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Re: Supreme Demonologist!
6. Sylvia Dawnbringer!

6. Sylvia Dawnbringer!

"FREEZE! YOU'RE SURROUNDED!"

The roar was as powerful as ill-timed, a certain cat jumping up. They had been found!

Glancing around, Damon couldn't help but give a wry smile. With the number of rat corpses splattered all over, it would have been weirder for no one to notice. The rodents' blood flooded the entire floor, cascading off the building. It was a MESS!

"Eh... Guess we won't get paid for this." Damon sighed profoundly.

"Miaow?!" (Master, this totally looks like a crime scene! Should we escape?!)

"Escape? Are you crazy? All those rats are materials! Besides, there's still energy in that one." Damon pointed at the defeated Rat King. Its corpse still contained Soul & Demonic Power. But just as he was about to absorb it all, he paused, suddenly struck by a realization.

Something wasn't right. This was the slums. How had law enforcement already shown up so quickly? It made no sense, especially since the Instant Dungeon had only targeted them! No, it couldn't be. Damon approached a window, a scheming light soon appearing in his eyes.

That shout from earlier? He could now see its source, the timing utterly perfect.

Just when he required a meat shield...

.

.

.

There had been a disturbance.

Sylvia had a trick to deal with those: "FREEZE, YOU’RE SURROUNDED!"

Her cry was so powerful that it sent the missing posters plastered on the walls flying! In fact, it was with that very same roar that she had conquered countless foes. Handbag thieves? Drunks? Loiterers? All defeated!

But posters sent flying wasn’t the only reaction….

“Kyuuu!” A groan of protest came from her nearby companion, an Unranked but Sturdy Sturdillo.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. You know how it is: the best way to fight a disturbance… is to cause an even greater one! After all—“she confidently declared, only to lose her voice as she noticed the building's state.

Never mind. This was no mere disturbance.

There were fissures in the walls, gray fur tumble-weeding in the air, and no soul to be seen. Then, there were the squeaks of terror, even the rodents escaping with their damn lives. Finally, to top it all, the ceiling was…. bleeding?!

“Victoria, keep your guard up. Something bad happened here…”

“Kyuuu!” (Yes, young mistress! Stand behind me!)

The Sturdillo got into a defensive posture as it crawled forward. But the true nightmare revealed itself as they reached the stairway leading upward. Blood continuously flowed out of it, forming a peacefully gory stream.

Gulping, Sylvia fished her phone up, refreshing a certain APP repeatedly.

[Ding! Dungeon Companion! No Nearby Outbreak or Magical Beast!]

[Ding! Dungeon Companion! No Nearby Outbreak or Magical Beast!]

[Ding! Dungeon Companion! No Nearby Outbreak or Magical Beast!]

But no matter how often she refreshed, the answer was always the same. One had to know that Amber City's detection system was very accurate. A Dungeon could only pass unnoticed if a passing Awakened instantly cleared it, but that was impossible in the slums.

Instantly, her face turned white as she glanced at the carnage around them. Blood, lots of blood, but no alert whatsoever? This meant... MURDER?!

"Quick! Fall back! We gotta warn the Academy! Let's—"

That's when she unconsciously looked up.

She shouldn't have. God, she freaking shouldn't have!

Bottomless onyx eyes met hers, a Devil observing her playfully. At that moment, she felt like a mouse finally encountering a snake for the first time. To this monster, she was mere prey, her existence worthless.

She had found the source of the massacre, or rather, IT had found her. As the breaths left her lungs, the devil covered in blood smiled at her and waved even. Its meaning was clear: it was waiting for them. Master and Magical Beast shared a desperate look.

Escape? Call for help? It was far too late for any of that...

.

.

.

Atop the stairs, Damon smiled and waved...

"They're coming. Now, remember what I said: look as friendly as possible."

Damon urged his companion, the latter busy staring at the Magical Beast now climbing the river of blood. The Sturdillo was super careful, trying its best not to damage the steps with its three-pronged claws as it kept sneaking glances at them.

"Miaow!" (That's a real Magical Beast... so powerful!)

It was the first time the little one saw one from so close. That carapace was awesome! Not only did it cover the creature from head to tail, but it made it look invincible! Seeing his pet's interest, Damon quickly summarized.

"That's a Sturdillo. Extreme defense. Very loyal. OP 'Curl Up & Roll Over You' Combo. Essentially, this thing's a War Tank that crushes everything in its path." Damon explained, his cat instantly reacting.

"Miaow!" (Just like the train! Ah, it looks so powerful too!)

