I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy

Chapter 174: The Book Of The Demon (2)

Chapter 174: The Book Of The Demon (2)

The Book of the Demon was a magical book written by a demon.

Its age ranged from at least a few thousand years to tens of thousands of years.

Demons had widely varying lifespans, and the magic books they wrote also had different effects.

However, they all shared one common effect.

Magic books written by demons, who were non-human, corrupted their users.

If it underwent no purification process, it would be a very dangerous item.

It forcibly corrupted the user and subjugated them. The subjugated became the demon’s minions and worked for them.

They became like demon-empowered beings who gained power by offering their souls to beings from other worlds.

The power one could obtain was clearer. While beings from other worlds were higher in rank than demons, they could not properly grant power to humans due to their overwhelming strength. Demons, on the other hand, could easily transfer their power.

However, once one reached a certain level due to the difference in rank, the power they provided became exceedingly weak.

‘That’s why it’s a problem if ambiguous guys get their hands on the Book of the Demon.’

Ambiguous guys caused overwhelming incidents.

I once again pondered deeply in Hong Yu-hwa’s room. The photos had disappeared somewhere in the meantime, and the bed had returned to a clean state.

“I’ll say it again, the reason why your photos were pinned to the wall was because I was hanging them up with a sense of swallowing my pride......!”

I understood.

That’s her nature.

If there’s someone she wanted to defeat, she burned with a competitive spirit.

But was there really a need to put up my photos with a sense of swallowing her pride? Though I thought this, I didn’t bother to point it out.

I looked at the Book of the Demon.

The Book of the Demon had strange writing. It didn’t seem like the language of this world, and each letter, though faint, contained demonic energy.

However, I possess the talent, reading (-).

[Interpreting 「Book of the Demon - Book of Cruelty (S)」.]

Vroom!

Knowledge surfaced in my mind. Knowledge I had never encountered before began to settle in my head as if I naturally knew it. It seemed like a type that implanted knowledge through the act of reading.

“It’s a Book of the Demon. And it was written by a fairly high-ranking demon.”

“...Really?”

I frowned as I spoke.

This magic book had a nastier performance than I thought. It granted the user power, but the side effects of that power were significant.

It seemed more like a contract to get a disposable toy rather than a loyal servant.

‘It’s lucky I found it first.’

Dark energy began to seep out from the magic book called the “Book of Cruelty (S).”

It started to bind me forcibly. It was a demon’s unique contract ritual. The moment this contract was established, you could face the demon and become its loyal servant.

If it weren’t for me, that was.

‘Contracts can be nullified at any time.’

However, I became curious.

There were many undiscovered aspects of demons. In the game, most of them appeared already dead. Some of the higher-ranking demons escaped to other dimensions in the later stages.

It’s different in this world. For some reason, the dead demons had resurrected.

‘And what it said also bothers me.’

Whether it’s apostles, demon-empowered beings, or demons.

The higher-ranked beings I encountered, the more they showed me affection. To an uncomfortable degree.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It’s fine. It would be dangerous for others. It’s a forced contract.”

“Wait, hold on!”

“No need to be so surprised. I can break this kind of contract anytime.”

Hong Yu-hwa was surprised, so I calmed her down.V/\IssịT for the b/est novel reading experi/en/ce

“What are you talking about?”

“By interpreting the magic book, it sets the condition for a forced contract. But if it happens like this, the power of the contract itself diminishes. So, for this kind of thing, if the user is strong enough, it’s hard to force a contract. That’s why it can be canceled with even a small amount of power. Yu-hwa, you might need to use all your strength.”

The power she exuded was beyond imagination.

-Haha, at this level, there’s nothing to fear.

-Eternal Heaven, don’t be overconfident.

-What are you talking about, you pervert who feels something when touching the Sword God.

-What?!

Eternal Heaven spoke to Black Heaven and then wagged her tails as she disappeared somewhere.

With Eternal Heaven becoming that strong, there was no need to worry about her being easily overpowered by a demon.

-Master, don’t trust Eternal Heaven too much.

‘You start causing discord the moment she’s gone?’

-......

Black Heaven looked at me as if she couldn’t believe what she heard.

-That’s not it. The problem lies in what the Celestial Horse left behind. So don’t trust anything, including me. I won’t teach martial arts anymore. It’s pointless now that you’re walking a path no one else can follow...

‘Is that so.’

I looked at Black Heaven.

Perhaps Black Heaven was telling me not to trust herself.

A being derived from a part of the Heavenly Demon.

She might know about some plan the Heavenly Demon had.

‘There really isn’t anyone I can trust.’

I walked calmly towards the mansion. The mansion was peaceful.

A five-year-old Hong Yu-hwa was practicing magic in the park.

“......Lee Seo-ha?”

“Hong Yu-hwa?”

So, she wasn’t caught by the demon, she was here.

Feeling awkward, I approached Hong Yu-hwa.

“What should I do? Because of the demon’s power, I reverted to being a five-year-old. I won’t be much help like this.”

“Is that so?”

As I spoke calmly, Hong Yu-hwa began to calm down as well.

“Sorry, I guess I was more anxious than I realized. This place holds bad memories for me.”

“Understandable. Demons feed on human trauma.”

I nodded in agreement with Hong Yu-hwa’s words.

This place was likely where a major traumatic event in Hong Yu-hwa’s life occurred. And if it’s that place, it meant the being that killed her parents was coming back.

That would likely be a high-ranking demon-empowered being.

“No need to talk about the trauma. What are the characteristics of the enemy that will appear here?”

“......Thank you. First of all, the demon coming here is mostly immune to magic.”

“Really?”

“And it used a strange power.”

“It absorbed the opponent’s magic and used it?”

“How did you know?”

I had no choice but to know.

Defeating that being was how Hong Yu-hwa earned the name Crimson Lotus.

Or, if things went badly, she might have been abandoned and taken on the name Black Lotus as a demon-empowered being.

Sssssss──.

The atmosphere around us suddenly started to change. The grass in the yard began to wither. The trees dried up. It was as if we were witnessing the end of the world.

‘Is this influenced by Hong Yu-hwa’s mindscape?’

The demonic energy felt prickly on my skin.

The demon had appeared.