Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 15

5. The Demon Sebastian

1

Nemeses, the Imperial Capital.

The capital of the Baroque Empire, a metropolis with a population exceeding 3 million, stands as a leading center of politics, administration, culture, and commerce on the Rodisia continent.

Unlike Bless, the imperial capital of the Holy Artenia Empire, renowned as the most beautiful on the continent and situated on a lakeside that shimmers like it’s sprinkled with pearl dust, Nemeses was built on flat land.

At the heart of the city stood the royal palace, its spires reaching tens of meters into the sky.

The Emperor’s office was located in the highest of these spires.

A middle-aged man with a mane of red hair like a lion sat at a magnificent mahogany desk, imported from the southern continent.

This was Rudolf, the Emperor of the Baroque Empire, also known as the Lion King.

Standing before him was Count Voltes, the chief chamberlain and one of Rudolf’s closest aides, a middle-aged man with calm features and black hair.

“So, that Monarch fellow has applied for a territory war?” Rudolf asked.

“That is correct, Your Majesty,” Voltes replied.

“Is his opponent perhaps Marquis Myers?”

At Rudolf’s question, Voltes shook his head.

“It would be preferable if that were the case, but unfortunately, it is the Rakan Barony.”

“The Rakan Barony? Surely not that hero’s territory?”

“That is correct.”

At Voltes’ answer, Rudolf grumbled irritably.

“Why those worthless fools? If he was going to fight, he should have gone all out against Marquis Myers, who opposes me at every turn.”

The Imperial Family had left the Rakan Barony, which had a troubled history with their predecessors, alone until now because it had shrunk so much that only a faint trace of its past glory remained.

If they had possessed any real power, they would have been checked or eliminated long ago.

“But why is the greedy Monarch trying to attack the Rakan Barony?” Rudolf wondered.

“Recently, Princess Reina and the Volga refugees were taken from the Rakan Barony, and in the process, the Scorpion Cavalry that was dispatched to stop them went missing. According to the Count’s claim, it was clearly the work of the Rakan Barony.”

“Is there any proof?”

“There is only circumstantial evidence, no physical evidence. Therefore, there is much debate in the noble council.”

Because Luke had buried the bodies so deeply, Count Monarch couldn’t find even a scrap of the Scorpion Cavalry’s clothing.

So, he only had suspicions, and because of this, the noble council was sharply divided between those who said the territory war should be allowed and those who said it should not.

Of course, those who supported the war were the Emperor’s faction, and those who opposed it were the noble faction, who opposed anything the Emperor’s faction did.

Rudolf, after a moment of thought, asked Voltes, “What do you think?”

“I believe it’s time to settle old grudges. It was difficult to touch them directly, but since Count Monarch will take care of it for us, I think it would be wise to leave it to him.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

In truth, Rudolf had another reason, but he kept it to himself.

Even Count Voltes, his closest aide, shouldn’t know the top secret that had been passed down only to the Emperor for generations.

“Okay, then let’s agree to it.”

Having made his decision, Rudolf stamped the Emperor’s seal on the approval documents and moved on to the next agenda.

“The Pope of the Holy Artenia Empire has collapsed?” he asked.

“That is correct. According to the report from the intelligence department that came in yesterday, the old Pope collapsed during prayer.”

“Is it due to a chronic illness?”

The Pope of the Holy Artenia Empire was over 80 years old. He also had a chronic illness and was said to be very careful about his health, but it seemed he had finally succumbed.

“It seems so, and there is already a succession dispute among the cardinals.”

“Oh ho! That’s good news.”

Unlike ordinary kingdoms, the position of Pope of the Holy Artenia Empire is not passed down to children.

In principle, the next Pope is the one who receives a divine revelation from among the high-ranking priests of the bishop level or higher in the church.

However, that divine revelation was rare, with the last one occurring a staggering 300 years ago.

In such a situation, the cardinals currently hold a selection meeting called the Conclave and elect the person with the most power among the bishops as the new Pope.

Although ordinary believers and citizens were unaware of this situation, most high-ranking nobles were.

Anyway, Rudolf was delighted at the chaos in the Holy Empire, the only power on the Rodisia continent that could challenge the Baroque Empire.

“Is there any room for us to intervene at this time?” he asked, thinking that if they played their cards right with the succession dispute, they might gain something.

