In the Demon World, there’s really no such thing as night.
The flowing lava illuminates the realm endlessly.
In the sky, there’s nothing but a void that seems to swallow everything.
For demons, the concept of time is quite vague.
Within the Demon World, movement is free, tearing through space, so there’s no need to schedule a time to meet up—just pop up next to someone!
Moreover, conversation is often faster and more convenient through demonic energy.
Occasionally, the hundreds of demons quietly staring at me were in fact whispering among themselves.
Using a throat that was on the verge of atrophy has resulted in such a bizarre voice.
‘So this is what a conversation via demonic energy feels like…’
At first, I was quite flustered, unable to grasp the intentions of the demons staring silently at me.
Slowly, little by little, I’m learning their language.
There’s a pattern even to demonic energy.
While it might not seem significant when casting curses, when demons converse, the meaning changes based on these patterns—making it quite important.
Some demons, like Satan, adjust their voices to resonate with me…
However, the majority of demons do not understand human language, which makes communication impossible.
If I don’t want to become a mute in this world, I must learn how to speak using demonic energy, even by force.
“Did you hear that?”
|Hmm. I sensed something, but it just sounded like static. I need meaningful communication!|
“……Ugh, uugh!”
|Oh? Ooooh?! I heard you! Did you just say hello?|
“……That’s right.”
|Wow! Aren’t you a genius?!|
Astaroth twirled Mi Jeong around, flapping in excitement.
She surely came to teach me.
Sadly, Mi Jeong figured out how to communicate with demonic energy before me.
I saw this coming.
No matter what we learn, Mi Jeong always gets it first.
Now, if you asked if Mi Jeong is a once-in-a-thousand-years genius, well, not that much—I’m just a slow learner.
“……Ugh, ugh.”
|Did you just say Astaroth, sis?|
“……Yep.”
|Uwuh, so cute! Then I’ll respond too.|
“……Ugh.”
|……|
“……Ugh?”
|……|
The two just blink at each other in silence.
Now and then, they can’t hold back their laughter.
It seems that even just with demonic energy, a two-way conversation is possible.
‘Feels like being bullied.’
It’s a strange feeling.
I need to learn how to talk using demonic energy soon…
I’m beginning to feel a sense of urgency.
It’s not because I’m afraid of losing Mi Jeong, who’s getting patted and laughing by Astaroth.
I’m just scared of falling behind.
Honestly.
|Your pet corpse has already mastered this, and you’re still lagging?|
“……Pet, corpse. That’s not right.”
“Can you give me some tips?”
|Didn’t I already give you my tip? Put your ‘will’ into the demonic energy!|
“……”
This “tip” is way too vague.
It’s like a training session so unfriendly it rivals Transylvania’s swordsmanship lessons.
‘Will?’
In other languages, no matter how complicated, as long as you memorize the rules, you can somewhat manage to communicate.
But to converse with demonic energy, I have to somehow learn how to put that ‘will’ into it.
The issue is, everyone has their own way of infusing it, so there are no tricks or ways to teach.
“Putting my will into demonic energy, huh…”
Once the word ‘will’ came up, one figure popped into my head.
Draken.
His way of communication is somewhat similar to that of demons.
While demons release demonic energy infused with their will, Draken simply bashes his will into someone else’s head.
The problem is, Draken’s will comes out as a jumbled mess that’s utterly unrecognizable, though…
‘Is the output of demonic energy the issue?’
My concerns differ slightly from Draken’s.
Maybe my demonic energy output is weak, but by the time it reaches the other party, it’s so weak it barely registers.
So, I must find a way to boost the output…
“What if I just recklessly gather a bunch of demonic energy?”
|Do you really need to? You don’t need a lot to have a conversation. |
“I have no choice because I lack finesse. I have to just utilize a huge amount of demonic energy.”
|Huh? W-wait a moment! What are you doing?|
Gathering all the surrounding demonic energy startled Astaroth.
Previously, we could barely weave a formation with whatever we could gather.
But since this is the Demon World, the amount is on a whole different level.
In the human realm, burning this much demonic energy just for a conversation would be the height of inefficiency.
But here, in the almost infinite demonic energy of the Demon World, it’s a different story.
I’ll infuse all this demonic energy with my ‘will’ and send it forth!
“Can you hear me?”
|I can hear you…|
“What did you hear?”
|You said ‘Is it done yet, you bitch?’|
“……”
As I infused my will, it seems my true thoughts leaked out.
