Unspoiled Farsight.
That was what she called it.
It felt weird when Lothair tried to show me what her Ego was, but it was as if she implanted some sort of understanding to my soul, probably using her Demonic Essence to help me understand more.
And from what I could piece together after that little session, it let her create a supervision area anywhere she wanted. A zone where she could watch without anyone ever being detected.
No limits on distance or size, no duration that wore off, and she could turn it on or off at will.
It was like dropping an invisible eye into any place, any time, and no one would ever know it was there.
Not even the strongest defenses or traces could pick it up.
It was somewhat scary, as if she was an omniscient being. Then again, I was reminded that an Ego always had a side effect to their benefits, like straining mental health or weakening the heart if the Ego-wielder's body was not fit.
『 Mesmer, what you glimpsed just now... that was only a fraction. It was not the full potential, not even close to what Lothair wields right now. 』
I paused, the food halfway to my mouth.
A fraction? If that small taste let her see Anatuya and Surreal so clearly, without any effort, what could the real thing do?
Is Lothair afraid I'll figure out the full extent? Is that why she held back?
Eli chuckled softly in my mind, a warm sound that didn't ease the unease building in my chest.
『 Afraid? No, it's more like she wants to test something. You'll have to find the reason yourself, of course. 』
The Sinful Lust, most definitely.
I didn't press it further. Eli wouldn't say more if she didn't want to, and besides, the meal was winding down.
After finishing our meal, we all stood up eventually, and that's when I noticed it.
The altar in the corner of this ruin—the one Hayja had used for the demonization ritual—was gone.
Not just broken. It was completely destroyed, like it had been smashed to dust and scattered.
Nothing left but faint scorch marks on the floor.
They must have done it while I was out cold, passed out from the pain and the changes ripping through me.
Erasing evidence, hmm. A spell formation like that, one that could turn a human into a demon... it couldn't be common knowledge.
If word got out, it might cause problems, even here, huh.
Hayja didn't say a word about it either. She just stepped outside the room, and I followed with Lothair close behind.
The air grew colder as we moved through the bone ruins, the wind picking up like a warning.
Then Hayja raised her hand, and something appeared in the air above us.
A floating spirit, massive and shaped like a dragon's head, all jagged edges and glowing eyes.
It opened its mouth, and fire poured out—an infernal fire of blackened breath.
The bedroom went first, walls crumbling as the spirit's breath hit them. Then the rest of the place, the entire structure collapsing in on itself with roars that shook the ground.
We kept walking as it happened, out into the open, and suddenly we were in the middle of a cold wasteland.
Snow whipped around us, biting at my skin even through the clothes.
Nothing but white and gray as far as I could see, Meanwhile, the ruins were already buried under fresh drifts behind us.
I wondered what Hayja's Ego was, staring at the destruction fading in the distance.
Something that summons spirits like that? It looked effortless for her. But I kept my mouth shut.
And yeah, I was capable of differentiating the usage of Demonic Essence and an Ego now, probably because I had been turned into a Demon.
The thing that Hayja summoned was not the same as her overwhelming Demonic Essence.
"Once again, thank you for the help." Lothair turned to Hayja with a satisfied smile.
Hayja shrugged, her stitched mouth twisting into what might have been a smile. "I only helped because you paid in advance. Do not expect more favors without paying me immensely." Then she looked at me, her eyes narrowing those strange blue and dark sclera fixing on mine. "Listen well, little one. I do not know all the differences between humans and demons, the intricacies of your weak minds and the kind.
"But you must watch your own state, especially your desires. Demons have an immense drive to make them real. We do not hold back like what I had researched about your kind.
"The difference between a good demon and a bad one is not the desire itself, but how they prepare and how they execute it. Rush in blindly, and you become a mindless beast, even amongst the sickos and the monsters."
Her words hung there in the cold air. I nodded slowly, not sure what to say.
"I can only try my best, it seems."
Desire, it didn't feel noticeable yet, but I could feel something within me slowly adapting to my changing body.