They could start a civil war, or if that was not possible, they could create a deep rift between the factions and prevent them from uniting.

“Unfortunately, the Elcasel Church is very closed off… But I will try to make some moves.”

“Yes, it doesn’t matter if you fail, so try to poke around.”

Having roughly finished all of today’s agenda, Rudolf got up from his seat.

It was time for his swordsmanship training, which he enjoyed more than eating.

2

It had been fifteen days since the Volga refugees had safely entered the territory.

After their arrival, the Rakan Barony transformed into a massive construction site.

This was because villages were being built in a total of seven locations to settle the Volga refugees: two near the lord’s castle and the fortress, four on the northern plains, and one below Mount Lokia.

Bang! Bang!

Clang! Clang!

“Hey, bring some lumber here!” someone shouted.

“When are the bricks arriving!” another called out.

“Be careful not to have an accident!” a foreman warned.

Loud noises and the shouts of construction foremen echoed throughout the territory.

Although a large-scale civil engineering project had suddenly begun and a large number of people had been mobilized, no one was dissatisfied.

The Volga refugees had no reason to object since they were building their own homes. Adults, as well as the elderly and children, all rolled up their sleeves and offered to help.

The existing territory residents were happy to earn money from the civil engineering project.

In addition, young people who had left town to earn money were returning after hearing the rumors, so they were very happy.

Although everyone was working together on this large-scale construction, there were still not enough completed houses compared to the number of refugees.

So, for the time being, they were being housed in the fortress or in tents on empty land.

Thanks to everyone’s efforts and cooperation, it seemed that they would be able to complete the new villages to some extent before winter arrived.

The lord’s castle conference room.

Luke was in a meeting with his vassals.

The atmosphere among the vassals was quite excited, perhaps because the territory was full of vitality for the first time in a long time.

‘Not bad,’ Luke thought.

He glanced at his vassals and then opened his mouth.

“How far along is the village construction?” he asked.

At his question, the construction manager in charge of construction, civil engineering, and mine development in the territory stepped forward to answer.

“We have completed 30 percent of the work so far. We are currently putting in a lot of manpower and materials, so we will have a rough outline within a month.”

“This is where those who will become our territory residents will live. Don’t rush and do a shoddy job. And you are building the facilities I instructed, right?”

“Of course. As you said, Young Lord, we are building various convenience facilities in suitable locations.”

The construction manager spread out the maps he was holding.

They were maps showing the newly constructed villages as well as the existing villages, and the convenience facilities currently under construction were marked on them.

“We have allocated various workshops, including the noisy blacksmith, to the outskirts of the village, and we are building a public bath next to the plaza. And we are building flour mills and agricultural warehouses near the farmland.”

“Good, what about the construction of roads and village defense walls?”

“We are working on it with the territory army. We are expanding and repairing what already exists.”

The roads and walls surrounding the village were sufficient as long as they were piled up with earth and compacted firmly.

However, it required a lot of manpower, but since they were using Gigantes [golems] instead of manpower, the progress was very fast.

“There is one matter that needs to be addressed. The construction of a bridge to connect to the southern territory requires considerable skill, so we are postponing it for now.”

The Rakan Barony was separated from the territory to the south by a rugged canyon.

If a bridge could be built to connect this canyon, they could easily advance to the sea through the southern territory without having to detour.

“We will call in a technician separately later. If possible, I would like to entrust it to skilled dwarves.”

Since the territory had plenty of money, no one objected to hiring expensive dwarves.

If there had been a shortage of funds for this project, everyone would have suggested ending it with building roughly hut-level houses.

At that time, Dixon, the finance manager, carefully raised his hand and asked, “Young Lord, there is one thing I don’t understand.”

“What is it?” Luke asked.

“Why are you building a village here below Mount Lokia, where the location is not good?”

In fact, this question had been on the minds of Dixon and the other vassals for a long time.

“Ah, that place? That’s where I’m developing the mine on Mount Lokia.”

“A mine? Is there a vein there?”

“Yes, there was someone among the Volga refugees who had a lot of experience in mine development. He said that there was a high probability that there was a vein on Mount Lokia, so I had him do some exploration, and he discovered traces of a mine used by the old dwarves.”

“Huh! Is, is that true?” Dixon stammered.

Not knowing that Luke had roughly lied, Dixon and the vassals’ mouths were agape.

A mine is always a money-maker.

