Chapter 1267

<Chapter 1267> 1267. Dark Moon

“Human? Huh? Feels familiar. Are you a contractor?”

At those words, I let out a faint sigh, instantly grasping the creature’s identity.

“Vioda of the Demons. And you?”

“A name to be given to the likes of a demon? I think not.”

“Uh-huh. How about we make a contract?”

A contract with a demon.

In the original game, it was always a profitable offer. You could gain permanent power-ups in exchange for penalties. There was even a specialized class called Demon Contractor. But this wasn’t the game world where such systems existed.

“That corpse—was he your contractor? Did you kill your own contractor?”

“When there’s something to gain, there’s always something to lose. He sought power, and in return, lost his life.”

The situation unfolded in my mind.

The dark mage successfully summoned you here. That alone is an incredible feat; amateurs can’t just summon demons.

The problem was that the contract negotiation failed. The dark mage must’ve been thrilled after succeeding in the summoning ritual. He wanted power, and the demon likely demanded a part of his body in return.

Fingers, toes, or maybe an ear—compared to the immense power he’d gain, these sacrifices probably seemed trivial.

After all, demons don’t kill their contractors, right? With that naive mindset, he agreed.

But the demon took something far more vital—a vital organ. The hollowed-out torso of the corpse lying beneath the demon served as evidence.

“Did you trick him into dying just so you could kill me next?”

“Nope. This fool and you are different. He got lucky summoning me but acted too arrogantly. He wasn’t worthy of contracting with me.”

“So…you killed him?”

“Yeah. Had a little fun. Turns out he was as dumb as I thought.”

I pondered over the demon before me.

Demon Vioda.

Even to someone like me who knows the lore of the original game, this name is unfamiliar. Likely a low-tier demon.

“Unlike that guy, do I meet your standards?”

“We’ll see. You’re no ordinary human. Mana seems to favor you. Such beings are exceedingly rare.”

Flap.

Spreading its bat-like wings, the demon ascended into the air, hovering effortlessly amidst the void.

“I have a question. Would you answer it?”

“Mm-hmm. I’m feeling pretty chill right now. Go ahead.”

“…It’s been around three days since you killed that guy. Why have you stayed here?”

“I was contemplating my next move.”

“For three whole days? Once your contractor dies, your time in this world should’ve been limited.”

“Time constraints are merely a trait of mortals. This world matters little to me.”

Demons have personalities too. Naturally, the risks of contracting vary depending on their temperaments.

‘I was considering making a deal. After all, a demon contract could make me stronger quickly.’

But even putting aside the contract, this particular demon is dangerous. The moment it loses interest, it wouldn’t hesitate to stab me in the back.

Having already made up my mind, I decided to satisfy my curiosity and asked the demon…


“Rain. What can you offer me?”

“You don’t desire power? I can grant it.”

“A Dark Hole in my body, you say? It’ll let me wield over twice the dark mana of what I currently possess.”

“Hmph. Not very appealing to someone who’s not a dark wizard.”

“Then how about this ability? The power to interpret all languages.”

“…All languages?”

“It deciphers machine code, magical scripts, ancient tongues long lost to this world, demonic curses, and even angelic hymns.”

For a moment, I wavered.

Especially the part about deciphering ancient and magical languages was tempting.

‘Ancient languages could help uncover relics… And magical ones would assist in studying spells.’

I looked straight at the demon and spoke.

“What’s the cost?”

“One of your precious things shall be taken.”

“…How absurd. Is this how you’ve been killing dark wizards?”

Precious thing…

Meaning, I could lose my life to this fiend. No one values their life more than themselves.

“I swear on my name I won’t take your life.”

The demon promised.

If it stakes its own name, then it truly doesn’t plan to take my life. In that case, making the contract benefits me. The ability to interpret every language in existence will surely prove useful someday.

My lips wouldn’t move.

Yuria came to mind. Then the faces of my classmates, numbers 31 and 212, surfaced.

A transcendent demon like this would undoubtedly target them.

“I don’t need it. Without your power, I’ll grow strong enough on my own.”

I open Astral Core, activating 34 mana rods. Cold mana envelops me.

“Refusing? How incomprehensible. A chance to grow stronger without losing your life.”

“But unlike others, I hate losing what’s mine.”

“You’re still young. You don’t understand power. But fret not. I’ll personally reshape your worldview. I’ll engrave the meaning of true power into your soul.”

Just as I was about to activate the spell pattern…

Rain made the first move. In the blink of an eye, the demon stood before me.

