Chapter 1
The Devil Whispers
Prologue
The birth of a half-breed brought great calamity upon a village.
The woman who bore the child would invariably be burned to death, and the villagers who had lived alongside her rarely escaped punishment either.
Usually, the entire village was wiped out.
The Order did not recognize unions between demons and humans. No, it regarded them with extreme loathing—so much so that such a union was considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Yet there was one village that had violated that taboo.
It was Taharan, a small settlement in the south.
A peasant woman had given birth to a half-breed.
Half human, half demon.
The villagers gathered around the pitch-black infant in horror.
“That is a demon’s child! We must burn it to death at once!”
“He’s right! Who knows what harm it might bring upon our village?”
Their shouts and curses filled the granary.
The infant, who had been listening silently, furrowed its brow slightly.
“L-Look at its expression! H-How could anyone call that a human child?”
“We must kill it at once...!”
The infant paid no heed to their hostility.
It merely swept its gaze around the room.
The crimson glow unique to demons left long trails in the air.
The villagers swallowed dryly at the infant’s seemingly composed behavior.
Before long, the once-noisy granary had fallen silent.
An uncomfortable stillness prevailed until the infant opened its mouth.
“Are you finished making a fuss?”
Its voice was chillingly cold.
The villagers could not shake their sense of unease. Those words were far too clear and articulate to be a newborn’s first utterance. Everyone backed away in alarm.
The infant continued.
“If you are finished, then I propose a bargain.”
A bargain with a demon promised tangible rewards. It was fundamentally different from offering blind prayers to a god.
“The price is my life. You will guarantee my survival.”
The infant had to survive. He had no idea how he had ended up possessing a character in this damned world, but only by staying alive would he have the chance to uncover the truth or find a way to escape.
“Will you accept?”
Kim Johan had become a half-demon in a novel.
Rather than panic, he intended to deal with the immediate crisis first.
Chapter 1: The Devil Whispers
The peasants murmured among themselves at the sudden proposal.
“D-Don’t listen to it.”
“It’s surely trying to bewitch us!”
“But...”
They could not help feeling somewhat tempted. Bargains with demons could bring prosperity to farms. As long as they paid the appropriate price, even this cramped granary could be filled as abundantly as a nobleman’s storehouse.
“Absolutely not. Do you all want to wither away and die?”
A man stepped out from among the peasants.
His appearance did not resemble that of an inhabitant of a remote village. He looked more like a trained soldier.
The peasants turned their attention to him.
The man spoke again.
“The moment we enter into a pact with that demon, we’ll be no better than walking corpses. It will gnaw away at our souls before discarding us like tattered rags.”
A demon’s sorcery might help with farming, but it demanded human souls or lives as sacrifices.
In the end, it inevitably led to ruin.
The peasants glanced at the man and nodded.
“Th-That’s right. Bargaining with a demon... Even God would be enraged.”
“Of course. Let’s dispose of this wicked creature at once.”
“Before the Church finds out.”
There was no reason for the Order’s holy knights to be dispatched to such a remote frontier region.
Normally, that would be the case.
But what if something unusual happened?
The village of Taharan might be destroyed not by demons, but by humans.
Everyone shuddered in fear.
Johan was not nearly as composed as he appeared, either. The arrival of that burly man had completely turned public opinion against him.
At this rate, there would be no avoiding death.
‘Think, damn it. Please.’
The more desperate the situation, the calmer he needed to remain. He could not afford to appear confused or helpless. The moment they looked down on him, they would kill him.
He had no intention of dying an unjust death without even learning how he had ended up possessing this body.
He needed information.
He carefully examined everything within sight.
Their shabby clothing, the old and rusted farming implements, the piles of straw stacked on top of one another, the dilapidated granary on the verge of collapse...
None of those things held any useful information.
Most farming villages in this novel probably looked similar to the scene before him.
To overcome this situation, he needed to find some distinctive detail he could exploit.
As his gaze rapidly swept across the surroundings, an old, hoarse voice emerged from among the peasants.
“So, Gaf, what do you think we should do with this half-breed?”
An elderly man was seated on a pile of straw. He lightly tapped the soldier-like man with his cane.
‘Wait... Gaf?’
A flash of realization passed through Johan’s mind.
It was a very familiar name.
Gaf, captain of the Kandeya Mercenary Company.
He was a character in the novel who played a fairly significant role.
