Ch.38Chapter 2. Artificial Demons and Natural Demons (1)

“Demons are born in two ways. They either occur naturally or are artificially created.”

The demons already known to the public are basically understood to have “occurred naturally.”

“You know the cause of the former, right?”

“Going dark?”

“…Yes. Going dark.”

In cases of natural occurrence, most are believed to be caused by “ability users going berserk.”

-Kekeke, the demon inside me is rampaging…! Bow down! I am the newly born demon, Devil Chwang!

-Ahhh, even the name is truly demonic!!

-You were always strange since childhood, and now you’ve finally become a demon! Step back, you spawn of Satan!

-I’m not the spawn of Satan! I AM Satan!

The desire to become stronger.

The greed to possess something.

Hatred toward someone.

Grief from losing someone precious.

Anger and vengeance.

Obsession with a concept.

Madness from mental stress.

“There are so many factors that can make ability users go dark. What’s frightening is that these factors are emotions that all ordinary people experience.”

It’s been widely known as “everyday life” since the Great Cataclysm that ability users transform into demons when negative human emotions run wild.

“The first demon appeared in 2002, when a child born in 2000 was about 3 years old…? Anyway, it started when they were just an infant.”

“I remember. Their parents were murdered, weren’t they?”

“Yes. A burglar broke in and killed the parents, and the baby awakened their ability due to their parents’ suffering and became a demon.”

Those who became demons all grew exponentially stronger.

Their bodies changed, or their physical abilities became superior, or they became entirely different beings from humans, or they maintained human appearance but embodied evil itself.

“That child set themselves on fire and committed suicide at the age of 10. After that, many more demons appeared. Children who used abilities at a young age were called ‘monsters!’ and after seeing monsters in TV movies, they believed they were actually like those creatures and projected themselves accordingly.”

“The Mt. Fuji ‘Snow Woman’ incident?”

“Yes.”

In a small rural village near Mt. Fuji in Japan.

A girl whose hair turned white due to her awakened ability was teased by other children who called her a yokai, and she came to believe she was actually the yokai from TV and became a yokai-demon.

“It was a tragedy where she froze the children and imprisoned herself in ice. That’s why we try to raise ability users in separate educational institutions like Sejong Island, away from ordinary people.”

Those who awaken as ability users from a young age must be isolated.

To prevent ability users from becoming demons themselves.

To prevent non-ability users from being killed by ability users.

“And now that society has stabilized regarding ability users… people have reached the point of creating their own demons, in whatever form, just because they think they’re clever.”

-Existing demons are boring! I’ll create my own demon!

-Yeah, that’s plagiarism.

-……ARGHHHH! I’m going dark! I’ll destroy everyone who calls my created demon plagiarism!!

Their desire for chaos, destruction, and slaughter was incomparable to ordinary people, and they would eliminate anything to achieve their goals.

“Whether demon, ability user, or villain, it’s a terribly matchless power. Superpowers that existing humanity cannot resist.”

So then.

“…As always, the truth is that such superpowers have constantly been researched.”

Could we use a demon’s power?

Could we turn ordinary people into ability users?

If we used a demon’s power, could we awaken ordinary people as ability users?

“It’s natural for people without superpowers to desire them.”

If so, couldn’t one enjoy youth and immortality by discarding their aging middle-aged or elderly body and living as a demon?

“Although there hasn’t been a single case of an ordinary person becoming an ability user yet, the ultimate goal of this demon seed is the demonization of humans.”

“…They want to awaken abilities even if it means becoming a demon?”

“Yes. I don’t know how much more the Tavern Owner knows than me, but I know more about demons than anyone in this world. The reason I specifically came to Sejong Island is somewhat related to demons.”

“Because Sejong Island researches demons.”

“Yes. Many places, including Sejong Island, are researching demons. There are research facilities all over South Korea, and particularly serious and diverse experiments are being conducted here on Sejong Island.”

They say demon, but they mean ability user.

