"Release!"
The crumpled paper transformed into a mouth of fire that swallowed Hugo's entire body.
Hugo let out a shrill shriek.
His scream sounded androgynous and full of suffering.
The fire soon disappeared, Hugo collapsed onto his knees.
Calvin directed his gaze on Hugo's shadow and said, "Are you not going to come out there, or do I have to exorcise you personally?"
As a former employee of Fivecent, Calvin knew that there were demons in Mount Spirit Sword Asylum. He just wasn't so sure of their location since every time a challenger enters Mount Spirit Sword Asylum.
The location of the patients and the BOSSes such as the Benevolent Father and the Butcher changed every time the place was open.
Calvin thought that these demons would only appear at the Underground Laboratory. Unfortunately, his guess was incorrect once again. It turned out that the demons were waiting for them in ambush here in the Hospital Block. Fivecent really messed with them too much!
Upon hearing no reply from the demon hiding within Hugo's shadow, Calvin's gaze hardened.
Forming the sigil of the Goddess Grace with his hands, Calvin softly uttered...
"Oh, our Beloved Goddess Grace..."
"The Magister of Light and the commander of compassion..."
"Your servants hereby invoke your name as it echoes through hell!"
"Tremunt!"
Calvin formed a finger sword with his index and middle finger before pointing at Hugo's shadow.
"AAAAHHH.... It hurts! It hurts!!!"
A ghastly scream came out of Hugo's shadow.
His shadow also continuously contorted as if it was having a seizure.
"Stop... Stop... Stop!"
A panicking androgynous voice rang from within Hugo's shadow.
Soon, a figure made out of black mist manifested out of Hugo's shadow and appeared in front of Calvin.
Calvin's pupils constricted.
The shadowy figure in front of him belonged to a demon!
A demon in Las Felipinas!
Calvin swiftly calmed down, he expected this much as a former employee of Fivecent.
Composed of unknown energies, a demon is invisible to human eyes, they were only visible to the eyes of humans, whose bodies were integrated with the microchip for the Las Felipinas System! Ria should've installed that microchip inside his body when she knocked him out and carried him to that hotel.
This was the reason why Calvin could see this demon, and this was also the reason why he could communicate with it.
Demons, despite having no actual bones, muscles, or any internal structures to speak of. They were still capable of manipulating the Mana in the air to their bidding in order to cause an illusion that they had immense strength.
However, what they were capable of doing, in the end— was just simple manipulation.
Calvin could easily use the blessing of the Goddess Grace to cut off that power supply, effectively exorcising the demon by erasing it from the face of the earth.
The demon himself knew that Calvin had that capability. The moment Calvin threatened to exorcise him, he instantly came out of Hugo's shadow and manifested an intangible body, so he could communicate with Calvin.
"Stop... Please stop... I'm willing to do whatever you want me to do, just don't exorcise me!"
The demon whose body was similar to a black mist fell onto his knees and bowed in front of Calvin.
"Oh, really? You're willing to do my bidding? That's quite convenient. If that's the case, then I won't exorcise you. The more allies we have in this place, the more chances we have in escaping." Calvin nodded his head, looking pleased.
The demon inwardly sneered, 'To think that this kid actually knows how to exorcise a demon... However, now that he knows my value. I am sure that he'll be glad to keep me around!' The demon made some plans to himself. Of course, he kept that respectful posture while he was on his knees, he looked completely solemn and submissive.
Calvin stared right at the demon.
How could he not know about what the demon was thinking at this moment?
In fact, at this moment, he was the only human being that had the longest years of experience fighting against demons.
He might even know more about the demons than the demons know about themselves!
"So, you are saying that you are willing to do whatever I wanted you to do, but can you even do what I need you to do in the first place? If not, then you're still useless to me and I don't like keeping useless things around." Calvin revealed a cheeky smile on his face.
"W-What... What do you want to know?"
The demon felt somewhat strange, but he quickly caught on what Calvin was hinting at.
