Chapter 1: A Demon In The Flesh
The moon shone brightly on a flattened mountain peak. Craters littered the rocky stage, as the wind whistled and wolves howled. In the middle, surrounded by others, was a man in a long black robe made of silk with a scarlet shirt underneath. He stood barefoot on sharp rocks, and the soles of his bled and stained the ground with red.
His face, as elegant as a goddess, was scarred with three long cuts, and his bloodshot eyes were nearly full crimson. His candle white skin was bloodied with cracks all over, but he stood tall as if he felt not a sliver of pain.
The air was still, with a deathly chill, and the dozen men that surrounded him tried their best to catch their breaths. Finally, one elderly man managed to speak.
"Seize him! That demon dares to defy the righteous, he deserves a fate worse than—" Suddenly, he coughed up blood, and his complexion turned paper-white. His hand that pointed at the black-robed man trembled, and his throat quivered as more blood threatened to spill.
"He broke my runes!"
The eleven other men tensed up at his words, and they all raised their guards. Runes were connected to a runecaster's soul, breaking them had severe consequences.
On the other hand, the black-robed man laughed, like he wasn't severely injured and surrounded. "Cowards!" He yelled, before he let out a sigh. No one dared to refute.
For one, the dozen men were indeed frightened. And secondly, the man's title, Crazy Demon of the North, was no myth—it was carved in blood.
But in the end, this demon was fated to die here. He closed his eyes and focused on his head. There, a single rune was floating at the center of his soul. He crushed it without hesitation before he opened his eyes.
"I guess," he chuckled, his voice hollow and rough. "This is the end."
"See you on the other side," he smirked. All of a sudden, all of his blood evaporated inside his veins. His nerves sizzled as they burned, and his flesh dissolved into nothing.
Near instantaneously, all that was left was skin and bones.
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The Northern Mountains were once ruled by the Supreme God of Unity and Change during the Medieval Era. Hence, despite the region's treacherous mountain ranges, kingdoms and empires thrived. Among them, in the current era, the Supreme Empires were the hegemons.
Meanwhile, behind them was the Kingdom of Niroishi. It wasn't as strong as the Supreme Empires, but in terms of wealth, the kingdom could rival most of them, and was richer than a few. If it hadn't for their stable military power and countless allies, the Supreme Empires would've long plundered their treasuries.
Like many other kingdoms in the region, the kingdom's prestigious nobles had the highest authority. The King commanded the Star RuneCaster Guild, while the Duke commanded the Moon Knight Order. The Marquis commanded the White Night Guards, and the Counts, Viscounts, and Barons managed the various cities in the kingdom.
In between the capital and the outskirt cities, was the City of Arkon, ruled by the Count of Arkonia. He was an infamous noble, feared and disdained for his vile acts toward women. Despite this, however, the civilians didn't riot, and the kingdom turned a blind eye. It was because the nobles were too high for peasants to touch, while the Count of Arkonia managed the city with high efficiency.
The crime rate was extremely low, aside from the Count's own crimes. There were no homeless or starved peasants, and the tax wasn't too high. In fact, the city held several major events every year, which boosted happiness and attracted merchants and tourists. Thus, the peasants only grumbled about their Count's cruel taste.
As for the Count, he had actually stopped raping women. The reason was simple, he now had a son. Although, his son was a bit strange.
Inside a bedroom in the Count's mansion, a young boy sat on the bed and watched the moon through the open window. His small face was pale, and his eyes were a unique pair of crimson. His hair was pitch black, and though he was only ten, he was taller than most his age.
He was the Count's son, Luna Roe Arkonia. Each night, he watched the moon in silence, his face expressionless. But tonight, his eyes glimmered with unrestrained excitement. How could he not be excited?
'I can finally sense remnant energy!' He took a shaky breath, before he stood up and walked closer to the window. The night breeze was cold and made him shiver, but his heart pounded loudly inside his chest.
He gritted his teeth, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the window sill a bit too hard. 'Ke—'
A grin split his face, and he barely stopped a cackle from the depths of his soul.
'TEN YEARS!' He glared at the moon, his eyes slightly bloodshot. 'I waited TEN YEARS! This stupid body is finally mature enough to start runecasting!'
He was the Count's legitimate son, but his soul was far from a "newborn's". He had been reborn. He watched as he was pushed out of his mother's womb, and judged the world as time passed him by. But he wasn't idle during the past ten years.
Every night, he practiced a forbidden technique. He burned through his lifespan twice as quick, just so he could accelerate his body's growth. That's why, although he was only ten years old, his body was that of a fourteen year-old teenager!
