Infernal Entity: Evolving With My Demonic System-Chapter 80: Field Trip

Axel was now sitting alone on the edge of his bed with his shoulders hunched forward, fingers loosely clenched. The room was quiet. Ares and Rick weren’t in, so he had the room all to himself.

"A Shadow Demon..." Axel muttered. The words still felt strange in his head.

"Aurora," Axel said quietly. "What exactly is a Shadow Demon?"

There was a pause. Not the usual instant reply she usually gave, and that alone made Axel frown.

"I... do not know," Aurora finally said.

"You don’t know?"

"No," Aurora replied. Her voice remained calm, but something about it felt different. It sounded less certain. "There is no data on Shadow Demons within my records."

Axel let out a small breath. "That doesn’t make sense. You know about Imps. You know about Demons. You know about evolution paths. How do you not know this one? Are you glitching or something?"

"No, I’m not glitching! That’s because whoever created the Infernal System did not update me with information regarding Shadow Demons," Aurora said. "This evolution path exists, but its details were not included in my database."

"So... you’re saying the system knows Shadow Demons exist," he said slowly, "but you don’t. That’s reassuring..."

"Yes. That’s correct."

Axel gave a short laugh under his breath. Not because it was funny, but because it was absurd.

"So you’re basically admitting you’re not all-knowing. Finally, we can agree on something."

"I have never claimed omniscience," Aurora replied with a scoff. "I operate within the limits of my programming."

"Ah, you said programming. Does that mean you’re finally admitting to being an AI?"

"Shut up!" Aurora scowled.

Whatever a Shadow Demon was, Axel liked the idea better now. It sure sounded better than Demon Imp.

He brought up his skill list again and started scanning the two new abilities. Umbra Step and Umbra Clone.

Both of them felt... right. He imagined it for a moment. Dodging attacks without being seen, leaving behind shadows to confuse enemies. Moving in ways Demon Slayers like Ares and his sister wouldn’t expect.

"These will help," Axel said quietly. "Especially if I run into someone like Diana again."

Axel exhaled slowly and waved his hand, pulling up the system interface again. Two tabs glowed faintly at the edge of his vision.

< [Contracts] >  < [Store] >

Axel remembered the first day he got the system. Both the Contracts and Store tabs were locked. He knew he had to get to level 5 before he could unlock them, and now, he finally did.

< [Contracts – Unlocked] >

< [The Host may offer binding contracts in exchange for souls, life force, or allegiance.

Contracts with Mortals: Grant a wish or power in exchange for the mortal’s soul or life energy.

Contracts with Demons: Forge alliances or subjugate lesser demons...] >

Axel stopped breathing for a second.

"Souls?" he whispered.

< [System Rules] >

< [All contracts are absolute] >

< [Breaking a contract will trigger backlash.

Penalty: Infernal Core consumption by the system.] >

"So if I break a deal, the system eats my core."

"Yes," Aurora confirmed. "Contracts are irreversible once accepted."

< [Current Contract Limit: 5 Mortals] >

< [0/5] >

"That’s it?" he asked. "I can only offer contracts to five people?"

"At your current evolution stage, yes," Aurora replied. "The limit may increase as you evolve further, so in all you do, make sure you grow stronger."

Axel leaned back hard, running a hand through his hair. "This is insane," he muttered.

He decided to let his imagination run wild. Someone desperate or someone cornered. Someone willing to give up everything for one wish, and he would be the one offering it. Axel had one question though. One very important question.

"How exactly do I make their wish come true? I’m not exactly a genie or a wishing well..."

There wasn’t any answer to that question just yet, so Axel closed the Contracts tab without doing anything.

"One step at a time," he told himself.

Then he opened the second tab, which was the Store.

< [Store Lv. 1] >

The interface changed again, cleaner and more structured. Items appeared in categorized and neatly arranged form.

< [Sell Materials] >

< [Infernal Shards] >

< [Mythic Shards] >

< [Residual Core Fragments] >

"Infernal Shards? Do demons also leave Infernal Shards when they die just like Mythic beasts?" Axel couldn’t help but wonder.

His eyes flicked over the next section.

< [Store Currency Options] >

< [Soul Essence] >

< [Corruption] >

< [Stat Points] >

"So I can sell shards directly to the system," Axel said.

"Yes," Aurora replied. "The system will convert approved materials into usable resources."

Axel scrolled further. There were no weapons yet. No abilities. Just numbers and values.

"This is barebones," Axel said.

"The store will expand with each level increase," Aurora explained. "Higher tiers will unlock advanced purchases."

Axel nodded slowly. This made sense. The system was not just helping him survive. It was shaping him. Feeding him power, one choice at a time. He closed the Store tab and started staring at nothing.

Contracts... Souls... Power. A Store that grew stronger the more he did. Shadow Demon...

"This is a lot. Guess there’s no going back now," he said quietly.

---

The next day was a Monday, and the classroom was quiet in the way only Oval Academy classrooms could be. Rows of students sat upright, most of them half-listening, some pretending to care, others already tired before the lesson even began.

The tall teacher, Lin, stood at the front of the room. He placed his hands behind his back and looked over the class before speaking.

"Today," Lin said, "we are discussing the world before mutations, before Skavverns, and before portals."

Some students shifted in their seats in excitement.

Axel sat between Ares and Rick, his arms folded loosely. He listened, but part of his mind stayed alert, always watching Ares from the corner of his eye.

Lin continued.

"The First World War and the Second World War are taught as separate conflicts," he said. "But in truth, they were the same kind of war."

He turned slightly, pacing slowly as he spoke. "I personally believe that those two events should have been called Civil World War I and Civil World War II," Lin said. "Because the world was not fighting an outside enemy. It was fighting itself."

Ares raised an eyebrow and leaned toward Axel. "That’s one way to kill the mood." He smirled before continuing. "Humans are good at that. We do not need monsters to destroy each other."

Axel glanced at him.

"We?" Aurora scoffed. "Such a liar, this one..."

Ares sounded relaxed, casual, and unbothered. If Ares knew Axel was a demon, he didn’t show it. He joked and teased the lesson like this was just another boring class.

Axel told himself that meant nothing. Ares was still a Demon Slayer.

"The Third World War was different," Lin continued.

"This time, the enemy was not human," Lin said. "It was another species."

"The invasion changed everything," Lin continued. "Borders stopped mattering. Nations stopped fighting each other, and survival became the only goal."

"This history is public knowledge," he said. "The government does not hide it. It is why I am teaching it freely. You are not children anymore. You are weapons in training."

As Lin spoke, