The sound of chains echoed throughout the dark prison cell.
Clank.
Clank.
Cold black metal shackled the young man's arms firmly against the wall.
His head hung low.
Drops of blood slowly dripped from his mouth as he rested in place, trying to recover what little strength he could.
The shadows cast over his face through strands of messy hair remained completely still.
He had no idea how much time had passed.
Maybe days.
Maybe weeks.
Maybe months.
Time flowed differently within the Demon Realm.
There was no sky.
No sun.
Only endless crimson darkness and the suffocating scent of blood lingering in the air.
He had tried resisting on the first day.
The result?
His arm bones had shattered.
His ribs had been crushed.
His spine had dislocated.
But pain wasn't the real problem.
The demons had noticed his regeneration ability.
That was why they never killed him.
They tore him apart.
Again.
Again.
And again.
The iron door suddenly opened.
BOOOOM.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor.
A black-armored Demon Knightess entered the room.
It stood nearly three meters tall.
A massive battle axe rested on its shoulder.
Its eyes burned with crimson flames.
The young man slowly raised his head.
"...Again?"
The knight grinned.
"We still haven't figured out why someone like you is a Noble Demon."
"So we'll be bothering you a little longer."
The young man rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah... whatever."
The Demon Knightess expression twitched violently.
"You—!"
The next instant—
The giant axe swung downward.
KRAAASH!!
His right arm was severed at the shoulder and crashed onto the stone floor.
Fragments of bone scattered through the air.
Warm blood splattered across the walls as a painful groan escaped his mouth.
But the very moment his arm was torn off—
It regenerated instantly.
The young man could do nothing except release his killing intent.
"You're irritating me."
The knight attacked again.
His legs shattered.
His jaw broke apart.
His chest caved inward.
Minutes turned into hours.
The torture continued endlessly.
The young man bit down on his tongue with all his strength, forcing himself to remain conscious.
This only angered the knights even more.
In the Demon World, there existed only one law.
The weak must fear the strong.
Yet this snake-like creature…
It showed no fear.
It did not beg for mercy.
It did not offer anything in exchange for its life.
It refused to kneel.
Finally, the female knight stepped back.
"Tch."
"I'll come again tomorrow."
The door shut once more.
...
Silence.
...
The young man leaned against the wall.
His broken bones slowly reconnected.
He took a deep breath.
For a while, he simply stared at the ceiling.
Each day brought a different method of torture.
One day poison.
One day soul-burning.
One day demonic flames.
Another day sealing chains designed to suppress the body itself.
At one point…
They had even tried ripping out his heart.
But the Primordial Demon Core that had formed where his heart should have been protected it.
That incident caused rumors to spread throughout the castle.
"Is he actually immortal?"
"Maybe he carries some ancient bloodline."
"No... this demon specie isn't normal."
Some knights had started hating him.
Because he...
Had killed a Baron.
A noble.
And within demon society—
Noble blood was sacred.
One day, voices echoed from outside his cell.
"The new ruler is arriving."
"Since Baron Verka died, ownership of the territory has been transferred."
"The new lord will arrive today."
"I heard she's incredibly beautiful."
"They say she's Baron Verka's younger sister."
"I heard she is kinda crazy tho."
At that moment...
Footsteps began echoing through the corridor.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
But these footsteps weren't heavy.
On the contrary…
They were as carefree as a child playing.
A silhouette stopped in front of the cell.
The iron door opened.
A young woman stepped inside.
Pale white skin.
Long dark crimson hair.
Black pupils.
And a smile on her lips that looked strangely amused.
She stared at the young man for several seconds.
Then narrowed her eyes.
"...So you're the one who killed that woman."
The young man thought for a moment.
Then shrugged.
"Yeah."
"So what?."
The expressions of the knights standing behind her changed instantly.
Some instinctively reached for their weapons.
But the woman…
The corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
Her smile grew wider.
And suddenly—
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Her laughter echoed through the corridor.
The knights froze.
No one understood what was happening.
The woman barely managed to calm herself.
She wiped the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"Wonderful..."
"Truly wonderful..."
She slowly began walking toward him.
Every movement was elegant.
Yet disturbingly dangerous.
It was as if she wasn't looking at a prisoner—
But at entertainment she had been searching for for a very long time.
"The thing you did..."
"...Do you realize how massive a favor you did for me?"
The young man tilted his head.
