———Wiina———

  <1: 04 pm>

  “I suggest all of you to move. None of you stand any chance against me.” I said, not feeling threatened by the guns pointing at me.

  Kenni sure wasn’t kidding. This pce is full of violence. Is there any life worth saving around here? Any non-combatant out there, or children?

  *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

  “What did I tell you?” I said, feeling a bit bored at the animalistic behavior. Those bullets don’t really do any damage to my clothes, let alone my body.

  *Zap* *Thud*

  I let out a shockwave that completely paralyzes everyone here, leading to them unable to control their bodies and fall to the ground en masse. None of them can even stand up to such a weak spell. Any stronger and their brains would probably shut off.

  There might be a possible threat in these areas. The power gained from killing other humans is unfortunately rather high. In game terms, humans and other sapient creatures give a high amount of EXP.

  Anyway, I’m not here to do something so gruesome myself. Kenni gave me quite an important intel. I'm surprised none of them have told me. Did they seriously intend on letting this thing keep eating until it plumps up?

  It’s hiding itself pretty well in this hellscape. As a sort of being that could stay incorporeal and invisible to the naked eye, it’s no wonder no one had noticed it until now. I suppose those like Rico or Walsuna could’ve seen it coming, but they either didn’t bother to check the area, or feel like there wasn’t a need to act right now.

  Now back to the main objective at hand…

  ———Jeff———

  <1: 07 pm>

  “What even is a demon anyway?” I asked, since that feels like a term we used for a few things. Is it like a race of people, type of monsters, what is it exactly?

  “I was getting to that. Otherwise we will never know what a demon lord even is.” Orrel replied, before looking around to see if the other tables are paying any attention to us. I don’t really mind, but I guess he doesn’t want all the attention. “Demons are… weird. They are more akin to a state of being rather than a species. Vampires are simir in that regard, which is why both are often confused for one another.”

  “The problem with demons is that unlike vampires which are rather cut-and-dry in how they came to be, what they originated from, and so forth.” Gregori chimed in. So we don’t really know where they originate? Weird, I feel like it should be the other way around. “From what the books have told us, they are human’s natural predators.”

  “...Aren’t vampires also like that?” I asked, since they drink our blood and all.

  “You could say that, but a vampire’s food source is a bit more diverse. Demons directly target humans for their sustenance.” Orrel eborate on that point. “So in a revised food chain, we’ll no longer be at the top.”

  “Well ain’t that a nightmarish thought.” Useph remarked somewhat sarcastically. Yeah, I sure don’t want to get hunted down and eaten, or looked at like a cattle.

  “Thankfully, it’s not like it’s a one-sided fight. Demons are generally stronger than the average human, access to mana or not. But we can still kill one if we needed to.” Orrel expined, giving us some soce. “And the thing about their confusing nature… Let’s just say there are a ton of variants…”

  “What he meant is that there are many types of demons, each of them targeting specific aspects of humans to consume. It could be their flesh, specific organs, memories, or something more abstract like various emotions.” Gregori expined that part. “Most of them eat abstract emotions of humans, usually fear and despair. Anything can be a demon, from a cat, a dog, a monster, or even a fellow human. They come in all shapes and sizes. What really differentiates them is what they harvest from humans.”

  “Anything that’s hard to guess? I would think things like the seven sins and negative emotions are easy guesses.” Malk asked. Those are no brainers, but from how he worded it makes it seem like there are more to it.

  “The thing is, even the supposed seven virtues also count. Those are supposedly sustenance for rarer kinds of demons. It seems like any concept reted to humans would work at all. Like a demon eating furniture could exist for all we know.” Gregori gave us an example. That sounds so ridiculous, do I even need to say anything to add to that? “Of course, this means that it’s basically impossible for there to be a human society that a demon wouldn’t try to gnaw at. Having a demon or two be lurking around is never an impossibility.”

  “...So what exactly is a demon lord then?” I asked, since we probably heard enough about what demons are. I think we all got the general picture at this point.

  “They’re not real.” …Excuse me?

  “Huh? What do you mean, they’re not real?” Jenn, the one who heard about it from someone who should know full well what a demon lord is, is obviously gonna feel rather perplexed.

  “To be more specific, what he meant is that there isn’t a strict requirement to be called a demon lord.” Orrel crified. “It’s like a title of king or queen. In the case of demons however, most of them don’t exist as part of a community of their own. Many make a mock version of it in their native realm, but few can say they exist in a society with their own culture. A title like demon lord, demon king, and so forth, is therefore rather hollow in comparison.”

  “...Where do they live?” I asked, since he mentioned a native realm.

  “Some call it the Fantasy Realm, or simply the Demon Realm. It’s a dimension where pure-blood demons are born, a sort of abyss that is normally inhospitable to any humans attempting to enter it.” Gregori answered that question. “Oh. Just so you all know, demons are born from either a human soul or from some sort of collective consciousness of humanity itself.”

  “...Do we need to know all that?” I think all we’re really asking is just general stuff. Unless someone here wants to become one.

  “I think we should at least know to differentiate the two main threats. Monsters are mostly non-cognizant, they can’t really pn ahead, exist entirely on instinct. Demons are more like the worst of humanity made manifest, so they are more dangerous since they are basically super-powered humans with some sort of gimmick behind them.” Orrel expined why we need all of those expnations. “Of course, not all demons are master strategists or maniputors, or even humanoid and capable of eloquent human speech, but the main point is that they can think much more tactically than a monster.”

