Demon Punch.
Known to the world as the most dangerous drug that gave a high users can continue to experience for long periods of times. Unlike ordinary drugs, there aren't any surface-level side effects.
However, that was only on the surface.
Through extensive testing, it was discovered that—through continued exposure to demonic energy—subjects underwent several mutations that altered their DNA. So much so that their bodies transformed and their brain functions became like that of a beast infected with rabies.
They can't be controlled unless using powerful taming skills but they're useful for creating chaos.
These are what the scientists call "Mutants". The head scientist is looking to remove this side effect as this could potentially cause another Eswick Valley town incident.
Fortunately, this mutation side effect isn't known publicly yet. You need demonic energy to activate it which isn't easily produced.
Jenlak Bridder, a head researcher at a renowned science institution, was recruited to oversee the development of the drug. Despite achieving so much, they didn't feel complete.
Why did they need top researchers for this endeavor? Well, the weaker variants can be mass produced more efficiently by experts this way and sold to fund the project. Whereas the rest of the manpower is put into improving the drug.
The drug was mostly spread by word-of-mouth at first to avoid it being investigated too prematurely. By working with criminal organizations, they were able to distribute it through the criminals' connections and make back every cent they spent on creating the drug.
While it's very popular now, it has a long history of failures as it first started in a lab built in a barn, out in the countryside in a small village.
This was Jenlak's life's work. His path as a top-ranking scientist was but a side mission to him.
He didn't start this on a whim, and knew the dangers. That could be said for every single person who joined him on this journey…
"—How is the new prototype coming along?" Jenlak entered the lab after disinfecting himself.
"Ah, Sir." one of the younger scientists came up to him with documents, "While there have been some satisfactory results, I'm afraid there is something more important for you to handle…"
"Hm? More important than the drug we're putting our lives on the line for!? Surely you jest!" his laughed, thinking it was a joke.
"Y-You will know once you meet her…"
Noticing the man's trembling shoulders, Jeffry took a glance around the lab. He noticed that many of the other workers were moving stiffly and staring at a certain part of the lab.
He looked there, "My office? Someone is waiting for me there?"
"Y-Yes… Please don't keep her waiting…" the young man pushed the back of his superior as if his own life was on the line.
'What strange behavior… They weren't like this when I asked them to work for me. Rather, they seemed ecstatic at being able to serve higher beings.'
Jenlak placed his hand on the doorknob to his office with a sweaty palm, his heartbeat racing and pounding in his chest. He could almost hear the ringing of his heartbeat in his ears
'Why am I so nervous even though none of them told me who's in this office?' He's not a martial artist of any kind so he can't sense signatures. His body seems to have activated its fight or flight on instinct just from noticing the reactions of the others.
Like being forced into a space with a predator…
His gulp reverberated throughout the office, which didn't help the current situation as it seems like a few were ready to bolt out of here.
'Calm down… Breathe slowly…' a few chants later, he opened the door despite the chanting doing nothing but giving his body a false sense of relaxation.
Head to the floor, he quickly closed the door behind him.
"Oh, you finally decided to enter, human." A woman's voice entered his ears, "Lift your head—I can treat you an equal at least given the reason I came here today."
"…" Jenlak lifted his head and was met with an otherworldly being standing in the middle of his office.
No, it was a humanoid female through and through but she had horns, a tail and long nails that curved like a predator.
"A… A Greater Demon?"
Since she was capable of intelligent speech and wore clothes (if you can even call those strips of cloth that barely cover anything clothes, that is), she could only be a Greater Demon.
"I know it's just a misunderstanding but to be compared to the subordinate slaves of my species rubs me the wrong way." A vein bulged on her forehead. She looked at his trembling pupils with her sapphire eyes that seemed to move like a living flame.
"My name is Ekterina Foruthflame, a Demon Lord serving Her Majesty, Arsnoria the Demon King."
"…?" Jenlak's mouth slowly opened until it gaped.
He didn't mishear, right? But the very fact that she has not burned this entire empire to the ground yet—
"I know what you're thinking but even if I wanted to, I couldn't. At first, all I had to worry about was that Arnold fellow, who seemed close to me in strength, and the Archmage but now two demigods are on his side. Both of whom are terrifying divine power users. I would rather not face them alone by just announcing my arrival. If I had Lilith by my side, then perhaps it would be doable."
