Chapter 152: Neko

Chapter 152: Neko

At this point, I couldnt muster surprise when Agon stumbled upon ultimate class demons like they were common rats. However, it was confusing why Nekoshu was with him. Nekoshu were rarely found anywhere, and in the original story, I knew of only one such cat demon.

I kept an eye out for anything suspicious. Agon had a shounen protagonist aura, and being trapped with him anywhere brought chills down my spine.

With him around, it wouldn't be surprising if an ultimate class demon burst out of the wall and started fighting us while Nekoshu showed us her true form and saved us. Or maybe Agon would have a mid-battle power-up?

"Where did you get the cat?" I asked, trying to look casual while eyeing those suspicious crabs with rat heads that Agon was roasting. Were they safe to eat?

Agon had monstrous poison resistance due to Yamata No Orochi being sealed inside his body. If eating these crabs could hypothetically melt a normal humans stomach, Agon wouldn't even feel it.

"The cat was trapped here and injured, so I saved him. Ive named him Catmuncher Butskutcher The Third, or just Caty for short," he said as if it was the most casual thing ever.

Didnt he call this thing Blacky before? Maybe he hadnt come up with a name and was just changing it until one felt right.

"Where did you lose the eye?" he asked me.

"The demon we fought pierced it with his bat," I replied, rubbing the hole in my skull and wincing in pain. Even Perfect Me couldn't create a new eye.

"You don't even look worried about it. You're a pretty weird guy," Agon said without thinking much. Other people could get offended or sad when reminded of a missing eye.nove(l)bi(n.)com

"You're the last guy who could call me weird," I retorted, sitting down next to him and pulling out some ration bars from a small opening in my jacket. With how many food reserves I had prepared in case of an emergency, I could survive for a couple of months. But after that, things would start getting dangerous.

Maybe I would have to turn myself into a demon just to survive? I hadn't tested it yet, but Perfect Me should be able to do it. Though I wasn't exactly keen on that option as the contract I had bet my life on could rebound and kill me, as that could technically be me breaking the deal.

Demons typically had a very long lifespan, which rendered most abilities related to lifespan useless. The value of a human's lifespan lay in its finite nature, making it precious.

Agon asked, "Have you tried poking your finger in the eyehole?"

He had the social grace of a rock.

"No," I replied.

"You should wear an eyepatch. You'd look like a pirate," He suggested and proceeded to do a poor imitation of one, using his hand as a hook and swinging it around.

Many would have assumed that he was mocking me, but I knew he was just being stupid.

He stopped goofing around, gazed at me, and then looked at the fire with a sad expression. "I'm sorry about Bets. He was a cool guy. Remember when Gem and I interrupted your chess game at the pool?"

I smiled. "Yeah, those were simpler times."

But what's done is done. I saw no reason why the demon would lie to me about this. "How did it happen?"

She clenched her hand, winced, and grabbed the wound that still seemed to cause her pain. "We were all killed by the Demonic Exorcist."

Ah, screw that guy!

***

Carpy stared at Uwabami in her humanoid form atop a mountain, with a small army of demons at the foot of it. Despite the looming threat of the demons, Carpy wasn't afraid of them, as they were under Uwabami's command.

He didn't understand why Uwabami had agreed to side with Shuten Doji in the war against humans. But the demons under her command seemed to respect her. Also, he needed her help to become useful-

"Hey, don't daydream and disrupt the tempo. I told you to keep releasing your demonic energy until there's none left," Uwabami said, taking a sip from a sake cup the size of a small bowl. "Some humans are talented but weak, while others are untalented but strong, and it's all because of their special abilities."

Uwabami cracked her neck and stood up, noticing that there was no more alcohol left in the large barrel she had brought along. "Demons don't have any of that. Their abilities are innate, and potential is a crucial factor in a demon's evolution. It's clear that the middle class is pretty much your limit."

Carpy frowned at that. "But I will become a dragon."

"Sure, you can have your dreams. But don't think I can get you there. At best, I can force you to evolve to a high class demon, and that's where you'll likely be stuck for the rest of your existence," Uwabami said with a sigh.

Despite her words, Carpy was determined to become a dragon. He knew that his master had put his life on the line to help him become one within a year, and he couldn't afford to fail. "I will become a dragon."

Uwabami shook her head. "You have about as much chance of becoming a dragon as I have of becoming as strong as Master Orochi," she snorted. "Even the weakest dragons are stronger than me, and they're so rare that the last time anyone saw a dragon was over a thousand years ago."

Carpy felt a weight around his heart at that. He knew that Uwabami had no reason to lie to him, but he couldn't bear the thought of not fulfilling his master's goal. "I will become a dragon."

Uwabami let out a resigned sigh. "Fine, have it your way. But don't think I can get you there. At best, I can bring out some of your latent potential and help you evolve to a high class demon."

Faster than Carpy could see, she was in front of him in an instant. Her hand touched his head, and he felt an evil energy entering his body.

"Don't try to resist it. This is the same technique Master Orochi used to bring out the latent potential in demons, in the hopes that some could become immune to his natural poison," Uwabami explained.

Carpy had never met Yamata No Orochi, but he imagined that he must have been a very eccentric demon. While Tamao No Mae had learned thousands of mystical techniques to rise to the top of the pyramid among ultimate class demons, Yamata No Orochi had effortlessly achieved that status without even trying.

"By the way, Master Orochi could use this technique a hundred times a day without feeling tired, but I am not as resilient. I'll need a couple of days to recover, so please take me to the hiding place where we left Master Orochi's son and your master," she said. Afterward, she transferred some of her demonic energy to Carpy to replenish his reserves. While at the same time, her Ord moved weirdly around his body and activated some pressure points.

"Huh? Uwabami's eyes widened. Why is there an ultimate-class energy inside of you?!"

Just then, an unfamiliar monstrous energy burst forth from Carpy.