"Let's see..."
"How about you tell me where I can find the core of this place?" Calvin's eyes flashed with a strange light.
"The core of this place?" The demon furrowed his illusory eyebrows, "What do you mean the core of this place?"
"Playing dumb? Of course, what I mean is where I can find the Spirit Sword!" Calvin's smile deepened.
"You..." The demon was thoroughly shocked, "You are planning on taking the Spirit Sword for yourself! No, that's impossible! I won't let you do that. Just kill me if you want, but I won't lead you to where the Spirit Sword is and I won't let you take it!" The demon's body made out of mist trembled in agitation.
It was obvious that no matter how many times Calvin asked, it would never lead him to where the Spirit Sword was.
But...
"Hehehe..."
"Did you really think that I need you to lead me to where that Spirit Sword is?" Calvin teasingly looked at the demon.
"Wha... What are you talking about?" The demon felt a sense of foreboding in its illusory heart.
The demon looked confused and agitated, but when Calvin dropped the next bombshell...
"Let me guess, the Spirit Sword should be in the salt mines located in the Underground Laboratory, right?"
"YOU!!! HOW DID YOU?!"
It almost went crazy.
Calvin raised another piece of paper and the demon abruptly calmed down.
"H-How...? How did you know where the Spirit Sword is? L-Let me tell you this! With your current strength, it would be best if you don't have any ideas about taking the Spirit Sword! The moment your filthy hands touch it, you'll be turned into a pillar of salt! You're simply not strong enough to take it!" The demon made a grave warning.
"Thanks for your concern, but I know that too... I know that I cannot take the Spirit Sword with my puny strength." Calvin agreed to the demon's statement. The Spirit Sword was the reason why Mount Spirit Sword Asylum existed for so long.
The moment it was taken out of its place, the entire place would crumble to ashes and be destroyed.
Of course, he still wanted the Spirit Sword for himself but as what the demon had said.
He better not think about taking the Spirit Sword with his current strength. If he dared to try and take the Spirit Sword with his current capabilities, he might as well shoot himself to the head since the outcome would still be the same.
However...
The Spirit Sword wasn't Calvin's goal.
It was the Notebook of Secrets That Will Destroy Your Life!
As a person who was once at the peak of the Writer Profession, he had always dreamed of having this precious artifact.
Now that he had the chance to take that artifact, then he would surely take advantage of the opportunity to take it!
Calvin's eyes flashed with determination.
He raised his head to look at the demon and said.
"You might not be willing to guide me to where the Spirit Sword is, but how about you guide me to where the Notebook of Secrets That Will Destroy Your Life is? That artifact is something that I need."
The demon furrowed his illusory eyebrows, "The Notebook of Secrets That Will Destroy Your Life? Isn't that the useless notebook that none of my fellow demons wants to touch since it easily gets attached to anyone so long as one interacts with it? Why do you even need that strange notebook? I don't understand..." The demon stared suspiciously at Calvin.
"You do not have the right to bargain. Just lead me to where that notebook is and I will let you go."
"Really?"
The demon was delighted.
The Notebook of Secrets That Will Destroy Your Life wasn't really that valuable when compared to the Spirit Sword. In other words, the demon was more than willing to guide Calvin to where it was in exchange for its freedom.
What's more, the demon wasn't even sure if Calvin could really force that unique notebook into submission.
After all, that unique notebook didn't have any desires that a person could take advantage, so they could force the notebook into following them.
That notebook only wanted one thing...
And that was earth-shattering secrets!
Secrets that once revealed, could ruin a person's life!
What's more, it wanted to hear secrets every hour and with a person's lifespan, the number of earth-shattering secrets that they could possibly have was limited.
Sure, that notebook was indeed powerful.
But since no one— not even the demons could use it.
It was deemed useless and avoided by everyone like a plague.
But this human actually wanted to go and meet that notebook?
This was a chance!
A god-sent, no-, a demon-sent opportunity!
The demon wickedly laughed inside.