Commander Korvak was about to finish his speech. "Prepare yourselves! We are getting out of this cursed place tonight! Anyone who wants to live, follow me!"
Just as the soldiers began to head toward the gates, raising their weapons in the air with shouts of "Long live Korvak!", that sound was heard.
The sharp, ringing sound of a metal sword being drawn from its scabbard.
Splash. Splash. Splash.
The sound of a pair of boots stepping into muddy puddles cut through the noise of the crowd.
The crowd turned toward the source of the sound, and upon seeing the sight before them, they were first surprised, then a look of pure disgust settled on their faces.
The youth was walking toward the commander, parting the crowd. He tightly gripped the rusty sword in his hand.
"Hey, look at that," a demon said, nudging the guy next to him. "Isn't that our crossbreed?"
"Yeah, that freak," the other replied, spitting on the ground.
Another chimed in with a mocking tone. "Is he still not dead? He definitely hid in a corner during yesterday's battle."
The whispers turned into snakes, coiling around the youth. "Crossbreed..." "Half blood..." "Mistake of nature..."
In this world, being a Crossbreed meant being cursed. They were neither human nor demon. Neither race would accept them, viewing them as a glitch of the universe.
But that was not the worst part. Their biology... It was flawed. Their mana veins were not compatible with their bodies.
While a regular demon used mana as easily as breathing, using mana for a Crossbreed was the equivalent of circulating boiling acid through their veins.
Every spell caused a sensation like their bodies burning from the inside out. That was why they rarely lived to see twenty years old.
But the youth kept walking. He did not even hear the stares, whispers, or insults aimed at him. Or maybe he just didn't care.
The only thing he focused on was Korvak, standing on the stone block.
The crowd split in two, making way for him. But this wasn't out of respect; it was because they didn't want to touch an infectious disease.
The youth stopped in front of the stone block.
He raised his head and locked his single eye onto Commander Korvak's eyes.
There was no expression on his rain soaked face. Only a pure, eerie calmness.
Korvak looked down at this wretched creature standing below.
Of course he knew him. The army's mascot, their stress ball. That boy who combined the weakness of a human with the ugliness of a demon.
The commander thought he had caught the perfect opportunity to soften the tense atmosphere and boost the soldiers' morale a bit more.
A condescending smirk appeared on his lips.
"Oho, look who is here," Korvak said with an exaggerated tone. "Our little crossbreed."
Laughter erupted from the soldiers.
Korvak leaned down, bringing his face closer to the youth. "What is it, little bug? Did you come to fall at my feet and thank me for giving you a chance to save your miserable, painful life? Or..."
He laughed. "Or are you going to keep us here and protect us with your famous 'magic power'?"
The laughter grew louder. "Watch out Commander! He might blow himself up now!" someone shouted from the back.
The youth ignored the laughter. He wasn't even looking at Korvak's face.
He was looking at the red info panel floating right above Korvak's head.
[ Analysis Complete ]
Target: Commander Korvak
Race: High Ifrit
Element: Fire 🔥
[ Stats ]
Strength: 37/50 (B)
Agility: 19/30 (C)
Endurance: 34/50 (B)
Mana: 324/500 (C)
Intelligence: 67 (C)
The gap was wider than an abyss. Korvak could crush the youth with a single finger.
Under normal circumstances, this encounter wouldn't even last a second.
But circumstances were not normal. The youth had been born into this unfair world as the very embodiment of unfairness.
Commander Korvak was starting to get annoyed by the youth's silence. "Speak up, freak! Did you swallow your tongue out of fear?"
The youth tilted his sword slightly to the side. Taking his eye off the system screen, he truly looked at Korvak for the first time.
In that single eye, there was a darkness Korvak had never seen before, a determination bordering on madness.
The Crossbreed's voice was like ice, and the air grew heavy as the words spilled from his mouth: "Commander Korvak... For the crimes of disobeying Demon King Scorvion's orders and treason against the empire, I sentence you to death."
First there was a stillness where nobody spoke, breathed, or moved.
But the very next moment...
A deafening storm of laughter filled the area.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
The demons were flailing in the mud from laughing so hard, rolling around on the ground.
Korvak tossed aside the heavy tension he had felt, laughing so hard that tears started streaming from his eyes.
The system asked its final question.
[ Blessing: Curse of Equality ]
[ Do you wish to activate? ]
The youth answered in his mind. There was no hesitation. No regret. Just a cold acceptance.
"Yes."
The system demanded the price.
[ Set Price: 2 Years of Lifespan ] [ Do you confirm? ]
The moment the youth mentally pressed the system's "Confirm" button, time seemed to stand still.
A gray, colorless wave spread outward from beneath the youth's feet.
The raindrops hung suspended in the air. The colors faded. The sounds vanished. A perfect gray dome, exactly ten meters in diameter, trapped the Youth and Korvak inside.
The soldiers outside looked as if they had frozen; they were moving, but their voices were muffled.
Inside, however, only a deadly silence reigned.
Korvak looked around in bewilderment. "What... What is this? What did you do, you piece of trash?"
Steam began to rise from the youth's body.
He felt an indescribable pain as the two years of lifespan he paid were ripped away from his body.
It felt as if a piece of his soul was being torn out.
But at the same time, a wild and uncontrolled wave of power surged through his veins.
The principle of equality had kicked in. The life he lost was now turning into power.
And Korvak, standing opposite him... Suddenly felt tons of weight on his shoulders.
His breath caught in his throat. Hallucinations started appearing before his eyes; his own grave, his rotting body, his fading life...
The youth's single eye shone like a predator inside the gray domain.
"Now..." the youth said as he raised his sword. His voice was no longer feeble, but echoing and deep. "Let us fight for equality."