If a gold or silver mine was discovered, it would be a jackpot, and even an iron or copper mine could generate income that would easily exceed the territory’s annual budget.

“A dwarf’s mine is a place that has not been found even after searching for hundreds of years…” one vassal murmured.

“I went there myself, and it was in a very secret place with no roads. Those amateur technicians who just take money and look around half-heartedly would never find it even if they died and came back to life,” Luke said.

“I, I see,” Dixon replied, blushing.

Dixon and the vassals remembered the time last year when they had tried to develop a mine, even going into debt with the Alon Merchant Guild, but had failed.

They felt very sorry for the Young Lord, thinking that they had been deceived by amateurs, wasted a lot of money, and caused trouble for the territory.

“I hope it succeeds,” Dixon said.

“Yes, I’m also looking forward to it, so let’s wait for the results,” Luke replied.

Luke intended to hand over the three mines he had already developed in the Lokia Mountains to the Volga refugees.

That way, he could legally use the gold and silver they continued to mine there for territory development.

With the 300,000 pesos he had secured, he had no worries for the time being.

However, to grow the territory enough to face the Imperial Family or the Veritas Magic Tower, he would need more funds in the future.

“And when the village construction is finished, I plan to develop farmland,” Luke announced.

At Luke’s words, the vassals nodded as if they had roughly guessed.

For the territory to develop, food production had to increase significantly.

The great nobles who had some power on the Rodisia continent now had vast fertile land in their territories, and they had a large population and army supported by the food produced there.

However, the Rakan Barony currently had no fertile land, let alone decent arable land, so they were buying food from outside.

They could not continue to buy from outside forever, and they also had to provide jobs for the refugees, so Luke decided to reclaim farmland.

But the problem was that this was not easy.

“The plains north of the lord’s castle are suitable, but the problem is water,” the agriculture manager said, pointing to the map.

There had been several attempts to cultivate the land in the past. However, the reason for repeated failures was the low rainfall and the absence of rivers or streams passing through the territory. Therefore, they had no choice but to draw water from afar, but the nearest tributary of the Neir River was a full 20 kilometers away. Moreover, it was said that the construction of a waterway was almost impossible due to the rock layers of stones and boulders blocking the way.

‘I’ll have to deploy golems and monsters to dig an underground waterway.’ It would have been difficult to build a waterway with humans. However, he thought that if he deployed golems, which were large, strong, and tireless until their mana supply was cut off, they could dig it sufficiently.

“I’ll look into that issue further, so let’s move on.”

“Understood.”

“And what about Count Monarch’s movements?”

At Luke’s question, Butler Hans stepped forward to answer. “He has applied for a territory war with the Imperial Family and the Imperial Council, claiming that we annihilated his Scorpion Cavalry. It is currently under review, but it seems approval will be granted soon.”

No sooner had Hans finished speaking than the vassals began to denounce Count Monarch.

“That damned pig! We’ve never even seen the Scorpion Cavalry, how can he make such a ridiculous claim!”

“That’s right. It’s true that we slightly crossed the territory border to bring in the Volga refugees, but we never clashed with Count Monarch’s private soldiers!”

In fact, the vassals felt wronged. They had never actually encountered the Scorpion Cavalry. Of course, Luke felt a little guilty inside, but he pretended not to know and calmed the vassals.

“Ah, everyone, calm down. We were planning for war with Count Monarch anyway. More importantly, how is our side’s preparation going?”

At Luke’s question, Knight Commander Rogers stepped forward to answer. “We have recruited about 300 more soldiers, mainly from the young men who recently returned home. Many of them have experience as mercenaries, so their training level is not bad.”

If they were to conscript, they could recruit several thousand more, but Rogers had no intention of doing so. Modern warfare is centered around Gigants [large, humanoid war machines] and the cavalry and artillery that support them. Infantry is only mobilized for maintaining security, searching, and patrolling in the rear, so they were not needed much in the current situation.

“What about Sir Mute?”

“Thanks to the support of the young lord, we were able to repair all five of the abandoned Gigants in the warehouse. As per your instructions, we kept it strictly secret, so no one knows about it except for the vassals.”

The five Gigants had not been mobilized for the recent civil engineering projects either. They were to be used as a hidden weapon to catch the enemy off guard when the territory war broke out.

