My Art Style is Unique 55

Title: The Demon’s Employee

At the Wiz Magic Shop...

“Congratulations to Lord Ethan on becoming the new leader of Axel. From now on, we commoners will surely find happiness,” Wiz said with her gentle smile as she served Ethan and his friends, who had come as customers.

Yes, Ethan had now been appointed as the new leader of Axel after successfully defeating the Devil King’s General Verdia, the Mobile Fortress Destroyer, and even the Archdemon Vanir. He had also fully inherited all of Alderp’s assets and rights.

Though Ethan couldn’t help but comment that the Belzerg Kingdom was so poor that they couldn’t offer any additional rewards, so they just handed over the recently vacated properties and rights as a consolation prize to appease him.

Ah, well, better than nothing. Rumor had it that as long as Ethan delegated all noble duties to the little secretary sent by the kingdom, everything would run smoothly! After all, Alderp had been a scumbag noble who committed countless crimes. Even if Ethan just lazed around at home without working, the long-suffering citizens of Axel would still be grateful to him.

This often made Ethan feel like protesting loudly, though it only ended up making Eris sad.

And...

“Never mind whether you’re a commoner or not. The real question is, who’s that weird masked guy next to you? If you’re lonely at night, I’d be happy to help. Don’t go picking up random men from who-knows-where, my dear Wiz... Ouch-ouch-ouch! I’m sorry! Chris! Stop pinching my soft flesh! Yunyun and Iris, don’t look at me with those sad eyes!”

Before Ethan could finish teasing Wiz, Eris’s hand was already attacking his body. Add to that the sorrowful gazes of Yunyun and Iris, and he felt thoroughly pressured!

However, there was one thing Ethan wasn’t wrong about: Wiz’s usually unlucky shop, which mostly attracted window-shoppers who never bought anything, actually had an employee today! And not just any employee—it was a male demon! Or rather, a male demon?

“I am an Archdemon, not a male demon or whatever. Besides, we demons have no gender. Remember that!”

An Archdemon! And it was Vanir, the former Devil King’s General whom Ethan had fought and who was later defeated by Iris with her Holy Sword!

Vanir stood there wearing an apron like an employee, standing familiarly beside Wiz, his black-and-white mask looking completely undamaged. This almost made Ethan and his friends draw their weapons for another fight.

“Ah, my apologies. Last time, there were special circumstances, so I didn’t get to introduce myself properly. Allow me to do so now.”

Vanir bowed politely in a noble-like manner, his tone enthusiastic and his etiquette flawless as he announced his name.

“I am one of the Devil King’s Generals, the ruler of demons known as the Duke of Hell, the great demon who can see everything in this world—Vanir!”

*CLING!*

The moment Vanir finished speaking, Ethan and Iris already had their swords at the ready, while Yunyun and Eris tightly gripped their staffs. The sheer magical pressure radiating from the four of them made Vanir tense up.

“Don’t worry! Being a Devil King’s General is in the past! To be precise, even though I was a Devil King’s General, I sided with you humans, just like Wiz. I’m a good demon who has never killed a single person~”

“That’s right! That’s right! Vanir isn’t a Devil King’s General anymore, so please don’t attack him!” Wiz hastily explained in a panic.

Seeing no signs of aggression from Vanir and remembering how he had barely resisted when defeated last time, Ethan and the others finally relaxed.

“Is that so? Care to explain further?”

“You mean why I’m here? Or why I’m still alive?”

“If it’s the former, it’s because I have nowhere else to go, and I happen to know the owner of this pitiful shop, so I decided to stay here. If it’s the latter, it’s simple. I did die once, and my count decreased by one, but I am an Archdemon. Dying once or twice won’t erase me.”

Vanir shrugged and sighed in resignation.

That’s right.

Vanir had indeed died once.

But that didn’t mean Vanir was completely destroyed.

In this world, the true bodies of all demons reside in hell, while what appears in the mortal world is merely an avatar.

Even if an avatar is killed, the demon isn’t truly annihilated. They simply return to hell and lose their avatar in the mortal world.

Some powerful demons can even increase the number of their avatars by gathering strength, allowing them to appear multiple times in the world. Like when Ethan defeated Host, who had gained unique skills based on this demonic trait.

Demons refer to these avatars as their “count.”

Losing one avatar means losing one “count.”

Though Ethan wanted to protest that this demon counting system was like tallying roosters and hens, the fact remained that most demons had multiple lives.

Of course, this didn’t mean demons couldn’t be permanently destroyed.

Weak demons whose avatars are killed in the mortal world can also have their true bodies in hell annihilated.

For example, Eris, a divine-level Arch Priest, could use Exorcism to its fullest extent and obliterate even high-ranking demons along with their true forms.

If all of a demon’s “count” is exhausted, that demon will truly die.

Like when Ethan and Eris teamed up to defeat Host. Eris nearly depleted all of Host’s “count,” allowing Ethan to split him in half and destroy his true body in hell.

As for Vanir, one of the seven Archdemons who rule over all demons in hell, Iris’s Sacred Sword had only managed to kill him once, eliminating one of his avatars—one “count.”

“However, you can rest easy. I was originally forced by the old Devil King to become a General just to maintain the barrier at the Demon King’s Castle. After being defeated, I lost my qualification to uphold the barrier and was stripped of my position as a Devil King’s General.”

Vanir adjusted his mask, speaking in a slightly exaggerated tone.