Pain and fear had consumed me, but eventually, I felt liberated. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was in a cage. Memories flooded my mind before I could even comprehend where I was.

I had encountered the orb, Amber, and a strange voice, and now I felt like I was reborn. A strange sensation coursed through my body. I felt something flowing through it, ever so slightly, but the difference was palpable. It was a sensation that I had never felt before, something that moved at the will of my mind. I lifted my hand to try and control it, and a small purple glow appeared across my palm. It was faint, but I could immediately feel the power in my hand growing a little more.

"It's mana," a familiar voice answered my doubts, but I was still observing the phenomenon. "Honestly though, I'm surprised you survived. You almost became a demon, and I was about to kill you. But you seem to have stopped halfway through, and you’ve stayed human. But your mana has undergone a change. The color of your mana has changed because of it. Normally humans’ mana has lighter colors–only those who have crossed the barrier of normal have darker tones."

Listening to this mysterious girl's explanation, I felt a kind of joy; it was like how the protagonist failing always still comes out victorious. I wasn't paying attention to the flashing signs before my eyes from the system.

With another thought, I moved my hands with a purple glow toward the cage. But when I wanted to touch it, the seemingly ordinary cage before my eyes emitted a bright blue beam and startled me, causing me to pull my hand away. It seemed to be some kind of magic.

"You can't get out of it; you're too weak. But since you have already restored your mind, I wonder what your mana will be like too." Speaking, she put her hand on the cage. Upon doing so, the cage suddenly turned into particles and disappeared. Seeing such magic, I wanted to try it too.

"And so, attack me using your mana."

Looking at the mysterious girl in front of me, I didn't immediately do as she asked.

"First, tell me what happened to me?"

After looking at me for a few seconds, she sighed and began to speak.

"I used a will-suppression artifact to keep your mana out of your subconscious mind's control. Well, by doing that there was also a good chance that you would become a demon. But the result seems to have been something weirder."

Listening to her words, I pondered. For some reason, I didn't even want to be angry. Rather, I was taking it lightly.

But there was something I wanted: if possible, I wanted to teach her a lesson.

I don't know how it worked out for me, but I think I felt myself smiling as I spoke the following words.

"Ah, since that's the way you want to test me, I'd love to do it."

As I spoke, I raised my hand in her direction, pulling a gun out of my inventory.

BANG!--there was an explosion, followed by a whistling bullet.

================

Aria, the demon hunter, hadn't started from the bottom with the ranks of other upstarts in her opinion. She had seen everything demons were capable of from an early age since her clan was destroyed right before her eyes.

All those years, she studied and destroyed demons as best she could. Her hatred for them consumed her.

She spent her days cleansing one place after another of demons. Her only teacher taught her the nature of demons and why her clan had been destroyed. One day, she asked her teacher if it was possible to distinguish between a demon and a human, to which she received the answer, no. However, her teacher told her a legend about a man who could tell the difference with his senses. She wished she had this ability.

Years passed, and after her teacher passed away, she took his sword and began her journey of searching for and destroying demons. Her journey led her to the city of Corvendale, a large city with almost 35 million people, where rumors stated there were many demons.

One evening, she found a demon walking around. It didn't happen quickly–at first, she noticed a strange girl following someone. Aria noted the girl was not strange in appearance, but in her demeanor. She followed the girl, thinking she was a demon. But soon, Aria was puzzled by what she saw.

The girl called over the two people she was following and made a request that made Aria feel embarrassed. However, what happened next puzzled her even more. The man wanted to help his companion, and the strange girl pulled out a katana out of nowhere. Aria wanted to intervene and stop the girl, but her movements stopped after she took a few steps.

Not because the girl had already killed the man, but because she saw what happened to the man's body after he fell to the ground. It turned out to be a demon. Realizing this, she watched the demon's companion.

Aria thought that the girl with the katana would kill her as well; sometimes Aria slew any witnesses, even if it would be considered morally wrong. She simply didn’t care about taking some innocent lives, if it meant the survival of the greater population. However, at this point, she saw the girl simply ordering the other not to tell anyone about it, and let her go.

She watched the strange girl looking at the hotel in the distance, which caused her to have more doubts. Because of these events, she began to watch her from time to time.

She noticed that these past few days the girl would wait in a crowded street, after which she was very accurate in finding demons and killing them. It was strange, though, that she never used magic to make her task easier. Sometimes she would act like an idiot and leave some demons' clothes behind, which could cause some problems, so Aria had to clean up after her.

One day when she once again wanted to watch her, she received information about a supposed demon base. And so, she stopped watching her for those few days.

The information was correct. Upon exploring, she had found a few strong demons and a bunch of weak ones. Her plan was as before, gradually reducing their numbers. After wiping them out, she would be satisfied.

But then she had something on her mind and went back to look at the girl's situation. According to her observations, the girl was getting stronger after killing demons. And if you add to that the ability to detect demons accurately, she would probably be the best weapon they could have against demons. She thought she’d better make sure the girl gained strength so she could help her.

