Chapter 66 | I, the Ogre

Ogre had exposed the other party's identity merely to distract him.

However, he hadn't expected the variant to actually take the bait and start talking.

Perhaps Ogre's current appearance was simply too convincing.

“So... you're all alone?” The hunter who had fallen from the hit to his forehead suddenly stood back up.

He hadn't rushed to attack earlier partly because he wasn't sure if anyone else was around, and partly because of Ogre's delicate appearance and attire.

‘Physical attacks are ineffective against its body? As expected of a shadow demon...’

Ogre shifted his attention beneath the hunter, noticing that the shadow there looked somewhat off.

‘I guess I really lack expertise in this area...’

Ogre channeled force into his calves, bursting forward in an instant before the hunter could fully stand.

He raised his leg and kicked!

Accelerated by Ogre's explosive speed, his boot struck the “hunter” with immense force, caving in the man's chest.

“A Martial Artist...? What a powerful physique! Too bad you haven't cultivated vital energy and blood. Hahaha, this perfect body is mine now!”

The hunter's voice didn't fade. The damage to the physical body had little effect on it, because it didn't care about this shell in the slightest!

Shadow demons only feared light and energy!

Conventional attacks could do no harm to it whatsoever.

This human body was merely a disguise—a shell to absorb energy and shield itself from light damage.

Once it confirmed that Ogre was neither a Knight nor a Mage, the shadow demon cast all caution to the wind.

“What a beautiful, delicious body. How lucky for me.” Black mist spewed from the hunter's darkening skin.

It hadn't expected to encounter such a perfect vessel.

Normally, it was actually quite disdainful of female vessels—they broke too easily, and their vital energy and blood weren't as nourishing as a male's.

However, the Sister standing before it was an exception.

Up close, it sensed a dense, potent essence within Ogre—stronger even than that of a Professional-grade Martial Artist or Knight!

More importantly, this person was not carrying any holy weapons.

“Don't worry, I'll live a good life in your place...”

The black mist's sinister laugh grew louder. Its shadowy form completely engulfed Ogre, frantically burrowing inside him.

“Hehehe, scared now? Beg for mercy! Uh? Huh... why are you a guy?”

As the intrusion deepened, most of Ogre's skin turned black. Upon sensing Ogre's actual anatomy, the shadow demon's initial confusion was surprisingly about his gender.

Yet, it felt far more pleasantly surprised than confused.

‘Wait, this guy isn't reacting at all...’

Following the surprise came a flash of doubt. The shadow demon realized Ogre's reaction was completely abnormal.

It realized that this cross-dressing youth being invaded by its essence showed not even the slightest hint of fear.

“Did you realize it?”

The silent Ogre finally cracked a smile—a flash of blue sparked in his eyes.

Arcs of blue electricity crackled in the dark night.

“Ah—! No—!”

Providing the background score to this crackling display of lightning was the shadow demon's bloodcurdling scream.

“If you had tried to run, I might not have been able to catch you.”

With the burst of electrical arcs, the darkness on Ogre's skin instantly receded. In less than two breaths, only a faint strand of weakened black mist remained, held firmly in Ogre's palm. The shadow demon was now entirely at his mercy.

If he wanted to, Ogre could destroy it at any moment.

He had patiently listened to its nonsense for so long precisely to wait for it to walk right into his trap.

“I know you're not dead yet—try running or playing dead, and I'll end you on the spot!” Ogre offered a gentle word of comfort to the creature that had just tried to possess his body.

“I was wrong, sob sob sob! My lord, please spare me! From now on, I'll be your loyal servant! I can form a symbiotic contract with you and help you become a Shadow Warlock! I know so many things...” The shadow demon's desperate pleas rang directly inside Ogre's mind.

Apart from its initial words spoken through the hunter's mouth, all the subsequent voices had been projected directly into Ogre's mind using the shadow demon's innate ability.

It used this technique to instill fear, as the more frightened a target was, the more delicious they were to a shadow demon.

Obviously, however, this was completely wasted on Ogre.

Lightning energy was extraordinarily effective against variants, second only to the Holy Light of the Church of Dawn. This was precisely why Ogre had dared to stride out so openly.

Against proper Professionals—such as Knights or Martial Artists—Ogre might have struggled a bit, perhaps even risking defeat.

But against variants of equal strength?

Ogre was confident he could take on ten at once!

Lightning was devastatingly effective against the vast majority of variants—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an absolute hard counter. The shadow demon before him, stripped of its physical host, happened to fall squarely under lightning's most severe counter effect.

“Shut up!” Ogre snapped, instantly silencing the shadow demon and making it behave.

‘As expected, a quick zap makes them behave.’

“Honestly, I preferred your defiant attitude from before. Why don't you bring that back?” Ogre smiled kindly at the weak clump of black mist in his hand.

Seeing the shadow demon behave so submissively, Ogre understood the reason behind it.

‘What a pleasant surprise.’

Given what little remained of its body, even if Ogre released it, it probably wouldn't survive long. If it wanted to live, its only option was to rely on the essence provided by Ogre.

That was one of the reasons why the shadow demon's attitude toward Ogre had shifted so drastically.

“Huh?” The shadow demon froze, failing to understand this human's game. After pondering with its sluggish mind for a second, it decided to comply with Ogre's request anyway.

Although it didn't understand, it firmly believed in following its survival instincts.

Having spent a long time in human society, it had learned to be quite cunning, and its desire to survive was deeply ingrained—after all, even the most impoverished life of a common human was ten thousand times more exciting than the shadow mirror world, where nothing existed except endless slaughter.

In fact, it wasn't just this shadow demon; most variants, after living in human society for a while, gradually adapted to the rhythm of human life...

When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you.

“Hehehe... Argh!”

The shadow demon's sinister laughter echoed in Ogre's mind once more, but with a sudden flash of electric spark, it quickly dissolved back into a shriek.

“You actually listened? And where did you learn that laugh? Don't ever laugh like that again, it sounds awful.” Ogre interrupted the shadow demon's performance and offered a patient critique.

“Yes, yes, yes, you're absolutely right, my lord! I'll change, I'll change right away...” Although the shadow demon desperately wanted to talk back, its desire to survive compelled it to offer compliments instead.

Because it had glimpsed a glimmer of hope for survival in Ogre's words.

Even a rat in a sewer would not give up its longing to live.

“Alright, hide inside my body for now. We'll discuss the rest later—and without my permission, don't you dare touch my essence!” Ogre reined in his power, granting implicit permission for the shadow demon to host inside him.

The shadow demon in his hand was currently so weak that even the slightest resistance on Ogre's part would kill it.

If Ogre didn't relax his mind slightly, this creature wouldn't even have enough strength to lodge itself within him.

“Thank you, Master! From now on, I am Master's loyal dog! Master can just call me Shadowy.” The shadow demon instantly seeped into Ogre's palm.

It then slithered up his arm for a short distance before taking the form of a diamond-shaped black mark on his forearm under Ogre's mental command.

“Shadowy? That sounds terrible... I'll think of a name for you in a moment.” Ogre felt that “Shadowy” sounded a bit too affectionate and rejected the name on his own.