"Hahaha!" Alex cackled when he returned to the base.
"Congratulations. You didn't need to go to the infirmary," Simon mentioned. "Progress."
"Any new missions?"
"You'll be learning an important mission today," Simon stated.
Alex raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"You'll be working with demons," Simon revealed,
"... I summon dead demons."
"I know, but," before Simon could finish, Alex raised a hand to stop him.
"If you're going to give me a lecture about not all demons being bad. You don't have to," Alex stated. "I'm aware. You also have to keep in mind that I've dealt with more evil humans than demons."
Simon was silent for a moment. "I wasn't expecting that."
"So... I'm working with demons on this mission?"
"Yes," Simon nodded. "Shall we go meet her? or do you want to rest first?"
"Let's go meet her," Alex answered.
It was better to meet whom he would be working with before the day of the mission. Simon led him to an office that seemed to be at an isolated part of the building.
When he knocked on the door, Alex heard some shuffling and something crashing. "Just a minute!" a feminine voice called out.
Alex turned to Simon. "She's very excitable," Simon whispered.
"Uhu," Alex nodded unsurely.
After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a pale-skinned woman wearing a suit. She had long blonde hair with red tips and black eyes. She also had a black two-tipped tail.
"Hi. How can I help you?"
"You requested a demon hunter to accompany you on a mission?" Simon spoke.
"Oh! I did!" she gestured for them to come inside her office. "I'm Milly."
"The mission said something about going with you to a meeting?" Simon spoke.
Milly nodded. "Since it's a meeting with humans. I thought it would be better if I went with one."
"That's understandable," Simon nodded in agreement. "He'll be the one going with you," Simon gestured to Alex.
"I'm Alex."
"It's nice to meet you," Milly offered a handshake.
"Likewise," Alex accepted.
Milly suddenly looked shy. "Thank you for accepting my request," she began to stutter.
"Is something wrong?" Simon asked.
"None at all," she chuckled awkwardly. "I just wasn't expecting someone to consider the request of a demon."
"I guess I could understand that feeling," Simon scratched the back of his head. "I was in a similar situation a few weeks ago."
Milly began squirming in her seat. "I think I need to tell you this," she said hesitantly. "I have the ability to read thoughts directed at me..."
"Oh, I hope we didn't give off any offensive thoughts," Simon stated.
"You haven't," Milly assured, then she glanced at Alex, who just smiled.
Simon facepalmed. "Please tell me you didn't think of anything offensive."
"It's not offensive..." Milly responded. "Just a bit unexpected," she stated before flinching. "That's a bit too much."
"I'm enjoying this," Alex smirked.
------
As a demon with the ability to hear the thoughts directed at her, Milly was used to receiving hateful remarks from the humans around her. She was one of the few demons inside an organization that hunts demons, so it was impossible to avoid scorn from them.
She was thankful that she received an office that was isolated, but that didn't stop her from hearing the hateful thoughts of the people around her.
People like Simon, who didn't treat every demon like an enemy, were rare. People like Alex were even rarer. Never in her life had Milly expected to see such thoughts directed at her. She didn't even know if her body could do some of what she saw in his thoughts.
Milly wasn't new to obscene thoughts directed at her, but they usually turned to disgust when they found out she was a demon.
Milly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on her door. She felt a bit odd since she couldn't hear the thoughts of the person behind the door. Once she opened the door, Milly saw Alex. "Oh? How can I help you?"
"I wanted to apologize," he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Milly was surprised since apologizing to a demon wasn't normal. "It's alright," Milly smiled. "I was flattered that you would even openly show desire toward a demon like me."
"Trust me, you're more human to me than most people I know," Alex stated. "Anyways. See you on the day of the meeting," Alex waved goodbye before jogging away.
Milly just smiled.
------
"Keep running, zygotes!" the instructor yelled as the recruits sprinted around the field while dragging giant crates tied to their waists.
"I'm dying!" Jared groaned.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
"Don't be so dramatic," Alex commented as he kept an even pace with Jared.
"Not everyone is a monster like you," Jared grumbled.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Alex laughed. "I'm surprised the others are still showing up."
"We don't have a choice. If we don't train our bodies, we can't handle stronger cores," Jared stated. "Using a core we can't handle is the fastest way to get crippled."
"I've been told," Alex replied. "Has anyone thought of getting a yellow core? Don't those give physical enhancement?"
"The enhancement goes through a core so that it wouldn't work," Jared replied.
"Figures," Alex expected some restrictions. "By the way, you know those priests you see everywhere?"
"Yes?"
"Can they actually do holy stuff that you see in mangas?"
"... yes?" Jared answered a bit unsurely. "I know they use something else instead of Aether, which comes from demonic energy. But I'm not sure what it is."
"Holy magic?"
"Maybe," Jared replied. "But I know the only thing they can do is give blessing and remove curses."
"No sword of light coming down from the sky?" Alex asked.
"No..."
A second later, Jared fell to his knees in exhaustion. Looking around them, Alex noticed all the other recruits had already given up. "No wonder the instructor was so quiet," Alex muttered as he helped Jared up.
"I can't wait for this to end and go back to the academy," Jared grumbled as he removed the straps.
"Academy?" Alex asked.
"It's a school for people from demon-hunting families," Jared explained. "It's my last year."
