Lan started his tale. We were no more in that disgusting space and now we were in my room, me sitting on the bed and Lan leaning against the single door in my room with a distance of hardly 3 meters. My room was never big to begin. It was more of a shed to me.

"Demons, you humans probably know of them as horrendous creatures who are only known for killing and other horrendous deeds. Well, that's true for some of us, but not all of us. We are just like you humans, just with horns and wings."

He paused for a bit to let me digest the things he said. I never believed in demons in the first place. And now someone I don't know suddenly says that demons are like us. How am I supposed to believe that?

"How can I believe you?"

"Wait. Before that let me finish my story."

"Fine."

He continued his tale.

"We live in a different dimension than you humans."

"Is it hell?"

"Is that what you humans call our place? Really, you humans have the worst image of demons..."

"Is it not hell?"

"Of course not. Hell is the place where the dead reside, be it a demon or a human. If anything is breathing and living in this world, then that does not reside in Hell."

"Then, what is your place called?"

"The meaning of our name, demons, is 'spirit' or 'divine power'. Thus, we reside in the divine realm."

"Heaven?"

"Technically, yes. Not only us. Every divine being reside there"

"Okay..."

"Moving on, we demons are a peaceful race, just like yours. We have villages, cities, kingdoms, monarchs, and all the other things you humans have."

"Even advanced technologies?"

"What is that?"

They didn't have any kind of technology.

"Our realm does not need those kinds of things. Because we have this."

Lan flicked his finger and torches of flame lit up in the air, roaming aimlessly.

"Even our world has that but that doesn't cancel out the need for technology."

"What you humans are using is not even 10% of what our race or other divine beings use... and not even 2% of what I or that bitch Rena use."

"What?"

I can't even imagine how much power they had. They were much, much, much powerful than us. If they were to pounce on our world, then I don't what kind of disaster that would be. It could be the end of Earth. And I don't want to talk about his and the fuckin' bitch's power level. It is useless to talk about them.

"Continuing, we demons were all at peace until that bitch Rena visited us in the name of sightseeing. She was still a new Divine being back then, but she was born with tremendous power that only I and the Demon King could rival- a true prodigy. One day, some few centuries later, she launched an attack on the demons' territory, all of a sudden. You know the reason. It was pandemonium, a massacre, a turmoil. Everything was dyed in red blood, the smell of torn flesh was consistent- it was a complete slaughter. In the middle of the continent was that bitch, sitting on our Majesty and slowly tearing his body with her filthy teeth. To top that, she amplified the sound of our Majesty's crunching bones under her teeth and made us all hear. And then we were wiped out, not a trace left except some bones and fleshes here and there. But she couldn't kill me at that time, so she sealed me."

"That means you were more powerful than her and the Demon King? Why didn't you kill her then?"

My heart twisted when I heard that she had this kind of power. Kill her? I can't even touch her, much less kill her.

"... I was deceived by my own brethren. I couldn't kill them and ended up being sealed."

I can guess that. After all, he said that demons were the same as humans.

Lan noticed the look on my face. I must be making a funny face.

"You want to kill her? That bitch?"

"..."

"Hmm... I will take that as a yes."

There was a long silence. I decided to break the ice.

"Were you the one who healed me?"

"That is correct."

"How did you get inside my head? How did you even find me?"

"I didn't find you."

"What?"

"You were the one to find me."

"What are you talking about?"

Lan pointed towards me. "You..."

And then pointed towards himself. "... awoke me from my slumber."

I felt something coming from him. It was a monstrous and terrifying aura. It was as if it would swallow me whole. I palpitated and gasped for air. It was suffocating. I was dying. That was surely death. The unyielding grip that chokes your throat and the looming presence of doom—that was death.

I could not die yet. I still had to kill that fuckin' Goddess.

I held as long as I could, but I could not hold on to my consciousness anymore. But then, all of a sudden, the monstrous aura disappeared without a trace.

"Good... I like that. I was wondering what kind of being awoke me from my slumber, and, honestly, I was a bit disappointed to find out that it was a human, without any power at that.

Well, I am sorry that the fuckin' Goddess never gave me any Potential. And how is he reading my thoughts?

"I asked myself, "how can a mere human wake me up?". But now I know the answer."

I could not understand the meaning behind his words. A confused expression crept up my face.

"I am not going to reveal everything about me, but..."

"But?"

"... all I am going to say is that I am the demon that was inside you."

What? The demon inside me? There was a demon inside me? Since when? Am I a demon?

"Yes, you were a demon since your birth."

A thunderbolt struck me. I was a demon from the very moment I was born in this world. Does that mean my father and mother were demons too? Then my Potential...

"Even Demons can receive what you call Potential." He answered my question even before I could voice it.

"My parents... were they demons too?"

"..."

"Why are you not saying anything?"

"Seems like the time is up. Smell ya later!"

"Oi! At least go after answering my question!"

He disappeared.

"At least he could answer my question..."

(Still... a demon...)

It was too much of a shock to me.

"God- Argh!"

I felt a severe headache. It felt like my head was splitting apart. It was a hellish experience.

<Oi! What kind of demon recites God's name like that?>

"... now this seems more like a demon's thing."

<Don't ever take God's name seriously or with devotion, unless you want your brain sprawled.>

"Of course I don't want that."

<Good.>

"Answer my question now."

<That will be answered when the time comes.>

"So what now?"

<Tell me. Do you wish for power?>

I pondered at the question. Did I wish power? That should have been obvious to me. I have always longed for power, the power to stand my ground and live up to my parent's expectations. But after they left me behind, it felt pointless. All I wished for was freedom from the coils of suffering, in simple words, death. But then I got saved by a demon and got to know that I was a demon too. And now I know who was responsible for my miserable life. This world and that fuckin' Goddess... all of them made me go through things worse than hell, enough to make me give up on my own life. But now...

"Yes. Enough to bring endless destruction over anyone who stands in my path and to tear that BITCH apart into fragments."

<There was no need to emphasize the 'bitch' but oh well, can't say I dislike that.>

We both chuckled for a bit and silence reigned again.

"Will you give it to me?"

<You sound like a girl starving for sex, you know?>

"Does that mean 'yes'?"

<You bet!>

Tring!

{The game starts now}

***