The Demon

After suffering from one defeat to another, Merlin seemed to have exhausted every bit of his energy. He fainted on the dirt ground.

The wizard saw the collapsed Merlin and he approached him.

"I see..., so this is the limit of your power..., for now." He spoke to the fainted child.

This was too much ugliness for a single child to bear, the wizard thought.

He then looked at the demon with composure and approached it.

The demon straighten its back and looked down at both mortals in front of it.

The sun was still blazing hot, casting a massive and menacing shadow of the ancient demon from 'the realm beneath men'.

The demon leaned his head forward.

"YOU...! STEP ASIDE!"

"Why should I?" The wizard said calmly.

The thunderous sound of a demon often frightens the common folk, but the wizard stayed unfazed.

"MOVE!!!" The demon's voice echoed.

"Why are you here?"

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS YOU PUNY MORTAL!"

"Who summoned you?"

"YOU DARE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS, LOWLY HUMANS!! GIVE ME THE BOY NOW!!!"

"Why?"

"I CAN SEE IT! THAT BOY HAS THE SOUL OF THE REINCARNATED! IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I SAW SUCH AN APPETISING HUMAN!!"

"What would you do if I refuse?"

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!!"

"If I'm not wrong, based on my limited knowledge, demons are beings that would respect those who are stronger, no matter what race they are, is it not?"

"SO WHAT!? GIVE ME THE KID OR ELSE...!!!"

"Then, why are you looking down on me, child!!!" The wizard raised his tone.

He stared directly at the demon's eyes.

The surrounding atmosphere suddenly got heavier and heavier due to the wizard releasing his strong mana reserve.

The demon took a step back instinctively.

"YOU...!!!" Its voice trembled. The demon was in disbelief at the fact that there are humans who are stronger than him.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW A MOCKERY TO ME WITH YOUR FAKE POWER LIKE THAT!" It shouted. The demon was enraged.

The demon stood up. It raised one of its hands. its fingers were spread apart with its sharp claws ready to murder the man in front of it.

The demon launched his hands toward the wizards.

"[gis]"

The blade-like claws of the demon could not scratch the shield that has been summoned by the wizard.

The demon was shocked. It reacted by throwing a barrage of punches and clawings.

One punch after another, alas, none of the attacks of the demon wounded the wizard. The demon's effort to harm was nothing but nought.

The demon was enraged by the calmness of the wizard.

"[aeth]" The wizard chanted silently.

He teleported to the side of the demon's face.

"[to]" The wizard chanted again.

Small light orbs suddenly gathered in the hand of the wizard, forming a hammer. He swiftly swung his arm to the face of the demon, launching it towards the empty patch of dirt land that was once a wheat field.

"GRRR...." The demon groaned in pain.

The demon tried to stand up, but before he managed to fully stood with its two legs, the wizard already teleported above it and he launched another attack, forcing the demon to fall to the ground.

The demon felt frustrated. It swung its arm aimlessly, trying to push away the wizard as far away as possible.

The wizard dodged the attack and quickly jumped away from the demon.

Suddenly, the chest of the demon started to palpitate real fast. The skin around the chest started to loosen up and immediately exploded.

From the chest, came a creature with a human-like masculine physique. Its skin was fair like white snow. Spiralling horns were seen to be wrapped around its head. It has four eyes that was thin and sharp. On its chest, a large gem was seen surrounded by veins that spread throughout its body, and on its back, it had a pair of thin white tentacles that resemble a robe.

The number of humans that the demon had eaten has fulfilled the requirements for the demon to evolve. By eating humans, the demon could absorb and digest their mana. This absorbed mana can then be used to forcibly expand one's power and mana reserve. When a creature has reached a certain mana reserve threshold, a creature will evolve into a greater form of its race.

The demon stood up and opened its eyes.

"I have a name now!" The demon said calmly.

For any creature of 'the realm beneath men', a name is given as a sign of expansion of power. As for the name itself, it is believed that it will be given by the gods once they deemed that a creature is worthy to hold greater power. For them, a name is a sign of worth and power.

"Vandal, Oh..., what a beautiful name! Thank you, The Lord of The Universe! All of my hard work has finally paid off!" It spoke gently with teary eyes.

"Do you feel happy with what you have done now, demon?" The wizard asked curiously.

"Yes...! I can... I can.. finally be free!" It clenched its hand into a fist.

Its face was festoon with gratefulness for his wish to evolve had finally been fulfilled. The demon has advanced into a greater demon, a sub-race that is almost equal to the demon king. It is now one hundred times more powerful than ever.

It looked at the wizard with full of pity.

"Dear wizard, now that I am very contented with this existence of mine, I shall grant you a merciful and painless death." It spoke tenderly.

Vandal pointed its finger toward the wizard and a ball of plasma. It quickly launched toward the wizard at a lightning speed.

"[tezc]"

The wizard summoned a mirror-like shield. It deflected the plasma beam back into the demon.

The demon was amazed by the power of the wizard. It easily deflected the beam with its hand.

The plasma beam hit the ground far from them and it created a large explosion large enough to reach the sky.

"Please..., do not resist, hum-" It halted its speech. "I see..., you are no longer a human, you too, have evolved." The demon grew wiser. It was able to assess the ability of others more accurately.

"Perhaps It was a mistake to pick a fight with you this early." It reflected upon its newly gained power. "But, you won't be able to grow stronger if you never fight someone stronger than you, right?" The demon smiled.

The demon put both of its arms forward and launched a barrage of plasma at the wizards a distraction. It ran as quick as the speed of sound, heading towards the wizard to laid a punch.

"[e] [rase]" The wizard chanted before the demon managed to hurt him.

The demon unwillingly froze its movement.

"Wha... [dialogue removed] !!!

[dialogue removed]

[dialogue removed]

[dialogue removed]

[The demon Vandal's ability to speak has been erased]

It shocked. The demon could not speak, as if the universe has deemed it to never speak again.

It then managed to clinch its fist out of resentment towards the wizard, whom it thought was the source of the issue. It then forced its hand to punch the wizard.

The demon was able to quickly... [action is erased from the storyline]

The demon was once again, shocked!

[Erasing the demon Vandal from the existing story...]

[Erasing in 3...]

[Erasing in 2...]

[Erasing in 1...]

The iron body of the [Redacted] easily turned into dust that was quickly blown away by the wind.

[Erasure of the demon Vandal is imperfect due to the incomplete chanting]

[The outcome of the demon Vandal's action in the past cannot be reverted]

[The demon Vandal is removed from the present and future storyline]

[The Council of Law, Chaos, and Universe demand payment for the use of advanced original magic]

[A portion of Heka The Wizard's mana and lifeforce have been taken as compensation for advanced original magic]

The wizard took a deep sigh of relief. He then directed his look toward the young Merlin who had awoken from his short slumber.

The wizard approached him and said,

"Boy, why don't you come with me? I will teach you the truth about magic."