“Low-ranked ability users are often used in these experiments. Those below C-rank who couldn’t rise to B or A-rank and went berserk in that state. Those who went beyond just being villains causing incidents and shed their human shell to become demons.”

I played a video through the streaming site connected to the TV.

-Hahaha! Now, I’m perfect!

“Many ability users have ‘gone dark’ and fallen. They internalized and embraced villains, antagonists, and demons from various content. But all those demons have original ‘motifs,’ right? They capture and use them. Those who have transformed inadequately but can still be controlled in experiments.”

“Like that ‘Jeon Yu-bin’?”

“Yes. The succubus. Remember the one I killed after my second transformation? Lilith.”

“Ah, that demon who confronted Solar Platina?”

“Yes. If she had been captured by heroes, she would likely have been subjected to biological experiments in a different lab than Jeon Yu-bin.”

I pointed down with my finger.

“This is what we call a demon seed.”

“You mean… reproductive cells?”

“Yes. They’re created especially using female reproductive cells. Sejong Island seems to moderate the intensity somewhat due to public scrutiny, but I bet truly horrific things are happening elsewhere.”

Cruel experiments too terrible to put into words.

“It’s not just Korea. Human experimentation is happening all over the world. Some places conduct experiments at the national level.”

It’s uncomfortable to even list them, and madness revealing how depraved humans can become is unfolding all over the earth.

“In Jeon Yu-bin’s case, her reproductive cells were probably regularly ‘extracted.'”

“…That means at least once a month. No, they might have just extracted them immediately.”

“Perhaps something even more horrific, she might have been forced to ‘give birth’ to demon seeds.”

“Did you confirm what the experiments were about?”

“No. I didn’t need to confirm, didn’t want to confirm, and didn’t want to see the researchers escaping while I was checking. I killed them all in the meantime.”

I’ve reached a level where I can understand everything at a glance.

“When you artificially cultivate the ovum of a woman who has become a demon, a demon is born. Using that ovum to create certain cells, and through that process…”

“That’s the demon seed.”

“Yes.”

“That’s frightening.”

The Tavern Owner swallowed hard with a pale expression.

“It’s even more horrific and cruel than I imagined. It makes my skin crawl to think such things are happening on Earth.”

“But it’s reality. Jeon Yu-bin was probably not just a test subject but already a ‘host’ who had produced several demon seeds.”

“What’s your evidence?”

“It’s speculation, but the fact that Lilith and Jeon Yu-bin looked similar? When cells extracted from the succubus Jeon Yu-bin are used to create demon seeds, and those seeds infiltrate another human and germinate, they take on an appearance similar to the host.”

“…So demons looking similar isn’t just because they copied appearances from old stories?”

“That’s right.”

There could be someone who became a demon by imitating Dracula’s appearance.

Naturally.

But after extracting a demon seed from Dracula, another ability user could become a demon like Dracula through that demon seed.

“So, how does it feel to have stepped into a world that’s deeper, darker, and filthier than you thought?”

“It’s horrifying, but it’s information we need to know. The Goblin, or the Chairman, or the Syndicate—they all view demons not as fellow villains or allies to be persuaded, but as enemies.”

“Yes. Demons are just enemies to world domination.”

The Syndicate is fighting against demons.

Although all ability users have the potential to become demons, the Syndicate, with ability users as its core executives, is committed to eliminating demons with all its might.

“We eliminate demons that would ruin the world we intend to rule. That’s very fitting for the Syndicate and the Chairman.”

I protect the planet I will rule.

Looking at it this way, the Syndicate sometimes feels like an organization on a completely different level from ordinary villain groups.

“So be careful, Tavern Owner. Any ability user can potentially become a demon, and once they become a demon, they can easily destroy this Earth for their own purposes.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yes. If the Goblin were to become a demon, what kind of demon do you think you’d be?”

“…Well.”

I haven’t thought about it, but I’d probably become a stronger and more terrible demon than any other on Earth.

“If I were to become a demon, I’d like to be called this.”

“What? King Goblin?”

“No.”

“The One Who Closes the World.”

Or by another name, the Demon of the Year’s End.