Apotheosis of a Demon - A Monster Evolution Story

76 - TO BE CALLED A DEMON - 2

"Hmm, so you're the demon?"

The equipment to bridge the gap between Earth and the new world of Yggdrasia, as well as the mana-gathering and mana-storage systems, were located within a military compound. The hallway that would lead me there was also the one connected to the command center where the military generals were. A very strange man wearing round sunglasses and a black cloak was lying in wait for me in the hallway.

How odd, to see just a single person here... no, wait, he was accompanied by a pack of dirty stray dogs behind him.

But this was weird. I wasn't exactly indiscriminately throwing around my demonic magical power around the place all the time, but I also wasn't suppressing my racial skill of [Fear].

Perhaps the man was resisting it the way some trained knights and soldiers could, but that pack of stray dogs should only be normal animals. Yet not only did they show not a lick of fear, they were even baring their teeth and growling at me, looking obviously, unnaturally hostile.

Was it hypnosis? Or drugs?

[Sunglasses-Wearing Man] [Race: Human ] [Weirdo][Magic Points (MP): 5/5] [Hit Points (HP): 110/110][Total Combat Power: 182]

Just a normal human, although his combat power was quite high considering. Perhaps he knew some sort of martial art, and I was sure the other factor was the magic power he possessed, even if he barely had any.

He shouldn't be a problem to me in terms of combat power, but I still didn't know who he was. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he took an exaggerated step backward.

"Ooooh, now that's scary. Thought you were just a cute little lady, who knew you were a demon? Look, I'm getting goosebumps."

As the man rolled up his sleeves to show me, he suddenly whipped out an oddly-shaped knife that looked like a bolt of lightning, using it to cut into one of the dogs next to him.

"Go."

The wounded dog leaped forward without even a single whimper. It came in contact with my mist and immediately froze in mid-air, the ice sculpture sailing past my side.

"...what were you trying to do?"

He chuckled. "Oh, I've just finished my preparations."

Right then, what looked like some fog burst out from the frozen dog and flew into the man.

I sensed a sudden outpouring of something similar to magic power from him, and I took a reflexive half-step dodge. The wooden door and the frozen dog diagonally behind me began to be invaded with greyness at visible speed.

Wait a minute, is this...

"...petrification?"

"Cor-rect! Amazing, I've never seen anyone managing to dodge it right on the first time!"

What did he do? Even in Yggdrasia, only certain monsters have the ability of petrification. It wasn't something Earth's technology could replicate.

"Who are you...?"

"My, sorry for the late introduction. My name's Herdu, and I come from a long-established line of Czech black mages. If you're a real demon, you should know the mages of old, right? Tell me who's better, me or them?"

As he gave his introduction, he stabbed his knife deep into the neck of another nearby dog. Herdu smirked even as the spurting blood smeared his face, and he once more absorbed something.