I don't know where I am. I opened my eyes, finding myself in a ballroom shining with chandelier lights I couldn't describe the colors, curtains scattered in many windows that I couldn't tell what was outside, and many people mingling and dancing to the music I couldn't recognize.

Everyone seemed very focused on the festivities but me. I don't know what it was all about, but I felt jealous watching them enjoying the music and catering the party offered. I thought I would suffer alone doing nothing for the rest of the night.

But then, someone approached me and asked a question I would never hear tonight.

"Do you want to dance with me?"

I was ecstatic. I felt like my luck has changed for the better. I took their hand...

But I stopped. I noticed something wasn't right. Because this party was only catered to the demons.

But I wasn't scared of them nor wary of them.

Rather, I felt a bit of envy. A desire to be someone like them. To be a monster they were proud to become.

As the darkness began to end the night, I made a realization.

I want to join the party of demons stealing the night away. I want to become someone who would sweep them off their feet.

Regardless of what everyone says to me...

I want to be a demon.

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I yawned after I got up from my bed. I could see the blood-red moon shining through the window as usual. It has been a morning ritual to stare at it for a while. I didn't know why, but it felt a bit relaxing seeing it shining even during a full moon.

It has been a few days since I arrived here. I didn't know how or why I got here. But I recalled I fought a black dragon named Casia and after I won, he allowed me to stay in his friend's house, which was more of a mansion than a house to me. I haven't seen the owner of the house yet, but so far, this has been a relaxing stay I ever had in all my life.

Now that I think about it, how did I arrive in the Demon Territory in the first place? I know I don't belong here. Hell, I doubt I'm not even in this world. I couldn't remember what was my previous world like, but despite the dangers and desolate terrain, I felt like I belong in the Demon Territory. It's like a home away from home for a reason I still couldn't recall.

Either way, I decided to take a shower and meet up with Casia as usual. Whatever was bothering me wasn't very important to me anyway.

----------------------------------------

As I walked through the garden of Shadow Lavender while the smell stung right up my nose, I saw the large black dragon slowly land near the flowers.

Ah, Fledgling. You're up early.

I waved to Casia with a smile. "And good morning to you, too, Casia. I've been a bit antsy since yesterday and I wanted to improve more on my magic today."

I see. Well, accuracy aside, I do want to teach you more about Demons today.

I smiled. I only got the basic information about them thanks to Casia, but now that I'm here, why not stay and listen more about them? It might level up my [Demon Knowledge] a bit more if I learn more about them. "Sounds like a good... Huh?"

When I turned around, I stopped when I saw the other side of the garden. It was a humanoid figure wearing a black robe, pants, gloves, and shoes. Their facial features were obscured by the hood attached to their robe. It reminded me of someone with that same get-up, but I couldn't recall what it was. Still, it was rare for me to see someone in the gardens other than Casia. I prepared myself in case the worse would come, but...

At ease, Fledgling. That's just the owner of the house.

My eyes widened when I heard this. "The owner? Are you saying that suspicious demon or stranger is the owner?!"

I know it's surprising for you, but that's really him.

Him. So the owner is a guy, huh?

Still, I can share the same sentiment as you. It's rare for him to come out of the house. Must be a special project he might be working on right now.

From his words alone, I guess that the owner never leaves his house more often. I'm a bit skeptical about it, but I'm not gonna argue about it. Besides, it seemed that he noticed us as well before he started running to the door. Maybe I should try asking him when I have the chance. Instead, I turned to Casia and asked, "What kind of projects the owner is working on anyway?"

Mostly on alchemy and magical tools. Some of them were the ones I have never seen in the Demon Territory before.

"Do you mean the showers and the lamps?"

Casia nodded with his long neck and head. Yes. He was a secretive type, though. He is never willing to share his inventions out in the world. Says that it's not ready for them.

Makes sense. Most of them were too advanced for this world's technology and I have to admit, he made the right decision to hide it for now. Especially since he made them in the most dangerous place in the world. "What else do you know about him?"

Hmmm... I know he's a skilled magician who is on par with you. However, he is also skilled in swordsmanship and martial arts inherited from the former owner. He also favored some fictional works including the one with a man with two souls.

A man with two souls?! I almost had a heart attack when I heard this. "Do you mean "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"?"

Dr. Jekyll?

"That's the name of the novella's main character." I don't know if this world knew about the ending unlike somewhere I still couldn't recall, so I should try to give him an abridged version of the plot. "It's about his law- I mean, friend becoming suspicious of Jekyll after a few incidents regarding a man named Edward Hyde. I can't say much about it, but I have the novella if you're interested. Unless the owner has one."

