CHAPTER 158: DEMON

Speaking with the monster was the best way to confirm whether it was a demon or not.

So, he spoke to the creature boldly.

The terrifying, grotesque face of the monster showed confusion as it looked at the puny human.

Normally, anyone else would have been trembling in their boots when they were in its presence. And yet, this human was speaking as if he were an equal.

With a hint of curiosity, it lowered the gigantic head and looked at the human closely.

The air trembled as the fifty-meter-tall, gorilla-like form breathed out and lowered its head.

The smooth forehead of the bat-like face came close to Oliver.

Oliver could feel the mana around him tremble in its aura, locking the area around him, along with his body.

He felt suffocated.

*Gulp*

He swallowed the saliva nervously.

Death, be it in any form, was not pleasant.

Oliver knew if the monster so much as sneezed, he would die.

"Hello."

He spoke slowly this time.

Now, he could smell the unpleasant odour of decaying blood coming from the creature’s mouth.

His words made the monster squint its eyes.

Then the air trembled, and it spoke.

"Where is it?"

The monster’s voice was deep and unpleasant.

It was similar to the sound of two rocks rubbing against each other.

Still, Oliver could understand it perfectly.

"Where is the Void Weaver?"

Without opening its mouth, the monster spoke again.

Instead of using its vocal cords, it was vibrating the mana, along with the air, to speak.

The moment it spoke the first word, Oliver realised he was dealing with a demon–A high-ranked demon at that.

S-ranked demons were rare even in the future, so seeing one up close was thrilling.

Oliver hid his thoughts and asked.

Oliver carefully masked his thoughts and replied, "Void Weaver?"

He feigned confusion, though the monstrosity was close enough to swallow him whole. It was a ploy to extract more information.

He had never heard the name ’Void Weaver’ before.

The language of the ancient people of the Second Earth remained undecipherable, leaving the carvings in their ruins and temples a mystery.

Yet, this demon seemed to hold some knowledge, even calling the koi fish by its given name.

Oliver was amused.

Demons were creatures imprisoned within these ancient ruins. It was only logical that they would know something about the people who had confined them. Therefore, any information they could provide was invaluable.

He decided to extract as much information from the demon before he died.

"Human, don’t play a game. We both know what I meant." The terrifying voice rang inside Oliver’s head. "I can smell the blood of the Void Weaver on you. Tell me where it is."

The only reason the monster let Oliver speak was because it sensed the blood of little Koi on Oliver’s body.

And the trail that led to the little Koi had disappeared near Oliver. So, it wanted to know what Oliver did.

Just like Oliver, it was trying to extract information from him.

"I..." Oliver was about to push his luck, but he noticed the changing expression of the monster.

Immediately changing the words that were about to spill over his lips, he spoke. "...We are talking about the cow-patterned Koi fish, right? The one that is as big as my palm and flies over land?"

The corner of the demon’s lips curled as it realised Oliver had begun to cooperate.

"Yes, that’s it."

It stated blandly.

"I ate it for breakfast." Oliver also stated blandly.

"WHAT!"

The demon widened its eyes, exasperated.

It wondered if it had heard correctly.

Ate it?

The prey it was searching for.

"ARE YOU LYING TO ME?" It shouted.

"Human, do you not care about your life? How dare you lie to me?"

*Snorts*

The angry snort from the demon released a wave of air that could blow Oliver off his feet.

However, because of the blood tentacles latched onto the demon’s corpses and ground, he stayed put, unmoving.

The demon frowned, seeing it.

"I am not lying, my dear sir. I thought it was just a random mana beast and ate it." Oliver shook off the dust and debris that flew over to him and spoke. "I am just a puny human. Why would I dare lie to you?" He lied through his teeth. "My ignorance led me to do the foolish act of consuming it. Please forgive me, my dear sir."

He acted as servile as he could.

Demons were known for their strict hierarchy. The higher rank could make the lower-ranked one do anything they wanted with just a word. So, they expect the same from the rest of the world, even when they are not demons.

Oliver was not really acting subservient to get on its good books.

He knew he would be killed soon.

And hence, he decided to have a fun conversation with the demon.