"Y-Your Excellency! Please forgive my rudeness!" he fell to the floor on his knees and prostrated.
"Rudeness is something I will overlook—Did you just call me… Excellency…?" for the first time since she met with humans, Ekterina's stoic expression collapsed.
After all this time, every interaction she's ever had with a human was with her threatening them or using some kind of magic item to force them to obey… But a human in this era prostrated in front of her as if she was some kind of person worthy of their respect?
She was expecting him to run out of the office for help and was prepared to block off their means of escape to threaten them until they gave her what she wants.
Humanoids and demons—by now anyone would be sick of hearing of their natural animosity towards one another. One is fueled by nothing but hatred while the other is a means of survival. Even the lowest hybrids of demons—namely goblins and the like—are slaughtered by humans simply for existing.
That's understandable, however, as they are monsters that care to shed blood more than anything else. In their minds, all they care about is breeding, fighting and eating.
That's how humans would imagine any demon if it appeared in front of them.
Even Ekterina, despite dressing more like some barracks bunny or escort and not wearing fancy clothes to indicate the difference between her and a goblin, expected to be treated like a monster at first glance.
And yet… she was called… Excellency…
Not just that, but the sparkle in the old man's eyes shined with innocence that only appears when you look at someone you admire, or wish to serve.
"Human… What do you think of us?" it was a foolish question.
A destroyer is asking a human a question? Is she afraid of being ridiculed?
No, it's to find out why this man… still hasn't run away screaming to the heroes that slayed King Valtraak.
Jenlak slowly lifted his head, though his hands still trembled against the floor.
"I think…" he swallowed dryly, "that humans only call demons monsters because demons are honest."
Ekterina's eyes narrowed in confusion.
'Ridiculous…' her thought was stopped by his next words.
"A starving goblin tears apart a village because it wishes to eat. A nobleman starves a village through taxes and sleeps peacefully after calling it law." His voice steadied little by little. "One side is condemned as evil. The other governs nations with no protests most of the time."
Silence filled the office as the scientist was getting up.
"I have spent my entire life serving academies, lords, investors and churches. Every single one of them praised knowledge only when it benefited them." He laughed weakly. "The moment research becomes dangerous, expensive, or inconvenient, they bury it."
"But demons pursue power openly. There is no deception in it."
Ekterina stared at him quietly.
"To a scholar," he said, "that honesty is strangely beautiful. It can unite people desiring it."
"Honesty… and demons… Two things I never thought a human would use together." Though she said that, her expression remained stoic, unchanged at his words.
"What if I were to cut open your stomach because I desire to see you suffer until you die?" she pointed her finger at his belly.
"Is that your desire?"
"What if it is?"
He spread his arms, "Then I accept it. Not all demons are honest even if they are mighty but I believe that due to the might they possess from birth, they are in a position to show their honesty more openly."
"Such meaningless words. Are you implying that we are simple, mindless creatures—"
"No." he shook his head, "I think it is because of these qualities that you are superior to us humans. That makes you different from humans, who hide their honesty even when they're weak, seeking to trample over those around them simply for power."
She stared at him for a moment as she tried to process what she heard.
But her mind simply blanked, "…Your reasoning has been noted. Then… am I correct to assume you wish to serve us?"
If not, why use "Excellency" in the first place?
"Your Excellency, this operation of ours exists solely for you!" he pointed outside with both arms, as if showing off his work proudly, "We gathered here because of you, Milady!"
His eyes… they looked almost crazy.
The reason Ekterina came here was because she heard of this drug being able to transform humans into mutants. She thought the humans were looking to eliminate this side effect so she wanted to take the formula from them or force them to work for demonkind.
This will aid in her quest to summon the Perdition Core.
"Hahaha! Fine then, human. Let's talk business."
An honest laughter escaped her, something she hasn't done in a long while.
"Pardon…? You would like to do business with… humans?"
"Hard to believe? Even my comrades would agree." She had a short chuckle.
"Why are you all doing this?" Ekterina's eyes glanced around the lab through the office's windows, "You are successful scientists who have contributed to humanity with your work. Why would you throw it all away? I don't care about the consequences as you aren't my responsibility, but I need to know why I should trust in humans who are our mortal enemies."
The head scientist raised his head, as he put his glasses back on, "We wish to become demons. We wish to shed our mortal flesh and with that, our need to hold in our desires and hide our honest wishes."
