Chapter 14
Evolution
Two of the three conditions required to activate the unholy formation had been fulfilled without issue.
A spell formation drawn in demon blood and a living sacrifice. Once mana was infused into it, Kazan’s ring would fall from grace and become an unholy relic.
“Begin.”
Ilea nodded and approached the formation. When she opened her palm, blue light flowed from it and seeped into the spellwork.
The deformed markings reacted to the mana and erupted in black flames.
Having realized her fate, Betra desperately began shaking her head. She thrashed so violently that her gag came loose.
Ilea looked expressionlessly at the Old Hag Spirit.
“You should at least be able to handle something this simple.”
“M-My apologies.”
Betra clung to the hem of Ilea’s dress.
“Wh-Why are you doing this to me? Stop! Please!”
Ilea’s face contained no emotion whatsoever—not resentment, anger, or even the slightest trace of sympathy. She looked like an official merely carrying out an assigned duty.
“I was wrong! I’ll never challenge you again! I mean it! Please forgive me just this once!”
“Don’t apologize. You haven’t wronged me, Mother.”
Betra stared at her in bewilderment, dumbfounded by Ilea’s soulless attitude.
“Th-Then why are you doing this to me?”
“Because Johan chose you. That is all.”
“What in the world are you talking about…?”
“Still, you cannot claim this is entirely unjust, can you?”
Betra screamed like a madwoman.
“Of course it’s unjust! Why should I have to suffer like this?”
“Half-hearted cruelty inevitably leaves behind hatred. Even if this hadn’t happened tonight, the sins you accumulated would eventually have come back to stab you. Many of the baron’s daughters were sharpening their knives for you.”
“The baron ordered me to do everything! You know that, don’t you? It wasn’t my fault!”
“You don’t need to make excuses to me. I’m not trying to condemn you. I merely wish to offer you some advice.”
Ilea smiled gently as she added,
“In your next life, become a thorough villain. Be so ruthless that no one is left capable of seeking revenge against you, and take care not to be swallowed by a greater evil. Do you understand?”
Betra had no opportunity to answer. Having devoured the mana, the unholy formation began disgorging black hands one after another.
“Wh-What are these?! Get away! I said get away from me!”
The pitch-black demonic hands latched onto every part of Betra’s body.
“A-Aaaagh! Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!”
She struggled frantically, but resistance was impossible. The sinister hands engulfed her entire body and dragged her into the unholy formation.
“No! Stop!”
Her body slowly sank into it.
The formation was devouring her as its sacrifice.
“Farewell, Mother.”
With one final, desperate scream, Betra disappeared.
After consuming the sacrifice, the unholy formation spewed out black smoke. Sinister demonic energy wrapped around the holy relic resting at the center of the spellwork.
Kazan’s ring began to tremble.
It was falling into corruption.
The instant the blue jewel embedded in the ring turned purple, a crazed gleam flashed through Johan’s eyes.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Johan?”
The imp was convulsing.
One moment, he giggled; the next, he despaired. He drowned in pleasure, then sank into anguish.
He was resisting the overwhelming ecstasy.
“…Fuck.”
Johan dragged his long nails down his chest. Black blood burst from the wounds.
The Old Hag Spirit, who had been dancing with delight, erupted into raucous laughter.
“Enjoy it, imp! Screams like those are a rare delicacy!”
The shrieks Betra had left behind were the finest nourishment a demon could receive.
“Hurry and savor them!”
Johan ignored her and continued tearing at himself. If he surrendered to this sensation, he felt as though there would be no turning back.
He might lose his very identity.
“Why are you suffering? You’re a demon, Johan. Stop resisting and embrace it. It will be much easier.”
In his delirium, Johan could not even hear Ilea’s words.
Looking puzzled, she approached him.
“Johan?”
The instant she tried to stroke the convulsing imp, a sharp smack rang out.
Smack!
“…Do not touch me.”
Johan slapped Ilea’s hand away.
She paused and looked at the back of her hand.
Her pale skin had reddened slightly.
The Old Hag Spirit scowled fiercely.
“You’ve ruined the mood. Why are you so sensitive?”
