The Demon King Academy's male dormitory stood as an imposing five-story mansion, situated just a short distance from the West Tower.
By contemporary standards, the mansion appeared eerily reminiscent of the haunted houses often depicted in folklore and films.
Gargoyles, with menacing expressions, loomed over the grand entrance, and the housekeepers were none other than lower-ranking demons. The garden was a chaotic mess of carnivorous plants, with massive, flesh-eating flowers thriving in the overgrown space. Vines known as "man-eating ivaries" slithered up the stone walls, though, ironically, they lacked the power to consume a person.
Paintings adorned the hallways could move somewhat, much like the enchanted newspapers seen in the Demon Capital's stands. However, these portraits held far greater power, their influence stretching beyond the frames to even the mirrors in the washrooms.
Just as Lu Zhuoxing was washing his face, a woman in a form-fitting white dress with a hood suddenly emerged from the mirror.
Though only her upper body was visible, the sight alone was enough to send a shiver down anyone's spine, not minding the two colossal orbs dominating her chest, barely imprisoned by the ghostly cloth.
'I wonder how she could be big in that aspect. Was she like this when she was human? How scary'
Surprisingly, Lu Zhuoxing showed no fear. Instead, he greeted the wandering spirit with a polite smile.
"Good evening, Lady."
Strictly speaking, her real name was Susanna, but he had taken to calling her "Lady," as the ghoul disliked being addressed by the name she had borne in life.
She was said to be a human healer, capable of curing any wound and illness. Her reputation spread far and wide, drawing the attention of a powerful lord who ruled over the territory. Enchanted by her beauty and skill, the lord became consumed with great desire.
One day, he made a sinister offer: if she refused to share his bed, he would accuse her of adultery, a crime punishable by death at the time.
Despite the immense danger, Susanna remained resolute. With unwavering faith and honor, she refused the lord's advances, choosing to preserve her integrity and fidelity to her husband. The consequence of that single act of defiance, however, set in a motion of events that she would have never foreseen.
Following her act of defiance, the Lord, consumed by rage, ordered her capture. In his fury, he tortured, defied her body to the fullest then finally hung her, marking the end of her life.
Reanimated during a brutal war between demons and humans, she emerged as a banshee. Her thirst for vengeance drove her to kill the Lord who had condemned her, fulfilling her desire for retribution.
However, her existence was far from over. During a later battle, a priest from the Saint Shinto Church, wielding the power of Holy Light, nearly obliterated her. This attack left her gravely weakened, reducing her to little more than a fragment of her former self. Stripped of her power, she became weaker than ordinary specters. Her soul was reduced to a mere sliver, confining her movements. Trapped, she could appear only in mirrors or sometimes lurking in the hallways.
Her story reminded Lu Zhuoxing of the horror story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison. But unlike a certain god-like supercomputer trapped in its own body, her existence was restrained to a building.
Come to think about it, spirits are rather lonely existences, yes. I wonder if it's possible to reincarnate her into a demon in the Reincarnation Lake. But I seriously doubt that would work and even if it did, she won't have a pleasant life in the Netherworld.
Lu Zhuoxing sighed.
This wasn't the first time he had seen a ghost. In the Netherealm, ghosts and evil spirits were known to exist, but not everyone could perceive them.
To understand it fully, there were three planes of existence: the Living World — also known as Earth or the Physical Plane — the Netherealm, and the Spirit World. Unlike the first two, the Spirit World was said to be limitless and omnipresent. Imagine the Living World and the Netherealm as two separate bubbles, each governed by its own unique laws. The Spirit World, by contrast, existed within and around both, encompassing them completely, though neither could exist within the Spirit World itself.
In other words, those on this end couldn't see within the Spirit World unless the spirits chose to reveal themselves to a specific target.
Of course, there were a few exceptions to this rule. Namely, those with unique attributes such as special Innate Abilities, those with heightened senses who could sense their presence and vaguely see their forms, those who were simply favored by the spirits. Lastly and the most impressive of all, those who possessed a unique form of perception.
And this unique form of perception were called 'Mythic Eyes.'
From his acquired knowledge, mythic eyes were a rare form of power that only one in a million could possess. To be precise, only one in a million were born with them, and awakening them spontaneously was practically unheard of. Theoretically, it should have been possible to awaken them through exceptionally strong spirituality or magical affinity, but so far, there had been no known cases.
His own
Given there were no existing records of them, he could only assume it was a lost form of power from the Fourth Epoch. Aside from the fact that his 'eyes' were constantly in a passive state, meaning he couldn't deactivate them, they granted him the ability to instantly learn any spell, provided he could see and comprehend its formula. In addition, as a unique form of perception, they allowed him to see beings residing on the 'other side', including as the flow of magic.
Initially, Lu Zhuoxing would be terrified whenever a ghost appeared that no one else could see. For a time, he even believed he was slowly losing his mind. Eventually, though, he grew accustomed to the effects of his unique eyes.
So far, contrary to its name, he couldn't use it to erase or destroy existences at will. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that his demonic power was still too low, limiting him to only casting Ninth Order spells.
What a joke. A one in a million talent awakening with a Mythic Eyes turns out to have ridiculously low demonic power. Is this a universal irony?
Deciding to snap out of his reverie, Lu Zhuoxing shook his head and focused his attention on the white-clad spirit.
Lady seemed pleased that he was one of the few who could perceive her existence. Then, she released a long, weary sigh.
"Haven't I told you this already? Just because this place follows a different solar cycle doesn't mean there's no morning."
"But there's no solar cycle in Hell, though," he replied casually.