"...No?"
She crouched in front of him.
Her crimson eyes locked directly onto his.
A devilish grin spread across her lips.
"Tell me..."
"What did she look like when she died?"
"In her final moments..."
"...What expression did she make?"
The young man still didn't understand where this conversation was going.
But he answered honestly anyway.
"She was overly confident."
"I ripped out her heart and crushed it with my barehand."
"She died screaming in pain."
Silence.
One second passed.
Then the woman's shoulders began trembling.
"Pfft..."
She covered her mouth.
"...Is that so?"
A strange excitement appeared in her eyes.
"That..."
"That sounds perfect."
She leaned her head back slightly.
"Damn..."
"I really wish I could've done that myself."
The knights standing behind her had completely frozen by now.
One of them unconsciously spoke.
"M-M'Lady..."
The woman stood up.
She straightened her dress.
Then continued in an absurdly casual tone.
"Anyway."
"Thanks to you..."
"...I finally reclaimed what rightfully belonged to me."
With one hand, she gestured around the corridor.
"Everything here..."
"...belongs to me now because of you."
The young man stared at her for several seconds.
He thought about replying.
Then gave up halfway.
The woman watched him with visible amusement.
...
She stared at him for a few moments longer.
Then laughed again.
"Of course you don't understand."
She took a single step backward.
"My name is Azael."
"The true heir of the Vaal Territory."
After a brief pause, she winked.
"But you can call me Az."
The young man thought about that for several seconds.
"...Your short name sounds nice."
Azael fell silent.
Then quietly muttered to herself.
"...I think this time..."
"...I'll have some fun before killing him."
...
Az snapped her fingers.
The hall doors opened.
Several servants entered with terrified expressions.
Azael spoke without even looking at them.
"Take him."
"Wash him and put some proper clothes on him."
The servants hesitated.
"My Lady... but he is a pri—"
Azael's gaze instantly turned ice cold.
Within a second, all of them dropped to their knees.
"Forgive us."
As the young man was lifted to his feet, he frowned.
"...Why am I being washed?"
Azael answered while turning away.
"You're covered in blood and frankly..."
She paused for a second and glanced at his torn clothing.
"Even though you have a very nice physique..."
"...you smell terrible."
The young man sniffed himself and answered.
"Makes sense."
...
About an hour later...
The young man found himself sitting before a long black dining table.
Dozens of different dishes were spread across it.
Strange creature meat.
Pitch-black fruits.
Dark crimson drinks.
Az was watching him.
Meanwhile—
He had already started eating.
Azael sat directly across from him, observing him with obvious amusement.
Eventually, she lifted the glass in her hand.
"I suppose I should explain why I'm grateful to you."
The young man replied with his mouth full.
"Sure."
Azael leaned back into her chair.
Her eyes drifted somewhere far away.
"My mother..."
"...was the Baroness of the Vaal Territory."
"For many years, she couldn't have children."
"The Noble Council began pressuring her."
Her voice suddenly became mocking.
"So my mother..."
"...took a second spouse."
Several seconds of silence followed.
"And from that man..."
"...Verka was born."
Her eyes darkened slightly.
"For a while, everyone accepted him as the heir."
Then a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Until..."
She pointed at herself.
"...the legitimate heir was born."
The hall fell silent.
Azael's voice had grown colder.
"Verka didn't accept this because I was weaker and younger than her."
...
She tapped her fingers against the table.
"...He murdered my mother."
"My unborn sibling."
"And my father."
"He seized the territory."
"And declared himself Baron."
Then she lowered her head slightly.
Darkness flickered within her eyes.
"But he didn't kill me."
"No..."
Her lips slowly curled upward.
"She exiled me."
"Because she believed that death would be too easy an end for someone as weak as me."
Silence filled the room.
The young man wiped tears from his eyes and let out a curious hum.
"Nice story."
"No sequel?"
Az smiled and continued.
"Well..."
"Unfortunately, there isn't one."
The young man grumbled and returned to eating.
...
As he continued eating, he casually shifted his eyes toward the woman sitting across from him.
[System has activated Analyze on target: "Azael"]
Suddenly, a blue system screen appeared before his eyes.
Name: Azael
Level: 99
Race: Noble Demon
Bloodline: Dormant
Strength: ?30
HP: 58?
INT: #5?0
MP: 2005#
Skills: Unable to determine
...
