"Fuck… you've got to be kidding."
Shin was situated on a cliff, trying to scout the T enth Wave.
"I know it was supposed to be 2,000, but this is way too much."
From a distance, he could see a colony of Demons spread out.
"And… are those Demons leading them?"
It was akin to an army, each Demons spread out with a Viscount Demon leading them.
This Wave was unlike any that Shin had ever seen before.The difficulty of each wave was already hard enough for Shin who was still a Third Star.
The Tenth Wave's difficulty had exponentially skyrocketed compared to the Ninth Wave.
And worse…
It seemed like the Demons were capable of thoughts, evident by the VIscount Demon leading
them.
In the first place, Abyss Gates were never meant to be tackled alone.
Even if you were a Fourth Star, going alone in a Fourth Star Gate was a death sentence.
The only reason Shin survived thus far was due to him being a Contractor, and his…
approach in each wave.
'unique'
But it seemed like the same strategy wouldn't be possible in this wave.
"Haa… I wonder if I'll survive this."
[Shin, I'd advise you to lay low until you reach Fourth Star, if possible, wait until you're a Fifth
Star.]
"Fifth Star, huh? That's gonna take three more years."
[It's either that, or we die here. Pick your poison man.]
"Haa… I know."
Shin wasn't stupid.From a distance, he could tell just how strong each Viscount Demons were.
With his current capabilities, it wasn't something he could handle yet.
'...!?'
Suddenly, Shin felt a chill down his spine.
One of the Viscount Demon turned around and locked eyes with Shin.
"Fuck, even from this distance?"
Shin was a significant distance away from the Demon Colony, it shouldn't have been possible
for a Demon to sense him.
'!!!'
Shin's alarm bells went off.
He had no choice but to make a hasty retreat, Rewarping until he reached the cave.
"Looks like this place is no good, they'll find me here in no time."
Shin quickly packed his things and stuffed them inside the Nexus Ring.
BOOM!
The cave shook intensely.Just outside the cave, there was a visible crater that appeared as rock dust covered the line of
sight.
The rock dust dissipated, revealing the figure of a hooded man with long platinum-blonde hair,
clad under a black mantle.
No, as the man lowered his hood, there were two visible obsidian horns protruding from his
forehead, while one of the horns was chipped.
A Demon.
Shin stood there, shaking in place.
[Shin, whatever you do, don't fight him]
'I know, you've been calling me crazy the whole time. But I know how to pick my fights.'
He realized the man in front of him could erase him with just a lift of his finger.
"Ah, so you were the little rat sneaking around this place."
"..."
Shin couldn't respond.
Death.
Death was looming close.
"Hmm? You're kind of weak, I applaud you for making this far."
"..."
Shin could only fix himself to a battle stance, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly.
Fuuu!
In an instant, the man disappeared.
No, he was moving way too fast for Shin to follow, as the Demon reappeared and grabbed Shin
by the neck, suffocating him.
[Shin!]
"Kughhh!"
"Interesting, I can sense high amounts of Demonic Miasma within you. But it seems like you are
a human."
Shin could feel his mana core getting sucked.
"Ughkkk!"
Shin couldn't breathe, but even if he could, he wouldn't be able to respond.
Fear.
Shin was feeling fearful for the first time since being reborn.
Suddenly, the Demon's expressions changed."T sk, how distasteful… you've been eating Demons haven't you?"
He tightened his grip around Shin's neck.
"Aghckkkk"
"Not bad, but you've been feeling like shit right?"
The Demon shifted his gaze to the vomit stain on the corner.
Then he laughed.
"I knew it. You've just been mindlessly eating Demons to satiate your hunger, how stupid."
'...? What is he talking about, Noct?'
[I don't know… us Deities don't have too much knowledge about Demons.]
'Fuck, how useless.'
"Every Demon you ingest, your body gets filled with Miasma. It's practically leaking right now,
that's how I was able to find you."
"Kuughhh!"
"But I can't blame you, you probably didn't know you could circulate and contain it within your"
mana core.
'Is that true?'[I don't know. But from how he described it, it should be similar to what you do when you
Assimilate.]
'I see… but wouldn't that be similar to a Demonic Contract?'
[Most likely, but you aren't contracted with a Demon.]
Demon Contracts, the exact opposite of Deity Contracts.
Not much is known to the public about Demon Contracts.
And just like the Deities, the Demons don't know much about Deities.
'Maybe that's why he can't sense you.'
"I can see the fear in your eyes. But don't worry, I won't kill you"
If Shin could breathe a sigh of relief, then he would.
"You're the most interesting human I've ever seen. If given a few more years, you might be able
to harness the Demonic Miasma within you without being a Contracted."
'Is that possible?'
[I don't know, Shin.]
'Fuck.'
Shin could conclude that the concentration of Demonic Miasma was the reason why he was
slowly losing his sanity.From the little information he knew about Demonic Contracts, it would eat away your
consciousness, but the power in return was great.
A Demon Contractor that was contracted for a year, could easily beat a Deity Contractor that
was contracted for five years.
But a Demon Contractor hasn't been identified in the last fifty years. Which is why the public had
little to no information about them.
The Demon suddenly stopped gripping Shin's neck and dropped him on the ground.
Cough! Cough!
"I'm not here for you anyway, I'm looking for the anomaly in this realm."
At the mention of an anomaly, millions of questions flooded Shin's mind.
'An anomaly?'
'Does that mean there's someone else here?'
'Why haven't I seen them?'
The Demon strode forward, making his way to the exit.
"You're truly an interesting boy, I can't wait to see what you'll become in a few more years."
Snap!
The Demon snapped its fingers, and a mark suddenly appeared on Shin's cheek."That's a Demon Mark. With that, I'll be able to find you wherever you are."
'Fuck, can you remove this, Noct?'
[I can try, but don't get your hopes up. Demons were always stronger than Deities.]
'Okay.'
As the Demon left the cave, he imparted a chilly message to Shin.
"I'll be seeing you around, Shin Nocturn. Goodluck surviving this wave."
With that, the Demon disappeared.
Grabbing his neck and coughing, Shin could feel his mana core severely drained as his vision
started getting hazy.
"Haa… problems after another… I just want to get back home."
Shin laid on the ground with his hands on his neck. T ears started straining his eyes.
"Fuck, why is it always me that has to suffer so much?"
Shin's voice was shaky, as tear beads started flowing down his cheek.
Feeling exhausted, Shin passed out cold on the ground.
[I'm sorry for being so useless… Even in this life, I was still unable to protect you, Shinei.]