Chapter 1

"──This is the magic of darkness..."

Seeing the black miasma writhing in his hand, a deep sigh escaped him.

He could feel an enormous amount of magic power, which he had never handled before, gathering at his fingertips.

The magic of darkness is forbidden magic.

If a human uses it, they will be consumed by the dark attribute magic and turn into a demon.

"Even so... I couldn't die without ever using it once."

Thirteen years ago, when I, Alec Arnouts Luxia, was seven years old, I was granted a dark rune, which bestows the benefits of dark magic, by the gods, inscribed on the back of my hand.

Because of that dark rune, I have always been despised as a cursed prince by the world.

Even so, I never gave up on mastering magic. I have diligently studied the holy, fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth magic, which are not of the dark attribute.

However, the growth of any attribute of magic has stagnated. I could only gather enough magic power to handle low-level magic.

That's why I wanted to try using the dark magic, which I could benefit from, at least once.

"This is darkness – how serene the color is."

I feel as if my body is being sucked into an unfathomable darkness.

Is this what it means to become a demon?

Those who become demons gain enormous magic power and superhuman physical abilities.

However, they lose their sense of self and are driven by the urge to attack, attacking everything around them indiscriminately.

Of course, I don't want to do that.

I have lived without harming others, and being serious is my only virtue.

That's why I drank a poison that would surely lead to death before using dark magic.

It took a lot of courage, but today, I was going to die anyway.

I was caught in a major rebellion by the citizens of the capital and left behind in the palace.

"Well, even if I could escape, it wouldn't matter..."

There is no place for me, the cursed prince. I have always walked in the shadows, and it will continue to be so.

I was tired of this world that was too bright. That's why I decided to die today.

Still, I didn't want to be torn apart by the people. I wanted to see the magic of darkness one last time before falling into eternal sleep.

I felt no fear. Rather, I even felt a sense of relief at the black mist swaying before my eyes.

"Finally, I can sleep."

Such words slipped out without me realizing it.

"But... what? I'm not turning into a demon right away."

According to the reports of demonization, those who used dark magic would turn into demons in less than ten seconds.

But it has been a minute... no, two minutes already.

My vision has not been enveloped in darkness, and I have not heard the whispers of a demon—no, I did hear something that sounded like a whisper.

'Why!?! Why can't I take over the body!? Move, move, dammit!!! This piece of junk!!!'

The whisper in my head soon turned into a scream. It must be a demon, apparently unable to take over my body.

– Who's the piece of junk here?

In any case, this was premature.

Who would have thought that I wouldn't demonize, that I would be special?

However, the drug mercilessly eats away at my body. My vision wavers, and my consciousness fades.

If only I had mastered dark magic.

"Whatever I say now is too late..."

I had no doubts about this world. This is the limit of my life, simply following the rules of the world.

"Oh... if I could start over again"

Faced with the light that was about to fade, I wished for that.

And so, eternal darkness was supposed to come—

That was supposed to be the case.