From the darkest corner of the basement—
A small shadow emerged.
About 120 centimeters tall.
A pitch-black dress. Silver hair. Crimson eyes.
And—small horns on her head.
A demon.
But not just any demon.
My Mana Ledger scans her—but the numbers won't stabilize.
Mana Ledger: Active
Race: Demon (Superior Species — Apex Individual) Age: Estimated 1,200+ years Total Mana: Immeasurable (!) Mana Efficiency: 99.98% Ash Output: Below 0.00001% (effectively zero) Threat Level: SSS+ (Civilization-ending)
⚠️ Special Note: Reaction pattern shows 97.3% match with "Demon Lord Belphegor"
—Demon Lord Belphegor.
The demon king who shook the world centuries ago.
A being who supposedly vanished after offering all her power to the World Tree.
"Hey, hey, mister."
The girl approaches the black-robed man.
Her steps are light, innocent—
And overwhelmingly terrifying.
"Mister, you were killing people to turn them into mana, weren't you?"
"H-hiiiii...!"
"You see, that's our job."
The girl smiles sweetly.
Pure, innocent, and—cold as ice.
"But you know, mister, you're really bad at it."
"Wh-what do you..."
"You killed one person and only got 200 MP, right? 2.1% efficiency. If it were me—"
The girl waves her small hand.
"I'd get 15,000 MP. And no ash."
"F-fifteen thousand...?!"
"Yep. This is real Soul Conversion."
The girl waves her hand.
"Don't worry. It won't hurt."
In that instant—
Mana Ledger: Active
Activated:Soul ConversionTarget: Black-robed mage × 1 Mana Generated: 15,200 MP Efficiency: 99.97% Ash Output: 0 kg
The man's body—became light.
No time even to scream.
Soul and all, completely converted to mana.
The other traffickers turn to light one after another.
Total Mana Generated: 187,000 MP Ash Output: 0 kg
Silence.
Only I, Elle, the people in the cages—and the girl remained in the basement.
"Phew."
The girl exhales with satisfaction.
"Now the people of this town have about three years' worth of mana."
She begins distributing the generated mana—to the people in the cages.
"Here you go, grandpa. This'll cure your Ash Lung."
"You too, ma'am. Now you can make it through winter."
"Big brother here... you were doing some bad things, so you only get half."
The caged people accept the mana with trembling hands.
And then—
The girl slowly turns toward us.
Crimson eyes lock onto me.
In that instant—
Her expression crumbles.
"...Huh?"
Tears begin spilling from her large eyes.
"Ah... ah..."
She staggers toward me.
Small hands touch my cheek.
Cold.
But trembling.
"...Real...?"
"What are you—"
"Are you real...? This isn't... a dream...?"
The girl throws her arms around me.
Her small body shakes violently.
"I've been... searching for so long..."
—Nine hundred years.
I had been searching all that time.
The first hundred years, I had hope.
"He must be somewhere."
Believing that, I walked the world.
I visited human towns, demon settlements, asked everyone I met.
"Do you know a human named Kai?"
No one did.
In the next hundred years, hope faded.
"Maybe he wasn't reincarnated."
Still, I kept walking.
I wanted to leave proof somewhere that Kai had lived.
At three hundred years, I nearly gave up for the first time.
I tried to throw myself into the sea.
I thought I'd sleep at the bottom of the deep, deep ocean.
But I couldn't die.
This body doesn't break easily.
A demon lord's body doesn't decay even after a thousand years.
By five hundred years, I felt nothing anymore.
Joy, sorrow, anger, happiness.
Everything turned gray.
I just walked the world like a machine.
Sleep, wake, walk, sleep again.
At seven hundred years, I stopped dreaming.
I couldn't remember Kai's face anymore.
His voice, his laugh, his angry expressions—I forgot them all.
All that remained was the compulsion: "I have to keep searching."
I no longer knew why I was searching.
I just felt like—if I stopped, I would die.
At eight hundred years, I forgot who I was.
When someone called my name, I didn't turn around.
The sound "Belphegor" felt like it belonged to someone else.
Who am I?
What am I living for?
I found no answers.
And then—at nine hundred years.
In the basement of this town, by chance—I found Kai.
At first, I couldn't believe it.
I thought it was another hallucination.
A vanishing phantom I'd seen countless times.
An illusion that dissolved like mist whenever I tried to touch it.
But—
The moment I touched him, I knew.
Warm.
Real.
Nine hundred years of tears burst forth all at once.
I didn't know if I was happy or sad.
They just wouldn't stop.
I wanted to cry out loud.
But I had—forgotten how to make sounds.
So I just held on.
So this warmth wouldn't disappear.
So I would never let go again.
"...What's your name?"
My voice reaches Bell's ears.
"Bell."
She answers in a small voice.
"Belphegor. ...I used to be called the Demon Lord."
"Demon Lord Belphegor... is it really you?"
"...Yeah. But now I'm just Bell."
Bell looks up.
Tear-soaked crimson eyes gaze at me.
"I got small."
"Why do you know me?"
Bell's expression clouds for just an instant.
She starts to say something—then swallows it.
"...I can't tell you yet."
"Can't tell me?"
"Yeah. If I did, you'd get confused, Kai."
"..."
"But believe just one thing."
Bell grips my hand.
Small hands. Cold, but with a certain warmth.
"I'm on your side, Kai. I will never, ever betray you."
My Mana Ledger analyzes her words.
Mana Ledger: Active
Deception Detection: No response Emotional Analysis: Sincere, devoted, intense attachment Conclusion: This individual holds absolute loyalty toward Kai Verner
⚠️ Warning: Reason unknown — Data from 900+ years ago is missing
—Data from 900+ years ago is missing.
I'm twenty-four years old.
Nine hundred years ago, I wasn't even born.
And yet—this girl "knows" me.
"Bell."
"What?"
"You're coming with us."
"...!"
Bell's eyes light up.
"Really...?"
"Yes. Your power is needed to save the world."
"Yeah...! Yeah...!"
Bell hugs me again.
Her small body trembles.
But this time—it's trembling with joy.
"Kai... thank you..."
"Too early for thanks. I'm putting you to work too."
"Yeah, I'll do anything. As long as I'm with you, Kai, I'll do anything."
Mana Ledger: Active
Party Member Added: Belphegor
Ability: Soul Conversion (Mana generation — 99.98% efficiency — Zero ash output)