The ghostly woman fell silent with an aura of melancholy surrounding her. At first glance, her appearance was almost frightening, but beneath it all, she had a kind, shy nature. She would never intentionally give him a fright.
It seemed as though she was lost in the memories of a distant, painful yet lively past.
"Ah, the sun... I wish to see it again."
She sighed sorrowfully before drifting away from the male washroom's mirror.
Watching her retreat, Lu Zhuoxing paused, contemplating how he might help her. But how could he solve her dilemma when he couldn't even resolve his own?
He washed his face and left the bathroom, heading back to his dormitory room.
Truthfully, the solar cycle did not exist in the Netherealm.
Most demons didn't follow the same sleep patterns as humans. Some could sleep for days on end, while others chose to forgo sleep entirely.
Sometime ago, Osric Necrath had installed a colossal crimson crystal chandelier above the Demon Capital, using the heat of the lava below to power the embedded magic formation. Its crimson glow mimicked the surface world's solar cycle. Rumor had it that the chandelier was forged from the souls of rogue demons, perhaps terrorists who had once rebelled against the Dream God.
That thought alone was chilling.
Glancing out the window of his bedroom, Lu Zhuoxing watched as the last traces of crimson light faded away into darkness and giving way to true night.
He turned from the window and let his gaze sweep across his room.
Compared to the grand halls and towering spires of the mansion, his dormitory was humble, almost austere. At the center stood a wide canopy bed. Along one wall, a solitary obsidian wardrobe loomed, engraved with intricate runes. These sigils served as a ward against low-ranking imps, spirits, and other pests that often prowled the corridors at night.
A polished desk sat beneath the window. On it were scattered papers, books, and a few enchanted pens that occasionally quivered. In one corner, a small brazier burned with ghostly blue flames.
Lu Zhuoxing sat at the desk and flipped open one of the reference materials: The Fundamentals of Ninth Order Magic.
Despite the impressive title, it was little more than a thick manual crammed with dense explanations and diagrams of spell matrices. He traced his finger lazily along the page, barely reading, his mind drifting elsewhere.
He wasn't particularly interested in these spells anymore.
With his
Lu Zhuoxing closed the book with a sigh, staring blankly at the brazier's flickering flames.
Perhaps he might come to an answer if he stared hard enough.
He sighed.
Just rereading the basics won't get me anywhere. If I can't find a way to increase my demon power, everything else I do will be pointless.
Given his rather unimpressive magic power, it was only natural for him to seek alternative means to compensate for his weakness. Spiritual Items, or simply Soul Arms, were special tools crafted to aid in the use of magic.
Unfortunately, only a select group of weapon experts could create them, and they operated in secrecy, making it nearly impossible for most people to locate or approach them.
The more Lu Zhuoxing thought about his situation, the heavier his spirits sank.
To drive away the creeping despair, he forced himself to perk up and picked up the mysterious book he had found in the Academy Infernal Library.
Of course, it was foolish to expect the book to hold the answer to his predicament. At best, it might contain some indecipherable mysteries that could offer a momentary distraction, but even that seemed highly unlikely.
Still, with a deep breath, he finally mustered the courage to open the book and read its first page.
[My name is Zhou Ruihong and this is the summary of my hellish experience.]
Folllowing words written in a rather unique hardworking, Lu Zhuoxing paused and continued reading:
[Sometime ago, I suddenly received a love call from a good friend of mine who delivered the news of my brother's passing. My father was so devastated by the news that he slowly sank into depression. Not only that, my kind-hearted mother nearly had a stroke twice!]
[While stationed in Africa by my senior, I suddenly found myself in a strange place where everyone looked weird and even terrifying. Apparently, I had woken up in the body of a person named Evos Malvaria, but he wasn't human, and my body felt strange. Soon enough, I realized I was in the demon world. All those so-so myths turned out to be true. If there was something like Hell, this would be it!]
[A few hundred years have gone by, and I still can't believe something this ridiculous happened to me. To summarize everything, my way of life here is questionable. There's this one guy who calls himself the King of Vampires, but he's just a simp. There's an undead who likes to experiment on people, and then there's this strange sea guy too (I forgot his name). At the very least, that knight fellow was somewhat normal by this world's standards.]
[Not to mention, there are a lot of troublesome things in this world, like the politics and those detestable old fats who keep trying to ruin my life. Apparently, being transmigrated into an era where war is constant means tensions are always high, and a fight could break out at any moment. Rather than fighting monsters and hell beasts, I'm busy solving this nonsense. This was not what I had in mind when I transmigrated here, that's for sure.]
[Sigh, there's no point grumbling about it now. The least I can do is make sure people remember that I did not go down as an 'Incompetent King' like those grumpy fools say I am, or that almost everyone here has terrible personalities.]
[Hmm. It would be troublesome if that sneaky fellow tried to steal this diary, so I will just write it in my native language. I'm old enough that it would make sense for me to have forgotten everything about Earth, but surprisingly my memory is still fresh. I wonder how much money I would make if I decided to publish this diary as a novel. Hehehe. There's no such thing as too much money!]
Lu Zhuoxing blinked.
He was sure he was hallucinating, but it wasn't an illusion.
"...Aren't these Han characters?"
Wait. The so-called cryptography is just Han characters? And did he just say his name was Evos Malvaria?
Recalling the oddly familiar name, Lu Zhuoxing suddenly realized exactly where he had heard it before and widened his eyes in sheer shock. He immediately shot to his feet so fast that his chair toppled over with a loud clatter.
The Fourth Demon King, Evos Malvaria, turned out to be a fellow transmigrator from Earth!