“Good work. Objectively, our territory’s military strength is far behind. But you all know that war is not simply about having more power to win.” To achieve victory, it was more important to develop strategies and tactics to make good use of their power, rather than simply increasing it. And unity, morale, and the ability to scout the enemy also acted as variables in victory or defeat.

“Therefore, let’s make full preparations until the end and not neglect to identify the opponent’s weaknesses.”

“We will keep that in mind, young lord!” The vassals all stood up and saluted Luke in unison. They were more united than ever before since the territory was founded. Luke, extremely satisfied with their appearance, held the meeting for another hour before heading to the castle.

3

“You’re here, Lord Luke?” Princess Reina greeted Luke happily as he arrived at the castle. Currently, she and the former vassals of the Volga Kingdom were staying in the castle with some of the refugees. They could have stayed in the lord’s manor, but there was a separate task for them.

“Where did Sir Viktor go?” Old but sturdy, like a solid rock, the old knight Viktor. Luke asked when he didn’t see him, as he was always by Reina’s side.

“He is training the mercenaries at the training grounds in the back with the former royal knights.” As soon as she arrived in the Rakan Barony, Reina, under Luke’s instructions, recruited 400 mercenaries from among the refugees. They were not soldiers to fight against Count Monarch’s army, but rather personnel to guard the trading company and the mines of Lokia that Luke would establish in the future.

“He seems happy to be back in active duty, and he’s working very enthusiastically.”

“That’s good. Is the establishment of the trading company going well?”

“Yes, we have already opened the main branch in the Rakan Lord’s Castle, and we are opening branches in the cities of nearby territories.” After arriving here, Luke gave Princess Reina 50,000 pesos [currency] and ordered her to establish a trading company. He was worried whether the princess would be able to do it well, but surprisingly, she had a knack for business, and she was doing well in accounting, bookkeeping, and the organization and operation of the trading company. Of course, she wasn’t doing it alone. Vassals from the bureaucracy, including Pavel, were rolling up their sleeves to help. Although they were old, they were people who had been in charge of the affairs of a country in their youth. Naturally, they had learned a lot and had extensive experience in administration and finance. They were more than capable of running a trading company.

“Have you decided on a name for the trading company?”

“If it’s okay with you, young lord, I was thinking of calling it the Kirilov Trading Company.”

“Is it named after the royal family? It’s a good name.” Since the head of the trading company and its executives were members of the Volga royal family, it was, in a way, a very appropriate name.

“And are there any problems with the miners working in the mines?” He had told the vassals of the territory that he would develop the mines in the future, but he had already selected and deployed those among the refugees who had experience working in the mines. Of course, when they were deployed, Luke had already removed the golems and monsters in advance, so there was no particular commotion. The monsters that had been working in the mines were fed and moved to places out of sight of people, and he planned to use them for the underground waterway construction soon. And when that was over, he decided to raise them as one of the forces to use when fighting against the Empire later.

“We have repaired the places that the former dwarves used and are using them as temporary shelters. We are also providing sufficient food and water, so there are no problems.” The village being built below Mount Lokia was the village where the families of those miners would live. After talking about the mines and miners for a while, she asked as if she had just remembered something.

“But I heard that there will be a war in the territory soon… Did Count Monarch apply for a territory war?” She was not unaware of Count Monarch’s tenacious personality. She thought he would definitely take some action, but she didn’t expect him to be so extreme as to try to start a territory war.

“Is it because of me?” When Reina showed a dark expression, Luke shook his head. “There was a grudge I had to settle with him even if it wasn’t for you, Princess. The entire barony is united and preparing, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Still, is there anything we can do to help?”

“Well, there won’t be anything in terms of combat for now. These days, wars start and end with Gigants.” Although there are exceptions, the outcome is usually decided in Gigant battles. If you lose your Gigant power, no matter how many other troops you have, it’s useless.

“If it’s Gigants, we have one too. Although its performance is inferior, it will be enough to fight.”

“Ah, are you talking about Mir?” Mir, the warrior-class Gigant that Philip rode in the Gigant Arena last time. After the fight, Mir was lent to a nearby territory, and recently, it was returned and used to pull rafts carrying refugees. And now, it was being used for the construction of the refugees’ village.

“And Sir Viktor and the old knights will also try to fight if a territory war breaks out. Even if I try to stop them, they won’t listen, so please take care of them, young lord.”

