After moving a safe distance away from the cave where the demon dwelled, Athtar released his mana once more to scout the area.
Ignoring the demon's location, he focused on other areas, then sensed two mana signatures different from those of ordinary animals. They were close to each other, so he decided to investigate these two; if they were dangerous, he would retreat immediately.
He began heading toward that spot, and it didn't take him long to get there; he could already sense the mana without using any scouting magic.
When he was within clear sight, what he saw was a tiger-like beast attacking what appeared to be a human covered in black sheets, trying to crush that person with its claws.
Athtar didn't hesitate; he had seen many people die such a miserable death. Immediately, he drew both of his short daggers from their sheaths, bolstered his body with mana, and charged toward the tiger, attacking it.
The tiger sensed the intent to kill directed at it, so it turned its head to look and saw Athtar advancing toward it. The tiger swung its claws and parried Athtar's daggers with a loud clang of metal. Since the beast was nearly gigantic—about the size of a giraffe or so—it sent Athtar flying away with a single swipe of its paw.
After flying a few meters, Athtar landed on his feet and sighed slightly, for the beast had ignored its prey and decided to focus on killing Athtar, who had tried to attack it.
"Growl… Human… Wretch…"
The tiger growled angrily, but Athtar wasn't afraid; he was used to some beasts that could speak like humans.
'He's probably as strong as an A-rank adventurer. Can I defeat him?'
Athtar thought to himself calmly as he watched the tiger's movements so as not to be caught off guard, and the tiger did the same, staring back at Athtar with its terrifying eyes.
'I haven't developed my new skills yet, but without them, I don't think I can win.'
Athtar continued to think, and suddenly his mana began to surround both of his blades. A white light derived from the element of light enveloped the two short blades, and in the blink of an eye, the mana formed a halo around the blades.
The tiger sensed the threat; the element of light was the antithesis of all elements of darkness, and naturally, monsters had a stronger affinity for the element of darkness.
Athtar took a step forward, closing the distance between him and the tiger, then attacked its legs first to disable its movement, but the tiger was also prepared and blocked him.
Athtar did not back down; he leaped high, and this time he aimed for the head first. He nearly succeeded in leaving a gash beneath the tiger's eye, but because his guard remained open, the tiger sent him flying with a strike from its brutal claws.
Athtar crashed into the trees, smashing several of them before finally coming to a stop and spitting blood. Although he had reinforced his body with mana, the damage was immense.
Athtar stood back on his feet, then looked toward the tiger once more, his hands gripping his daggers tightly. The tiger growled at him again in warning, but Athtar was unfazed by the threat and attacked once more, and they began exchanging blows at a rapid pace.
Most of Athtar's strikes were parried, but because of his 30% affinity with the element of light—which is considered very high—the damage from his attacks was severe and put the tiger in a difficult position.
After several rapid exchanges, Athtar managed to find an opening, leaping high into the air and attacking the tiger's neck, slashing a massive gash with his blade. The tiger was severely wounded, weakening it. Athtar took advantage of this to continue his relentless assault, and eventually, the tiger finally fell, dead.
Athtar let out a sharp exhale and breathed deeply. He turned to look at the person who had remained silent the entire time and said calmly, "hey you. It's over. Do you need help?" "
"..."
Athtar was calm as he looked at the stranger, but he was taken aback when dark mana suddenly surged from that person—a dense, demonic aura.
In the blink of an eye, even with his extreme speed and the knowledge that he was truly strong enough to withstand any surprise attack, Athtar did not expect the demon to seize him so suddenly.
The demon sent him crashing to the ground, and the cloak fell from him, revealing that the demon was female, with dark skin, two violet horns, white hair, red eyes, and a black tail.
"Food..."
Despite her beautiful appearance and her gorgeous face—even though she was a demon—the demoness seemed to be in a very miserable state, extremely weak, as if she were about to die at any moment.
Athtar was worried and wanted to resist, but the demoness's grip on him was so tight that it prevented him from making any movement, leaving him to await his miserable fate.
The demoness leaned toward his neck, then bit him hard and began injecting her fluids into his veins. Athtar felt intense pain and began screaming in terror and agony as he felt his blood being corrupted, but it didn't last long because, since the demoness was so weak, Athtar managed to free himself by stabbing her with all his might in the side.
The demoness screamed in terror, then suddenly seemed to regain her senses. She quickly moved away from Athtar, then began licking her lips. Athtar noticed that she had regained some of her strength this time.
The demoness turned around, spreading her wings, and said, "Thank you," then vanished as if she had never been there, flying away.
Athtar placed his hand on his neck where he had been bitten, feeling the burning pain searing his skin. He couldn't make sense of what had happened to him, but he sensed that the liquid the strange girl had released from her fangs into his veins had contaminated his mana.
"Did she inject me with her mana so she could corrupt mine and then absorb it? If she regained so much mana, why didn't she kill me? I didn't stand a chance against her."
The burning pain began to slowly fade after his wound healed, but the corrupted mana continued to move within his body. Purifying the corruption in mana takes a very long time and is an exhausting task, because it was known that once a human is corrupted, it is impossible for them to return to normal. Therefore, due to the scarcity of humans who undergo this transformation, modern science has yet to discover how to purify the corruption.
Athtar closed his eyes and watched the corruption in his mana being purified, thinking calmly, "Purifying this massive amount might take years. If I become overwhelmed by negative emotions, this mana might take hold of me and I might turn into a demon."
