Garion smirked and crossed his arms.

"Of course what I said is true," he said casually. "I'm a human. The kind demons think of as food."

He pointed at himself with his thumb.

"And yet," Garion continued, "I can beat demons easily."

The Vessel Demon stared at him, still trying to process that fact.

Garion's expression shifted, becoming more serious.

"But," he added, "if you want to become strong like that, there's a price."

He stepped closer.

"You'll have to train very hard," Garion said. "So hard that you'll feel like you're dying."

The Vessel Demon didn't step back.

Instead, it clenched its fists tightly. Its thin arms trembled, but not from fear.

"…My life is already hard," it said quietly. "Hard enough that it feels like dying every day."

It raised its head and looked Garion in the eyes.

"So no matter how painful the training is," the demon continued, voice steady, "I can handle it."

Garion paused.

Then he grinned.

"What a good answer," he said. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

He turned slightly and gestured forward.

"If that's the case," Garion said, "then welcome to the God Gym."

The Vessel Demon blinked.

"…God Gym?" it repeated, tilting its head.

The name sounded strange.

Garion chuckled.

"Yeah," he said. "You can just think of it as a faction. A place where people get strong."

The Vessel Demon nodded slowly.

"I see," it said, even though it didn't fully understand.

Garion began walking away, confident that the demon would follow.

"Come on," he said over his shoulder. "Time to stop being a vessel."

The Vessel Demon hesitated for just a moment.

Then it took its first step forward.

Each step felt strange. Lighter. Heavier. Meaningful.

"…Change my fate," the demon whispered to itself.

Garion glanced back and smiled.

"That's right," he said. "From today on, your fate is yours."

---

Far from Grimveil City, deep inside a quiet stronghold carved from black stone, a Seal Demon stood alone.

His eyes were fixed on a crystal floating in front of him.

Cracks ran through it.

The crystal was completely broken.

The Seal Demon's fingers slowly curled into a fist.

"…Impossible," he muttered.

That crystal was linked directly to Count Morveth.

It was not a simple life marker. It was layered with seals, confirmations, and authority checks.

For it to shatter like this meant only one thing.

Morveth was dead.

The Seal Demon turned his head slightly, as if expecting someone to correct him.

No one did.

"How…" he said quietly. "How could Morveth die?"

He paced slowly across the chamber, boots echoing against the floor.

"He was sent to Black Ash City," the Seal Demon continued, thinking aloud. "To investigate a large mana fluctuation."

He stopped.

"…But there is no reason he should have died there."

Morveth was not reckless.

He was cautious.

Backed by seals strong enough to restrain even beings close to Duke level.

The Seal Demon's eyes narrowed.

"Unless," he said slowly, "the fluctuation was not caused by a normal event."

He turned back toward the broken crystal.

"…A Demon Duke."

No.

His jaw tightened.

"Not one we know."

A being strong enough to erase a city.

Strong enough to kill Morveth cleanly.

Strong enough that Morveth's sealing authority never had time to stabilize.

The Seal Demon exhaled sharply.

"Damn it."

He raised one hand, and sealing runes flickered briefly around his arm.

"Regardless of who did it," he said, voice cold, "this cannot spread."

He turned toward the shadows at the edge of the chamber.

"Order," he said.

Several figures emerged silently and knelt.

"Seal the entire area around Black Ash City," the Seal Demon commanded. "No witnesses. No survivors."

His eyes hardened.

"Kill all demons in the surrounding zones," he continued. "Anyone who might have seen something. Anyone who might speculate."

The figures bowed deeper.

"And Morveth's death," the Seal Demon added, "does not leave this room."

He clenched his fist.

"We will not look weak," he said. "Not to Dukes. Not to outsiders. Not to whatever unknown thing did this."

The shadows vanished, carrying the order with them.

The Seal Demon looked at the shattered crystal one last time.

"…Whoever you are," he said quietly, "you have stepped into dangerous territory."

The chamber fell silent again.

---

Garion stopped walking.

The arrow hovering above his head flickered once, then pointed straight down at the ground beneath his feet.

He looked around.

The place was barren. No buildings. No trees. Just cracked earth and dry wind.

"…Here?" Garion asked, sounding doubtful.

[Yes.]

[Try digging around.]

Garion shrugged.

"Alright."

He crouched down and drove his fingers into the soil.

The ground was hard, but that didn't matter.

He dug with his hands alone, tearing through dirt and stone as if they were loose sand.

The Vessel Demon stood nearby, watching quietly.

After a few moments, Garion's fingers hit something solid.

"…Huh?"

He brushed the dirt away.

Something smooth emerged.

Garion paused.

Then he dug more carefully, clearing the surrounding soil until the object was fully exposed.

It was a perfectly rounded orb.

Clean. Smooth. Untouched by time.

Garion lifted it into his hands.

The moment he saw it clearly, his eyes widened.

"…No way."

The orb was black.

Deep black.

And more than that...

Its size.

It was exactly the same size as the one he had found on Demon Gate Island.

The one he had used as the foundation of the God Gym.

"…An [Origin]," Garion muttered.

The wind shifted.

Beside him, the Vessel Demon froze.

Its eyes locked onto the orb, and its body stiffened.

"…How," it whispered. "How can that be here?"

Garion turned his head. "You know this thing?"

The Vessel Demon swallowed.

"That's a [Demonic Origin]," it said quietly.

Garion blinked.

"… [Demonic Origin]?"

He looked down at the orb again.

[Yes, host.]

[In the demon world, black-colored Origins are called Demonic Origins.]

Garion frowned.

"So it's black because it contains demonic mana?"

[Not exactly.]

Garion's brows knit together.

"…Then what?"

[The energy inside it is similar to demonic mana but it is not demonic mana.]

Garion's expression grew serious.

[It is stronger.]

[More corrosive.]

[More unstable than the demonic mana naturally present in the environment.]

Garion stared at the orb.

"…What the hell," he muttered.

He lifted his head slowly.

"So you're telling me," Garion said, "that the Origin I used to build the God Gym back on Demon Gate Island…"

He looked at the orb again.

"…Was this kind of thing?"

[Yes.]

Garion went silent.

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