  “...I can see myself having a hard time fighting one, if they look like a human.” Malk remarked. Yeah, I’ll probably be in the same boat as well.

  “Can’t bme you, it’s going to be hard to rationalize it, that the person who looks like a human isn’t a human at all.” Gregori replied. I thought he might be harder on us on that topic, since it seems like an encounter with one can end up very badly. “Of course, that also means human-like demons are by far the most dangerous. From what I’ve read, there isn’t a relevant difference in strength if the demon’s physical body is more akin to a human or a monster. At least a monster is usually a bigger target.”

  “...Considering the implications, the demon lord must have a human-like body.” Orrel concluded. “Unless we have a way of telling if someone is a demon, there’s no way we’re going to figure that out.”

  “Shouldn’t some sort of weird behavior give it away?” I asked, since like with the vampire, surely they did something shady at one point or another.

  “Wouldn’t that be nice. If that’s true then we would’ve known who these two are a long time ago, before Jenn even asked Wiina.” Gregori doesn’t agree with me on the topic at all. He then looks around to see if anyone is paying attention to us. “We just have to keep this information in our back pocket.”

  “Is there even an urgent need to know who these two are? Since Wiina didn’t even bother sharing their names or appearance, she clearly doesn’t see them as a threat.” Malk raised a point that… Did we ever talk about that before? I think we talk about how the vampire might be friendly?

  “That is a possibility, but I’m talking more about the general rules of what to do with hostile demons.” Gregori replied. “Same could be said about humanoid monsters. They are more like demi-humans, but they love preying on humans by default like demons do.”

  “That’s the first I’ve heard of this.” I pointed out.

  “So they do exist.” Qyunda said while tilting her head.

  “Indeed they do. From what I’ve read, they are overall more dangerous because they look and act simir to humans. It’s like a secondary defense mechanism meant to guilt trip hunters.” Gregori expined. “ But I think we should focus more on demons, since that’s what we were talking about. So to summarize, they prey on certain aspects of humans, come in all shapes and sizes, and the one Wiina mentioned seems to not be aggressive.”

  “What about the missing people then?” Jenn suddenly mentioned something that I didn’t really think about.

  “Excuse me?” Orrel seems taken aback by the sudden shift in the conversation. “Did you really have to bring that up? I was hoping to avoid that.”

  “W-Why?” Jenn asked, confused as to why she seems to be mbasted.

  “Because I don’t want to think about it.” Orrel said, his tone uncharacteristically irritated. “I really don’t want to think that there is such a terror roaming around eating up the innocents.”

  “Can’t say I like the idea either.” Useph came to his support. “Obviously, it might all be unconnected, but now that you said it, it’s hard to ignore it.”

  “S-Sorry…” Jenn regretfully said. “I just… No, I really shouldn’t have said all that.”

  “It will come up eventually, but I also don’t want to think about it.” Gregori chimed in. “Of course, who knows what would happen when we encounter an actual demon. What it would be like, and what sort of power it might possess. In fact, just how would any of us fight a being like that.”

  ———Wiina———

  <1: 26 pm>

  *ROAR*

  “I guess I should’ve expected you to come after an uninvited guest that overstayed her welcome.” I said, gripping the sword in my hand and stood in front of the mother-daughter pair that was scared witless by the sight in front of them.

  Now that I have shown up to disrupt its feast, it finally manifests in a physical body to host its immense strength none here but myself can handle.

  A gray lion head with very spiky teeth, bulky humanoid body made of the surrounding debris, giant metal cws for hands, and armaments growing out of its back. All packed in a body that is over five stories tall. It looks like a caricature of some kind.

  Behaviors and the concepts feeding it align with the Demon Subspecies: Shialis, Demons of war and Conflict, the rank of this subspecies is at A+++. If allowed to grow more and reach its full potential, could easily topple an entire content. Right now, it is at 50% of its full potential.

  *Swing*

  It’s swinging its massive cw at me, aiming to crush me and the two people behind me into paste.

  *Shoot* *Shoot* *Shoot*

  Multiple projectiles were unched from the cannons on its backs as well, aiming straight at me like heat-seeking missiles. Two actions that would usually be too much for an individual to defend against at once, especially when protecting others.

  *Shine* *Block*

  Of course, I can pop a durable barrier in less than a second. The power difference is too much, I’m afraid. Neither your massive cw nor the explosives can penetrate this.

  Anyway, thanks for manifesting in such a monstrous form, just so I have zero guilty conscience. I would’ve killed you either way, but this is easier on me.

  *Slice*

  A vertical swing the moment I step out of the barrier. Splitting the demon in half before it got the chance to attack again.

  “Die.” I said while holding my left hand towards it.

  *BOOM*

  A massive energy bst consumed the demon and disintegrated its body.

  *Shackle* *Pull*

  “Like I said…” Before its incorporeal soul could escape back to its realm, I catch it with a chain made of mana, restrict it from floating off and trying to create a way back to safety. “Die.”

  *Shatter*

  I swing my sword at the chained soul and cause it to shatter like gss.

  Threat is neutralized. Time to clean things up.