Johan glared at her. His already crimson eyes were now deeply bloodshot.
“Wh-What do you intend to do by glaring at me like that?”
No sooner had the Old Hag Spirit finished speaking than Johan’s heart pounded violently.
The imp’s entire body twisted like a rotting old tree. Every joint shifted out of place, producing a series of heavy cracks. The red markings covering his body blazed brilliantly.
His unnaturally contorted body began transforming into a new shape.
Crack-crack-crack!
A skeletal frame burst from his shoulder blades. Black hide grew over the white structure. Like the unfinished skin of a slaughtered animal, its surface was torn in several places, and black luster dripped from the ragged exterior.
They were wings.
They were so enormous that they completely covered Johan’s body.
The Old Hag Spirit could not conceal her bewilderment.
“Imp, you…!”
“I don’t believe we can call him an imp anymore.”
Just as Ilea had said, no trace of the infant demon remained. The difference was as striking as that of an insect before and after shedding its shell.
He had grown until he was roughly Ilea’s height. Lean muscles covered his black body, his horn had lengthened until it was as long as an adult man’s middle finger, and enormous wings covered his frame.
He had cast off the form of an imp and become a juvenile demon.
With his evolution complete, the evil surging through him gradually subsided.
Johan steadied his breathing and carefully examined his body.
I’ve unquestionably grown, just as the novel’s setting described. For the time being, protecting myself should pose no difficulty.
Demonic energy boiled within his heart, and his skin was as hard as a carapace. His evenly developed muscles provided both strength and balance.
There was only one problem.
His human form.
Had the Johan who existed during the day also grown beyond infancy?
He did not know whether his demonic growth would carry over to his human body.
I cannot remain a newborn forever.
That would disrupt his plans.
He had to escape infancy somehow. Simply eating and sleeping well would not be enough. He could never catch up with the apocalypse through honest means.
Human Johan also needed a way to grow rapidly.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?”
Ilea’s voice broke through his thoughts. Holding the corrupted holy relic, she approached Johan.
“Nothing important. More importantly, where is Kazan’s ring?”
“Right here.”
She opened her palm, revealing the unholy relic.
It was a ring bearing a purple jewel. It had originally been a magical artifact that protected its wearer against demonic energy, but the moment it was corrupted, it gained the power to resist divine energy instead.
Now I can descend underground comfortably.
The divine power filling the forbidden archive would no longer pose a threat to Johan.
“You seem pleased. You were extremely sensitive just a moment ago.”
The back of Ilea’s hand was slightly swollen as she passed him the ring.
“That must hurt.”
“If you feel sorry, you could apply some medicine.”
“Use magic. What else are you keeping it for?”
“How coldhearted.”
Ilea smiled brightly and slipped the ring onto Johan’s ring finger.
Its slightly loose circumference automatically adjusted itself. The perfectly fitted pressure felt pleasant.
He was satisfied.
“I may be coldhearted, but I keep my promises. I will terminate my contract with Gaf within the next few days.”
“Good. Separately, what about yesterday’s proposal?”
Johan had promised to give Ilea the Key to the Abyss in exchange for a new deal.
He pulled open a compartment in the round table.
The Key to the Abyss, a map, and a journal of the gorge written by adventurers five hundred years ago were revealed.
“Take them.”
Ilea let out a murmur of admiration.
“What must I give you in return?”
“Sap from the stump of the World Tree.”
A peculiar look crossed her face. Her blue eyes began shimmering with interest.
“World Tree sap… It wouldn’t be of much use to a demon like you. It would be a different matter if Young Master Raguel drank it.”
The sap was a miraculous elixir intended for fairies and humans.
“Or it might be highly effective if given to the baby Father brought home.”
Ilea wore an innocent smile as she spoke.
Is she probing me?
She did not yet know that Johan was a half-demon. Given that an infant and an imp had appeared at the same time, she might have formed certain suspicions, but they were no more than conjecture.
Moreover, no other half-demon could switch between demonic and human forms. Ilea’s deduction could therefore never progress beyond a hypothesis.
She had no precedents from which to draw a conclusion.
“If you are curious about something, ask me directly. Stop trying to probe me.”