“Yes, I will tell Commander Rogers.”

“Oh, and this….” Reina handed Luke a book she was holding, as if she had forgotten something. The old book was the diary that Luke had written in the past as Seymon. It was lent to her on the day Reina came to the castle to show that the story she had heard before was true.

“I heard about it from you, young lord, but seeing it directly in the diary, Seymon’s life was so sad and pitiful. I don’t know how many times I cried while reading it.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes, the part where he missed his dead lover was especially so, and for some reason, my emotions welled up so much that my tears wouldn’t stop. Is it because I’m a woman?” As if the aftereffects of her emotions had not subsided, Princess Reina wiped away the tears that had slightly welled up in her eyes. Luke, who felt a strange lump in his throat, gave a faint smile.

“Seymon will be happy too. That someone understands him.”

“It may be difficult now, but I hope a world will come where more people understand him.” After talking with Reina and giving some instructions, Luke went down to the underground laboratory. And he took out the magic book he had not yet mastered and read it, further increasing his power.

4

Thump thump thump!

Rumble!

Underground in the mountain range between the Neir River tributary and the northern plains of the Rakan Barony. More than a dozen golems and hundreds of monsters were diligently digging tunnels. Under Luke’s command, they were creating an underground waterway. When the magic-enhanced stone golems’ punches shattered the hard rock bedrock, the wood golems and monsters used large shovels and sacks to carry the debris out.

‘Hehehe! If I dig an underground waterway to the river like this and draw water, people will be surprised, right?’ Luke, who was watching the work from behind, smiled leisurely. He was going to say that he had found groundwater after drawing the water. The reason for this effort and excuse was one. If a waterway suddenly appeared, people would think it was strange. The best way to naturally deceive them was to claim it was groundwater.

‘When my power gets stronger in the future, I’ll be able to publicly deploy golems for work, right?’ Luke had no intention of continuing to push things forward in secret like this. However, he was not revealing it now because his power was weak and he had to gain the trust of his vassals. Anyway, Luke, who was solving the water problem, which was the biggest obstacle to farmland reclamation, by himself, left the work to the golems and monsters and went into a corner of the mountain range. After looking around to see if anyone was nearby, he began to draw a series of magic circles on the ground.

‘Now that I have gained some power, I can start a new training.’ A new training. It was a training method he had used in the past as a black magician. Summoning a demon, fighting and defeating the demon, and taking all of its abilities and demonic energy. Considering the upcoming territory war, he decided to start this training to accumulate even a little more power.

“The magic circle for summoning is done, and next….” Luke chanted a black magic spell and lightly cut his palm with the sword he was wearing on his waist, squeezing out blood. Generally, black magicians use beasts or people as sacrifices for summoning, but Luke and the black magicians of the Darkness School who followed him did not do so. They believed that it was morally wrong to sacrifice other beings to gain power for themselves.

‘That’s also true, but in reality, a magician’s blood is the best summoning sacrifice. Because it has enough spirituality while handling mana and demonic energy.’ Demons like blood with such spirituality the most. So, when Luke’s blood fell on the demon summoning magic circle, an eerie light flashed from the magic circle, and there was an immediate reaction.

Whoo-oong! The magic circle disappeared, and a dark subspace seemed to open, and then a hideous-looking demon with a thick, muscular body and a single horn protruding from its head appeared.

“Hehehe, human! What do you want? Whatever you want, your soul must be given to me!” The Touma demon [a type of demon], Volk, spoke arrogantly to Luke, who appeared to be a black magician.

Usually, black magicians would tremble and prostrate themselves on the floor in such a situation. But the human before him was different.

“What do you want? I want the power and demonic energy you possess.”

“What?”

For a moment, Volk wore an absurd expression.

What on earth would make someone so fearless as to demand power and demonic energy from a demon?

As he stood there dumbfounded, Luke took action.

Zap!

“Kuaaaak!”

Volk screamed as his body was scorched by the electric magic Luke unleashed.

“You, you wretched black magician!”

Furious, he spread his arms and charged at Luke.

Thump! Bang!

The ground cracked, and house-sized rocks exploded from the force of his fists.

Luke dodged the demon’s attacks, casting spells with one hand and unleashing aura attacks with his sword in the other.

‘Kuaaak! What kind of guy is this?’

Volk was frustrated as his attacks continued to fail.

