The Demon

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The sound of a keyboard can be heard as a man in his thirties is searching the internet. He's in a dark room covering himself with a thick blanket and he doesn't seem to be in the right mind.

His ragged breathing and his sobbing noise are quite evident.

But the man is alone in his large mansion so no one would notice his current behavior. No one would see that he currently needs someone's help.

Click! Click!

He also seems to be in a hurry as his hands are trembling while clicking on the mouse.

After a few clicks, the man would pause momentarily as he was trying to see if he found the right article…

He would do this a few times before being satisfied.

Bam! Bam!

He punched the wall a couple of times after confirming that the evidence was clear… It isn't a prank or a mistake. His bleeding fist that stings him had also confirmed that he wasn't dreaming.

He was betrayed by the woman he loved! The woman who promised that would wait for him until he acquired a Ranked A or above Artifact.

"Why? Why?" He asked but a part of him knows the answer. He wasn't good enough.

He can still recall how she was hopeful about his last mission so they could finally live together. The mission itself was extremely dangerous and it could cause his death. However, it will pay an extremely high reward if he managed to survive and complete their objective.

This is why he accepted it even after knowing the dangers of the mission. Aside from that, that same lady was also giving her support and pushed him to participate. In truth, she was even the one who gave that slot telling him that she acquired it after so many efforts...

He didn't want to disappoint her so he accepted it!

'Ahh… I should've noticed it at that time…' The man thought after recalling that night.

Their team was composed of 15 elite Awakened and he was one of their 10 helpers. Unfortunately, a problem occurred within the Arcane World that they've entered and he's the only one who managed to stay alive.

He was thrown to a different country far away from the entrance of the Arcane World. Luckily, he was carrying the two Ranked A Artifact and an unknown Artifact with him… So he knows that he still completed the mission and he could still live with the woman he loves.

Then, while he was preparing to return to his country, he learned that the government already announced their deaths… This prompted him to communicate with his agency about his survival.

They seem to be very surprised but also worried. They immediately sent people to take him and have him interrogated in a secret facility.

Apparently, they are now planning to keep his status a secret while they are figuring out what truly happened. He wasn't allowed to contact anyone in the outside world for a week.

What annoys him is that there was also a part in the interrogation where he was being accused of letting the others die for him to survive!

This angered him for a bit so he decided to keep the Unknown Artifact that is secretly attached to him.

Nevertheless, he still earned a lot of money after handing out the two Ranked A Artifacts to the agency…

Finally, after getting out of the facility, he bought a mansion and everything that he wished to buy before.

That's right, he has been planning to surprise the woman of his dreams but he was the one who was surprised after discovering that she already had a relationship with a popular Awakened!

Bam!

He slammed the wall after recalling everything…

He had to accept it and move on… He knows he had to… but he can't. His heart hurt so much that he wanted to die on the spot.

He read a lot of books about vengeance by becoming someone better... To become someone that she would regret leaving.

Perhaps if he became successful, he would feel a lot better.

However, he knows that he's not the main character of a story… He wasn't even an Awakened with incredible power so he can only be happy with whatever he could get.

Hik—Hik---

His sobbing noise is wearing off as he calmed himself.

He stared blankly in front of his computer after some time…

He felt that he was lost… He doesn't know what to do.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Then, he found himself typing on his keyboard…

[ What is the easiest way to die? ]

[ What is the painless way to die? ]

He searched on the internet…

However, after having thoughts of killing himself, he suddenly felt that something was on his shoulder.

'Ahh… It's the unknown Artifact.' He finally recalled. He knows that the Artifact wasn't that harmful since it was scanned multiple times already. He felt that it was just a type of lucky charm since the level of energy was negligible.

But he was completely wrong!

A growl in the depths of a void resounded to his ears. The temperature in the room had also dropped significantly…

He realized that he was not alone. He wanted to open the lights but as he was about to stand up, he saw two fierce eyes staring at him with harrowing excitement.

He was frozen due to fear.

Haa~ Haa~

He heard someone breathing! But he should be alone in his room!

After a few moments, he finally adjusted his eyes and saw the creature standing beside him… He wasn't just hallucinating!

He couldn't take this anymore!

"Aah!" He shouted in fear.

'A beast! No, it's a demon!'

He can see the two curved horns adorned on its head as the demon enjoys the sight of him being terrified.

"Hey… Aren't you planning to kill yourself?"

The demon whispered to his ears. He sounded playful and terrifying as he added.

"I can help you…"

The demon's voice sends shivers down his spine as he almost peed himself.