Beru recalled an old memory.
Twice in total.
The demon world has been destroyed twice by the Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo.
First, in the Demon Castle Dungeon.
Then one more time after everything has been reset.
In the war between Sung Jinwoo and the Monarchs, the existence of the demon was just an experience point that Sung Jinwoo took on.
That was how demons die and die again…
In the end, only one family could survive in the demon realm.
That was the 'Radiru' Clan, the 20th in the rankings. They were the only one among the countless demons who sided with Sung Jinwoo.
But, that family was destroyed?
[… It seems like something has happened to the demon world.]
Beru's eyes narrowed as he stared at the corpse.
In order to know the inside story, 'predation' was the best.
He can read the memories of the ones he eats.
[Young Master, can I eat that demon?]
Suho's gaze turned to the demon's corpse.
[Shadow release for contaminated shadows is not possible.]
Suho tilted his head at the message floating in front of him.
"Can't demons be released as shadow soldiers?"
[It seems so.]
Apparently, since the shadow fragment releases the opponent's soul, it seemed that it was impossible to release the demon's soul that had already been corrupted.
Suho nodded.
"Then, eat."
[Okay!]
When permission was granted, Beru's mouth parted long and bit the corpse.
He wanted to swallow it in one bite.
Chomp chomp chomp!
… He has a small mouth, so it took a little longer.
[Kehehehe!]
Beru left behind quite a horrible scene that seemed needed to be mosaiced.
Suho looked back at the eyes focused on him.
Since earlier, all hunters, regardless if they were collectors or raiders, were looking at him with a shocked expression.
"Uhh…"
"H-How…"
They were so lost they didn't know what to say.
Assistant Professor Lim stepped forward as he was the only one among them who had not seen Suho like this for the first time.
"Suho, are your wounds okay?"
All wounds were healed as he leveled up, but the blood on his body did not disappear.
Right now, he was covered in blood and looked like he was on the verge of collapsing.
"Ah, yes."
Suho casually wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand.
"Uhh, hey…"
The raid leader approached him hesitantly.
"Go to the association and take a re-assessment…"
Regardless of his skills, Suho, who defeated C-Class monsters alone, could never be an E-Class hunter.
There must have been some big mistake.
"It doesn't matter now."
Assistant Professor Lim picked up the empty potion bottle that the demon had consumed and looked at it carefully.
"Normally, the effect of stardust isn't that great… What the hell is this?"
"Are you familiar with stardust?"
The captain's expression became serious. He had been feeling strange about it since earlier.
Assistant Lim nodded.
"That's because there are so many people who use it among low-level hunters. Just a few days ago, the collectors who disappeared today said that they had obtained star dust with difficulty…"
Stardust was mostly used by low-level hunters rather than high-level hunters.
Why?
It was because the amplifying power of stardust was limited.
Stardust is an amazing medicine that can make an E-Class hunter instantly become a D-Class, but not to the extent of turning a D-Class into a C-Class.
It was possible for D-Class hunters because their mana power was only slightly less than that of C-Class.
That's why D-Class hunters were the main customers of stardust.
After consuming it, they visit the association instead of the dungeon. They would have their mana power re-measured and their class would be revised to C-Class.
"… Among stardust users, there were those who became more greedy and tried several bottles at the same time. However, everything failed and they only wasted money."
There were rumors that the development team was continuing research to increase the amplification power of stardust.
But, no one knew who was developing it.
"Actually…"
[Oops-]
Beru, who was beside him, burped loudly and stood up.
Then he murmured as he went through the puzzles of memories that came into his head.
[That's natural. After all, stardust is a drug created by demons, so it must be more effective for them.]
"W-What?!"
"Demons made stardust?"
The hunters were shocked by the revelation.
"Is that true?"
[Yes, it is.]
Beru nodded with a serious expression at Suho's question.
[But, that's not the problem.]
Although it was difficult to read off the memories of his prey, Beru found that piece of information quite shocking.
[Apparently, the ingredients for the star dust…]
Beru's next piece of information was even more interesting.
The manufacturing process of stardust was as follows.
1) Making Firewood: Catch non-awakened people and forcibly inject blue mist to make 'Mist Burn'.
2) Increase firepower: Throw 'humans as firewood' to Mist Burn to maximize its firepower.
3) Roasting: Roast the 'mana stone soaked in demon's blood' over the blazing wood fire that was made.
… Star dust was made by crushing the resulting charcoal lumps into powder.
"And the solution made by diluting the dissolved powder in water is distributed in this potion bottle?"
[Yes.]
After hearing Beru's explanation, the hunters shivered.
"This is nonsense."
"Did you say stardust was made by burning humans alive?"
"Then why is this demon here…?"
It seemed like he already knew without even asking.
Beru turned his gaze and stared into the tunnel where the demon had first appeared.
[If you follow that path, it seems that there is a 'factory' of demons. Even the civilians who were captured to be used as firewood.]
Right then.
Ring!
[Quest: Rescue the Victims.]
There are people nearby waiting for your help.
Rescue as many of them as possible.
Rewards vary depending on the number of people rescued.