Changes swept through Rain’s form. Cracks spread across his black bat wings; his monkey torso split, spilling blood and entrails like a waterfall. The goat head grew larger, its eyes glowing bright red.

The blood and guts coalesced into a new body, while the bat wings expanded large enough to wrap around several people.

A real demon stood before me.

A transcendental being stared me down.

“Look at me. Realize just how insignificant you are.”

My body froze. It wouldn’t obey. My magic refused to activate—my mana slipped from my control.

Terror crept up from somewhere deep inside, wrapping tightly around me.

I despaired at my own weakness. Compared to this entity, I’m nothing but a bug.

“Contract with me. Don’t you wish to escape mortality? Let me guide you to immortality.”

“…No.”

The demon’s eyes widened.

One truth from the lore came to mind.

When an ordinary being encounters a transcendental one, they usually go insane. There’s a way to overcome it, but unfortunately, none of those methods are available to me now.

I can only endure.

“Hooh. Even as terror floods in like a tidal wave, you haven’t gone mad.”

The demon moved closer.

Its crimson eyes pierced into mine. ‘Eyes are the windows to the soul’ crossed my mind.

“…Incomprehensible. You feel fear and despair, yet your mind remains intact. Fear and despair… Neither seems to…”


“Hmph. So your steadfast spirit remains unshaken, without any divine protection shielding you. Such resolve isn’t something a mere mortal should possess. Curiosity stirs within me. What are you?”

The devil’s voice, brimming with interest, oddly calmed me instead.

Fear subsides, despair dissipates.

Cold reason assesses the situation. I was merely startled by seeing a devil for the first time, akin to being shocked by a horror movie scene.

“Is the trope about losing sanity upon seeing transcendent beings exaggerated?”

Bullshit. My mind is perfectly fine. No fear, no despair. I activate the prepared magic.

[Lightning Grab]

Zzzzzt.

Thousands of electric currents flickered from my right hand as I firmly gripped the devil’s shoulder.

“Grrr…”

A reaction. The devil let out a faint groan. Before it could counterattack, I used the fleeting moment.

[Telekinesis]

I shattered the wooden chair and levitated the pieces.

[Shape Transformation]

The chair fragments transformed into 12 wooden swords.

[Material Conversion: Mithril]

The 12 wooden swords became mithril blades, simultaneously striking the devil’s body. The devil frowned.

“Is this all? I’ve spent too much time here.”

The devil’s body blurred and disappeared, its gaze fixed on me until the end.

Clang!

The 12 mithril blades embedded in the devil fell to the floor, reverting to their original chair fragments.

I sighed, rubbing my neck.

“The devil returned on its own. Likely there were restrictions on revealing its true form.”

The devil tried to overwhelm me by showing its true self, but I didn’t falter. Regardless of my counterattack, the outcome was already decided.

I looked around. The scattered space was filled with old books and reagents. I couldn’t take everything; I had to select carefully.

First, I approached the dark mage’s corpse. The first thing to secure from the dark mage was the Dark Hole.

“With an empty abdomen… I’ll have to split open the chest.”

[Water Blade]

I created a small blade of water at my fingertips, sharper than any surgical knife, easily slicing through the stiffened corpse.

Beside the rotten heart lay the Dark Hole.

“…Oh. Quite a substantial amount of dark mana emanating from the Dark Hole. Judging by the Dark Hole alone, it’s nearly grade 6. An effect of the demonic contract, perhaps?”

Still, I gained significantly. A Dark Hole of this quality could fetch tens of millions of credits if sold on the black market.

“I’m not selling it. I’ll use it.”

I’m collecting several Dark Holes, both for research and as a hidden ace.

After securing the Dark Hole, I examined the research materials.

“So, a dark mage studying chimeras. Were ogre contaminants originally chimeras?”

It detailed chimera creation using dark magic, genetic manipulation, and biological synthesis. It wasn’t simple dark magic; understanding it would likely take considerable time.

“I’ll take this too.”

I checked other books. Dark magic-related ones appeared. Those that seemed easy to understand I memorized on the spot and burned the books.

“There are many books related to devils. Skimming through them, there’s… not much useful stuff.”

After cutting down, I chose 8 books.

There was nothing else worthwhile. The dark mage had used chimeras and treasures in rituals when summoning the devil.

“Even with just one Dark Hole, I’ve more than broken even, so I should be satisfied.”

Using telekinesis, I carried the books outside and placed them in the bike trunk.

Vroom vroom vroom.

The pocket watch tucked in my coat vibrated.

With the poise of a gentleman, I leisurely took out the pocket watch and confirmed the caller. It was Rose, the director of X Labor Agency. I answered the call.

“It’s me.”