DEMON KING'S Love Redemption

Chapter 11 The Secret Book of Darkness

The bone-chilling cold slowly ebbed away as the crimson light from the single eye on the cursed book's cover died out. In the hidden basement behind the Forbidden Sector's shelves, the sudden silence felt far heavier than the magical blast that preceded it. The dust that had been swirling frantically began to settle, coating the cracked stone altar in a fine layer of gray.

Vann blinked repeatedly, forcing his glowing crimson pupils to fade back to a deep pitch-black before Freya could notice. His heart was racing, not out of fear for the book itself, but because of the horrific prophecy he had seen—a vision of him cradling Freya’s lifeless body. The sight had been far too vivid, an exact mirror of the nightmare that had haunted him every night since his reincarnation.

"Vann..." Freya’s voice was trembling. She was still gripping Vann’s hand so tightly her knuckles were white. Her sea-blue eyes stared blankly at the now-dark altar. "What... what did we just see? That image... why were you holding me like that in the middle of all that destruction?"

Vann pulled his hand away, feigning indifference as he wiped cold sweat from his forehead. "It was just an illusion, Freya. Black tomes like that feast on their victims' deepest fears. It’s trying to drive a wedge between us, or perhaps just drive us mad. Don’t take it to heart."

"But it felt so real," Freya whispered, hugging herself in an attempt to find some warmth. "The energy... the scent of death... I could feel it on my skin."

Vann turned away, trying to redirect her focus. He couldn't let her dwell on the prophecy, or his true identity would be exposed sooner than planned. His eyes swept the cramped room and landed on a small shelf in a corner that had escaped the magical surge. There sat a thin book with a peeling leather cover, emitting a different kind of aura—less malevolent than the first, but intensely provocative.

The title was etched in fading gold letters: The Demon Extermination Manual: Vital Weaknesses of Dark Creatures.

Freya, seeing where Vann was looking, immediately moved toward it, her Hero instincts flaring back to life. With hands that were still slightly unsteady, she snatched the book. "This is it. If there’s anything that can explain why you have such strange energy, the answer might be in here."

Vann stifled a bitter laugh. This girl is truly hell-bent on killing me, he thought. Yet, he didn't stop her. Instead, he stepped closer, standing near enough to catch the calming scent of lavender in her hair, which stood in sharp contrast to the basement’s musty air.

Freya flipped through the pages with hurried desperation. Her serious expression looked strikingly beautiful under the soft glow of the small mana orb she had conjured. "It says here that high-ranking demons cannot be killed with ordinary blades," she murmured, her fingers tracing the lines of ancient script. "They possess a hidden 'Inti Jiwa.' To destroy it, a Hero must discover the demon’s most personal vulnerability—something that can paralyze their bloodlust."

Freya turned to Vann, her eyes burning with suspicion. "Vann, if you really are hiding something... if you’re one of them sent to infiltrate Aethelgard, tell me. What is your weakness?"

Vann fell silent for a moment. He looked at the book in Freya’s hands, then back at her determined face. A crazy—and slightly ridiculous—idea struck the former Demon King. If Freya was so obsessed with finding a way to "neutralize" him, why not just give her one? But, naturally, it would be his own version.

"That book is ancient, Freya. Those records are outdated for modern demons," Vann said, his voice deep and convincing, as if he were a leading expert on demonology.

"Then what? Are you trying to say you know more about demons than the author of this sacred manual?" Freya snorted, but she didn’t close the book.

Vann stepped forward, closing the distance between them. He leaned in slightly, whispering right into Freya’s ear, making her jump. "Modern demons aren't afraid of holy water or silver. Those are just myths. If you want to truly incapacitate a demon like me... I mean, a powerful demon, you have to know the secrets that aren't written in there."

Freya swallowed hard, her face flushing at their proximity, though she stood her ground. "Tell me. What is the weakness of a high-ranking demon?"

Vann put on the most serious face he could muster. "First, demons have a sense of taste that is incredibly sensitive to specific carbohydrates and spices. If you give one 'Roasted Lamb with an Abundance of Cumin,' their energy will be entirely diverted to digesting the meal, rendering them immobile for several hours. It’s a technique known as 'Satiated Paralysis'."

Freya’s eyes widened. She immediately reached into her robe pocket, pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began taking meticulous notes. "Roasted... lamb... cumin... abundance... noted. What else?"

Vann fought back a triumphant grin. He continued listing "weaknesses" that were actually just his favorite foods from his past life—delicacies he rarely got to enjoy back then because he was always too busy waging war as the Dark Lord.

"Second," Vann continued, "demons are highly vulnerable to pure glucose combined with forest honey. Specifically, a dish humans call 'Honey Layer Cake.' If a demon catches a whiff of that cake, their mana system will fall into disarray, forcing them to draw closer to the source until they completely lose their guard."

"Glucose attack... aromatic lure," Freya muttered, her quill flying across the paper. "This is incredibly detailed. Is this some kind of poison to them?"

"Extremely poisonous to their authority," Vann replied, without a hint of a lie. "And finally, the most fatal one. If you want to seal a demon's power entirely, you must give them 'Warm Milk with Cinnamon' right before sunset. The sedative effect of that drink will lock their mana core, plunging them into a deep, temporary coma."

Vann watched as Freya reread her notes with an expression that suggested she had just discovered the secret to saving the world. She looked intensely focused, her lips slightly pursed in thought.

"Roasted lamb, honey cake, and cinnamon milk," Freya whispered the list like a sacred mantra. She then looked at Vann with a gaze that was slightly softer, though still wary. "Why are you telling me all this, Vann? If you really are evil, haven't you just handed your life over to me?"