I thought that should give him some ideas of what I meant. But for some reason, the dragon was still growling while scratching his chin.

What an odd story. I never thought the owner would be reading about a character with the same last name as the former owner.

My jaw almost dropped when I heard this. "Wait, the former owner's name?"

Yes. His name was Henry Jekyll. He was once an outsider before he arrived here in the Demon Territory.

Seriously?! A version of Henry Jekyll exists here?! "Please don't tell me this is one of your lame jokes."

No, that really was his name. Well, until he changed it due to circumstances I cannot reveal it to you yet.

Changed his name? Wait, this was the Demon Territory. So maybe... "Did the former owner change it to "Edward Hyde"?"

Yes. I was about to say that. How'd you guess?

I gulped at his question. That can't be a coincidence. There was no way Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde exist here. Yet, both they and the novella seem to exist in this world. I wish I could say more, but...

"I-I... It's a lucky guess, I think..." I said, still unsure about all of this revelation. "Still, I never thought the names of the main character and the former owner were the same."

You'll be surprised how reality can be much more surprising than fiction. Though he did leave one anecdote when I asked him about his strange name. "Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde. They serve as a gate and key to himself. It would be rude if he reveals everything to answer my question."

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Gate...and key... What an odd riddle. Then again, that might tell me that "Jekyll" or "Hyde" weren't his real names before. Either way, it's not my business to pry into his private life right now, especially when he already passed away how long before I arrived here.

Now then, shall we move on to important matters right now? We're burning moonlight here.

Right, right. The demon lessons. I quickly join with Casia again while not looking back, knowing the owner already went back inside the house. Yet, I had this nagging feeling something wasn't right with him...

----------------------------------------

A few hours later, I yawned as I went back inside the house. Casia might be a good teacher, but his lessons were a bit too long for me to follow. Thank god I brought my papers and pen with me. Although I still don't know why I brought them with me. They seemed like letters to me, but I didn't know what they were exactly. Either way, at least they were good enough as makeshift notes because again, it's hard for me to remember Casia's lessons on demons.

But just as I headed back to my bedroom, I stopped when I see someone familiar coming my way. It was the owner, still wearing that strange black hooded robe that was hiding his face. I'm still having those strange feelings about them, but I should ignore him for now and let him pass. I just need to rest up and see what else I could do here.

Though when I tried to do so, the owner suddenly took something out of his pocket. He silently unfolded it and showed it to me. It was a paper with words written on it very cleanly enough for me to read.

"How do you like my little abode, guest?"

Seriously? A literal sign language? Was that his way of communicating with me? Was he a mute or something?

"No, I can talk. It's my preferred way to talk, that's all."

Huh. What an odd owner. But I quickly realized something. I didn't say anything to him at all.

"I have the same ability as my friend. You'd be surprised how useful it was when trying to catch anyone lying during my appointments."

So he has Telepathy, too. Not to mention he has a paper that could change words without writing or erasing them. I swear, everyone here has ways to violate my privacy for many reasons. Either way, I should shut up before he caught another one of my thoughts.

"Anyways, you're the current owner of this house, right?" I asked. "Does that mean you're a [Sentient Demon], too?"

The words on his paper started to change again. "Yes. Though I'm not one of those Demon Lords you've been expecting a lot. I'm one you call a [Demi-Fiend]."

A [Demi-Fiend]. I think I know what they are. "They are lower-ranked [Sentient Demons] that resemble humans, right?"

I think that was the right description for them. According to Casia, they were considered a starting point for Demon Lords and possessed weak magic and strength compared to other demons, which compared them to nothing more than an experienced adventurer or magician.

"Yeah, that sums it up nicely. But despite the rumors about us, we can still grow and evolve like every demon here in our territory. Although the difference is that we grow a lot slower and our survival rate against stronger demons without the kingdom's help is...abysmal to say the least."

So was he saying that Demi-Fiends are cannon fodder in here?

"Oh, how harsh! You can't blame our desire and desperation to survive due to our weak abilities. You do know we're much more capable than those humans, right?"

Right... I rather not delve into that detail a bit too much. "Still, I'm surprised someone like you managed to inherit this house. What was the previous owner like?"

I noticed he was scratching his chin (which he turned when he did so, presumably because he didn't want me to see a glimpse of his face) before he showed me the paper again.

"Eccentric, caring, a bit of a sociopath..."

Okay... He sounded a bit looney than Casia described.

"You would be surprised at the many experiments he did before I arrived here."

I hummed when he said those last words. "How did you get here? The house, I mean."

The owner slowly averted his gaze from me for a while. Then, he showed me the note again.

"He found me when I was all alone as a kid, roaming around the forest aimlessly. Not knowing where to go or why I exist. I didn't know how I was born there without any parents."

