In the blink of an eye, almost three months had passed since Arthur and the others escaped the farm. During that time, their lives gradually settled into a strange but steady routine.
Arthur spent most of his days with Saeko Busujima, ambushing and hunting the demons from the farms that were still searching for them. Their attacks were precise and calculated, striking only when victory was certain.
Blake, on the other hand, was far simpler, and far more brutal. He hunted those demons head-on.
For over seven hundred years he had been hunted by his own kind, and he showed absolutely no mercy to the demons who served under the noble class. His wild and ruthless fighting style even made Arthur slightly wary.
Demons, after all, were not human.
Their frenzied combat style relied more on their naturally powerful bodies than on refined techniques. In Arthur's eyes, Blake's spear skills hadn't even reached the entry level of a true master.
After observing him for a full month, Arthur was completely confident that he could defeat Blake in a direct fight.
However, Blake's seven centuries of life as a fugitive had not been meaningless either.
On one occasion, he accidentally witnessed Arthur killing a high-ranking demon who had been tracking them. The strike was clean and instantaneous.
From that moment on, things changed.
Blake, who had previously provoked the "little demon" every day, seeking the thrill of fighting a strong human, gradually became more cautious. Each time Arthur calmly wiped the blood from his blade after a battle, Blake felt a faint chill run down his spine.
Even he could sense the terrifying calm behind those movements.
As a result, his once arrogant attitude noticeably faded.
Meanwhile, on another front, Coco worked alongside Liza and Mujika.
Every day, the three of them traveled across the forest on the surface, searching for the plants listed in the inventory Arthur had given her.
Liza, with her [Presence Dilution] ability, acted as their lookout. She also used the skill to retrieve plants that were difficult to approach, especially those growing near wild beasts.
Whenever danger appeared, or if demons from the farm began searching nearby, Mujika—who was deeply familiar with both the surface and underground terrain—would immediately guide them into hidden tunnels beneath the forest.
At the center of this small operation was Coco.
Originally, she had felt deeply self-conscious about her inability to contribute to the group. But over the past weeks, her meticulous personality and exceptional observational ability began to shine.
She quickly identified and collected the plants on Arthur's list.
Many of them had several subspecies or other plants with extremely similar appearances. If she hadn't forced herself to memorize large amounts of botanical information in order to distinguish them quickly, the operation would never have progressed so smoothly.
The three worked together almost perfectly.
In fact, all the required materials had already been gathered within twenty days.
During the following ten days, Arthur shut himself inside an underground cave and began working together with Coco on a new project.
"What we're trying to develop," Arthur explained, "is essentially no longer blood. It's a virus—a very special one."
"The essence of the Evil Blood is the missing fragment in the incomplete genes of those demons. When Evil Blood enters their bodies, they absorb it without any resistance and use it to complete their genetic structure."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"The new version we are creating—[Evil Blood · Modified]—won't kill demons. Instead, it will rewrite a specific segment of their genes."
Coco listened carefully as Arthur explained his theory.
"Many traits in human genes are inherited," he said. "For example, some people are born hating cilantro. That isn't simple pickiness. It's an instinct that has been engraved into certain human genes since ancient times."
"As a result, some descendants inherit that trait and instinctively reject the taste."
"Even if the smell doesn't bother them, the moment they eat it, their bodies immediately trigger a stress response. Vomiting is common, and in severe cases it can even cause allergic reactions or shock."
"There are many examples like that."
Arthur looked at the notes scattered across the stone table.
"The special [Evil Blood · Modified] we're researching works on the same principle. It will insert a small genetic segment into demons—one that creates a powerful aversion to the taste of human flesh."
Coco nodded slowly as understanding dawned on her.
"It's similar to how some people are born with hemophobia," she said. "An instinctive fear or rejection of blood."
"What we're doing is creating that same kind of reaction in demons—forcing their bodies to instinctively reject human blood and flesh."
"When that happens… human flesh will become something they cannot eat."
"And once human flesh loses its meaning as food for demons, while the Evil Blood replaces its role in preventing their degeneration…"
"Demons preying on humans and persecuting them will become meaningless."
After months of research, Sophia's entire demeanor had changed significantly. The insecure and delicate girl she once was had faded, replaced by someone far more composed. Even in the way she carried herself now, there was a faint shadow of her older sister, an inner confidence that quietly radiated from her presence.
Sophia's intelligence had truly exceeded Arthur's expectations. The conclusions she reached during her analysis almost perfectly aligned with the future Arthur had envisioned.
Demons, in truth, were very similar to humans. Because of the existence of human farms, Demon society had also developed a massive chain of interests centered around the human farming factories. These operations were primarily controlled by capitalist and aristocratic Demons, who effectively managed nearly every human farm in existence.
In other words, the exalted status of humans as food was not simply tradition—it represented the core interests of the Demon capitalist class. If Arthur and his group succeeded in what they were attempting, they would inevitably make enemies of the most powerful forces in this world.
That would mean war.
A war that Arthur would eventually have to face.
But before reaching that point, there was a more immediate problem they needed to solve—successfully creating the [Evil Blood · Modified].
Fortunately, Sophia was assisting him.
After two months of relentless research and experimentation, they could finally see a faint glimmer of hope.
The formula for the [Evil Blood · Modified] was something Arthur had previously obtained using an A-grade Plot Privilege Card. At the time, he had attempted to directly request a completed sample that met his conditions.
The result had been a failure.
Instead of the finished product, he only received the raw materials and the formula required to produce the [Evil Blood · Modified]. Even then, the formula itself was crude and incomplete, forcing him to conduct repeated experiments just to determine the precise ratios between each ingredient.
Still, the experience allowed Arthur to better understand the limits of the Plot Privilege Card's authority. To directly obtain a finished product like the [Evil Blood · Modified], he would likely need S-grade authority.
Even so, A-grade authority was already extremely valuable. It had given him the method of creation, and as long as he followed the steps and refined the formula through experimentation, the potion could eventually be produced.
Thinking about it now, Arthur was actually glad he hadn't saved that privilege card.
If he had used a B-grade card instead, he suspected the result would have been far worse. At best, he might have received only a vague record of the formula and the names of the required materials—nothing more.
Without knowing the specific properties of those ingredients or even their physical appearances, locating them in the wild would have been nearly impossible.
By the time they managed to gather everything and begin the brewing process, the survival mission's main quest timer would probably already be nearing its end.
And if that happened, what would be the point of creating it at all?
Even if it could serve as a powerful asset for a future challenge, Sophia simply could not afford to fail this time.
Perhaps it was precisely because she understood this so clearly.
Over the past few days, Sophia had devoted herself to the research with near-obsessive focus, pouring all of her energy into perfecting the potion.
"Finally... success!!!"
She tightly clutched the bottle of completely colorless liquid in her hand, her voice bursting out in uncontrollable excitement.
This small bottle of liquid represented far more than a successful experiment.
It meant her future could finally continue.
And at the same time—
It marked the beginning of a fate that would overturn this entire world.