Chapter 14 - What is the Definition of a Demon for You?

"A devil?"

Arisha looked at Uriel with a strange expression. Uriel did not answer her question and only smiled lowering his shoulders.

Lowering his head slightly he looked at the ring on his finger. The Storage Ring glowed and a strange heart appeared in his hand. Unlike normal, the heart had a greenish-brown coloration, it probably belonged to some Regular from another race.

'Hehe, I wonder if it will work.'

Uriel smiled slightly tilted his head up and looked at Arisha who was watching him intently.

"Now, get away from me. Guard in front of the door."

"Yes, master!"

Arisha nodded and followed his instructions. She turned her back to the door and assumed a straight posture. She withdrew her sword and held the handle tightly in her hand, preparing herself for any imminent danger.

Her gaze lowered and she observed Uriel who was looking intently at the heart in his hand.

'What is he going to do?'

Splash!

The sound of something liquid spreading resounded.

Arisha frowned slightly as she watched Uriel crush the heart in his hand and the blood splashed uncontrollably covering the floor. In a moment, the floor was covered in the greenish-brown blood.

'Let's get started.'

Uriel closed his eyes, sitting in a lotus shape on the bloody floor. The candles around him instead of going out because of the blood began to glow even brighter.

Buzz! Buzz!

As if the ground was shaking, the blood on the ground began to hum and jump frantically.

As if it were alive, the blood on the floor began to rise up Uriel's legs and slowly began to cover his body. In a few seconds, Uriel's body was completely covered in greenish-brown blood. He looked like an ogre with all this blood covering his body.

Arisha frowned slightly at this sight but remained silent.

"Haaaah..." Uriel opened his eyes again and let out a refreshing sigh with a small smile on his face.

'One more.'

Moving his greenish arm, he pulled out another heart from inside the Storage Ring. This time it was a normal heart. Uriel looked at it for a moment, before also crushing it and doing the same process as before. Soon, another layer of blood covered his body.

'One more.'

Uriel picked up another one and did the same.

'One more... One more... One more... One more... One more...'

*

The time passed quickly. The smell of blood was permeating the air.

Uriel had crushed about forty-two hearts. Several layers of blood had covered his body, turning into a strange black crust. Only his golden eyes and his sclera could be discerned from the black crust covering his body.

The intense smell of blood made Arisha, who was not far away, frown and cover her nose with her hand.

'Now is the time. I wonder what I will see this time.'

A gleam full of anticipation flickered in Uriel's eyes and his lips arched into a smile.

Uriel put his two hands together in a triangle sign and closed his eyes. The candles around him went out. Then, suddenly, the Shinsu in the room began to stir.

The Flow of Shinsu changed.

Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-!!!

The place shook.

"Ack! What's that?!"

Arisha struggled to regain her balance with a shocked expression.

'The Flow of Shinsu... What happened!?'

The density of the Shinsu in the room increased several times and the Shinsu had taken on a scarlet black coloration. An intense pressure covered Arisha's body. She felt as if an entire mountain had been placed on her shoulders.

Chwaaack!

Suddenly, the immense pressure covering her body completely disappeared as if it had never existed.

'Back to normal?'

Arisha blinked her beautiful eyes in surprise and turned her gaze to Uriel sitting on the floor in a lotus shape. She couldn't help but be surprised again, a strange Black-Scarlet Shinsu was covering Uriel's body and a translucent image of a strange being was behind him.

Arisha shivered slightly and a shiver ran down her spine. That strange Shinsu and the translucent being behind Uriel gave her an unpleasant feeling; she could feel an aura full of evil intentions coming towards her as if it wanted to devour her.

Only one question was running through her head looking at Uriel at that moment.

'Who is he...?'

Or rather...

'What is he...?'

She didn't know. But, she was sure of one thing.

'He is dangerous! Very dangerous!'

A monster. Or just as he himself had said, a devil...

***

A blood moon shone in the sky.

A red river stretched as far as the eye could see. Several buildings could be seen destroyed. Corpses were lying in every corner.

Splash!

The blood from the river splashed with every step Uriel took. The blood splashed on his knees. He walked with a small smile and with both hands behind his back.

'This place is...'

He smiled with a look full of nostalgia.

The realm where everything began for him. The realm where he lived for his first three months in the Abyss. The realm where he made many friends and companions. The realm where he met his master. The realm where he received his first title in the Abyss. And finally, the first kingdom he decimated and destroyed.