-Current number of victims: 7
-Current number of rescued victims: 0
'There are still 7 people alive.'
There was no reason to delay the quest any longer.
Suho's eyes flashed.
"I'm going to go get them."
Thud.
The moment Suho steps towards the tunnel.
"Wait a minute! Suho!"
Assistant Lim urgently grabs Suho's shoulder from behind.
Suho turned and looked at him.
"Teacher, run away first."
"… No, I want to go too this time."
'Hmm?'
Suho was quite taken aback.
Lim's mouth trembled in fear, but he spoke firmly.
"With my skill, I can carry at least one person on my back and run."
To where Suho was going now, there would be much more demons like there were just before.
It was clear that Suho would lack hands alone to save the people caught there.
Smirk.
'Pick up and run… That's a good idea.'
Suho picked up the crow mask from the floor and looked at the hunters staring at him.
"Let's make a plan."
* * *
A long stretch of railway at Seoul Station.
Walking along the long tunnel, there was a huge air defense shelter prepared for war or disaster.
Usually it was used as a work space for construction purposes.
The demons' factory was located there.
"Why is the youngest so late?"
The demons at the factory started to get concerned when the youngest, who went to take out the trash, didn't come back.
"He must have encountered a demon on the way."
"Lizard…"
Right then.
The iron door opened and the youngest wearing a crow mask walked into the factory.
However, a group of humans were randomly loaded into the wagon that the youngest had dragged in.
Confusion flashed from the eyes of the demons.
"What's that?"
"Where did you get those firewoods?"
"I came across them."
The youngest stopped the cart in the corner of the factory.
Rattle.
Even when the wagon was shaking, the hunters whose bodies were covered in blood did not move, let alone groan.
The demons asked.
"You didn't kill them, did you? If you did, the effect goes down."
"They're still breathing."
"Oh, they are. Our youngest is also good at this."
The firewood just ran out, and the conversation that everything's going well went back and forth between the demons for a while.
The identity of the 'youngest' standing in front of the cart and watching their conversation was Suho.
He covered his face with the mask of the demon he had just killed and entered that place on his own will.
Those who pretended to be human firewoods and piled up in layers were the hunters.
The reason why they were able to attempt such a bold infiltration was thanks to Beru's memories roughly figuring out the situation at the factory.
'Demons identify each other through crow masks. They don't pay much attention to details like appearance or voice.'
The reason this was possible was because the demons in the factory were not the main body right now.
'The demonic souls that wandered through the dimensional rift possessed humans and stole their bodies.'
Beru said that even monarchs once hid themselves on Earth by possessing human bodies.
To get directly into a body with such a strong force, one had to drill a huge hole to the Earth, because it was a much more cumbersome way.
However, it seems that the demons really did not want to see the weak human body they took away.
They were ashamed to even show their faces to each other, so they usually hid themselves tightly with black robes and masks.
Besides, the demons identified each other's identities not through visual or auditory information, but with the demonic energy they felt from each other.
"Hmm? Youngest…"
One of the demons tilted his head, feeling the energy from Suho.
Suho swallowed hard.
"Yes?"
"What is that sword? Looks good."
The Vulcan's Horn that devoured the 'youngest soul' was tied to Suho's back.
The demons instinctively noticed that the material of the sword was unusual and approached Suho.
"That sword…"
But then.
"Stop chatting."
A crow-masked having the most powerful energy among demons, clapped once and drew everyone's attention.
"Everyone get ready. The gate is slowly opening."
'What?'
Suho opened his eyes and looked at them.
Even the hunters who were pretending to be dead on the cart had no choice but to open their eyes and stare.
Crackle!
The space where red aura shimmered on the empty wall was forcibly torn apart.
'This is crazy.'
This information was not even in the memory of the youngest.
They don't know if it's because his memory was lost, or because he was the youngest, so he didn't know what was happening until now.
'Damn it.'
They realized everything in that moment, what the demons had been up to in the factory.
'The last ingredient for stardust.'
A mana stone soaked in demon blood!
However, since the demons here were now taking human bodies, they were directly summoning the demons to draw blood from within.
Crackle!
The Red Gate was surrounded by an ominous aura!
A dimensional hole connecting the demon world and the earth was created.
'These crazy people are real!'
"All right, prepare for battle. We don't know what will come out, but we have to kill whatever it is at once!"
Seeing the red light swirling at the Red Gate, the demons prepared for battle.
Finally…
An unidentified demon that wandered in the demon realm was summoned in front of them.
"…"
Thud.
Fluttering purple hair.
Slender arms and legs.
'Female?'
The red gate closed again, and the condition of the female demon who descended in front of it was miserable.
She was covered in blood, as if she would collapse at any moment.
However, even with the flowing blood, her eyes were shining brightly.
"Who summoned me?"
The purple-haired looked at those demons surrounding her with haughty eyes.
The corner of her mouth rolled up at the obvious hostility she felt from them.
"Ha. Are you aiming for my life, too?"
Swoosh!
She pointed the spear she was holding at them.
"Alright. Attack all you want! I am Esil, the eldest daughter of the Radiru Clan! Until the moment my life runs out, let's fight to the end."