Hayja reached into her ragged cloak and pulled out a scroll, holding it out to Lothair. "Don't let your excitement run too wild. Otherwise, you might kill that human without you knowing it."
"I'll make sure to be gentle next time~" Lothair took the scroll with a knowing smile.
At the same time, Hayja was already unfolding another scroll in her hand.
Then light flared as Hayja infused the scroll with her Demonic Essence, and she was gone, teleported away somewhere without another word.
The wind howled around us, snow sticking to my hair. I shivered and turned to Lothair.
"Is there anything else to do here?"
She looked at me for a moment, then shook her head. "Not here, but there is one thing left to do before I leave you to your own affairs." She opened a small portal in the air with a casual wave, placed the scroll that she received from Hayja, and then grabbed a different scroll of her own. "I want to introduce someone, someone that will help you learn about Demonic Essence, and any power that uses it."
"And here I thought you will be the one who is going to teach me."
"Unfortunately, things will get very busy soon," Lothair smiled as she replied. "I have already appointed someone to be your teacher way before you woke up from your long slumber."
She opened a small portal in the air with a casual wave, reached in, and grabbed a scroll of her own.
Words I didn't understand flowed from her lips as she cast the spell, and the world shifted again.
Nausea hit me like before, but shorter this time.
When it cleared, we stood in a great hall, massive and busy, part of what looked like a huge alchemist room.
Shelves lined the walls, filled with vials and books, tables covered in tools and bubbling pots.
The air smelled of herbs and metal, thick and heady.
Lothair then called out cheerfully. "I have brought a new dish~!"
A loud thud echoed from above, something heavy hitting the floor. I looked around just as I heard a figure stirred somewhere on the ground, groaning.
From one of the doors connected to the hall, a voice called back, lazy and tired.
"Is it not five days later for the appointed time?"
The voice was groggy, like someone woken from a nap.
Then I saw her, a woman with short ruffled pink hair messy around her face, eyes half-lidded with sleep, skin soft and pale like an empty canvas.
A pair of spiraling ram-like horns jutted from the sides of her head, curling back sharply.
She wore a casual sport-like bra that showed off her midriff and baggy long pants that hung low on her hips.
A tail flicked behind her, tipped with a spike, and her hands... they were not hands at all, but beast-like claws, sharp and clawed for tearing.
This one looked the most demonic out of anyone I'd met so far. Not completely human-like at all like Surreal, Lothair, and Anatuya, and more like something straight out of high fantasy.
She yawned wide, and I caught a glimpse of her teeth—triangular and shark-like, row after row, made for grinding flesh down to nothing, like a living chainsaw.
Lothair gestured toward her. "This is Koil Yevash, a Sampler of the Vow."
"The Vow, as in, part of the Seven Fingers?"
"You did your homework, I'm proud of you."
The Vow—one of the Seven Fingers. I only skimmed the Tautology so I didn't really know much about them aside from the fact that they consisted of demons who aimed to explore all kinds of dishes and tastes.
And she also had a surname, Yevash.
That meant nobility here, right?
Koil scratched at her horn with a claw, eyeing me up and down as she approached. "Is this the new dish you promised?"
Lothair nodded. "Yes. Mesmer Valentine, meet Koil Yevash. Koil Yevash, this is Mesmer Valentine."
"I see, you brought a fellow noble too. Hmm, where had I heard about a demon nobility with the family name of Valentine I wonder…?"
Dish—that word hit me like a warning.
She said it so casually, gazing at me with those tired eyes, like I was food delivered late.
My stomach twisted, anxiety spiking hard.
Threatened—that was the only way to put it, standing there in front of this clawed, horned woman who looked ready to devour anything.
"Ngaa~" Koil yawned, scratching her neck before she grinned those sharp teeth. "Oh well, I was bored back then, but now I feel invigorated as ever~"
Before I knew it, Lothair had already grabbed another teleportation scroll and was on the verge of teleporting herself away.
"Have fun you two~" Lothair waved, before playfully gazing at me. "We will continue our session later~"
And then she was gone, leaving me alone with this beastly woman.