-You demon bastard!!!

-You son of a bitch!

-We take care of you for three months and you repay us with this?!!!

-You deserve death!

-God will punish you!!!!

Uriel felt that he could hear the wailing and screaming of the Kingdom's inhabitants with every step he took through the river of blood.

He stopped his steps for a moment. He could see his younger version looking at the villagers with a hilarious expression and laughing heartily holding the Flame Lotus in his hand.

-Pfff... Hahahahahahahahaha!!! Oh man, this is hilarious, hahahaha! You're just a bunch of suicidal motherfuckers! God? Hehehehehehe. Do you mean that God of Suicides? That crazy bastard? A fucking demon thinks he can become a god? Hahahaha!

'Hehehehe. It was really hilarious and absurd what that guy was trying to do. Although he almost succeeded...'

God of the Suicides—a 3,000-year-old demon who sought to become a god. He practiced Arts and Techniques of enslavement and mind control. He brainwashed various beings and conquered an entire kingdom. He created a fanatical religion and tried to gather faith for himself.

Among the many ways to become a god, the creation of divinity based on faith is the most famous. The cursed demon almost succeeded in becoming a god, a pity that Uriel got in his way and killed him.

By that time, Uriel had been in the Abyss for about 1 year and was given a test by his master—to eradicate the demon seeking to become a god. Uriel initially thought it would be a piece of cake. However, the fanatical bastards of that demon were always running wild trying to stop him. Even if they had to risk their lives to do so, they did everything to stop him.

After a relative amount of time, Uriel ended up eradicating the entire kingdom before completing the test.

Friends, those who helped him in his first three months in this place, innocent people who knew nothing, or those who moved in his direction with evil intent; all were killed without exception.

A river of blood covered the entire destroyed kingdom at that time.

'I was very crazy at that time...'

He had lost his sanity and only moved around killing everyone who came in front of him. With the blood of the people who helped him on his hands, he only got crazier as time went on.

—Do you regret it?

Uriel smiled and shook his head.

"No. A demon does not regret his sins nor his atrocities."

—Did you have fun?

"Yes, quite a bit. A demon enjoys, rejoices, and laughs at the suffering of others."

—Would you do it again?

"Sure, why not?"

—Don't you feel bad that you killed your friends and those who helped you?

"Pfft... No. A demon doesn't feel bad about the death of others, he rejoices in it."

—So... What is the definition of a demon for you?

"A demon, huh..."

Uriel's gaze turned to the blood moon in the sky and a smile appeared on his face.

"A demon is the very definition and epitome of evil. A rampant and insane evil existence. A being that thinks it is always correct. A selfish existence that lives for itself. In the end, a demon is anything that can be considered 'evil'."

—Heh... Hehe... Hehehehehehe!!!

Laughter resounded through the black sky.

—Uriel Ilya! You are qualified to become a demon!

Uriel smiled.

"A pity..."

—What?

Uriel's hand moved. He clenched his fist and then...

Chwaaack!!!

He threw a punch.

BOOM!!!!!

A loud sound rang out and cracks began to appear in the space in front of him.

—What are you doing?!!!

"I didn't come here to become a demon, but to become a devil!"

—Crazy bastard! Do you know what you are doing?!!!! The Ancestors will not let you live!!!

"Pfft... Hahahaha! What can a bunch of dead people do against me? And even if they were alive, I would do the same because..."

There was something Uriel knew, the place around him was flooded with Demonic Energy. And with his initial preparations... Hehe.

—Don't tell me that...?!!! You bastard! How dare you make the Demonic Energy of the Ancestors yours!!!

The Demonic Energy spun and began to gather in his hand. A sword appeared.

Uriel gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and his hand moved.

Chuuuuuuuwak!!!

[Devil Swordsmanship... ]

The tip of his sword drew a dark red line in the space in front of him.

Uriel smiled.

Then—

[Space Division!]

Swoooooosh!!!!

The space in front of him split over his sword.

It was as if a black straight line had been drawn horizontally by God at the creation of the world. An area the size of a kingdom was divided by just one attack.

Thud!

From the dark division in space, a strange demon-like being fell to the ground with its body split in half. Uriel stepped on the strange being's head with his foot and, grinning from ear to ear, completed his sentence.

"... A devil makes his own rules and does as he wishes."