Oh No, I've Been Tricked!

Its name was Simba, and it was a demi-human.

At that moment, it was preparing to hunt.

This was Simba's fourth day hunting in a human city. It had never imagined that it would one day end up like this.

Since childhood, its parents and clansmen had taught it how terrifying and dangerous humans were. Their kind could only live on the Westwind Grassland precisely because humans had driven them out.

Thus, every newborn demi-human was taught to remember the danger of humans.

But after its initial nervousness and unease faded, and it realized that the humans had not found it, the savagery and cruelty inherent in Simba as a demi-human were stirred awake.

Using an entire human city as its hunting ground... the feeling made Simba feel absolutely ecstatic!

"Father, Mother, you must be proud of me too, right?"

Hidden in the shadows, Simba's beast-like green eyes gleamed with sharp excitement.

Its childhood had not been easy. For demi-humans, the powerful physiques they were born with were the foundation of their survival and strength.

But Simba was different.

From the moment it was born, it had been naturally frail. Yes, frail.

At birth, it had even been shrouded by the shadow of death, nearly becoming a stillborn corpse.

Yet Simba had struggled to survive. However, its congenital physical defects could not be remedied; it was nowhere near as robust and powerful as its parents.

Even after its younger siblings began trying to hunt on their own at the age of two, Simba still found it difficult to run freely.

Great Beast God, why had You treated me so cruelly?

Simba had resented it deeply. It resented the injustice of the gods. Why did it have to be the one?

That unwillingness and resentment had lasted until not long ago.

But things were different now, because that day, a mysterious person had found its frail self.

"Do you... want power? I can give you power."

"Then what is the price?"

Although Simba had been born with physical defects, they had also given it an intellect unlike that of its kin.

In human terms, it did not believe that free meals fell from the sky, because it was someone abandoned by the gods.

"You only need to go somewhere and do one thing."

Returning to the present, Simba lightly flexed its incomparably sharp claws.

That mysterious person had worn a black cloak. Simba could not see its face, only the two eerie green points of light in its eyes, hidden within the shadows.

But that no longer mattered, because Simba had agreed.

It wanted power too badly—great power, a strong body, the thrill of feeling blood race through its veins as it ran.

Simba had been "reborn"!

And that mysterious person had sent it to this city, telling it to cause as much trouble as possible here, and then... survive.

Survive...

At first, Simba had been uneasy as well. Because of what its parents and elders had drilled into it since childhood, human territory was a forbidden zone of death for newborn demi-humans.

But after staying for four days, Simba felt that it was nothing special.

It had already killed seven people! Seven!

But what about those humans? Had they not still failed to find it?

Meanwhile, the humans it hunted were all pitifully weak and laughable. Before dying, they could only weep bitterly and beg it to spare them.

Their weak and helpless appearances were truly pathetic.

Watching the despair on those humans' faces before they died, Simba felt intense pleasure throughout its entire being.

Power! Having power felt truly incredible!

"As long as I kill more people and cause a greater stir, that person promised to give me even more power!"

Simba's mouth stretched into a wide grin, ferocious and terrifying, its green beast eyes filled with greed and longing.

Humans were delicious! It wanted power!

Wasn't that perfect?

As long as it kept eating humans, the humans would become frightened and descend into chaos. That was exactly what the mysterious person wanted.

A full moon hung high overhead, its cold radiance spilling down without end. It was already deep into the night.

Tonight's hunt had begun!

Simba leaped out of the shadows. Its exceptional jumping ability instantly carried it onto the top of a high wall, where it clung like a gecko and searched for tonight's prey.

People—every one of them was prey waiting to be slaughtered!

But perhaps because of its hunts over the past two days, this street, which had once seen pedestrians hurrying back and forth, now did not have a single person in sight.

But that did not matter.

Simba darted through the streets at incredible speed, quickly reaching another road.

It twitched its nose and caught a wonderfully enticing scent, and then...

Jingle, jingle~

The crisp chime, as pleasant as wind bells, sounded especially abrupt in the silent street, carried by the night breeze into Simba's ears.

"It's a human!"

Simba's eyes lit up instantly. It sprang out of the shadows, climbed onto a building, and looked toward the source of the bells.

Simba had excellent eyesight; even the darkness of night could not obstruct its vision.

It saw clearly that it was a male human, seemingly not very old. He carried a bag of drinks in his left hand, humming a tune as he swung his right hand.

A bracelet was around his wrist. As he waved his hand, the tiny bells on it kept clinking together, making crisp sounds. He looked full of youthful vitality.

He wore a small white object in his ear. Was that called an earphone? Was he listening to music?

Simba observed him carefully, the corners of its mouth slowly rising as sharp fangs were revealed.

It was already certain that this human posed no threat. He seemed to possess magic, but that only made Simba think he would taste even better.

Its instincts were extremely accurate. This human was definitely weak! And there were no traps nearby.

Yet the human's body, infused with magic, smelled exceptionally delicious.

No wonder. That inexplicable fragrance from earlier had come from him.

Really... this midnight snack was definitely going to be delicious.

Drool continuously ran from Simba's mouth, its eyes filled with irrepressible greed and urgency.

My first feast of the day, here I come!

Simba pushed off with all four limbs. Its powerful body burst forward in an instant, turning into a black shadow as it pounced on the passerby.

It was confident that this human would probably not even have time to react before being knocked to the ground, left entirely at its mercy.

But...

Just then, the human suddenly seemed to sense something. He raised his head and looked in Simba's direction.

To Simba's astonishment, the man showed neither fear nor shock. Instead, his face was filled with wild delight—the delight of finally getting what he wanted.

This... was wrong!

"Great! Two hours, a full two hours, and you finally came out!"

Gu Xin laughed madly. He had originally been about to return to the shop and go to sleep.

Who could have imagined that just as he was about to give up, this demi-human had finally shown itself?

Simba was utterly stunned, because as the human spoke, a tall black figure suddenly appeared before it.

Crimson demon eyes, broad and tattered bat wings, arms stretching all the way down to its calves, and a body radiating dense dark energy.

That sinister, terrifying form... was actually a demon!

Simba stared at the demon before it and the laughing human behind it, shocked and furious.

"Damn it! I was tricked!"