The Flame Demon

The demonic matter reshaped itself under Gladius's control, the severed parts solidifying and then stretching out into a firm and sharp blade-like form. Noah got it now; he immediately thrust his arm blades into the larger demon's chest, ripping it open and causing its soul to desperately spill out.

Gladius finally relaxed, greedily absorbing the soul leaking from the larger demon.

"That was terrifying," Noah got up. "So that's a demon, huh?"

"That wasn't a demon, just a greater imp," Gladius clarified.

"A greater imp?" Noah examined it closely, noting that the creature was much bigger than him. "Such a large creature is only a greater imp?"

"Look at yourself."

Noah looked down at his body and realized he had become a lesser demon, a little imp—the lowest level of demons, insignificant and hardly feared, like the imp Hope they had found in the dungeon.

"How did I end up like this!"

"That's how demons are; they start as imps, slowly feeding on souls to grow larger. Our souls are robust enough now; what we lack is demonic essence. Consume that greater imp."

"How am I supposed to eat this?"

"Demonic matter has no taste. Does eating air bother you?"

Noah steeled himself, surprised to find his mouth full of sharp teeth. He grabbed the body of the greater imp which, after its soul was devoured by Gladius, was left as an empty shell. Mustering great courage and resolve, Noah ate a few mouthfuls. The demonic essence entered his body, nourishing and enlarging his form. He felt himself growing, his stature increasing slightly.

"Cackle!"

"Gurgle cackle!"

"Gurgle gurgle!"

The other imps that had crawled out of the pool saw the now larger Noah and cowered away, watching each other with hostility, desperately biting and clawing in a frenzy of killing. One by one, the weaker imps were slaughtered by their naturally larger kin, while some managed to win through tactics and luck. Soon, only about a dozen larger little demons remained around the pool, including Noah.

"My vision is blurry; I can only see floating souls and vague figures. Why is that?"

"Imps only have rudimentary nerves, low-grade photoreceptors, basic auditory systems, and simple muscles. We must consume more to slowly evolve more advanced organs," Gladius explained as he restored Noah's senses.

He grew ears and organs to distinguish smells. Looking around, it seemed like an underground cavern, surrounded by rugged rock walls with a stone ceiling above. The flames from the magma pool burned brightly, illuminating the area clearly, and the air was hot and dry, smelling of salt and sulfur.

"Gah—twist—cackle—" Noah tried to speak, but his voice sounded odd in his mouth.

"Let me speak normal sentences," Noah said internally.

"What's the use? In Hell, you won't need to talk. We need to conserve soul sediment for more important things," Gladius dismissed.

"Hurry up," Noah urged.

Reluctantly, Gladius reshaped Noah's organs to be more human-like. He now had a tongue, a mouth, and vocal cords, and felt much more normal.

"Cackle!"

"Wah wah!"

"Eat!"

The surviving imps chattered and dived into another round of killing for each other's souls, tangling in a brutal melee.

"What should I do?" Noah backed against the cave wall.

"Be a competent demon, kill them all!" Blade demon roared, transforming Noah's demonic arms into two sleek, sharp blades and growing lethal horns atop his head, shaping him into a fearsome executioner.

Was this a chance other Hunters ever imagined—venturing into Hell to hunt demons?

Noah charged instinctively, slicing through the creatures obstructing his path. The imps were fiercely engaged and didn't expect an attack from behind. They screamed and charged at Noah, but their cries turned to death wails as they were cut down one by one. The blades Blade demon had evolved wielded absolute destructive power; these lowliest of demons stood no chance and were cleaved effortlessly.

Their dissipating souls floated upwards, eagerly devoured by Gladius.

"That's it—that's it—there's no more efficient way to kill than killing demons. You eat too, Noah. These innate demonic essences are precious resources."

Noah grew accustomed to moving in Hell, striding to the corpses of the demons he had slain, ingesting the colorless, tasteless soul matter from their bodies. This act of corruption felt alien to him—he was killing demons, feasting on them, becoming a devourer of demons, a destroyer of them. It was perhaps the first time a human had invaded Hell to massacre its denizens.

"What now?" Noah asked after consuming all the little demons in sight, his body now over two meters tall and his arm blades sharper.

"Let's greet the local manager and see who's ruling over this spawning pool now," Gladius extended its senses. "Oh— that was quick."

