I was midway through harvesting a cluster of moon-pale herbs when I felt it.
That familiar pressure in the air.The wrongness.
I sighed.
"Of course," I muttered, straightening slowly.
Footsteps crunched behind me—unsubtle, clumsy, reeking of bloodlust and hunger. I didn't even bother turning around as the demon lunged, claws slicing through empty space where my neck had been a moment earlier.
It was weak.
Painfully so.
I flicked my wrist.
A cutting spell whispered through the air—precise, invisible.
The demon's head separated from its body before it even realized what had happened.
The corpse collapsed forward, twitching uselessly, while the head hit the forest floor with a dull thud, mouth frozen in a snarl of confusion.
I turned at last, unimpressed.
"Honestly," I said flatly. "You picked the wrong wizard."
With a casual gesture, both the body and severed head lifted into the air, suspended by magic. The blood hadn't even begun to cool—perfect.
I redirected my attention briefly back to the herbs, finishing my collection with practiced efficiency, before turning toward my base.
The walk back was uneventful.
By the time I arrived, the wards parted automatically, sealing behind me as I guided my prize into the laboratory. The scent of reagents and enchanted metals greeted me like an old friend.
Work began immediately.
I drained the demon's blood first, careful and methodical, collecting it into several crystal vials etched with preservation runes. The liquid shimmered faintly under the enchantments—alive in a way human blood was not.
Interesting.
Each vial was sealed, labeled, and placed carefully on one of my shelves alongside other samples.
Next came the flesh.
I dissected the corpse with surgical precision, separating muscle, bone, organs—observing regeneration even after death, cells desperately attempting to repair what could no longer be fixed.
Fascinating.
The usable tissue was stored within a magically chilled containment unit—a freezer-like environment sustained by enchantments rather than ice. Cold enough to halt decay. Stable enough for long-term experimentation.
I cleaned my hands with a flick of magic and stepped back, surveying my work.
One demon, neutralized.
Multiple samples acquired.
No risk. No effort.
This wasn't a battle.
It was procurement.
I made a mental note as I extinguished the lights and secured the lab.
If demons like this were considered threats in this world…Then Muzan's empire was built on remarkably fragile foundations.
And I intended to pull them apart—one specimen at a time.