Conversation with the Demon (Part One)

'If you don't calm down and tell me more, we won't get anywhere. Also, stop yelling inside my head, please. I will ask, and you will answer, okay?'

What was this? Raum was behaving too childish for an immortal being.

"How dare you call me a child! I am Raum. One of the Great Demons of Hell. I'm an Earl. The Raven Prince!"

'I said stop yelling! If you're not going to take my opinions seriously, there will be no deal. You'll have to find someone else as your host.' I furrowed my brows. I wasn't good with children.

"Alright. Alright. There's no need to be angry. All of this is new to me. I can't remember the last time I felt like this. I just got a little excited." Now Raum's voice sounded meek.

"Meek?! I can tolerate you calling me a child but... meek? I am powerful! Do you know how many demons are under my command? Huh? Even the other Great Demons of Hell can't talk to me like this!"

'Does this mean you'll find another host instead of me?'

"No... I didn't mean that!"

A smile appeared on my face. This guy had an entertaining personality. He didn't seem like he would easily give up on me either.

"Exactly. I've been doing the same things for thousands of years. I can't say I'm bored, on the contrary, I've been having a lot of fun all this time, but now I have a feeling that I'll have even more fun in the future. You're talented and smart, just like the great me. Our personalities are similar too. If I'm going to have a host, it should be you."

I don't act like a meek person and I don't have sudden mood swings. I can't say we're that similar, but whatever.

"That... That was just an act! I was acting to gain your trust. Otherwise, why would the Great Raum act like a meek child?"

'Sure. Sure.'

"Come on! I have my demon-like pride too! Don't talk to me like this!"

'This is revenge. It's payback. He he.'

"Grrr!"

I shouldn't continue this game any longer.

'That's enough. People are dying behind us. Let's get back to our topic. You seem to know what's going on.'

"Ke ke kek. If you say please, I'll tell you."

'Stop babbling and start from the beginning! Also, stop being so arrogant. It's getting on my nerves.'

I wonder what the other demons were like? Were they like this one, too?

And I shouldn't let this guy control the conversation.

"Okay..." Raum's tone of voice indicated that he still had things to say, but thankfully he also realized that we needed to discuss the matter at hand.

"If I have to start from the beginning, I should first talk about Teton and the other gods. Teton is the great will that created all living beings on Earth. He, like us demons, is a will-based being, but he is much stronger compared to us. Just his existence alone was enough to keep the Earth safe from the other gods, but as that Agrionian said on the broadcast, Teton's will has disappeared. This has left a unique planet like Earth vulnerable. Now, many gods are trying to claim a piece of the Earth for themselves."

'I thought we only had to fight against the Agrionians. Does this mean multiple alien races are invading the Earth?'

"Yes. In total, seven gods have set their sights on Earth. Some of them have already started their invasion."

We don't stand a chance. Humanity is doomed to extinct.

I couldn't help but think that way.

"The situation is even worse than you think. Unlike Teton, the other gods lead the races they have created as their Lords. Each of the civilizations invading Earth is ahead of humanity by hundreds, even thousands of years. Even just one of these civilizations alone has the power to conquer Earth and enslave humanity." Raum's words were extremely terrifying. 

I slumped into my seat. I couldn't say anything. I felt like a criminal awaiting execution.

Today, we barely managed to save our skins, but what will we do tomorrow?

I looked at the people sitting in the front of the bus. I couldn't see their faces from here, but I could sense how scared they were.

If they could hear what I heard, how would they react?

For now, I won't tell them what I heard from Raum.

"Yes. Humanity will fall, but there is still hope."

'What hope? How can humanity resist such powerful opponents? Are you going to help us? Are you trying to turn me into some kind of hero by making me your host?'

Unintentionally, I spoke in a mocking tone. Raum responded to me in the same mocking tone, "A hero? Of course not. They don't even exist."

'Then how is it possible for humanity to still have hope?'

"Listen. Teton's Will disappeared a month ago. How do you think the invading civilizations came thousands of light-years away to Earth during this short time? They didn't just board a spaceship and travel. Each of them opened a gateway to come here. The Agrionians landed on the dark side of the moon three days ago and waited. Two other invading civilizations opened a direct gateway to Earth's orbit today and started their invasions. The other four are also heading towards Earth from Mars and Venus as we speak. They will be here in a few weeks. What do you think this means?"

'Are they avoiding each other?'

"Yes. This means that the invading civilizations might also wage war against each other for their own interests. This is humanity's first reason to be hopeful."

"The second reason is that they have to come to Earth by opening a gateway. Opening a gateway to the solar system from thousands of light-years away is not an easy task even for an advanced civilization. They can only keep the gateway open for a very short period of time each time. Moreover, the disappearance of Teton's Will still remains a mystery. The invading gods need to take this into account as well. This means that initially, they can only send a small portion of their armies to Earth."

"The third reason is... that the beings created by Teton are not just limited to living beings on Earth. Teton was a powerful god who could create will-based beings as well."

'Are you talking about angels or something like that?'

"Yes. Humanity will fall. There is nothing that can be done to stop it. But eradicating humanity from the face of the Earth will not be so easy. Angels will do their best to prevent that."

I was talking to a demon right now. It wouldn't be surprising if there were an angel out there somewhere.

'Um... Will angels also choose a host among humans, like what you're trying to do? And what happens after a human becomes a host? Do they gain superpowers or something?'

I wasn't really asking this question seriously, but I could sense that the biggest reason for the existence of hope for humanity that Raum mentioned was the angels.

"Hmm. This is not a very common occurrence. I don't exactly know how the process works for angels, and we, the demons don't communicate with angels unless necessary. So our knowledge about them is limited. However, I do know what happens when an angel's will enters into a mortal soul. I've seen another god's angel do this on another planet before. After the process, the host could manifest the angel's characteristic powers in the physical realm."

'Another planet? You can travel to other planets too? Physical realm? Does this mean there is a spiritual realm as well?'

"Hmph! Of course, I can travel to other planets. What did you think I was? Human?!" Raum's voice suddenly filled with arrogance.

'I think you need to work on your sudden mood swings... but anyways, please continue.' If Raum had a physical body and was standing in front of me, I would have punched him in the face. 

I focused on hiding these thoughts as much as possible. I didn't want to go back to where we started.

"It's quite difficult to explain this to a human."

'Try me.'

It seemed like I was successful. When I focused on hiding my thoughts, Raum couldn't read them.

"Heaven and Hell do exist, but not in the form humans know them. You can think of both as a network system that spans the entire universe, where will-based beings reside. With these two network systems, it is child's play for beings like us to travel from one place to another in the universe or interact with multiple locations simultaneously."

"Heaven is for gods, the will-based beings they have created, and the other divine beings. Hell, on the other hand, belongs to us, the demons. Both realms exist simultaneously in conjunction with the physical realm anytime, anywhere, but still separated in essence from each other."

Raum's words were enough to turn my world upside down. I had never thought that Heaven and Hell could be such things. I was having difficulty understanding.

I had many questions to ask Raum, but each question I asked gave birth to more questions.