Time passed second by second.
The Chinese words Yuhran spoke instinctively did not hinder his communication with the holy tome in the slightest.
He had originally assumed that the questions posed by the tome would be rather tricky—
Personal privacy, perhaps.
But instead…
"Thou and five others are trapped within a mountain cave. With no food, one must be eaten for the rest to survive. Thou shalt choose…"
As the voice fell silent, corresponding scenes appeared before his eyes, so vivid it felt as though he were truly there.
Yuhran couldn't help but marvel inwardly. As expected of something connected to a god—the very first question was this blunt.
If he remembered correctly, this was a classic moral dilemma.
Had it seen through his identity and tailored the question accordingly? Or was it merely coincidence…?
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the raging blizzard outside the "cave" and let out a slow breath.
No matter what, as long as no one acted violently, that alone could be considered a good thing.
Lowering his gaze, he pondered for a moment before answering:
"I choose…"
…
At the city gate.
Hall's eyelid twitched. His Adam's apple bobbed as unease surged through his chest like a rising tide.
He recalled the demon's bizarre ability—control over shadows—and a sense of foreboding immediately welled up within him.
Without hesitation, he flipped open his holy scripture, fingers trembling as he cast magic to verify his suspicions.
He knew he might be overthinking it—but what if he wasn't?
A demon that could masquerade as a human could not be judged by common sense.
Perhaps even his escape had been—
Before the horrifying thought could fully take shape in his mind, a sudden change erupted.
The black shadow on the ground began to boil violently. A viscous tentacle burst forth from within, lashing out and smashing the holy scripture away!
Hall's heart nearly stopped.
"Damn it!"
The worst possibility had come true. That monster had been lurking inside his shadow the entire time.
But then—why…?
With no time to ponder when the demon had slipped into his shadow, he spun around and roared at the soldiers:
"Run! Now!"
The soldiers possessed no power beyond that of ordinary men.
Faced with this eerie, living thing born from shadows, the moment it revealed hostility, it was not an enemy they could possibly contend with.
Hall knew this all too well, which was why he bolted desperately toward the outskirts of the city.
Unfortunately, from the moment he drew close to Mondo, everything was already too late.
At the instant he turned away, the mass of shadow tore itself free from Hall's body, as though peeled off by unseen hands, gradually transforming into a three-dimensional being.
A gust of wind swept past, and its body twisted and warped, as if adapting to this entirely new form.
But soon, it stabilized, restoring itself into a solid, tangible entity.
Once it stood firm, it stomped the ground hard.
Crack!
The sturdy bluestone paving shattered instantly beneath its foot, fractures spreading in all directions.
This scene was witnessed by the surrounding soldiers. In the deathly silence, sharp intakes of breath rang out one after another.
Some widened their eyes in terror, stumbling backward before collapsing onto the ground.
"What… what is that thing?!"
…
High above, a thousand meters in the air.
Shaton hovered there as fierce winds howled past, whipping his black robe until it snapped loudly.
Clouds drifted beneath his feet. With one hand stroking his chin, his expression remained calm.
"Hm… discovered already? Only natural."
"Come out quickly. I can hardly wait to devour you all."
This was one of the shadow magics he commanded.
As time passed, the shadow would gradually acquire all of its host's abilities—possessing the same physical attributes, and even copying memories.
In theory, given enough time, he could defeat even a Demon King.
Unfortunately…
Shaton let out a faint sigh, a flash of unwillingness and regret crossing his eyes.
"Unfortunately, I'm too young. In the Demon King's Castle, where status is determined by magical power, a two-hundred-year-old like me can only languish at the very bottom."
"If I want to change that, I have no choice but to hunt, devour, and evolve without cease."
"Only through evolution can one gain massive amounts of magic power. Otherwise, I wouldn't have risked escaping from there."
Clenching his fist, Shaton knew that change was close at hand. He suppressed his resentment and continued to observe the battle below.
The shadow had entered its second stage, successfully copying Hall's abilities.
Now infused with magic power, the shadow became utterly unrestrained. It swung its tentacles wildly, launching indiscriminate attacks at the surrounding crowd.
Even when the soldiers severed its tentacles, black blood spilling out, the wounds healed completely in the blink of an eye.
Hall's eyes split wide with fury.
"Go! Run! Get out of here!"
He shouted until his voice turned hoarse, yet it sounded painfully weak in that moment.
If only he had gone all out back in that village.
He had fled on horseback for three days straight, the horse collapsing dead from exhaustion, while he himself was left battered and wounded.
He had thought he'd finally seen hope—
Only to realize that everything had been part of the demon's scheme.
How could he possibly accept this?
Hall's legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees, coughing violently.
Seeing this, the soldiers' captain hacked apart a tentacle, grit his teeth, and rushed over to help Hall up, shouting:
"Deacon! What should we do? Is this… a demon?!"
He had never seen a demon before. This encounter had truly shaken him—though thankfully, his mental fortitude was strong.
Supported upright, Hall clutched his chest and drew a labored breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He looked at the shadow, now gradually losing its color and becoming identical to himself. He knew there was no turning back anymore.
And these soldiers—protecting the people inside the city—would never retreat lightly.
Thus, he spoke decisively:
"Bind it! If—if you can't kill it!"
He didn't know what would happen now that the shadow had become identical to him.
But to be safe, this situation absolutely could not be allowed to continue developing.
However, upon hearing this, the soldiers' captain froze in place.
He didn't even have time to respond, because in sheer terror, he saw that the shadows behind his companions had begun to writhe as well—like living creatures.
"Gulp…"
He swallowed dryly, despair flooding his chest like a rising tide.
This…
It's over.
…
Inside the church.
Tap—tap—
While observing quietly, Milialde suddenly shifted her gaze.
A series of footsteps came from outside the door, accompanied by the clanking of armor.
The priest knocked and informed her that Hall had appeared—but was gravely injured.
—Gravely injured?
Milialde instinctively looked toward Yuhran, standing upon the dais.
He was still immersed in the holy tome's questioning, his profile bathed in soft light, his expression unusually focused.
She gave a light nod and replied, "Mm, I understand. I'll go over right away."
She didn't care about a human being seriously injured.
However, the fact that a demon had followed them here immediately caught her full attention.
As expected, the demon they had slain a few days ago had not been the only one.
These "vermin" that interfered with her journey needed to be eradicated as soon as possible.
She felt it would be better for her, as the elder, to deal with it personally.
Hopefully, she could kill the demon before Yuhran finished his test.
That way, she could return in time—to comfort him.
Turning around—
"Creak—"
The sound of the wooden door being pushed open rang especially clear.
She took one last deep look at Yuhran, imprinting his figure firmly into her eyes.
Then—
"Thud."
The door slowly closed, and silence returned to the room once more.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/BlackDevil808