"…"
Her mind blanked again.
They don't just want to serve demons, but become them?
"I will be frank, I still don't trust you nor consider you one of my own even if you show such devotion. But I'm convinced you wouldn't betray us. What you've been doing here… we could use it."
"Really!? Then by all means let us join! I promise every single one of my comrades will serve you well, Your Excellency."
"Hmm… I've heard you made dealings with a certain cult with ideals similar to yours."
The same people they've been using to try and open portals to this world—Demonic Cultists. Their method to pull mana out of the atmosphere is primitive and conspicuous. You need dead bodies, after all. And with the recent battle that took place, every mass grave will be protected by the churches even more heavily.
"Yes, we hoped that's how we can contact the Demon King…"
"Is that so? More supporters are welcome but I can't promise you my comrades would be willing to have humans as allies, unless you prove yourselves useful." Noticing vials stacked nearby, she walked over there to check them out. Inside was a light purple liquid, "Don't get me wrong, turning humans into mutants would be useful for distractions but they don't help the war effort."
"W-What do you mean?"
"They're merely fodder for divine users. Increasing the head count of fodder won't matter if an [Area of Effect] spell is cast on them all." She looked back at the scientist, who was adjusting his glasses with a smile, "What is it?"
"Unlike regular demons, mutants injected with our newer variant of drug are highly resistant to divine power!"
"…What?" Ekterina's eyes became wide, almost dropping the vials.
"By combining humans' natural immunity to divine power—as we are creations of Gods—we were able to drastically reduce the effects divine power has on turned subjects. A goblin we injected with the drug also showed some resistance to divine power. As head researcher, I would like to develop a drug strong enough to not only grant you more power by turning, but also eliminate any weaknesses you may have to aid in your fight against the humans and Gods."
The drug being distributed on the streets isn't the same one as the one in this lab and yet it can be improved on even more? Ekterina saw the humans in a new light.
This doesn't mean they haven't attempted to find ways to resist divine power. Many theories and methods have been presented to the demon lords but none worked.
But the human mind was able to come up with something they couldn't. Maybe it's the environment?
It seems that, despite their weaker bodies and short lifespans, they were blessed with incredible minds. She saw this firsthand during the last war, when several man-made bombs were dropped on their armies, wiping out hundreds of thousands of demons overnight. This came at the cost of a nation being wiped off the map but the sheer destruction they could harness in an object made in a lab more than made up for the losses.
One of the reasons Ekterina had been moving around in the shadows is so that she could locate those bombs—that's if they have any left.
Ekterina's brows furrowed, "This sounds too good to be true… What should we be worried about?"
It may not make their preparations any easier but it could eliminate their fear of all divine practitioners, including the Heroes.
"We're still conducting tests to perfect the drug so… Apologies, I cannot give an answer yet… All we know is that mutants take much longer to take down than ordinary demons."
"Time is all that's needed, it seems…" she then went silent, mulling it over, "The Watcher may even want to help you. In fact, I hope he does as he possesses a great mind as well."
'The emergence of Guinevere and that angel by Arnold's side has complicated things greatly so I won't have the leisure to prepare to summon the Perdition Core here to isolate the empire from the mana in the atmosphere.'
If they use the drug to spread chaos throughout the continent, it could give Ekterina enough time to finish her preparations. Summoning just one portal will require a lot of time and preparations.
'With the churches going to every grave across the continent, even a small village being wiped will make the news. This will direct their attention towards the empire. But there's a saying in the human world—'
Poisoning a fortress' water supply is more deadly than storming their gates with overwhelming force.
The issue is that even if they succeed, they still need to work on the drug without the empire or churches getting suspicious. That power up sounds tempting to Ekterina. Despite being a demon lord, she's still unsure of her victory against that Arnold fellow due to his mastery of Aether, another troublesome energy apart from divine power.
Getting stronger will be necessary but this will only be a last resort.
She's a warrior who gained her strength through hardships, starting as a simple low-ranking demon two thousand years ago. Her pride would crumble if she took some miracle drug that can give her a short burst of power.
Nevertheless, they still need to test the drug on high-ranking demons first before she attempts to take it.
"Your Excellency, it appears you are having trouble deciding what to do. May I offer a suggestion?"
"What is it?"
