the information obtained by Shianna, a noble of the empire, could not be easily ignored.
“Wow, the urgent matter is almost over. Then, I’m going to go bother Simon for the first time in a while…”
-Siana? Is communication okay now?
“uh?”
To her, who had a fulfilling day today as an executive of the Immortal Army.
A message arrived from a place I had forgotten about for a while.
-“Sister Seera? what’s the matter? “Suddenly like this.”
Communication from her hometown, the Demon World.
Of course, since it was separated by dimension, it was never easy to send a message across it.
So, in the meantime, we have used a ritual to reduce the penalty by setting a date and using the barrier on both sides at the same time.
‘The last time I contacted you was only a few months ago. The fact that they contacted me in this way even though there were 5 years left until the next regular communication…
meant that something urgent had come up that warranted that level of damage.
-Umm… things aren’t so good here. How about there? You said you joined the Immortal Army to gather information, right? Have you achieved anything?
Siana smiled awkwardly in response to the sisters’ question mixed with subtle anticipation.
How can I be honest?
Actually, I didn’t go there on my own, but I was forced to go there because I was captured by the immortal king of the time.
Instead of conducting an investigation, he said that he was suffering from hard labor every day and that what he said at that time was just an excuse added out of embarrassment.
-“Well, there hasn’t been any significant results yet. We are also busy preparing for war here…”
-Sigh— Yes. Well, the probability of success wasn’t high from the beginning. Still, it would be quite helpful if we could at least obtain the queen’s essence rather than the king’s remains.
-“So…”
That was the purpose of her being dispatched from the demon world.
Searching for the remains of the Demon King who invaded this land in the distant past or the essence of the Succubus Queen, a high-ranking official who was with him at the time.
In fact, since the last invasion took place more than a thousand years before the first Immortal King came, it was almost impossible to find it now.
If the target was nearby, she, a demon, would be able to detect it, but there was no way such a dangerous thing would be rolling around in an easily accessible place.
‘It’s probably sealed in a place like the main shrine of the Church of God or the Imperial Palace Vigo Dragon Lair.’
In fact, the family that dispatched her also did not have high expectations when entrusting the mission.
It was more like he was grasping at straws just in case, sending them to escape in preparation for the remaining clan in the demon world being exterminated.
‘Still, I thought it might be possible if I’m lucky.’
The world fell into chaos as the second immortal king raged, and in the process, the dragons, which had been a major obstacle, suffered damage that brought them close to extinction.
She continued her activities in secret even after the Immortal King was defeated.
Then, feeling the limitations of moving alone, he infiltrated the Azerion Empire, which had become the continent’s most powerful nation, and later rose to the position of executive of a global criminal organization called the ‘Oath of Reverse Heaven.’
‘And until now…’
It’s been hundreds of years since she left the demon world.
However, there has been no significant results so far.
This was the first time I received such urgent contact.
-“Is the situation that difficult now? “Didn’t you say that there won’t be any major problems for the next hundred years or so?”
-I thought so too…
The ending of the sister’s words coming from the other end of the communication line became blurred.
-As the war situation deteriorated, the balance that had existed for hundreds of years was completely broken. I think something has changed. Well, for example…
there was no confidence in that voice.
That’s how serious this issue was.
-Gods other than the demon god intervened in the demon world… or something.
***
Hubert stroked his chin and looked at the young man who was steadily devouring the food in front of him while savoring it.
“Ugh—it’s killing me. “How long has it been since you last had this Coke?”
A settler from Japan who gave his name as ‘Ken Miyamoto’ gulped down his cola and slowly savored it.
It’s already been two hours since he sat down.
Even though the pace of eating was not very fast, all the food that had been initially put on the table had already been used up for a long time, and the new food that was put on the table was also almost depleted.
“hmm… “How much did I tell you?”
“It was about the recent situation in the demon world. “The victory and defeat of the war that lasted for hundreds of years was clearly tilted in one direction.”
“Ah, that’s right. really. Let’s see…”
He seemed to have completely relaxed his mind after seeing food from Earth for the first time in a long time, and enjoyed his meal, obediently answering the questions Hubert quietly asked.
I don’t know if he wanted to tell his story to the person he met by chance, or if he wanted to pay for the food.
‘Or maybe it’s just a whim.’
Since demons were also a race with dark magic as their source, it was very rare for them to show such a peaceful appearance.
Even if it seems gentle right now, you never know when and at what moment it may go crazy.
Hubert exercised his capabilities as a subject to the fullest and dug up information little by little without provoking him.
It is said that he once worked as a mercenary and called himself ‘Gale Ken’, and ended up in his current situation after receiving a request to subdue cultists.
It was said that the request at the time was a trap set by the devil’s followers, a ploy to make the carefully selected sacrifices come back on their own.
‘I said that at that time, I didn’t have any points saved to return, so I accepted demonization and was forcibly sent to the demon world in order to survive.’
The problem was that when I came to my senses to see if something had gone wrong in the process, I found that I had lost all my abilities as an awakened person and was abandoned in the demon world.
Suddenly, I became a settler against my will.
‘…Is this a similar decision to becoming undead?’
Because the undead are recognized as beings completely separate from those in life, they are deprived of all rights they have as awakened people.
Even if you had memories from when you were alive, they were simply recorded knowledge, and you were born as a new being with everything twisted.
‘That’s strange.’
But there was something uncomfortable about just passing it on like that.
Even just on Earth, there were more than one villain who could be completely demonized.
‘Is it only the demonization of Outerica that is different?’
In response, Hans the Immortal King, the highest authority in this field, reviewed the theory.
In just a few seconds, “The Unholy Sage” and “The Path of the Magician” were cross-checked several times based on “The Forbidden Truth.”
‘No, this technique is not particularly different. There is a reason other than demonization for losing the power as an awakened person.’
An unknown intuition rang.
We shouldn’t just ignore this.
‘The demon world and the demon race’s demonized awakened and settlers…’
Thoughts accelerated and many hypotheses passed through my mind, but there was still a lack of clues.
If I were given some further clue…
Then at some point.
Hubert, who was sitting in a chair, suddenly raised his head.
Then the corners of his mouth slowly turned upward.
‘…This is perfect timing.’
Is this fate?
Finally, the next stage of 『Unique Skill Enhancement』 has been unlocked.