Dark Demon Is About to Embark on a Noble Path

In that instant, Dark and DemiDevimon narrowed their eyes at the same time.

Time seemed to stand still. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

DemiDevimon opened its eyes first, and a dark golden light shone through the slits.

The corners of its mouth curled upward. Its gaze sharpened, and it lifted its chin slightly. Then it declared, "I, DemiDevimon, shall stand above the heavens!"

(?ˊˋ)

Dark was stunned at first, then overjoyed!

Whether DemiDevimon had grown arrogant under the influence of the Pride Magitech Card no longer seemed all that important.

The most important thing right now was that it could speak!

Everyone knew that Digimon could talk.

But Familiars were not born in the same way as Digimon.

At least, this DemiDevimon hadn't been able to talk before, and its intelligence had been slightly below that of an ordinary beast.

But now, after absorbing Pride's energy, it could talk up a storm!

"Does this mean its life form has changed, bringing it closer to that of a Digimon?"

"Professor Sylph said that a Familiar's birth is inseparable from factors such as a Magus's magic power, knowledge, and personality."

"Perhaps the Familiar I summoned isn't the same kind of life form as the DemiDevimon that exists in this world."

"Merlin, the greatest Magus in history, once said that differences in perception determine differences in Magic Guidance!"

"Also..."

Dark looked at the Pride Magitech Card in his hand.

Fine cracks had appeared across its surface!

Emotion-series Magitech Cards could all be used repeatedly.

It seemed this card had gone beyond the realm of "emotion." It was a one-time use card.

Dark was reminded of a word: "corruption"!

The so-called "demons" in this world were all ferocious beasts that had lost their reason after being "corrupted"!

DemiDevimon's current state was probably closer to being "Pride-corrupted."

He thought for a moment, then recorded this kind of Magitech Card as "Pride 1."

Then he wrote down its effects in his notebook.

Next, he planned to observe the Pride-corrupted DemiDevimon and see how long it would take to return to normal.

"Servant! Release my shackles! Do it now!"

Chapter 17: Dark Demon Is About to Embark on a Noble Path

"It seems Pride 1 didn't give it all that much power."

Dark carefully observed DemiDevimon's behavior.

Its own will was still intact. It was just that Pride 1 had changed its personality.

It seemed eager to snap the bird chain, thinking it was an "insult."

But it wasn't strong enough to break free.

"Speaking of strength..."

Dark immediately thought of DemiDevimon's special move, Petit Dart.

As a Familiar, it hadn't originally been able to use special moves.

But it had changed so much now that perhaps it could!

So Dark wrote a few words in his notebook, then looked up and said, "DemiDevimon, use Petit Dart on the wall."

DemiDevimon folded its wings, raised its head with a forceful motion, and arrogantly said, "Unlock me!"

"Heh."

Dark couldn't help laughing.

But a Familiar was still a Familiar. It couldn't truly disobey its master's will.

To get a better look at DemiDevimon using its skill, Dark undid the clasp around its ankle.

Freed, DemiDevimon immediately flapped around the room twice. Then it gave a sharp flap of its wings and shouted, "Petit Dart!"

In an instant, three syringe-shaped Shark Heads appeared beneath its wings and shot toward the wall!

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

All three syringes struck the wall at once, forming a perfect triangle!

But after a short while, the syringes turned into specks of light and disappeared, leaving only three holes in the wall.

Dark immediately wrote in his notebook: "Skill successfully released, proving that the test subject is no longer a Familiar."

Three forty-three.

The dark gold in DemiDevimon's eyes gradually faded, returning to their usual pale yellow.

Then—

It suddenly blinked, stretched out its wings, and lifted its head. With a "plop," it fell backward onto the table, straightened its claws, and looked just like a dead sparrow.

"The Pride state lasted about thirteen minutes, three to five times longer than the effect of an ordinary Emotion Card."

Dark wrote the line in his notebook. Only then did he look up at DemiDevimon and say helplessly, "Stop pretending to be dead."

DemiDevimon remained motionless.