With his skills, he could easily kill even the top experts in the middle realm, yet this black magician was skillfully evading him.

Moreover, he was gradually being neutralized by the various spells and sword attacks.

“W-what the hell are you?”

Volk asked Luke’s identity, thinking he should at least know who he was fighting.

“Me? I don’t know if you’ve heard of me, but I’m Seymon, who summoned and hunted demons 500 years ago.”

“S-Seymon!!”

Volk suddenly remembered a rumor that had circulated in the demon world long ago.

The number of summons to the middle realm had suddenly increased, which the senior demons had enjoyed.

They could enjoy slaughter and destruction in the pleasant middle realm and cause as much chaos as they wanted.

However, the problem was that none of the senior demons who went to the human world had ever returned.

Later, a demon who had been summoned by another black magician revealed a shocking truth.

“There’s a human black magician who hunts demons for their power and demonic energy! Never respond if he summons you!”

And for a while, the name of that black magician was the talk of the demon world.

The name of that black magician was Seymon!

“B-but you don’t look like you’re over 500 years old?”

“Hehehe, I had my body changed for certain reasons. Now, shall we take your power and demonic energy?”

Luke, sensing that the demon’s strength was waning, activated Black Bind, a black magic for binding and absorption.

Whirr—!

Volk tried to dodge.

However, he had used too much power fighting Luke earlier, and he was unable to move, ensnared by the black vines that sprouted from the ground.

“N-no! This violates the summoning principles between demons and black magicians….”

Volk, struggling, withered away in an instant, and all his demonic energy and power were absorbed by Luke.

“Hoo, even a low-ranking demon is not easy to deal with.”

Luke wiped the sweat from his brow.

He had unilaterally pushed Volk back, but the chain of 5th and 6th circle magic he had recently learned did not flow as smoothly as he had expected.

“Well, it’ll get better as I keep using it.”

Thinking that, he closed his eyes and examined the abilities Volk possessed.

“Let’s see….”

Usually, a demon’s demonic energy contained the abilities they commonly used.

Luke analyzed the demonic energy he had just absorbed, interpreting the latent abilities within it into magical formulas and imprinting them on his brain.

When he selected an ability he had interpreted and imprinted, his entire body’s demonic energy reacted.

Crack! Thump!

His whole body swelled, and his clothes stretched taut.

Along with that, his strength increased threefold, and his skin became tough and hard enough to deflect blades.

“Is this the Build Up ability that enhances the body? Well, he was a low-ranking combat demon, so I have to be satisfied with this.”

Compared to the high-ranking demons he had defeated in the past, it was insignificant, but Luke did not complain.

Even such an ability could be useful if used well, and if he summoned a demon he couldn’t handle just for the sake of a stronger ability, everything could be ruined.

“Well, if I need other abilities, I can just summon another demon.”

Luke supervised the underground waterway construction a bit more before returning to the lord’s castle.

After that, Luke performed three more summoning rituals at intervals of a few days.

He wanted to use it several times a day if he could.

However, he was busy with various things, and it was difficult to gather the materials needed to draw the summoning magic circle, so he had to wait until they were ready again.

Anyway, with those three summoning rituals, he summoned, subdued, and plundered the demonic energy of three demons.

And he acquired the Petro Light ability to turn opponents into stone and the Sonic Wave ability to perceive objects or inflict shock with sound waves.

And his Build Up ability had improved, which was because he had absorbed the power of a demon with the same ability as the Touma demon [a type of demon] he had summoned first.

‘Now I only have enough materials for one more summoning. Should I postpone it? No, I have time, so let’s just get it over with today.’

Thinking that, he summoned the fifth demon.

Whoooong!

The summoning magic circle glowed, and then, with a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and the earth, a large beast resembling a saber-toothed tiger appeared.

“Kuaaaang—! I am Sebastian, a high-ranking demon of the demon world and an excellent warrior! If you don’t kneel immediately, I will devour you!”

The summoned demon had sharp teeth and claws that were terrifying to behold, and it had black wings like a crow on its back.

And its right eye, which had a scar, was covered with a black eyepatch, which, combined with its size of over 10 meters, made it look very ferocious.

‘Hmm, is this one an animal-type demon?’

Not only human-type demons that walked on two legs lived in the demon world.

There were demons of various shapes, and among them were high-ranking demons resembling saber-toothed tigers.