Boom! A fist broke through the rock ceiling above Noah, and an ominous blue flame lit the underground space. Noah looked up through the damage to see a head ablaze with unceasing flame, a demon whose head alone was larger than his entire body peering down.

"Little imp..." its thunderous voice echoed. "Are you the only one alive?"

"I killed all the others," Noah shouted back.

"You look strange... why do you resemble a Blade demon? That's unnatural!" As the Flame Demon appeared, Noah instantly felt the temperature surge, the heat rising far beyond the magma pool's.

"I don't know," Noah stared at the massive Flame Demon. "Who are you?"

"I am the vanguard of the Flame Demon King, the breaker of Hell's front lines. Receive Ignitz's fire, oh impressive little imp champion, you have devoured all the weak and proven your strength. Now, burn yourself in Hell to become the most dreadful blaze. I shall call you Flame Blade, you shall bring ruin to the naively flammable, light up Hell, and spread light and heat to every dark corner." The Flame Demon reached out, a ball of blazing light sinking into the cavern, lighting up the surroundings while Gladius adjusted Noah's demonic photoreceptors to prevent disorientation.

The fire brewed with immense power, and Noah could feel it.

Is this how demons grow? Chasing souls, consuming each other, the strong subduing the weak. Noah pondered. Each demon had its own distinct concept while sharing many commonalities, using souls as internal driving forces and efficiently transforming their outer soul sediment.

Then, how to exterminate these supernatural creatures? Hmm...

Better to cut them down.

"What if I refuse to accept?" Noah looked up defiantly.

"A proud little imp champion, well then, I've tired of cowardly little demons. You're fortunate, your arrogance has caught my attention. Perhaps I can grant you a reward. But first, I need to verify something."

"What?"

"You bear the scent of Blade demon, possibly because this territory was once under its rule. But you must faithfully believe me—Blade demon is an outright weakling and fool, weak and stupid, driven mad and banished by the kings, scorned by all demons. Abandon its mark and accept something far stronger."

"Alright," Noah didn't hesitate.

"What? You ass!" Gladius erupted in anger. "Did you hear how it described me?"

"It's just a temporary—"

Noah heard a crackling ignition above, fury unleashed.

"Gladius? I can hear you, you dare return!" The Flame Demon roared furiously, smashing down, causing the entire cavern to collapse.

"Why can't you just lower your pride a bit?" Noah felt the ground shaking violently.

"Did I climb and seek power among the demon lords of Hell just to tolerate humiliation?"

Somehow he needed to escape...

"Now I am humiliating you!" The Flame Demon punched again, "Gladius, you are stricken from the ranks of demon lords!"

The cavern shook incessantly, Noah struggled to keep his balance as giant rocks fell from above, crashing to the ground with each tremor. He ran desperately, the solid rock cave proving fragile against the Flame Demon's assault.

"Now you're nothing, try cutting through flames, you fool!" The Flame Demon extended its fist into the cavern, rupturing the ball of bright flames. It exploded over the pool, flaring up giant flames that spread rapidly in all directions, the temperature within the cave skyrocketing.

Noah felt increasingly uncomfortable as waves of heat blew toward him, steaming and distracting him.

The fire spread! Unfamiliar with his body, Noah scrambled, diving into crevices and tunnels, fearing the encroaching inferno.

"There's no way out here!" Noah faced a rock wall, turning back only to see the greedy flames spread, licking the ground, melting stones into thin magma, heat billowing upward.

"There should be a way out," Gladius murmured.

"Should?" Noah chided, "Why didn't you plan before bringing me here?"

"Because I wanted to try, and it turns out to be quite successful," Gladius said. "We came in safely, discreetly became demons..."

"It's because you wouldn't bow down that we got caught."

"Then go grovel if you love bowing so much."

"The fact is we're trapped here, with a flame creature several times your size waiting outside," Noah watched anxiously as flames flowed toward him, those life-like fires aware of his location.

The fire consumed the land, and Noah had no choice but to climb the airtight rock wall to avoid being pulled into the endless blaze.

With nowhere to retreat, he faced the terrifying flames, the heat nearly boiling the liquid within him, feeling as if he were being stewed alive, the scorching air unbearable, like being trapped in a massive oven.

To be consumed by fire, this must be what it meant.