Dark reached out and scratched it under the chin.

DemiDevimon immediately curled into a ball, giggling.

Then it jerked, stiffened all over, and raised its head. Its little eyes fixed on Dark, filled with pleading.

"When you pointed at my nose and called me your servant just now, you didn't look like this."

Dark deliberately put on a stern face as he spoke.

DemiDevimon's eyes shifted. It immediately realized its master wasn't angry and fawned, "Mas-ter—"

Dark shuddered in disgust.

But he quickly wrote in his notebook: "The change in life form has not been reversed."

Dark's initial conclusion was that this change was probably irreversible.

It was like a Magus awakening their talent and gaining magic power, becoming extraordinary from then on.

And after DemiDevimon "awakened," it became even more talkative!

Though DemiDevimon hadn't been able to speak before, it occasionally got up to mischief. But its excellent habit of being an utterly devoted flatterer made it quite likable.

But what if it could talk?

What if it spent all day making sarcastic remarks and annoying people?

That was something worth paying attention to.

Dark didn't want to lose his exclusive takeout from St. Marian.

Perhaps giving it a muzzle was a good idea?

Under its master's strange gaze, DemiDevimon hurriedly got to its feet and obediently folded its wings behind its back, like a schoolchild being scolded.

Dark shook his head and decided to continue his research for now. "By the way, don't speak in front of outsiders!"

He had now used the Magic Brain Dropper to lower the Pride Index from 112 to 111.

But that was far from enough.

Using the Magic Brain Dropper was very dangerous, so he had to be cautious.

Dark didn't immediately use it a second time.

The Magic Brain Dropper User Guide clearly stated: "If you don't want to suddenly turn into an idiot, remember not to extract thought matter more than once a month!"

The book grouped memories, emotions, knowledge, thoughts, and other such substances together as "thought matter," and advised moderation.

But after reading the entire book, Dark knew that Magi who studied this field usually extracted thought matter two or three times a month.

Experiments always came with failures. Breaking through required taking risks.

And as the number of extractions in a month increased, so did the danger. After three extractions, the risk approached 60%, more than half.

That was why people said, "Third time's the charm."

Of course, the Magi in the book dared to extract thought matter two or three times a month because they were highly skilled.

Even so, doing this continuously for several months could easily lead to "intermittent amnesia."

Dark knew his own limits. He understood that even a normal extraction would be extremely dangerous for him right now. That was why he had chosen the Dragonfly Skimming Method.

The Dragonfly Skimming Method could only extract thought matter that overflowed from the brain, so its risk was extremely low.

Even so, he couldn't use it recklessly.

According to the Magic Brain Dropper User Guide, it was best to use it once every 24 hours. After using it more than ten times in a row, he should ideally wait a month before using it again.

That would give the brain time to fully recover!

The brain was the most complex system in the human body. It was impossible to be too cautious.

Besides, there was no need to rush.

Based on Dark's understanding of the Dragonfly Skimming Method, it could only be used to absorb the portions of a Great Sin Index that exceeded 100.

So for now, Pride was the only thing he could extract.

Next, he planned to go to the library to find and study information about Emotion-series Magitech Cards. He would try to improve Pride 1 further, or perhaps focus on developing Pride 2.

At four thirty in the afternoon, Dark was already at the library.

Senior Pandora, who worked at the library, seemed to have taken the day off. She wasn't there.

That was great!

Under Mrs. Bella's kind gaze, Dark signed in and entered the library in high spirits.

Making Pride 1 had been part of his plans from the start, but it was only one of several possible approaches.

He knew very well that if he only kept suppressing the Great Sins, without turning them into power he could use, the only path ahead would be to run for his life until he was driven into a dead end!

Only fools ran away.

Smart people went with the flow.

Today, confirming that he could turn the overflowing Great Sins into Magitech Cards was a breakthrough!

As for how far the Deadly Sin Series of Magitech Cards could be developed, and what kind of core power they might reveal—

That remained to be seen.

The swaying lamplight gently brushed across the library desks.

Dark Demon's back looked ever more noble.