The young man's hand froze midair.
He swallowed the bite in his mouth.
Then casually spoke.
"Oh."
Azael raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
The young man stared at the screen for a few seconds.
Then smiled.
"You've leveled up quite a lot."
...
Silence.
Every servant standing around the table froze.
As if they had heard something they absolutely should not have heard, several immediately screamed in panic.
The glass in Azael's hand stopped midair.
The amusement vanished from her eyes.
Slowly—
She raised her head.
"I dont know how you did it but honestly didn't expect you to notice that this early."
The atmosphere inside the room instantly became heavier.
CRACK.
The wine glass shattered in Azael's hand.
Demonic energy flooded the entire hall.
The walls began cracking.
Meanwhile—
The young man remained seated at the table.
As if the terrifying aura currently shaking the entire castle simply didn't exist.
He casually tossed a black fruit into his mouth.
Crunch.
"..tastes goowd."
...
Azael was no longer smiling.
The playful expression on her face had vanished completely.
She stared carefully at the screen in front of her.
[Quest Updated.]
[Threat Level Recalculating...]
[Abnormal Entity Detected.]
[New Quest Assigned.]
[Objective: Kill The Nameless One.]
[Reward: ???]
[Failure: ???]
Azael slowly stood up.
Her voice no longer belonged to someone enjoying herself.
It had become cold.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"...How did you?"
The young man looked up.
He was still holding a piece of meat in one hand.
He thought for a moment.
Then shrugged.
"How about you try to guess?."
...
CRACK.
The floor beneath them shattered.
Black energy began erupting from Azael's body.
Plates and dishes flew into the air.
The young man frowned.
"Hey."
"You ruined my food."
...
Azael didn't answer.
Instead, she slowly raised her right arm.
Black magic circles began forming around her body.
The demonic energy in the room grew denser and denser.
The next second—
She released the spell.
BOOOOOOM!!
The entire dining hall exploded.
Walls were ripped apart.
The upper floors of the castle began collapsing.
But when the smoke finally cleared…
The young man was still sitting exactly where he had been.
Neither the chair beneath him nor his own body had suffered even the slightest damage.
He had simply swatted the incoming attack aside with a casual slap.
In his other hand—
He was still holding food.
---
Name: ???
Realm: Ancient Demon Beast
Species: Soul Devouring Demon
Bloodline: Primordial Demon
Blood Purity: 0.02%
Title: Guardian of the Spirit Forest
Level: 131
Stats:
STR: 1450
HP: 1280
DEX: 1540
INT: 950
Unassigned Points: 0
Skills:
• Spiritual Senses
• Demon Fangs
• Thousand Poisons
• Demonic Jaw
• Analyze
• Spiritual Communication
• Demon Eye
• Primordial Demon Body
• Noble Demon (Knight)
• ???
• ???
---
"Enough."
The young man slowly stood up.
Azael instinctively stepped several paces backward.
Every instinct in her body was screaming.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
The young man took a deep breath.
CRACK.
The skin covering his arms began transforming into scales.
His pupils narrowed vertically.
The hall could no longer contain him.
The ceiling shattered.
The walls collapsed.
Azael looked upward.
A colossal serpent body rose toward the sky, casting its shadow over the entire castle.
The massive black body, stretching over seven hundred meters long, slowly coiled in the air.
Each scale gleamed like polished metal.
Faint pale-white patterns flowed along the underside of his body.
On both sides of his neck, unfinished protrusions had begun forming.
Azael stared upward.
For the first time—
Her voice trembled.
"...What."
"...What the hell is that?"
The giant serpent slowly turned its golden eyes toward her.
Then spoke in a completely calm tone.
"You..."
Every breath the giant serpent exhaled distorted the mana flow in the surrounding atmosphere.
Its enormous seven-hundred-fifty-meter body slowly shifted.
Then—
WHOOOOSH.
Its thick tail moved like lightning.
Before Azael could even react—
The enormous tail wrapped tightly around her body.
"..."
Azael tried to escape.
It was useless.
The demonic energy inside her body had been completely suppressed.
It felt as if she were trapped beneath an entire mountain.
The enormous golden eyes looked downward.
Then a voice echoed across the ruined castle.
The voice was powerful enough to shake everything around them.
Yet strangely calm.
"...Why did you spill my food?"
...
Silence.
Azael stared blankly at him for several seconds.