It was something she would discover soon enough, so he had no particular intention of hiding it.
Ilea shook her head.
“I like mysteries. The process of discovering the answer is enjoyable. It wouldn’t be any fun if you simply told me the truth.”
Witches were creatures who loved the unknown. Curiosity was the driving force behind their lives, making Johan a source of immense fascination to her.
For now, she wanted him to remain a mystery.
Johan shrugged.
“Do as you please. Let us return to the matter at hand. Can you bring me the sap?”
The World Tree had once been rooted in the First Region of the Abyss. The trunk of the colossal tree had been cut down long ago, but its stump should still remain.
That would be enough to collect its sap.
“Of course. You’re giving me the Key to the Abyss, after all.”
Without the key, the gate to the Abyss could not be opened. Ilea absolutely had to visit the First Region, and the World Tree lay directly along her route.
There was no reason for her to reject Johan’s proposal.
“Good. The full moon is in three days, so you should leave by tomorrow.”
The gate to the Abyss opened only beneath the full moon. It remained firmly sealed at ordinary times, opening and closing at regular intervals.
Once she entered the Abyss, she would be unable to return outside for two weeks.
Considering the distance between the lord’s castle and the Abyss, Johan would have to wait approximately three weeks for Ilea to return.
Even that felt like a waste of precious time. He did not want to permit any further delays.
“You seem to be in quite a hurry.”
“That is correct. Can you depart immediately?”
“I’ll leave as soon as I settle the matter concerning Betra. It would look suspicious if both mother and daughter disappeared without so much as a letter.”
“Do so. Then I will see you in three weeks.”
“Take care of yourself while I’m gone. As you already know, you are my heart now, Johan.”
Under the terms of their contract, Ilea would die the moment Johan did.
“Do not worry about me. Concern yourself with returning safely.”
Ilea inclined her head slightly.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
Once she disappeared into the distance, darkness returned to the study.
Johan closed his eyes for a moment. Red lines of text appeared before his blackened vision.
Most were written in a grotesque language.
He could interpret only a few of them.
Demonic Contract and Dream Demon were authorities he had possessed from the beginning. This evolution had awakened another power.
Soul Slaying.
It was the authority to annihilate a target’s soul, turning the victim into a puppet devoid of personality.
It was fundamentally different from mental domination. Abilities such as brainwashing could potentially be undone through a third party’s intervention. However, once a soul had been destroyed and its personality reduced to a puppet, no artifact or high-ranking clergyman could ever restore it.
It was likely the perfect superior form of every mind-affecting ability.
There was only one troubling detail: this power had never appeared in the original story.
Nevertheless, the method of using it had been engraved into Johan’s instincts.
Johan opened his eyes.
Raguel stood within his field of vision, trembling violently.
Even his soul was quivering like an aspen leaf.
I can see his soul.
It was a secondary effect of Soul Slaying.
Johan approached the frightened soul.
Witnessing the human sacrifice must have overwhelmed Raguel with terror.
“I told you to remain on the stairs, yet you insisted on coming down here and making a spectacle of yourself.”
“W-We’re going to fall into Hell.”
“That is only natural. I am a demon, and you are my contractor. Did you not intend to accept the consequences?”
“I did, but this…”
“It was hardly excessive. I may commit far greater atrocities. Perhaps I will kill God and erase Hell itself.”
“J-Johan!”
“I’m telling you not to be afraid. Fear and regret cannot change your fate. Wouldn’t it be better to enjoy your present life instead of wasting your time trembling?”
Raguel looked drained.
“How am I supposed to enjoy anything in a situation like this?”
“I could take you for a ride on an airplane.”
“What is an airplane?”
Johan spread his enormous wings wide and grabbed the boy by his clothes.
“I’ll show you.”
The demon soared into the air.
“A-Aaaaaaagh!”
The boy’s scream thundered throughout the study.
It was not quite the reaction Johan had expected, but it was not unpleasant.
The sound of Raguel’s cries was transforming into another delicacy.
Whether he liked it or not, Johan had to grow quickly.
It was unavoidable if he wanted to survive in this damned world.
“Cry, Raguel. You are my packed lunch.”