That...was surprising... Not only he was all alone without knowing his parents, but he was forced to fend off for himself. Damn, I feel for this guy, yet something in my gut hurt me when I heard his story.

"Don't be sorry about me, guest. I wasn't bothered by that fact at all. Having no parents or siblings was a blessing in disguise. I can go wherever I want, whatever I want. I'm not bound by authority and this place seemed to be the perfect home for me. If you ignore the wild demons trying to kill you for your Mana Heart, of course."

Okay. I think this guy was a bit..too laidback even after telling me his whole sad backstory. "How did the former owner find you?"

"I just ran into him. He seemed to know me, yet he never elaborate even after his passing. I just shrug it off and accepted his offer when I had the chance. It's because of him that I became who I am today."

"Okay? So you have a happy ending? Good for you, I guess."

"A bittersweet, to be exact. I did miss him a lot. He was a mentor to me when he took me in. You can say he's a father I never had in my life. I can say the same with Casia, though I won't admit he's a good surrogate mother." The owner sighed before the words changed again. "This is what happens when you almost lived your whole childhood alone. I'm hoping to use my mentor's inheritance to make a brand new start right here in the Demon Territory."

Oh... Oh...

Damn, I feel like an insensitive jerk right now. Despite his nonchalant facade, he was still mourning his mentor's passing for how long now. He only inherited his home and I don't know what kind of responsibilities he has to take after that. So I couldn't imagine what was going on in the owner's head right now. Unlike him and Casia, I didn't have their telepathic abilities.

"I'm sorry for being insensitive. I'm sad to hear how much you're trying to endure the burden your mentor left behind. I really do. It's just...I'm very bad with people including demons, okay?" I groaned. "I don't know why, but I felt like I'm unwanted by everyone else. I'm used to being alone and...I wasn't very good at trusting people. Don't get me wrong, I have a good reason to distrust you, but..."

I quickly stopped myself before I say something stupid and insensitive again. Dammit, I still don't know why I'm like this. I don't know why I suck at this. Was it because I never had friends? Never have a family? Was I...

"All alone?"

I didn't counter this time. I simply nodded my head as I resigned that fact I couldn't oppose.

"I can feel from your thoughts of sadness that you've been through a lot. How much you endure your forgotten past and how much burden you endured alone all of this time. I know you're willing to forget them but at the cost of your happiness and the ability to socialize with others."

I frowned. "Yeah, keep reminding me of how much of an asshole I am."

I wish he would get the message. To see how much I was suffering from his words. But then, I saw the next message on his paper.

"Oh, that is not true. I can't deny your words. But what if we share our burdens? So we cannot be alone anymore."

Huh? It seemed like he was saying nonsense, yet something about his words made me feel...curious. Made me want to know what he wanted me to do together.

"What are you saying?" I asked. "That you want me as your brother or something. Because that's not how genetics work."

And why did I know that word?

"Oh, it's much more than that. I want to be your partner, your confidant, your other half. All I need from you is your consent."

Why do those words make me feel even more suspicious?

"It's not like I want you to trust me immediately. I feel like you need some support and right now, both of us desperately need someone to help us right now. We need company. We need a reason to live."

A reason...to live...

Why was I living right now? Why am I in the Demon Territory in the first place? Was there a reason why I didn't want to leave right now?

Those words... Those questions... I think I've made my decision.

"...Alright. I'll be your other half and you'll be mine. I don't know how it works, but I have nowhere to go at this point. What do you want me to do?"

The hooded owner stared at me for a while before the words on his paper changed once more.

"Just listen to me and leave your thoughts to me."

Leave...my thoughts...? What the hell did he mean b-

Submit...

Huh? W-What was that? Something seemed to whisper in my ear.

Submit... Submit to remember...

Submit...to remember... What did they mean?

I tried to figure out what the voice meant. But the more I think, the dizzier I get. Even the scent of the Shadow Lavender started to overwhelm my senses. I turned to the owner, wanting to know what was happening to me. But he simply showed me the paper in his hands.

"Don't be mad at what will happen next. You need to submit. So you can truly remember... The promise we... I made."

I tried to reach him, but I couldn't. The scent and my dizziness were too strong. I couldn't keep my eyes open for long.

Submit... Submit...

Was I betrayed again? No, this seemed different. I felt a warm sensation around me as my eyes slowly closed shut. Then, images I never saw before exploded into my head. Some were too much for me to bear and some were enough to make me angry. As I closed my eyes, I slowly realized what I saw. They were my memories. There were some missing, but I realized some things.

That I wasn't from this world.

That I met the Goddess of Darkness before I arrived here.

And most importantly...

I died afterward.

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