After losing all his subordinates because of a mistake he had made, he had fallen into despair and settled in a remote village.
At least, that was how Johan remembered it.
On its own, that was probably a common backstory.
But that was not why Gaf was a named character.
It was because of his daughter.
Ilea, the Great Witch.
She was the one responsible for most of Gaf’s relevance to the story.
The instant he heard the name Gaf, Johan sank into thought.
There had to be some way he could use this.
While he was still contemplating, the old man spoke again.
“Gaf, I asked what you thought.”
Gaf looked at the old man.
“We must dispose of it as quickly as possible, before it brings disaster upon us.”
“Of course. But the problem is how we should do it, is it not?”
One of the peasants interrupted their conversation.
“Let’s burn it! Along with its mother!”
Gaf and the old man shook their heads simultaneously.
The old man spoke.
“That would be foolish. Demons leave curses behind when they die. No living thing grows upon land soaked in their black blood, and the smoke rising from their burning corpses draws other demons. This is common knowledge.”
The peasant looked puzzled.
“Village Chief, I know that too. But doesn’t that only apply to high-ranking demons? That thing is merely an infant that hasn’t even learned to walk.”
The village chief clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. You must have knots for eyes.”
With that, he pointed at Johan.
“Look at its forehead. It was only just born, yet it already possesses a horn.”
A pure-white horn protruded from Johan’s forehead.
It was only the size of a fingernail, but a horn was unmistakably one of the most threatening symbols of a demon.
The moment the village chief finished speaking, the peasants erupted into murmurs.
“What horn...? I don’t see—”
“Look over there! That tiny thing!”
Now that they examined him closely, they could indeed see it.
Everyone retreated several steps from Johan.
“I-If we cannot kill it, then what in the world are we supposed to do?”
“Village Chief, please give us an answer!”
The village chief was one of the wiser people in the village and possessed considerable knowledge about demons.
Every resident waited for his decision.
“We must abandon it in the Valley of Death.”
Surprisingly, it was Gaf who answered.
The village chief nodded in agreement.
“That is the most reasonable alternative.”
The peasants groaned uneasily.
“The Valley of Death...”
“Are you serious?”
The village chief nodded.
“We have no other choice. Killing it will bring disaster upon us, while hiding it will inevitably lead to the Church discovering it. It would only be a matter of time.”
He swept his gaze over the peasants.
“We must cast it into the Abyss. Who will go?”
Everyone exchanged glances, but no one volunteered.
The Valley of Death, otherwise known as the Abyss, was a place humans feared even more than hell. It was a remnant of the Holy War, still haunted by the aftermath of the great conflict that had occurred five hundred years ago.
Ordinary humans could hardly even approach it. Merely drawing near would cause them to suffocate on demonic energy and die.
One of the peasants muttered,
“...You’re telling us to commit suicide.”
The village chief clicked his tongue.
“All you need to do is place it on a ferryboat at the right time and send it on its way.”
A small river flowed near the Valley of Death.
If someone released the infant upstream and let the current carry it downstream, the village chief’s solution could work.
Even so, no one stepped forward. Regardless of how safe the plan might be, the very thought of accompanying a demon was repulsive.
“Didn’t you say you had little work lately? You could also ask the lord for some work while you’re away...”
“What are you talking about? My cowshed broke down a few days ago. I have to repair it. You’re a better choice than me, aren’t you? You know the roads.”
“Oh, come now. What roads would I know?”
Everyone tried to push the responsibility onto someone else. An uncomfortable atmosphere settled over the granary.
Johan, however, felt somewhat differently.
He felt hope.
The name Valley of Death supported the theory he had been forming.
This place had to be in the southern region of the kingdom.
Moreover, judging by Gaf’s apparent age, Johan could roughly determine when in the story he had arrived.
It was the beginning of the Ilea arc in the novel.
He had enough information to overcome this crisis.
Just as Johan reached that conclusion, Gaf took a step toward him.
“I’ll go.”
The corners of the village chief’s mouth rose slightly.
“You will?”
“Yes. I’ll go and dispose of this half-breed.”
The villagers looked relieved, though somewhat embarrassed.
“If it’s Gaf, we can trust him.”
“We’ll leave it to you. As you know, it’s harvest season.”
“We owe you one.”
Ignoring the empty pleasantries coming from every direction, Gaf looked down at the infant demon.