"How old are you?"
"Turning 24 this year," Jared answered.
"Is it a college?"
Jared shook his head. "It's everything. From preschool to university. The campus is so big, it's comparable to a city."
"Why haven't I heard of such a school?"
"Are you from a demon-hunting family?"
"No."
"There's your answer."
"That just pisses me off."
------
Alex panted as he was surrounded by shattered bones that were crumbling into ashes. The other people in the training ground gave him weird looks since this was a strange sight for anyone.
"Want to check your progress?" Simon asked as he held up a scroll.
"Sure," Alex accepted the scroll.
Name: Alexander Gray
Race: Human
Augmentation: Strength, Agility, Durability
Core:
Black magic: Necromancy - Tier 2 - stage 8
* Demonic core revival - Summons the demon sealed within your core. The strength of the demon is proportional to the stage of your core. Prevents the user from creating their core but enhances the absorption rate of demonic energy.
* Lich - Tier 2 - stage 8
* Death knight – Tier 2 – stage 8
* Lycanthrope - stage 8
* Earth spirit – stage 1
* Bone Armory - Allows you to create any weapon or armor using bones as material.
* Skeleton call - Allows you to summon skeletons (20) from the abyss to aid you in battle.
Shapeshift: Beast - stage 8
* Bloodhound - Physical abilities and senses are greatly enhanced in proportion to the stage of your core.
Enchanter: Healing – stage 1
* Self-preservation – Every 48 hours, your body sheds all negative statuses and recovers all injuries. (Does not affect severed limbs)
"You're definitely the strongest recruit I've ever seen," Simon commented as they read his stats. "You've got some well-balanced skills."
"How am I compared to strongest person in this base?"
"The strongest person here has three tier-five cores at stage ten," Simon revealed. "He could kill you with a flick of his finger."
"Where is he?"
"In a mission somewhere," Simon replied. "They went out to raid a high-tier demonic lair before you even joined."
"That long?"
"High-tier demonic lairs take months sometimes."
"Sounds like a hassle," Alex commented as he got up. "I need some food."
"The canteen has macaroni today," Simon stated.
"Let's go."
"Onwards!" Simon said as he drove away in his mechanical wheelchair.
"He's enjoying that thing too much," Alex muttered as he walked after Simon.
When they arrived at the canteen, Alex noticed the lack of people. Normally, the canteen was the busiest place in the building, but aside from the workers, Alex could only see seven people.
"Am I missing something here?"
"It's payday," Simon mentioned. "Everyone is eating out."
"Payday?" Alex took out his phone from the bracelet and saw a notification about a deposit. "Sweet."
"How much do they pay you?" Simon asked as they grabbed a tray.
"Totals to fifty thousand without the bonuses," Alex answered. "If they weren't paying that much. I'd be out of here."
"That's surprising," Simon said. "Normally, recruits only get around ten thousand a month."
"I'm not giving it back," Alex stated firmly.
"Don't worry. It might have increased because you're quite active. The other recruits don't even go on missions."
"They have rich families," Alex mentioned. "They don't need to."
Simon chuckled. "Not all hunter-families are rich. Most aren't different from normal families' lifestyles."
"Don't they get support from the organization?"
"They do," Simon nodded. "Small families are given a house, but they need to patrol the area regularly."
"Better than nothing," Alex shrugged. "It's a good deal, considering they'll be risking their lives to hunt demons."
"That reminds me," Simon said as they headed to the dorm rooms. "You've fought demonic humans before joining, right?"
"Yeah, but back then, I thought demonic energy was a type of strength-enhancing drug."
"It technically is," Simon stated. "By the way, make sure you're ready for the mission with Milly."
"I'm going with her to a meeting, not a war."
"You'd be surprised," Simon stated as he drove away.
------
"Is everyone here?" Argon asked as his team gathered at the dispatch bay.
"All good, captain," Astrid replied.
"How is everyone adjusting to their new cores?" Argon asked as they began boarding the transport carrier.
"Could be better," one of his team members replied. "Having one tier-five core and one new core feels weird."
"You'll get used to it," Argon stated.
The Higard family believes in strong foundations for one's growth. Each member is required to enhance their white core to the highest tier before taking in another core. This puts them at a disadvantage early on, but this method spares them from the strain of managing the growth of multiple cores.
"Look who it is," one of his team members pointed to the dispatch counter.
Argon turned to see a familiar face. Alexander Gray was carrying a large bag while walking beside one of the resident demons of the base.
"It's hard to believe he got that strong in a month."
"Some are just born to be the predators," Argon commented as they watched the two board the carrier.
As they took their seat in the back corner, Argon noticed the resident demon looking anxious and trying to look as small as possible. If he remembered correctly, she was the demon that had the mental ability to hear the thoughts directed toward her. She was mostly used for interrogation of people who weren't willingly cooperating.
If Argon had to guess, she could hear the hateful thoughts of the other passengers in this carrier toward her. To his surprise, Alexander Gray, who was accompanying her, was unbothered. He crossed his legs with his knee practically laying on the demon's lap, and then a few moments later, the demon began subconsciously tapping her fingers on his knee with a relaxed expression on her face.
Argon didn't understand what was going on.
------
Milly didn't know how, but Alex somehow managed to play music inside his head and direct it toward her with so much power that it was drowning out everything else.