'Try not to get angry or hateful towards Demonmir. You will only empower him if you do that.'
Alephee's voice sounded in Eren's head. The latter narrowed his eyes at Demonir and told the homunculus to explain what she was saying.
'The demons can draw power from the emotions directed at them. I can now confirm that Demonmir can draw power from people's anger and wrath directed at him.
The demons never shy away from infiltrating foreign worlds because of this. No matter if the world is conducive to mana or not, they can always invoke emotions from the world's denizens and use them to strengthen themselves.
And on that note, you better tell Levine not to direct her hate toward him either. She is only helping him become more powerful.'
Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard Alephee's deduction of the Demonmir. He didn't stay surprised for long though. After all, he knew his demon beast Argo had set up a concert in the city to make him an overnight sensation within the kingdom. He rose rapidly in rank when his popularity rose.
Eren also knew that not all demons could make use of such power-ups. Demonmir could use others' feelings about him as a way to improve his ranking status and put him in the same league as Argo.
Eren narrowed his eyes at Demonmir and asked Alephee another question. It was related to something they had discussed based on their conjecture in the past.
'So that confirms it, doesn't it? That he really has a Demon Prince's soul fragment.'
Alephee replied right away.
'Yes. Indeed, he has a fragment of a Demon Prince's soul. And let's just say he is strong.
The demonic side of him is sleeping. However, it is not demonic possession as the denizens of the Anfang think it is. It is a demonic takeover. The difference between the two is not something that can be ignored. It was what made them believe that Ottoman managed to wrestle control from a Demon Prince.
The difference lies in whether someone sleeps of their own choice. Or if they had been forced to sleep. The Demon Prince is letting the corrupted Ottoman take the driver's seat out of convenience. And he is no more than a puppet for the Prince.
Even the Sages of this land are not well-versed in demon magic. So they only know stuff that is either very apparent or available to them through archaic records. I guess this is how the Demon Prince managed to find a body for himself. He fooled all of them into believing he was still the same Ottoman everybody knew.'
Eren immediately took a long breath and dispersed the anger he felt towards Demonmir. Strengthening one's enemy was foolishness, no matter how valid his reason for getting angry in the first place was.
Alephee canceled Sedated Perception as soon as she found out Eren had gotten back on track. She felt relieved that he could control his emotions like this.
***
Demonmir smiled wickedly as he saw Eren trying to struggle to get up. He wanted to kill Eren then and there. But he knew that Hansen would not allow him to do what he wanted in this event.
However, his smile froze when he saw Eren recovering from the injury using his Ability. He got up right away like it was no big deal and stared at him with his emerald-green eyes.
Something deep within Demonmir's consciousness was stirred when he met Eren's gaze. He felt like he had done a huge taboo by attacking Eren personally. A mistake that can't be rectified.
'He… the Usurper of my domain.'
An ancient voice sounded in Demonmir's consciousness. The voice was like an endless abyss speaking in an inhuman voice. It contained a certain authority over him that couldn't be questioned.
Demonmir didn't understand what the half-slumbering soul fragment was talking about when it called Eren the usurper of his domain. That's because the soul fragment wasn't completely cooperative with him. This new Demonmir was merely a henchman for the Demon Prince and he had already accepted his role as such.
Demonmir was only allowed to know the information he was supposed to receive from the soul fragment. It had allowed him to make staggering progress in the land of Anfang while keeping things on a need-to-know basis.
However, the corrupt ottoman could tell that the Demon Prince's soul fragment inside him had recognized Eren as his arch-nemesis. It wanted to kill him right away for usurping his domain.
The Demon Prince's voice still sounded like he wasn't completely awake. However, Demonmir wouldn't dismiss his words by labeling them sleep-talking.
For the first time since this new Ottoman existed, he felt afraid. That's because the soul fragment inside him also felt a bit agitated. And the reason for that agitation was staring right at him.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Eren started walking towards Demonmir and Demonmir's expression changed. He felt an innate fear for some reason. A fear that was integrated into the fabric of his existence was trying to take over him.
Demonmir looked at the hand that he had used to attack Eren. He felt that there was something wrong with it. For some reason, he felt like he had been dipped in a bowl of acid.
Still, Demonmir wasn't someone who would get intimidated by someone like Eren. He had killed countless enemies that stood in front of him. And he didn't think Eren would be any different.
Ottoman channeled his mana through his body and got rid of the doubts enshrouding his mind. The demon soul fragment was also telling him to confront Eren and get rid of him as soon as he could. And that's what he will do in due time.
Eren ignored the eyes that were staring at him with all kinds of emotions and stood in front of Demomir. The staring contest lasted a while before Demonmir spoke with disdain.
"That small speech you gave at your demon beast's concert– "Whatever you might have in store for me, know that what I have for you is much worse."
Was that perhaps directed at me specifically?"