“Don’t bother scheming. There’s no way you can escape.”
At this rate, Johan would be abandoned in the Valley of Death.
Even with his knowledge of the novel, he had no means of surviving in that dreadful land.
For now, he was merely a powerless infant.
The village chief, who had been watching, spoke.
“You should leave immediately. You’ll arrive by tomorrow.”
Gaf nodded and extended one massive hand.
Just as he was about to seize the infant by the scruff of his neck, Johan spoke with a perfectly composed expression.
“You’ll regret it.”
Gaf furrowed his brow.
“Bullshit—”
“You haven’t even heard my proposal yet.”
“Shut up. We will not sell our souls for some temporary gain.”
With that, Gaf tore a long strip from his shirt.
“We have a long journey ahead, and I have no intention of listening to your nonsense all the way there. I’ll silence that foul mouth of yours.”
He brought the torn cloth toward the demon’s mouth.
Johan remained unfazed.
“Temporary, you say? Who told you that? Or is recovering your missing children merely a fleeting happiness to you?”
The instant Johan finished speaking, the peasants erupted into murmurs.
“Wh-What?!”
“What did that demon just say?”
“Something about our children...”
Even Gaf’s expression wavered.
His probe had worked.
Johan inwardly sighed in relief. Just as he had expected, children had been disappearing from this village.
The Taharan Village Disappearance Incident.
It was exactly as it had been near the beginning of the original story.
Gaf clenched his fist.
“This wicked half-breed has peered into our hearts! Don’t let it deceive you!”
He seized Johan by the scruff of his neck and lifted him into the air.
“Say another word, and I’ll tear out your tongue!”
The man before him was a mercenary who had made a profession out of killing. As someone from the modern world, Johan could not help feeling intimidated by the murderous look in his eyes.
Truthfully, he was terrified.
Nevertheless, he barely managed to endure it.
Without letting his fear show, Johan spoke calmly.
“Ilea.”
Gaf’s eyes immediately trembled.
Johan did not miss his reaction. With a faint sneer on his lips, he continued.
“Yes, your daughter, Ilea. She disappeared too, didn’t she?”
Gaf’s entire body gradually began to tremble.
Johan added in a sinister voice,
“Now, can you still tear out this tongue?”
If he did, Gaf would never discover his daughter’s whereabouts.
“G-Gaf! Didn’t that demon just say your daughter’s name?”
“I heard it clearly too. It said Ilea!”
“How could that name come from its mouth...?”
Their reactions varied, but all of them were visibly shaken.
Still held in Gaf’s grasp, Johan slowly swept his gaze over the villagers.
“Many of you must be in circumstances similar to Gaf’s. You’ve lost your precious children, haven’t you? Perhaps you believed they were dead. You were mistaken. Your daughters are very much alive.”
Bewilderment spread across the faces of everyone gathered there.
How could a newborn infant know what had been happening in their village, much less identify Ilea by name?
Moreover, the demon had declared that the missing children were still alive.
The villagers were so stunned that they could barely close their mouths. Even the village chief’s face was turning deathly pale.
After observing their reactions, Johan spoke again.
“You can see your children again. I believe that should be reason enough to have a conversation with me.”
Then he stared directly at Gaf.
“Gaf, don’t you want to know where Ilea is?”
Gaf bit down hard on his lip. Crimson blood seeped out.
“...How could you possibly know?”
Had the demon truly peered into his heart?
Or perhaps...
Someone shouted,
“L-Let’s at least hear what it has to say!”
“That’s right! We have nothing to lose by listening!”
The corners of Johan’s mouth curled upward.
“Nothing in this world is free.”
A bargain with a demon always demanded a price.
“So let us exchange one thing for another.”
His eyes, redder than blood, stared directly at the villagers.
“What will you offer me?”
Demons were monsters that seduced humans.
They made enticing offers and presented irresistible temptations. If one continued listening to their words, one would eventually realize that one’s own feet were carrying them toward the edge of a cliff.
Johan knew that aspect of demons very well. He despised them himself, but right now, he had no choice but to play the part of one.
He had to survive.
This would be far more effective than desperately begging them to spare his life.
A sinister smile curved across Johan’s face. Blatant malice seemed to radiate from him.
Or at least, that was how it appeared.
“Now, answer me. What will you pay?”
The villagers swallowed dryly.
At some point, they had begun listening intently to the devil’s whispers.