What is more funny than taunting one of the strongest creatures known to mankind with deceptive words?

The demon, the giant monster, took in deep breath after it heard Oliver’s words. It suppressed the rising anger and asked.

"Are you sure you ate it?"

Contrary to what Oliver expected, after the initial shock, it spoke cordially.

This time, Oliver was confused.

He expected the demon to spout something foolish, rampage, and crush him to smithereens.

But nothing like that happened.

What does that mean?

Oliver eyed the demon, carefully looking at its grotesque face, trying to decode its expression.

While doing that, he nodded.

"I ate it."

He confirmed.

"..."

The demon paused to think for a while.

Oliver waited patiently.

After a full minute of thinking, it rolled its gigantic eyes and focused on Oliver, asking him—

"Human, do you want to be a demon?"

It’s words sent a chill down Oliver’s spine.

’Are you kidding me? I would rather be a dog than a demon.’

He silently said in his mind.

Nonetheless, he was curious as to why the demon asked that.

They met for the first time.

Didn’t know much about each other.

Still, it offered to make him a demon?

It must not have been a random thought.

"Can you make me a demon?" Oliver asked.

"Of course I can." The demon smiled, knowing Oliver was interested.

From the way Oliver acted, it was clear the human was different. He was not scared of a demon and could instantly recognise him. A few seconds ago, he also slayed A ranked monster under its control. So, his strength was also great.

The young human, Oliver, was certainly a talented individual among humans.

And, above all other reasons, he had supposedly consumed the Void Weaver.

’This human’s soul now holds the key to the void temple.’ The demon thought.

The void temple was the ancient temple they saw near the gate.

’I need to keep him alive.’ The demon decided.

The Void Temple was under human control.

The demons wanted to catch the Void Weaver to get the key to the temple.

Inside the temple, there existed a divine artifact that allowed the user to control space. The divine artifact was once used to slay a Demon King.

The memories of the demon, before it was imprisoned on the temple island, were vague. But it knew it was a must to have an artifact if they wished to take over this land without owners.

That was why it was searching for the Void Weaver.

’I waited patiently for an eternity. I can’t allow the chance to slip away.’

The demon, once imprisoned near the Void Temple, had escaped when the Titan fell.

Years had passed since that day.

It had bided its time, meticulously studying the ancient temple until its fragmented memories coalesced. All for one purpose: to finally claim the Divine Weapon within.

It could wait a few more days.

The demon’s eyes lingered on Oliver’s form.

If he could be converted into a demon, he would be the best candidate to infiltrate the temple.

With a fire of ambition burning inside its eyes, the demon eyed Oliver and asked,

"Would you like to be a demon?"

It didn’t even consider the possibility that Oliver would reject.

How could he when he was alone with it?

A cruel smile played on its lips.

"Of course, I always wanted to be a demon. I admire the strength of the demon kind and hope to one day be as strong as you."

Oliver lied again, without batting an eyelid.

His curiosity was piqued.

He wanted to know why the demon was so vehemently inviting him to be a demon.

"But before we can, could you please let me go to the human world and kill someone. I have some enemies that I have to take care of." Oliver said, faking sadness.

"Are you trying to escape?" The demon frowned.

"Not at all." Oliver shook his head. "I...I have some enemies that I would eliminate before I become a demon. Can you let me do that?"

"Why can’t you do that after you became a demon?"

"I heard they were using newly developed techniques to detect demons. It would be impossible for me to sneak into the military when I am a demon."

"They are?" The demon raised an eyebrow.

Unlike the rest, this demon was a solitary individual who stayed close to the ancient temple with the sole goal of capturing Void Weaver.

It didn’t know much about what happened outside.

It was a deliberate choice it made not to leak the information it had to other demons.

There were competitions even amongst demons about who was going to be the next demon king vessel. If it had the divine artifact, it could ensure its position among the higher echelon even if it didn’t become the next demon king.

Because of its ambition, it barely had any contact with the outside world. It couldn’t instantly verify Oliver’s words.

Oliver, on the other hand, was bluffing. He didn’t know what Thunder Emperor did. He just wanted to further the conversation by any means necessary.