'I probably lost thirty years of lifespan, but it's worth it,' he closed the windows and sat on a chair. 'Once I start runecasting, I can find a way to increase my lifespan… but that's for another day. I'm still young, I have plenty of time,' he stared at his hands.
He was as pale as a white sheet of paper due to the forbidden technique, and his body was a bit underweight. However, his soul trembled in his head.
'Despite having my memories, my new soul still had to grow alongside my body. Had I kept my original soul, I wouldn't have had to use that forbidden technique,' He shook his head. Still, he had no regrets.
'What's there to regret? Power is everything. Even if a weak person lives for a thousand years, it wouldn't matter. They're powerless! I would rather die early with the world under my control, than spend the rest of my life under someone's control!'
He stood up and walked toward the door. His bedroom was simple. Aside from the bed and a cabinet, there was only the window and door left. Yet, the bedroom was massive. The bed and cabinet barely took up a quarter of the room.
'Nobles sure are extravagant,' he chuckled inwardly. In his previous life, he was a peasant. Forget luxury, the moment he became a runecaster, he was hunted down by other "righteous" runecasters.
He barely slept, he rarely bathed, and he ate like a pig. Otherwise, he wouldn't have enough time to eat. Now, though, things would change.
'Who would imagine a rotten apple to suddenly appear in the fruit basket?' He opened the door.
"Young Count," a servant bowed. She trembled faintly, and if her eyes were still intact, they would be full of fear and resentment. But alas, as a peasant, she was powerless to resist.
Even if Luna stole her virginity in the middle of the city, everyone would turn a blind eye.
'Who would imagine the son to be more vile than the father?' Inwardly, of course, she was free to scold anyone she wanted. When she heard Luna walk toward her, she stiffened briefly before she stood up straight.
"Lead the way," Luna said, his eyes glued to his servant. She walked in front of him, her steps practiced and their destination memorized. She had long, red wavy hair that reached her waist, and she wore a white maid dress with puffed sleeves. Over her eyes was a red silk blindfold, which looked like blood against her milky white skin.
She was his father's favorite servant, and she remained pure from his father's lust. When he turned four, she was his father's gift, alongside an assassin and two guards. Ever since then, those four peasant's lives were under his control.
'Imagine my surprise when I found that her eyes were the perfect ritual material. Her body is great too,' he eyed his servant's neck.
The first day he got her, he plucked her eyeballs out and officially started the forbidden ritual. Every night, he would call her to his bedroom to slit her throat and collect her blood. But thanks to the ritual, she didn't die. Anemic, yes, but alive. There wasn't even a scar on her neck.
What his servant didn't know, however, was that Luna was as ruthless to his body as he was to hers. The original ritual needed him to gather the hearts of a lamb, a dog, a cat, a runic beast, but after his modifications in his previous life, he got rid of all those requirements.
Now, all he needed was a sacrificial soul, and blood. His servant's eyes were special because they were connected to her soul. When he plucked them out, he also got a fragment of her soul. Finally, the blood that came from her neck was needed. When everything was prepared, he had to cut his wrists and stab his heart, all while drawing the ritual on the ground using his blood.
Success meant their injuries would heal, failure meant death.
'The original ritual was relatively safe, but to get a runic beast's heart is too troublesome. You have to get one for each ritual. Unlike my version, where I only needed blood and a bit of focus,' he rubbed his neck. He wore a black silk collar with frilled edges to hide the numerous scars there.
Unlike his servant's unique body, his body was ordinary.
"We have arrived, young Count," his servant stepped aside and bowed, her hands placed behind her back. In front of them was the door to the study.
"Call my guards," he said and opened the door. His servant closed it behind him and went away. Not long after, he heard a knock.
"Come in," he said lightly and flipped a page of the book in his hand. The door opened, and two men in lightweight armor walked in.
When they reached the sofa Luna sat at, they knelt on the ground.
"Young Count," they both said.
Luna barely gave them a glance. "Go read the usual books."
One of the guards soundlessly sighed. "Understood," both said.
Everyday, Luna made them read. No one knew why, not even the Count Arkonia himself. After the two pulled out one book each, they found two stools near the door and sat down. Their duty was to obey and protect, so even though they had no idea why they had to read, they still would.
Luna wasn't a saint. He didn't need guards, so his goal was to absorb their souls and gain their knowledge once they accumulated enough. Like his servant, he made his guards read as soon as he got them. Everyone who didn't know his plan thought he was just being kind.
'The servant has a special body, I want to turn her into a medicine in the future. As for the assassin, he's useful for dirty work,' he glanced at his two cannon fodders.
'Grow tall, my leeks.'