Inside the library, Beelzebub sat on one of the benches, watching Raze as a reddish-black fla swirled around his body like a vortex, yet it didn’t burn him. Even the heat that ca from the flas were controlled so much that they didn’t burn into a single thing.
Raze’s hands were slightly spread apart as he controlled the fla, his eyes shut, breathing calm and steady, each inhale and exhale asured perfectly. The fire was demonic in nature, Hell’s fire, as Beelzebub liked to call it.
Raze had spent his ti here learning demonic magic, learning how to access demonic energy the sa way he had learned to use mana. But the mont he began, he realized there was a massive hurdle he needed to overco.
Soone who possessed mana within their body had extre difficulty learning demonic magic.
Mana naturally countered demonic energy.
That was why beings like demons had multiple hearts could do it. They could store demonic energy in one heart while another circulated mana. Many demons even learned to fuse the two, creating hybrid forms of magic that humans could never replicate.
But Raze was different.
Everything flowed through him.
Mana and demonic energy shared the sa pathways, clashing violently whenever he tried to use both at once. His mana instinctively suppressed demonic energy, preventing it from forming properly within his body.
It had taken him days of trial and error to reach his current state.
He learned separation.
When mana was active, demonic energy was completely suppressed.
When demonic energy was active, mana shut down entirely.
That was the level he had reached.
And right now, he was using pure demonic energy.
The flas dissipated as Raze lowered his hands and slowly opened his eyes.
Beelzebub clapped twice.
"That was impressive," he said. "You have remarkable talent, magic of all types. Even demonic magic. That’s honestly shocking."
Raze, however, shook his head.
"This isn’t what I want," he said.
Beelzebub raised a brow. "Huh? What do you an?" he asked.
"I still have to use them at different tis," Raze said. "And I don’t want that."
He looked at his hands.
"You demons can use mana and demonic energy at the sa ti because of your multiple hearts. That structure lets you circulate both energies perfectly. But for , the mont I activate one, the other shuts down. That’s why this feels incomplete."
Beelzebub studied him for a few seconds, then slowly shook his head.
"Your hunger borders on greed," he said calmly. "If you weren’t human, you would surely embody the Sin of Greed."
He continued, "Humans are not built for demonic energy. The fact that you can even connect to it is already a miracle. Being able to use both, albeit at separate tis—is already extraordinary."
"But it’s not enough," Raze replied imdiately. "I need to flow both at the sa ti. Maybe one through my right hand and the other through my left. Or maybe there’s a way to harmonize them. There has to be sothing."
He glanced around the library.
"Librarian."
The Librarian descended at once.
"Is there any book that explains how a human can link demonic energy and mana so they can be used simultaneously?" Raze asked.
The Librarian remained motionless for several seconds. Then it ascended to the second floor and soon returned, carrying a black book.
"This may contain what you seek," it said, handing the book to Raze. "However, the consequences of failure are dire."
"Dire how?" Raze asked.
"If you fail, your connection to mana will be completely destroyed, leaving you crippled forever," the Librarian replied. "If you are unlucky, the backlash will kill you instantly, your body imploding from the inside."
With that, the Librarian floated away.
Beelzebub stared at the book in Raze’s hands before speaking.
"You heard it," he said. "This is not a risk you should take. The consequences exist because this path was never ant to be walked."
Raze was silent for a mont.
"Why do you even want to learn demonic magic?" Beelzebub asked. "With your understanding of normal magic, you could beco the strongest human mage."
"Because I’m curious," Raze replied.
Beelzebub’s eyes widened.
"...You’re joking."
"No," Raze said calmly. "There’s no grand reason. I just think it would be cool to understand demonic magic. To know it. That’s it."
Pure curiosity.
The simplicity of his answer left Beelzebub completely stunned.
"So you’re telling that your reason for learning one of the most complex and dangerous forms of magic a human can attempt... is simple curiosity?" Beelzebub asked.
"There is no greater motivation than curiosity," Raze replied calmly. "So people say they want power to save others, to fight demons, or to use demonic magic against them. But for , I just want to know it."
He t Beelzebub’s gaze steadily.
"No one can judge my reason. To , it’s more valid than any other."
Raze walked over to a nearby seat, placed the black book on the table beside it, and sat down a short distance away from Beelzebub.
"In everything, there’s a story. In every experience, there’s a journey," he continued. "And living through those journeys is what keeps going."
He glanced at the book.
"Learning about demonic energy, its structure, its complexity, its forms, that’s a journey on its own. And I enjoy that."
He leaned back slightly.
"Will it help in the future? Probably. But that’s not why I’m learning it. I don’t have so grand objective tied to it. I just want to understand it."
Raze’s voice remained steady, almost thoughtful.
"When you truly understand sothing, when you know it completely, applications naturally present themselves. They co to you on their own. And when that happens, you’ll be glad you took the ti to learn it properly."
He fell silent.
Beelzebub stared at him, a faint mix of confusion and pride flickering in his eyes.
The human who had summoned him, who had earned his blessing, was far more fascinating than he had expected.
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