However, she couldn't find the girl until it was dark, despite checking the surroundings of the hotel where she often watched the strange girl. She finally discovered a figure similar to the girl, dressed in black and with a mask. It was amusing for Aria, who had been watching her, to see how the girl snuck inside the building.

If Aria knew for sure where the demons were, she would brush them off little by little, and then break in for one last sweep. As she watched from the roof of one of the buildings, she saw most of the people inside the hotel climb to the top. Aria realized that the strange girl had been found.

Soon she heard the sound of gunshots, and for a moment she thought she should help. But then she realized she shouldn't, as the other girl was doing pretty well. However, the moment she saw the men themselves hit her from behind, she broke through the wall. Aria got up and ran across the roof, ready to kill everyone there to save the girl with the talent to recognize demons.

But just as she was about to jump out the window from the roof of the building, a fierce gunshot was heard, bringing everything to a halt. Aria watched as the demons one by one fell to the ground. At that moment, the figure staggered forward, but Aria could sense that the strange girl was not the same. Every movement she made was aimed at destroying everyone. There was nothing left of the girl before; she had become a cold killing machine, continuing forward no matter what.

Once again, she drew her gun, shooting from one side and chopping from the other. Aria watched as the hordes of demons were decimated. When the girl got thrown out a window by another attack, she saw what she had seen before.

The girl’s speed suddenly increased more sharply than before, but she still wasn't using her mana. That's what surprised Aria, because to move at that speed, she would have to use at least a third of her mana to maintain it.

At this point, she thought of one possibility: if this girl starts using mana, she would most likely surpass Aria's speed very easily.

Seeing how the girl didn't hesitate to shoot the taximan and then use the vehicle to defeat the big demon, Aria was confused. This girl seemed to have a psychological problem because of the situation.

As she watched the girl already wanting to start destroying others as well, Aria finally decided to leave her. But at that moment, she saw the girl come to her senses and fall unconscious.

Watching her lay on the ground, there was nothing she could do. Subconsciously, she said, "You did a wonderful job." She didn't know why, but she wanted to cheer the girl up, but the other party didn't seem to hear her anymore.

Seeing her situation, she returned with her and used a potion to heal her. But she also discovered one thing: the amount of mana the girl had was very low. For a while, she even lost hope, but she soon regained her mentality.

Soon, the girl woke up. Aria also confirmed that the girl had obvious mental problems. She had to be forced to come to her senses. From the conversation that followed, Aria realized that the girl was very suspicious of her because she didn't talk to people often. This was quite difficult for her.

And so she acted mysterious, intentionally or unintentionally, as it was her necessary defense mechanism. Much had happened before she became like that. But she had learned that no one could touch her childhood or her clan. Because of that, she couldn't control her feelings, but then she realized that she was a little cruel.

When the opportunity to act arose, she took the willpower suppression stone and stealthily followed the other girl. No one but her knew of this method, except the demons who had destroyed her clan. Though there was a chance that the girl would become a demon, Aria had to try before the other side realized what was happening. It was cruel, but also effective.

Without another thought she activated the stone and watched as the girl's will gradually succumbed, and then as she fell to the ground and lost consciousness. Moving her to the training room, Aria took a stone of a different color and shape and used magic. Soon, a cage surrounded the girl's body. It looked ordinary, but it had a detention effect.

Aria sat down on a chair and began to observe the girl, considering her physical abilities. If she turned into a demon, it would be difficult to restrain her. That's why Aria had caged her. She could also use another stone to add to the magic of the cage to destroy her outright. Soon, the process began. For a moment, seeing the blue light from the girl, Aria thought the other side had successfully awakened.

But suddenly everything changed. The girl first started screaming in pain and then laughing and crying at the same time. This also made Aria clench her fists. It was a necessary process. If the girl couldn’t overcome this, if her many awakenings got delayed, the risk of her becoming a demon would be much greater. Given her rate of growth, it would be far more difficult and dangerous than it is now.

Clenching her fists tightly, Aria still hoped the girl would succeed, but the further the process went on, the more desperate Aria's face became under the mask. For the longer the process, the lower the chance, and the higher the risk. Her hand subconsciously took another stone from her pocket. She was already ready to use it to directly destroy her. Watching the girl suffer, she bit her lip. She had a last hope that was about to fade. Her hand went up to use the stone, she could no longer look at the suffering. So she decided to do it, though she was overwhelmed with guilt over such suffering.

She could do nothing, and so inhaling she went to do it, when suddenly her hand stopped abruptly. A golden light passed over the body of the girl who was suffering and laughing and then immediately disappeared. At the same time, the girl stopped laughing and sank into sleep. Aria did not continue with her action but instead watched her intently, so that if anything happened she would immediately use the stone.

It was two hours before the girl woke up. Realizing that the girl hadn’t become a demon, Aria finally breathed a sigh of relief, but she also noticed a change in the girl. The mana in her body had increased slightly, and her behavior was different than before. As she watched the girl pull her gun out of nowhere and immediately fire it, Aria finally realized that something had gone wrong.