"Yes, but you should be analyzing the Tamer instead. What can you tell me about her?"

"Miaow!" (Ah! The bandits taught me! She's definitely an S-Tier Wife Material! Fit, full and fiery!)

"...."

"...."

"As I was saying, you gotta analyze the Tamer instead. Loyal Beast? She values friendship. That shout earlier? She's valiant. Patrolling the slums? She has to be kind. We can exploit all of this... plus the fact that she's an Amber Academy Student."

Damon pointed toward her slender neck. There, nestled between her twin peaks, one could faintly discern the shape of a Necklace, one that glowed a warm and peaceful Amber. This was the Academy's Badge, proving one's appartenance to it!

One had to know that the Amber Academy was VITAL to his plans. Joining would be world-changing for them! As such, his cat turned serious once it detected his interest:

"Miaow!" (Ah, so that's what this necklace means! What's the plan now, Master?)

"Fool her. Befriend her. Use her. She can even be our contact at the Academy."

Then, after what felt like an eternity of Climbing...

There she was: silver hair, evergreen eyes full of wariness, and treacherously slender limbs that hid boundless power. The overall vibe that she emitted was regal. She was like a war princess straight out of a fairy tale, a bloodstained princess. She opened her dainty mouth...

"S-Sir. Would you happen to know what happened here?" She asked, even if she knew the answer. This guy was obviously the culprit! At this moment, her hand was clutched on her chest, ready to activate the Badge hidden underneath her shirt.

Except Damon would surprise her.

Play the Evil Boss? Nope! This time, he'd be the friendly guy next door:

"What happened?! A disaster! It's a huge disaster! Good thing you're here; the residents need our help. Can you believe a swarm of bloodthirsty mutating rats attacked them?! Good thing me and my trusty partner were here, or else..." He shook his head meaningfully.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Damon made it sound like they were good samaritans. Trusty partner? Helping the residents? He oozed so much friendliness that the poor cat almost doubted its hearing for a second... but then it joined in!

"Miaow!" (It was horrible! They went Nom-Nom-Nom!)

"Miaow!" (Then we went, bad rats, don't eat our new friends!)

"Miaow!" (Then we went, bam, bam, bam, and we totally saved the day!)

The poor girl stood there gawking with her mouth open. Wait... what the actual heck?!

"R-Rats?! All this blood... is from rats?! So you're telling me— this is such a relief! I thought there had been a murder. Rats, haha, this is great!" She unconsciously released the breath she had been holding. But Damon wasn't about to let it end like this.

"Just RATS?! That's why it's so bad! Do you know how quickly rat carcasses can spoil and fester? Do you want those poor people to catch the plague? We have to help them, NOW!" Damon exclaimed with zeal.

"Huh? Y-Yes, I understand."

"Great! Follow me!"

Damon didn't let the girl any second to think, sweeping her into his rhythm. The less time he gave her to think, the more likely she was to trust him and let him deal with the whole situation­. He even went as far as low-key tapping the air...

[Ding! New User Issued Quest!]

[Ding! Get rid of the Rat Remains!]

[Ding! Bonus Points for Minimizing Waste!]

"User Issued?" The puzzled young lady stilled at the unknown term.

"Did the System tailor a quest just for us?! See, even the world wants us to do good. Let's go!" Damon bullshitted her, leading the way for the party, a genuine smile on his face. If he kept the charade up, he could get free helpers!

He brought them to the first room they had cleared. The rat's corpses were in pretty bad condition from the cat's inexperience. This would be perfect for a tutorial... a crazy one! Before long, Damon had commandeered the apartment, the Sturdillo filling it all.

"Watch this. We'll turn Disaster into Blessing!" As he had done before, he wielded a kitchen knife with such speed that his hands blurred. This time, he was going all out to impress the young lady.

— Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! —

[Congratulations, Obtained Rat Fur!]

[Congratulations, Obtained Rat Meat!]

[Congratulations, Obtained Rat Teeth!]

[Congratulations, Obtained Rat Claws!]

Only then did he stop, holding his hands behind his back like an ancient master. "Butchering isn't just a skill; it's an art!" His tone was so profound that, for an instant, it almost seemed like he was much, much older.

"Y-You, are you from a Legendary Crafter Family?!" The girl asked with stars in her eyes.

"Crafter? I pity the one who calls himself a crafter from skinning a single rat."

"It's not skinning one rat; it's how you did it. That was amazing!"

"Is that so? Shall I teach you then? Meat to feed the hungry—"

"PLEASE!"

