The Primal Hunter

Jake hadn’t met many demons throughout his time in the multiverse. Even if they were a widespread and diverse race, he just hadn’t really run into many of them outside of the occasional enemy here and there. Outside of dungeons, Irin was the only one he really knew, and she was practically an entirely different species to the Demon Prince of the Fourth Hell.

He had mostly ashen skin with what looked like blue crackled lines across it. As if he had more mana in his body than it could contain. On his forehead was what looked like an amethyst crystal merged with his flesh, veins spreading out from it. The elaborate blue robe he wore was clearly not of poor quality, and overall, he radiated the aura of a rich young master. However, he clearly also had the power to back up his demeanor. The ones with him were four other demons who Jake guessed were from his party, meaning they all made it into the top 250.

Stopping in front of Jake, the Demon Prince smiled and reached out a hand. ”A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chosen of the Malefic One. Rather than waste your time, let me get straight to it: I have come with an inquiry that I hope you might entertain.”

Jake didn’t reach and grab the other man’s hand right away as he asked. ”What kind of inquiry?”

Pulling back his hand, seemingly not at all offended, the Demon Prince smiled even more than before. ”How you might benefit from assisting us in bringing upon the second coming of the Cerulean Devil.”

… yeah, Jake had no idea who the fuck that was.

This was far from the first time someone walked up to Jake and dropped some kind of grand revelation while looking at him as if he should totally know what the fuck the other party was talking about. How in the hell – pun intended – would he know about some devil that he guessed based on context clues was dead?

Alright, think fast, Jake. Devil is the name demons give to their gods, so likely some dead devil who really liked a slightly off-blue color. Got it… and I guess it’s pretty easy to figure out how he wants me to help.

Keeping his calm, with a great assist from the mask, Jake looked deep in thought for a second. ”I wonder what the Demon Prince might have in mind.”

The demon observed Jake’s reaction for a moment before speaking.

”I guess my name would make things a bit clearer. I am known as the Cerulian Demon or the Demon Prince of the Fourth Hell. I have inherited a fragment of the Crystalized Cerulean Devil’s Heart and the Legacy of the once great ruler of the Fourth Hell,” the Demon Prince answered as he motioned toward the crystal on his forehead. ”All of this is no secret… neither is it a secret that the remaining fragments are not as potent as those that once were.”

”Am I right to assume you are not asking the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, but what people call the Harbinger of Primeval Origins?” Jake asked clarifyingly, already certain about the answer.

”A bit of both, I believe, but that will depend on if you are willing to take up the task and how you would be able to accomplish it. In either case, we, no, I, require your unique talents to do something we believed impossible and that I have cause to believe you may be capable of.”

”Let me take another guess, you want me to use my abilities on one of these Devil Heart Fragments to make it more powerful?” Jake also assumed.

”No… no, not quite; we may have our own methods to do that, even if they are likely more flawed than what you can accomplish,” the Demon Prince shook his head. ”What I want to ask of you is not to empower a fragment of the Crystalized Cerulean Devil’s Heart… it’s to create an entirely new, fully formed Crystalized Ceulean Demon Lord’s Heart using the Records of a fragment… my fragment.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed a bit. ”You want to create a Demon Lord’s Heart with the Records of this Cerulean Devil using that crystal in your forehead? That… sounds risky, to say the least.”

”Of that, I am fully aware. Usually, I also wouldn’t attempt such a thing, but this iteration of Nevermore has offered me a golden opportunity. I am certain you are aware of what this is,” the Demon Prince said as he summoned a familiar-looking item that Jake quickly Identified nearly on instinct.

be absorbed by any demon, allowing them insight into the heritage of Demon Lords. Grants demonic powers to any item it is fused with. Can

too, have one of these, yes? Or at least someone in your party does,”

slowly. ”I have

It’s pure. Untouched. So brimming with power and Records pertaining to no particular Demon Lord. Now, imagine if all this energy was aligned to the Cerulean Devil. No, not just the energy of this heart…

ambition as the Demon Prince spoke of his plan, and Jake was… not entirely averse to the idea. In fact, it sounded quite feasible the more the demon talked about it, even if it remained incredibly risky. Moreover, based on what Jake heard, he wouldn’t even need to use his Jake Juice. Arcane energy should be

his talents as the Harbinger of Primeval Origins – even if that certainly did play a part. It had as much to do with Jake being the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, the greatest alchemist in the multiverse in the eyes of many. Plus, as the Harbinger of Primeval Origins, he

had to remember that the Demon Prince likely needed a C-grade to do the ritual. It was similar to how a B-grade blacksmith couldn’t craft weapons for a C-grade, their Records simply not making it possible. So if the Demon Prince wanted to craft this heart to be useable by a C-grade, he would need another C-grade

such a task? Perhaps a better question would be why he wouldn’t. To do a ritual with several legendary hearts and a fragment likely of a rarity above even that was bound to reward a shitload of experience and Records. Plus, it would be a positive diplomatically. And, finally, he

the Demon Prince asked after a few seconds,

it over a bit,” Jake said. ”At least if you don’t want me to just try and

once more on your achievement, and I will be staying here in Nevermore City for a while after this ceremony. If you do accept the task, do be aware it’s time-sensitive in nature and I would much prefer for it to happen before you depart from Nevermore City. I will

content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences

a response whether I accept or not before I just leave the

the Demon Prince said with a small bow as

demon, you definitely can. The Cerulean Demon is part of an old Lineage of

to know an awful lot about demons,” Jake

are the best clients and wonderful assassins. Great work ethic all around, and they are

muttered. Now that he was thinking about it, Irin did

of people to approach. The ice elemental, Wintermaul, who had seemingly been waiting for his chance, was just about to make his way over after the Demon Prince left when someone

it effortlessly. He looked at Jake as he took a step forward, and

that often being the case… but he was also a Chosen, so maybe he should just treat them equally to himself as he wanted to? But then there was the issue of the grade disparity, so… yeah, fuck it, Jake would just act like

as Jake was about to greet the other Chosen, the dragon named Silverstorm smiled brightly and reached out to grab Jake’s

hoping to finally get a chance to thank you! Ah, and it sure was wonderful to see you take the top spot on the All-Time Leaderboards! I cannot hope to begin to express the debts of my gratitude,

completely confused, had no idea what the hell the guy was talking about. ”…

stuff in his spatial storage, but he tended to remember auras pretty damn well, and this

Jake, even if he calmed down a bit. ”You’re the reason why I’m the newly selected Chosen of the Wyrmgod, and this little gathering is more or less

to search his memory to try and figure out when or how the hell he caused that to happen…

Chosen only wanted Jake to hear the next part. ”The thing is… and this part naturally shouldn’t be shared, my Patron is not the best at picking his Chosen. That’s not to say that he is bad when it comes to who he picks, as that would just be putting myself down needlessly.

curious… and I’m still waiting for why I

for our Patron and fulfilling our duties, such as handling the mortal affairs of Nevermore, gathering certain items that are required, recruiting more members, handling politics… all of the things we should not bother the Primordial with. We do all this to assure our Patron can focus on the World Wonder itself, which has led to the

beginning to understand as he