“What are you doing, human? Kneel before me now!”

Sebastian roared as Luke stared at him with tension.

But as Luke stared intently at him, he suddenly chuckled. Sebastian’s face twisted fiercely at that.

“You! How dare you laugh at a high-ranking demon? I’ll tear open your belly and chew your intestines… Kuaaaak!”

Sebastian rolled on the floor after being hit by the electric magic Luke unleashed.

But as he rolled on the floor, his body changed.

The huge body of over 10 meters shrank to 30 centimeters, and the sharp, ferocious-looking teeth and claws disappeared.

And he transformed into a fluffy, mottled cat.

The cat demon, wearing boots and gloves, had a leather belt across his waist. On the belt were attached large and small pouches and two small daggers.

“H-how did you know my true form…?”

Sebastian, barely regaining his senses, trembled and asked.

Luke chuckled and said,

“Your transformation is clumsy. The appearance might have been perfect, but you didn’t have the corresponding aura.”

A strong being has a strong aura.

Whether it was fighting spirit or murderous intent, such an aura was definitely felt.

But Sebastian was all talk and no aura.

Moreover, Luke had drawn a magic circle to summon a low-ranking demon. There was no reason for a high-ranking demon to suddenly appear.

“First, let’s punish you for deceiving me.”

Luke rolled up his sleeves and approached Sebastian.

“H-human, no, sir! Master! If there’s a misunderstanding, let’s talk it out!”

“I have nothing to talk about with you.”

“P-please don’t! You look like a gentleman and a righteous person, why are you doing this? Please have mercy on a poor cat!”

Sebastian spoke with the most pitiful expression he could muster, but Luke’s expression remained cold.

“I’m going to beat you up and absorb your demonic energy and abilities anyway, so there’s no reason to spare you.”

‘Hiiik!’

Sebastian’s mouth dropped open.

He had eagerly responded to the summons, thinking he might get something to eat, but now he was being told he would be eaten instead.

Come to think of it, he had heard that some low-ranking demons had recently gone missing (?) after going to the middle realm. Could it be that this guy was behind it!

“T-there, Master. This demon, no, this humble one, is not even considered a low-ranking demon, so you won’t get much demonic energy even if you absorb me.”

“So you do have some.”

“O-of course, I do, but it would be much more beneficial to keep me alive and use me than to eat me! Because I am Sebastian, the greatest phantom thief of the demon world.”

‘A cat burglar?’

As Luke was about to cast the Black Bind magic, looking disappointed, Sebastian prostrated himself on the floor and begged.

“Wait! If you spare me, I’ll do anything! I swear my loyalty! No, I’ll give you my soul!”

Luke was dumbfounded by Sebastian’s cry.

Usually, when summoning magic was used, the demon was the master, and the black magician was the servant.

That’s why the black magician was always the one being exploited, and in the end, even their soul would fall into the hands of the demon.

But now, the demon was offering his soul!

‘Hmph, he’s an interesting one.’

But on second thought, he seemed to have some use.

The fact that a weak and frail-looking cat like him was living in the harsh demon world meant that he had some special abilities.

‘He said he was a phantom thief, right? If he’s good at stealing and hiding, he might be useful for reconnaissance or espionage missions.’

Come to think of it, the saber-toothed tiger transformation he had done earlier might work well on others, if not on him.

Having made that judgment, Luke glared at Sebastian with stern eyes and said,

“Are you really going to give me your soul?”

“Yes, I will give you my soul. From today on, Sebastian is your servant, Master!”

“Alright, then I will spare you.”

Luke performed the ritual of offering the soul with Sebastian.

Since the master and servant roles were reversed, he had to modify the black magic formula used in the ritual, but it was not a difficult task for Luke, who possessed knowledge of 9th circle black magic.

“Demon Sebastian, from today on, your soul belongs to me, Luke. Your life is in my hands, so you must not even dream of the slightest disobedience!”

As the ritual incantation ended, a clear L-shaped mark, symbolizing Luke, was imprinted on Sebastian’s neck.

‘I’m a slave! I, a demon, have fallen to become a human’s slave!’

It was a reality he wanted to cry about, but at his master’s cold gaze, Sebastian quickly smiled and bowed.

“Please take good care of me, Master.”

“Alright, do your best from now on.”

And so, Luke took in Sebastian, the greatest phantom thief of the demon world, as his subordinate.