Damon had barely finished that the high and mighty Tamer was prostrating herself before him, her round rump in the air. She wouldn't have cared if it had been for her own sake, but she was now picturing all the starving people she could help with this skill.

That's when Butchering 101 began, one teaching and one listening.

[Insufficient Skills! You Have Failed!]

[Insufficient Skills! You Should Give It a Rest!]

[Insufficient Skills! You really aren't cut out for this!]

"M-Mister, I keep messing up. Perhaps it's impossible for someone like me..." Ever since she could remember; she had played with spears instead of kitchen knives like most girls her age. She had always been proud of this fact, but now she felt inadequate.

"Don't worry about it. There are no mistakes, only happy accidents. Sure, you messed up one rat, but you learned from it, and that's all that matters. Now, you're not giving up on me, are you?! Did you also give up on helping the residents?!"

"N-No, I'll work even harder! Just watch me!"

"There you go. Good girl!"

Hearing Damon's approval, she was emboldened. So what if it took her a few tries? She'd learn this skill for the sake of the people! Thus, she relentlessly kept going...

1 Wasted Rat

2 Wasted Rats

5 Wasted Rats

10 Wasted Rats

But just as everything seemed like it would fail once more…

[Ding! Obtained Low-Quality Rat Tooth!]

[Congratulations! Unlocked New Dismantling Skill!]

[Given Your Talent, You Should 100% Stick With Taming!]

Damon couldn't see the messages, but he could guess them, seeing his new pupil's face light up. At this moment, she held a single chipped tooth up as if a treasure. She had succeeded at last!

"I-I… I DID IT!! I actually did it!"

It had taken her so long, but her efforts had finally paid off. With the skill, she'd be able to handle the meat part in minutes. Overflowing with emotion, she gave him a graceful bow.

"Thank you for teaching me! This might be my limit, but I'll never forget your kindness!" She sighed with renewed admiration for the one she had initially misunderstood as a Devil. how blind had she been back then! "How can I ever repay you?!"

"Show them to me... your kindness and your drive! Clear the rats and collect the meat to help the residents."

"YES! I'll do it! For the people's sake!" She then briskly departed.

Seeing her disappear, Damon chuckled, wordlessly calculating.

Rat Teeth: 0.001 Credit or less

Rat Claw: 0.002 Credits

Rat Meat 0.05 Credits

Exploiting an Awakened and their Magical Beast? Priceless! Notifications had even appeared in the System log since earlier. Of course, he had happily ignored them, knowing how fickle those could be, but still...

[Increased Affinity With Sylvia Dawnbringer!]

[Increased Affinity! Increased Affinity! Increased Affinity!]

[Ding! She Has Sworn to Repay You By Any Means Necessary!]

But that was far from the limit of his ambitions. This time, Damon turned to the Armadillo-looking Beast that had long since dozed off with all the crafting. After all, to a Magical Beast, dismantling seemed pointless. Why bother? Just gobble it down! But that was about to change...

"Hey, it's your turn, come here."

"KYU?"

"So what if you're a Magical Beast? You can learn too! Heck, you won't even need a knife since you have those sharp claws of yours. Isn't that great? Now, sit your ass down, and let's get started, alright?"

At first, the Sturdillo wanted to protest, but then it saw a certain cat sit cross-legged as it started... butchering?! The creature even gave it a sidelong glance that was filled with critique.

"Miaow!" (What are you waiting for? Those who do not work do not eat!)

Finally caving in to peer pressure, the Magical Beast was in for a rough time. What followed involved lots of Sturdillo "sweat", tears, and very peculiar notifications. Soon, in another room, an engrossed tamer froze, having just received a notification from her Pet.

[Congratulations! Your Pet Has Learned a Life Skill!]

[Would You Like to Congratulate it Via the System?]

WTF?! Damon could even teach Beasts?! Wasn't that way too fucking ludicrous? Not only that, but he had even done it for free?! Seeing this, her spirit was rekindled. If before she had been eager, she now worked like her life depended on skinning those rats.

"I have to work harder. I have to work way harder." She kept mumbling.

She was so focused that she never felt it. She never felt the link with her Sturdillo tremble. She never felt her Partner's despair. She didn't feel her Pet's soul weakening either. She felt none of it...

.

.

.

They stood next to the Rat King's corpse...

Compared to it, the Sturdillo was enormous. Had it been any other beast, it would have devoured it, but this one was so full of miasma that it had to control itself not to puke all over the place.

“KYUUU!”

“I know, but even vile things have their uses.”