Since humans have great minds to even come up with something that will benefit demons, it wouldn't hurt to hear him out. He's considered a respected scientist, after all.
"During the testing phases of the drug, we recruited people off the street—those in slums and living in sewers would do anything for a meal or place to sleep." He suggested it as if speaking about the weather, no change in his expression at selling out his own species, "Just like the drug, we used word-of-mouth to spread the news and kept our promises to give them jobs and housing. This made the commoners trust in us. The great thing is that there weren't any casualties so if we open up applications again, they will accept it!"
"You spoke so highly of our honesty, yet you manipulated the weakest of your species—you truly are one of us, human."
"…"
"How many homeless people are there in the empire?"
"The last time I checked, there are over half a million of them, versus the three million residents. Many more are below middle class. Under imperial law, we aren't allowed to use people for testing so I will tell the government that we need people for a survey, to study which diseases are more common or whatever I can come up with."
"Interesting. 500 000 people will be plenty. We can use them both for experimentation and mutations. But using all of them will draw too much attention. We'll only need ten thousand of them."
Only the terraformer needs to come through so that they can seal off the empire to build their army.
"Understood! Doing it in the capital will be too risky so I will have the temples prepare a medical camp in the countryside. Please give me a few weeks."
"You have it. Just don't disappoint me, human." Ekterina turned around, ready to leave, "If you produce satisfactory results, I will make sure a position is open for you by my side."
The man's face lit up, "Thank you, Your Excellency! I exist to serve!"
After leaving the office, she teleported out of the basement, back to the hideout of a certain group. It was a cave in the middle of the forest west of the capital.
'Fool. You may be a useful tool now but we will have no need for you when our plans come to fruition.'
His assessment of their species might be partly right—they do possess the strength to be more honest than humans. But they also know when tools have served their purpose. And rather than waiting for the tool to be used against them, Ekterina knows when to get rid of it.
As she stepped out of the cave, a jungle greeted her. In front of the cave were several individuals in red robes and red masks.
"Your Grace, you have returned!" a man in dark red robes and a white mask greeted Ekterina, "How did it go? Did the scientist accept?"
"Yes, just like you said, he's no ordinary human. His team is even willing to work with us until the end."
"Hahaha, I'm happy to hear that! I knew he was the right man for the job! Now we can work together to bring the Demon King to this world!!"
"We need to start small first. And despite my earlier impatience, I fear it will take a bit longer for my plan to come to fruition."
"What do you mean, Your Grace?"
"We've agreed to experiment more on the drug using the humans. At the same time, we will release the drug into the empire. Among ten thousand people, coming for simple checkups, it wouldn't be that strange if some of them were found to have certain life-threatening illnesses and end up dying, right?"
"Oh! We will use the dead to produce demonic energy!?"
"That's right."
Their first plan was to collect the bodies of all the demihumans that died in the conflicts with the Theocracy but you can't just ship dead bodies across the empire's lands without someone finding out. They also can't move there since the borders are more heavily protected now.
The empire's borders are basically on lockdown now so getting across will be impossible.
So, using the citizens of the empire will have to do.
"One group will be used to experiment on the drug on the guise of medical research by a non-profit while the other will be our energy producers."
"We will soon show the empire the might of the demons!" shouted one of the cultists.
'Humans are such useful tools.'
If there weren't crazy cultists amongst the humans, would such a plan have been drawn out successfully? All Ekterina has going for her is a small variety of spells and her physical strength so threatening them could only go so far.
But with slaves working for her, thinking they can become one of the demons, it makes things much easier.
'They possess great minds yet have such useful cattle amongst them.' As they dispersed and the leader of the cultists sang praises to her, Ekterina evaluated them once again, 'It's great that I don't have to use my brains to manipulate them. Lord Vezraya despised working with humans back in the day but they proved to be useful once again.'
He's not only the strongest amongst them but also the most stubborn. His pride just wouldn't allow him to work with humans.
But even a hunter who hates dogs would train them for him to be more efficient at hunting.
Just like dogs have a great sense of smell, humans have greater minds than demons.
Even the Watcher wouldn't deny this, being the most intelligent of their species.
She'll work with them for now but will only allow them to continue working for her if she sees a benefit to it. Like a dog who tracks down the prey for the hunter, they'll deserve a treat once this is over.
This will be their second interspecies alliance.