Chapter 2

### How to Live Like a Demon - Chapter 2 (2/385)

How to Live Like a Demon - Chapter 2

002 Lucius Kendrick (2)

The red light of the demon world seeped through the window.

Lucius was asleep on the large bed in the center of the room.

His snow-white face, made even paler by the black sheets, resembled a winter landscape covered in a light snowfall.

Lucius, who had been breathing calmly, slowly opened his eyes at the clinking sound from the side.

“Hamel…?”

Following the sound, he saw Hamel preparing something.

Hamel, noticing that Lucius had regained consciousness, quickly brought him the prepared medicine and water.

“Are you feeling better?”

“How long has it been…, ugh.”

“It's been about four days.”

Lucius, who was trying to sit up, grimaced at the sharp pain in his abdomen. He then recalled the events before he lost consciousness.

‘Disobeying the order of His Majesty… Did I lose consciousness in the fight?’

Defeat. It meant only one thing.

He had to enroll in the academy as ordered.

Hamel sighed lightly and supported Lucius, then narrowed his long eyes.

“Seventh Legion Commander, Mr. Livre, just visited. This is the recovery medicine prescribed by Mr. Livre.”

Lucius took the cup Hamel offered.

The cup was filled with a thick green liquid, which seemed to be made from various roots.

‘Only the best ingredients for recovery were used. But…’

Lucius frowned as he stared at the medicine.

The musty smell of decaying wood was particularly unpleasant.

“Not going to drink it?”

“I'll take it later.”

Knock, knock.

As he scowled and put the medicine aside, a knock was heard. A familiar presence lingered with a faint jingle.

“He's here.”

Hamel carefully opened the door, and a middle-aged man appeared.

A chilling pressure weighed down on his shoulders.

Tinkle.

The commander he led danced to the sound of the jingle, and a sharp breeze circled around, threateningly.

“You've come.”

Hamel greeted him respectfully. His emotionless, ashen eyes briefly met Hamel's.

But only for a moment.

“Have you come?”

Lucius's welcome brought a smile to his face.

The oppressive aura that had dominated the room softened, and a gentle breeze seemed to flow from the sharp commanders.

“You look terrible.”

He was none other than Dimit, Lucius's guardian and adoptive parent.

Dimit's gaze on Lucius was like that of an adult looking at a child who had caused trouble.

While Lucius shrugged, indicating it was nothing, Dimit pulled a chair to the bedside and sat down.

Dimit pushed Lucius's stray hair behind his ear and asked,

“I know you were called for an emergency…?”

What had happened this time to make you fight with His Majesty?

Dimit, about to ask for the details, suddenly trailed off.

Following his gaze, Lucius saw the medicine left untouched.

Dimit shook his head and said sternly,

“Lucius, the medicine?”

“It's just a recovery potion. I'm fine without it….”

Lucius nonchalantly replied, but stopped as Dimit's gaze grew cold.

His eyes, devoid of affection, were filled with calm anger and concern, staring at him intently.

For a moment, Lucius forgot who Dimit was.

A demon who had subdued many commanders and led the dead, a master of large-scale battles, and the best commander who had made the Demon King's army elite.

Lucius glanced at Hamel and subtly gestured.

“I'll take it now.”

Reluctantly, he picked up the cup and drank it in one go.

As expected, it tasted like a mixture of mud and decaying leaves.

Lucius, trying to hide his grimace, met Dimit's eyes.

Dimit, who always showed affection as a father, seemed to understand why his subordinates feared him so much at times like this.

Dimit took the empty cup from Lucius and handed it to Hamel, continuing,

The oppressive aura he had shown was gone.

“So, what happened this time to make you fight with His Majesty?”

Lucius hesitated for a moment before answering with a sigh.

“What else? His Majesty gave an unreasonable order again.”

“An unreasonable order?”

“To go to the academy….”

Lucius, answering absentmindedly, suddenly felt a sense of unease and looked at Dimit intently.

Dimit couldn't have been unaware of Lucius's enrollment in the academy, as the guardian's approval was required.

Dimit tried to act innocent, but under Lucius's persistent gaze, a deep smile finally appeared on his face.

“Dimit.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this your doing?”

“What is?”

“Are you going to deny it?”

As the saying goes, no parent can outdo their child.

With his only son persistently questioning him, Dimit finally admitted, laughing.

“Actually, I was talking with His Majesty a while ago, and somehow your name came up.”

“What did you talk about?”

“His Majesty said that it feels like just yesterday when I took care of you after finding your cocoon. If you weren't an elder, you would have been old enough to go to the academy.”

Lucius's expression darkened as he listened to Dimit. He then buried his face in his hands.

After two years of silence, this topic came up for a reason.

There were two ways for demons to be born.

The first was through the union of demons, creating an artificial life, and the second was through the natural aggregation of demonic energy, forming a life.

The latter case was called a "cocoon," and the first demon to find a cocoon became the adoptive parent of the demon born from it, according to the laws of the demon world.