Damon sighed, explaining the concept of “no power is completely evil” to a Sturdillo who was getting increasingly confused by the second.

“Actually, I just need you to follow my orders. Can you do that?”

The Sturdillo nodded, feeling safe with Damon. Little did it understand that this was all affected by Sylvia’s mood. Thus, Damon got himself two beastly assistants…

"Nurse, let's begin. I'll need a 30-centimeter scalpel."

"Miaow!" (Right here, Mas— Doctor!)

Then, before any of the Beasts could even react, Damon made the knife fly all over the place. At this moment, his hands even faintly glowed a Vile Purple color... Demonic Touch!

The Demonic Energy wrapping around his hands ensured the Rat King didn't explode from the forceful handling. At this moment, he was using a crazy self-taught technique known as Demonic Butchering.

Butchering —> Get the Materials

Demonic Butchering —> Get Demonic Materials

Instead of getting rid of the Corruption that had turned the Rat King evil, he would harness it instead, preserving it. This was insanity!

"I can feel it. I'm getting close to the power source! Where are you hiding, you bastard? There you ARE!" Damon suddenly located the Monster's Core! It wasn't just monstrous and the color of darkness; it was... wriggling?! It almost seemed about to jump them!

But as if on cue, the Rat King's body suddenly started glowing! It was as if all the miasma it had accumulated would now be released all at once! That's precisely why Damon hadn't dared to try this alone. This was DANGEROUS!

The corpse started bubbling, about to explode any second...

"NOW! Finish the Process, extract it!" Damon shouted.

— CRACKLE! CRACKLE! —

That's when the Sturdillo used the full extent of its power, reaching deep into the Rat King’s Remains, extracting the very thing that had turned the creature mad, and— CRACKLE! CRACKLE! BOOM! — It all exploded.

By reflex, the Sturdillo curled up in a defensive ball, flying back, crashing against a wall…. and demolishing it?! — CRASH! CRASH! — Only then did it painfully get up, blood seeping through the cracks of its carapace!

In its claw, it held a single Dark-Red Blob that seemed to be pulsating. This was the creature's dark heart. It was tiny and barely contained any power, but to Damon’s current self, it was immense…

"You did good. You did amazing." Damon approached it, petting its scales as he shamelessly pocketed the item.

[Ding! Obtained Rat King Corrupted Heart!]

Then he glanced at where the creature's owner would be, the latter having surely just woken up from her trance. Damon chuckled, tapping empty air. Meanwhile, in another room...

"W-what? What happened?!"

[Ding! New User Issued Quest!]

[Ding! Cleanse the Building of Blood!]

[Ding! Obtain Cooking Essentials for the Residents!]

"Ah! I thought it was something bad, but it's just new quests? Good, I'll do them all!" she exclaimed. Perhaps she would never know what had truly transpired. As for what followed afterward? It was extremely peaceful.

Damon removed any trace of the Rat King's lair before meeting with an incredibly enthusiastic Sylvia. Together, they finished butchering the rats, a few residents even thanking them for their efforts.

Then, they cleaned the place out, a certain Sturdillo rolling around with towels on its back to scrub all the blood.

Finally, Sylvia graciously gave him a mountain of food supplies intended for the residents.

"It's nothing expensive, but it will help. At least now they won't have to worry about food, and they can focus on repairing whatever they lost during the attack, " she happily said.

Only then was it time to say goodbye...

"From now on, we're friends! If you need anything, just tell me! The Dawnbringers never forget an ally; you can be sure of that!" She heroically promised, so happy that she even hugged him, completely forgetting all decorum.

"Don't worry, I won't forget it. Take care, and may our paths cross soon enough." Damon waved goodbye, keeping his eyes on his new friend, as her lean figure became tinier and tinier until she disappeared entirely.

But she had barely left when the System chimed in...

[Congratulations! Successfully Exploited a Poor Girl!]

[Obtained Stolen Academy Badge! How Devious!]

[Ding! Unlocked Demonic Butchering!]

Damon quietly waved all the messages away, turning to his pet, who seemed burning with questions. The little critter had seen such a convincing acting performance that it wasn't sure what was real anymore.

"Miaow!" (Say, Master, is the food really for the residents? Should I distribute it?)

"For the residents? Of course! Equal share, too: 50% for you and 50% for me. Then we'll cook plenty of meat and sell it all! Still, that's not really what you want to know, right?" Damon remarked, taking a certain heart out.

[Rat King Corrupted Heart! Effect Unknown?!]

The cat's eyes shone brighter than ever...