I’ll have to watch my inner thoughts when conversing with demons.
|But how did you even do that?|
“What do you mean?”
|The demonic energy. How come you can use so much of it and still be fine?|
“This amount isn’t hard, right? There’s demonic energy everywhere.”
|No matter how much demonic energy there is, your ability to control it is a different matter…|
“……?”
Wasn’t everyone supposed to be capable of handling this much demonic energy?
Astaroth looked at me in disbelief as she gathered the demonic energy in front of me.
The amount was truly staggering!
In an instant, the gathered demonic energy transformed into a massive sphere, exerting an impressive pressure atop Astaroth’s hand.
|This is the most I can gather. |
“You gathered several times more than me! Why are you surprised?”
|You’re a human, not even a demon, and you’re doing it—of course, I’m surprised! Right now, apart from the Great Demons, I’m one of the strongest demons in the Demon World! How is it that a living being who isn’t dead or a demon can handle death’s energy so well?!|
“……?”
That was the first time I’ve ever heard such a thing.
So I have a knack for handling demonic energy?
It’s so beyond my imagination that I’m left flabbergasted.
‘It wasn’t like this in the human realm.’
Looking back, even in magical places like Sancheong Forest, I couldn’t gather this much demonic energy.
Since coming to the Demon World, some form of change must have transpired within me.
I might not know precisely what, but it’s certainly a change that affects my ability to control demonic energy.
“But what does it matter if I can gather a lot? I can’t use it.”
|Why can’t you use it?|
“My ability to weave formations is abysmal. Mi Jeong is better at that than I am.”
|Stop being so frustrating. Demonic energy isn’t meant to be handled that way. What formations? Curses? Those are only for humans in the human realm who can’t handle much demonic energy. We just infuse our will into the demonic energy and swing it like this.|
Bwooooosh!
In an instant, the gathered demonic energy in Astaroth’s hands shifted into the form of a sword and swung around.
That strike cleaved the not-so-small mountain in front of us in half.
Only then did I understand why Astaroth was amazed at my method of communication.
Infusing a large amount of demonic energy with will is a common attack style among demons.
Considering I tried to communicate using that…
It would be only natural that she thought I was trying to pick a fight.
Suddenly, I felt a bit guilty.
‘Demonic energy is another form of mana.’
I had forgotten, but demonic energy and mana are equivalent.
It’s always possible to convert demonic energy into mana.
Even though wielding demonic energy attacks is still unfamiliar to me and quite challenging, I’m so used to mana that it’s almost tiring.
“Telekinesis.”
I release the converted mana as I cast a spell that I’ve now grown accustomed to as if it were my limbs.
With a rumbling sound, the split mountain starts to tremble.
Cracks begin to form from the bottom and, in an instant, the mountain collapses into a pile of ruins.
“……”
|……|
Both Astaroth and I stand dumbfounded, amazed by the power.
In this setting, perhaps I possess military force on a national scale.
|This… the compatibility of this environment and what you learned in the human realm is quite good. You should probably hold back a bit. |
“I won’t do that.”
I agree.
This power is overly powerful.
I think it would be better to keep my strength somewhat hidden.
‘If the mana is this abundant, maybe I can research a way to return to the human realm through magic on my own?’
What’s the chronic hassle in magical research?
Without a doubt, it’s the lack of mana.
That’s why magic towers and numerous research institutions desperately seek quality mana stones to improve their precious mana efficiency by even 0.01 percent.
But here, I can throw efficiency out the window.
Transforming the soaring demonic energy flowing like air means I essentially have an infinite amount.
Though I’m no expert in magic research, with abundant mana to burn, I could achieve research efficiency rivaling that of magic towers through trial and error.
‘I will return. I will definitely return.’
I found an unexpected path in what seemed like a dead end.
I will surely return to the human realm.
With Mi Jeong.
To the human realm where the heroines await.
|Hmm…?|
At that moment, Astaroth turned around sharply.
It seems she sensed something.
Just as I turned around as well, Astaroth dispelled the demonic energy barrier, revealing the scene beyond.
Over there…
“Ah, greetings… Starting today… I, the former Great Demon… Sloth, Belphegor, will be in charge of serving you, Yoo Jin…”
Was Belphegor, dressed in maid attire, muttering as she chewed her lips incessantly.
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