Lucius's cocoon was found by the Demon King, who, by principle, should have raised him.

However, for some reason, the responsibility was transferred to Dimit.

It had been 71 years since then.

Dimit was proud of his son, who had rapidly grown into an elder over a few decades, but he also felt a bit sorry for him.

It was the time when ordinary children would be entering the academy and making friends.

If he missed this opportunity, would anyone ever see Lucius as Lucius, not just as an elder?

Without friends to rely on, he wouldn't be able to appoint adjutants or knights, which were the privileges of an elder.

When the Demon King's decision came, it was a welcome relief to Dimit, who had been deeply concerned.

Lucius, unaware of this, complained,

“This is all because of Dimit.”

“After losing so miserably to His Majesty, you're blaming me? If you had just obediently followed the order, it would have been better… You know better than anyone that you can't stand up to His Majesty.”

Perhaps because Lucius was born in the Carmel Forest or because Dimit had watched him grow up, the Demon King was particularly lenient with him.

Sometimes, it seemed as if the Demon King enjoyed Lucius's fearless challenges.

Dimit moved from the chair to the end of the bed and sat down.

He reached out to stroke Lucius's head but instead gently pushed him back onto the bed.

Lucius, looking at Dimit, shook his head.

“Winning or losing doesn't really matter. I want to win, but I know my skills aren't there yet. If there was a real chance, I would have rebelled. This is just a hassle.”

“Then why?”

“Even if the power dynamic can't change, I have to show that even a worm will squirm when stepped on. I can't always be pushed around. How many times have I been pushed around already?”

“Ha, hahaha!”

Dimit couldn't help but laugh.

Lucius's frown deepened, but he didn't voice any more complaints.

Dimit, still chuckling, took out the enrollment form from his pocket.

“It's His Majesty's order. First, Lucius Kendrick must hide the fact that he is an elder at the academy. Second, he must bring back at least three people who can impress me.”

“You really are thorough.”

Although he said that, Lucius agreed with hiding the fact that he was one of the five elders.

So far, only a few named individuals knew about the replacement of the five elders.

‘If a mere 71-year-old is an elder, the demon world would be in chaos. There would be more demons who look down on the elders, and there would be many disputes in my territory.’

Lucius didn't want to deal with such troublesome and headache-inducing situations.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused on the Demon King's next order.

“But what does it mean to bring back people who can impress His Majesty?”

Was the comment about raising students not a joke?

Lucius clicked his tongue.

Adding orders as a penalty for losing a duel was not uncommon.

But what kind of great talent was he supposed to bring back?

Dimit, seeing Lucius's deepening thoughts, smiled secretly.

It made him feel that his son was truly growing up.

Lucius, lying on the bed, took the envelope Dimit offered and sighed.

Inside the envelope were four sheets of paper.

Thorben, Aaron, Kiara, Cyrus.

These were the enrollment forms for the academies in the demon world.

He asked Dimit, who was eagerly waiting for his choice,

“Which academy do you think is best?”

“You're surprisingly accepting.”

“Since I lost, I have to do it even if I don't want to.”

Lucius had been exceptionally talented since childhood, which made him prideful and more concerned with the principles of power and clear distinctions.

Therefore, he accepted the results of the duel more cleanly than anyone and performed his duties perfectly.

Dimit began to describe each academy.

“The northern Kiara values strength. It's aggressive and lively. You'll probably receive many duel requests. It's the best place to gain experience. I graduated from there, too.”

“I have enough experience.”

It was absurd to say he lacked experience. He had trained with the Demon King's army many times and often tested his skills whenever the Demon King issued pointless orders.

Dimit, disappointed by the quick rejection, clicked his tongue. He clearly wanted to send his son to his alma mater.

“The southern Aaron is known for its diverse races. You can find rare aquatic races here. You can develop your adaptability by interacting with various environments and races.”

Lucius thought going to Aaron wouldn't be bad, but Dimit's expression was not good.

It seemed he didn't have positive feelings about Aaron.

He had vaguely heard that Kiara and Aaron were enemies.

Dimit, not waiting for Lucius's response, continued, ready to oppose if he chose Aaron.

“The western Thorben has a massive library. It's where dryads often go. There's little conflict, and they focus on research. You've been interested in alchemy lately, haven't you?”

“That's true, but I've heard Thorben is very weak in combat. I would stand out too much there. What about Cyrus?”

“Cyrus is relatively new, but its short history means there are many opportunities. You can freely create clubs and even request new classes. It has a high degree of freedom.”

Cyrus's policy was to help students experience many fields and find the path that suits them.

‘Although it's rated lower than Kiara and Aaron, it's not aggressive, so I won't have to deal with constant battles. It might be okay to stand out a bit.’

Lucius, after some thought, decided.

“I'll go to Cyrus. But please submit the application for me.”

“I already did. I submitted it to Cyrus.”

“Who decided that?”

Did he even have a choice in the matter?

As a deep frown formed on Lucius's forehead, Dimit shrugged and added,

“Are you asking me?”