Athtar gathered his thoughts and scanned his surroundings in anticipation of the demoness's return, but luckily for him, it seemed she hadn't come back; at least she had moved far enough out of his line of sight to put him at ease.
Athtar walked over to the tiger's carcass and placed it inside his storage bag.
This was the space where he usually kept his valuable possessions. The spatial bag was created by combining several different elements to generate a vacuum, which freed up space that varied in size from bag to bag—it could be the size of a small room, or even boundlessly vast. Its size was determined by the strength and skill of the bag's creator.
Suddenly...
Athtar sensed a massive surge of demonic energy, specifically in the direction he had previously detected, and the signature of the demoness he had just met was also colliding with him.
'Are the two demons fighting?'
Athtar decided to take a risk and investigate. He hurried toward that location. He possessed a movement technique but refrained from using it because it consumed a massive amount of mana, which would not be to his advantage right now.
A few minutes passed, and when Athtar reached an area showing signs of battle, he saw the entire scene in ruins.
Corrupt mana filled everything, causing the trees to wither and die, and the green forest had turned entirely into a barren wasteland of black and purple, as if it were a garden of the walking dead.
In the middle of that clearing, that demoness from before was trading blows with another demon, one with white hair, dark skin tinged with purple, red eyes, and black horns.
The violent exchange between them continued, and Athtar couldn't follow their movements with his eyes at all.
Finally, they both stopped fighting, with the female demon standing victorious while the other demon knelt on his knees, panting.
The demoness wasted no time; she reached her hand toward his chest, pierced it, and violently ripped out his heart, causing veins to burst forth like tree branches from his body. The demoness's heart pulsed with an intensely demonic aura; she placed it in her mouth and began to devour it, the mana violently pumping into her body.
Athtar watched in horror as the demon ended up a lifeless corpse, all his corrupt essence drained until he was dry. As he turned his gaze toward the demoness, he noticed she was looking in his direction.
His face filled with terror, and he turned to walk away, but from where she was to where he stood, it took the demoness only the blink of an eye; now she was standing right in front of him, her entire appearance clearly visible to him.
Beneath the torn sheet covering her back, she wore tight black latex, black stockings, and high-heeled boots—clothes that defined the contours of her body, leaving nothing to the imagination.
The size of her breasts, which rivaled Margaret's, was no joke; every breath she took caused them to bounce slightly. Her hips were also strikingly full and round, and her slender waist made her body look like a masterpiece crafted by a goddess.
"I thought you'd run away after I let you live, but you came back. Are you curious, or just looking for your death?"
The demoness said in a cold, faint voice, staring at the terrified Athtar. He couldn't do anything but keep looking at her, then lowered his head, as if looking at her face might make her angry.
The demoness began to approach him slowly. When she reached him, she placed her fingertip on his chin and lifted it so he would look at her. What Athtar saw in her eyes was a cold, scrutinizing gaze.
"You're interesting… If it were anyone else, they'd beg for their life, or simply try to fight to the very end… "
"I know my fate if I try to resist, so I didn't. My life is already in your hands. Would mere resistance or begging for death have changed your view of me? Aren't humans, to demons… just food?"
The demoness seemed a little shocked. She opened her mouth and began to speak as if a realization had struck her mind, recalling a past scene. She smiled and said, "That's right… you humans… are our food…"
The demoness leaned toward Athtar, opening her mouth, and Athtar closed his eyes, awaiting his end. He felt her fangs sink into his neck, beginning to corrupt his soul, but before the corruption could spread, all the corruption that had previously been in his body was drawn out, leaving only a small amount behind as the demoness moved away from Athtar, who felt pain and an itch in his neck.
Athtar looked at the demoness questioningly, and she was smiling as she licked her lips. "I've planted a mark on you. Every time I want food, I'll find you…" She leaned toward him, smiling. Despite her smile, what Athtar saw was pure demonic terror, something he had never felt before. She continued speaking as she drew closer and closer to him. "And no matter where you go, wherever you go—even to the Southern Continent, or the Continent of Demons—I will find you. And when the time is right, I will feed on you, and I will leave you to live in fear, and I will return again, again… And again... until you are completely drained of your mana." When she was close enough, she pressed her lips against his cheek, then licked the spot where her lips had been.
Athtar felt as though that demoness's smile had changed from that terrifying demonic grin, ending her words with a simple sentence: "So be a good boy and don't be curious again, okay?"
Unconsciously, Athtar nodded his head slowly, causing the demoness to chuckle as she looked at him. She licked her lower lip as she gazed at him, then vanished in the blink of an eye.
After a period of time known only to the gods, Athtar finally regained his ability to breathe and began panting heavily. "You let me live? Why?"
Athtar couldn't think about it much; he turned and headed back to the village where he lived. He was truly exhausted, and his mana had been drained twice by that terrifying demoness. All Athtar wanted was some rest.
...
After handing over the tiger skin to the guild, Athtar was already on his way home when he finally saw the cabin; it seemed as though all his worries had finally vanished.
Near the cabin, he saw Margaret chopping wood with an axe, and he walked toward her, greeting her. Margaret lifted her head to look at him, smiling, and was about to reply when suddenly a scent different from Athtar's reached her nose.
"A woman's scent?…"
Margaret said, looking toward Athtar, who suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.