"..."
"...Are you serious?"
The giant serpent blinked.
Despite his overwhelmingly majestic appearance—
He was an absolute idiot.
"Yes."
"Contrary to appearances..."
"...that black fruit tasted pretty good."
"I was about to eat another one."
...
Azael remained silent for several seconds.
Then—
She suddenly began laughing uncontrollably.
"Pfft..."
"HAHAHAHAHA..."
...
This creature...
…
He genuinely understood nothing.
Azael slowly leaned her head backward.
"Alright."
"I understand."
The young serpent loosened the pressure of his tail slightly.
But he still hadn't released her.
Azael took a deep breath.
For the first time—
The amusement on her face completely disappeared.
It had been replaced by seriousness.
"I think..."
"...there are some things I need to explain to you."
She looked toward the sky.
The crimson clouds drifted slowly overhead.
"People like me..."
"And people like you..."
"...we are called world invaders."
The giant serpent blinked.
"Like players?"
"Yes."
"Beings that come from other worlds."
"We all possess systems."
"We receive quests."
"But every quest eventually ends in slaughter."
"And over time, we become addicted to killing."
"As a result..."
"...we receive rewards."
"We grow stronger."
"We level up."
"And eventually..."
"...we become hungry for power."
...
The serpent remained silent for a few seconds.
"...You and I level up too."
Azael grimaced slightly.
"Yes."
"But I believe certain species are naturally resistant to that influence."
Several moments of silence passed.
Then Azael continued.
"This world isn't an ordinary world."
"This place is one of the Lower Realms."
"A world inhabited by demons and lesser beings."
"This world is called Hell."
"And this world has a ruler."
"The Demon King."
The giant serpent tilted his head slightly.
"Strong?"
Azael went silent for several seconds.
Then laughed dryly.
"...Let me explain it in a way you can understand."
"If she wanted to..."
"...she could crush this entire continent with a single finger."
"I..."
Azael pointed at herself.
"I am one of the knights serving under him."
"In a sense..."
"...we are the guardians of Hell."
The serpent's tail loosened slightly.
"Guarding it from who?"
"From invaders..."
"Beings from other worlds rarely come here as visitors."
"They invade."
"Angels."
"The Righteous Ones."
"The Ascended players."
...
The giant serpent grew quiet.
Azael slowly closed her eyes.
"In every Lower Realm, players can grow stronger."
"They can level up."
"But..."
"...once they surpass Level 100..."
"...they can no longer gain levels here."
"And at that point..."
"...they earn the right to ascend to the next realm."
"There are only two ways to leave this realm."
She raised one finger.
"First."
"Reach Level 1000."
Then a second finger.
"Second..."
"...kill the Demon King."
Silence.
The giant serpent narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Why?"
...
"Because that is what the System wants."
"And do you know what reaching Level 1000 actually means?"
The young serpent remained silent.
"It means hunting all of Hell."
"Committing genocide."
...
Young man has still no answer.
"Hunting an entire world."
"A genocide."
"Trillions of creatures."
"An endless war."
She looked toward the shattered walls of the castle.
"It happened once before."
"There was a single Player."
"He began growing stronger alone."
"Demon armies were sent."
"Dukes died."
"Marquises died."
"Princes died."
"Nobles vanished."
Her voice grew heavier.
"Even the Demon King's family was slaughtered."
For the first time—
Darkness appeared in Azael's expression.
"An entire empire..."
"...went to war against one single Player."
"And our ancestors lost."
The giant serpent remained silent.
Azael continued.
"In the end..."
"...that Player reached Level 1001."
"And forcibly ascended."
"The next Demon King survived."
"But Hell..."
"...was never the same again."
...
Several seconds passed.
Then Azael slowly looked upward.
Directly into the enormous golden eyes above her.
"Do you understand now?"
"Why I wanted to kill you the moment I saw you?"
"Because no matter how stupid you may be..."
"...You are still an play, and have the potential to cause genocide
...
Then the giant serpent finally answered.
"The rewards you mentioned don't really affect me."
"They don't even appear for me."
The enormous golden eyes blinked.
"And I don't want to kill you."
"Why?"
"Because you gave me food."
...
Azael stared at him blankly for several seconds.
"..."
"You're yenuinely an idiot."
The giant serpent answered thoughtfully.
"If you keep feeding me, I won't have to kill you all."
...
To be continued...