He didn't always understand it. The text shifted at times, like it didn't want to be read unless the reader was ready. But little by little, he unraveled pieces of it—spells, contracts, theoretical constructs that seemed to bend reality. Dark energy coiled around each page, but Alex didn't flinch. His mind, now stronger and more resistant, absorbed what it could.
Slowly but steadily, his compatibility kept rising. Though it wasn't great—each time, it only increased by 1%, and lately, even less. The last reading had only granted him a 0.6% boost.
As Alex slid the Devil Book back into his inventory, he let out a long sigh and collapsed onto the makeshift bed in the basement. He glanced to the side, spotting Sue curled up in sleep like a tired puppy.
"She's cute when she's carefree," he muttered, then turned his eyes toward the cloudy pattern of the basement ceiling, or specifically at his system screen.
[ Evolution Progress: 39% ]
Just a 5% increase after a whole week of studying.
"I hope the cops drop the case faster," he murmured before drifting off.
The next day was the same. And so was the one after that.
Until finally, on the third day—
"You two are free," said the same cop who had questioned them before, standing at the basement stairs.
He looked at Alex. "You're in the clear. We found video evidence on that guy's phone—him kidnapping and drugging you, and threatening you to keep your mouth shut."
"The footage clearly showed you weren't at fault, so we're letting you both go. But don't get too comfortable—the department might still keep an eye on you, so behave."
With that, the officer turned and left.
Sue burst out, raising her hands like a prisoner stepping into sunlight. "Finally! I'm free!"
Alex looked at her as he leaned back, resting his head again. "Then leave now," he said quietly.
She tilted her head. "What about your plan to infiltrate his place?"
Alex replied flatly, "There's no need now. The cops already found everything. I'm free, finally."
He closed his eyes, feeling a heavy burden finally lift from his shoulders.
"Do you have to be so cold?" Sue crossed her arms, looking at him with a slight frown.
Alex tilted his head slightly. "I'm not being cold. This is just how I usually talk. You lived with me for a week and still don't know that?" he said, eyes closing as he leaned back.
Sue looked at him for a moment, then let out a soft sigh. "Okay then… see ya," she said.
But before leaving, she stepped back and handed him a small slip of paper.
"My number," she said. "Let's be friends. We survived as a team, right? Might as well stay in touch."
Alex accepted the slip and gave a small nod. "Sounds good," he replied.
Sue smiled—finally—and turned to leave, her footsteps echoing up the basement stairs.
Alex opened his eyes just as he heard Sue's footsteps fade away. He stood slowly, then leaned back against the wall.
"Finally, she's gone. Now I can finally use a bit of demon energy," he muttered to himself.
He remembered the last time—the warning etched into his mind. Using a large amount of demonic energy with an untrained body could kill him. It meant he had to stay at level zero, to begin slow and careful. This wasn't about abrupt power; it was about slowly acquiring it.
Alex sat cross-legged and focused, drawing in a small trickle of demonic energy, letting it flow gently through his limbs, introducing it to his cells like a cautious guest. His expression tightened with focus.
"I wasted weeks because she was here with me," he grumbled.
He looked down at his hand, where a faint, mist-like aura began to swirl—black and white smoke coiling around his fingers like a ghostly ribbon. This… this was his Demonic Energy.
According to what he'd read in the Devil Book, demonic energy had no fixed form or color—it shifted based on the soul and the wielder's affinity. His manifested as both black and white.
He didn't know what it meant yet.
But the color felt cold—ghastly, even—and that felt right to him. Chilling and detached. Like a part of him that had always been there, waiting to be awakened. Plus, it looked ghastly in color as in games, which he found cool.
So he let it be.
"Now… how do I start practicing with it?" Alex murmured aloud, hoping the system would respond. Given it was related to his powers, he had a feeling it would.
Sure enough, a familiar chime echoed in his mind as text appeared before his eyes:
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Host should proceed in steps for safe adaptation to demonic energy.
Step One:
Begin by feeling and understanding how the energy flows within your body. Observe, don't control—just sense it.
Step Two:
Start controlling the flow of demonic energy, drawing it to the surface. The mist you've seen is only a passive byproduct. True demonic energy behaves more like a dense liquid, flowing through or around your hand.
Step Three:
Shape the energy into mist form deliberately—this is your first sign of basic mastery. And then solidying into liquid and solid is next steps of Masteries.
Step Four:
Discover your innate affinity. Based on current energy patterns, the system detects an affinity with Shadow as one of your element. Probabaly due to host having V's base template.
Step Five:
Begin crafting basic skills using and molding the demonic energy. Form techniques aligned with your affinity.
Final Step:
Once your body is fully synchronized with demonic energy, you will be capable of using high-level skills—such as the time dilation sphere—without suffering backlash.
Alex read through the instructions slowly, nodding as he processed them.
"Shadow, huh?" he muttered. "Figures."
The cold, ghostly mist around his fingers curled slightly, as if reacting to the word. This was just the beginning—but now, he had a path to follow.
Alex closed his eyes as the first step was finding how this power or Demonic Energy flow in his body.
*******
if you like my fanfic, and want to support me and read advance chaps, checkout my fanfic on Patreon :- patreon.com/FantasyLi
There are regular updates too.
I have written Twenty chaps and will write more soo
***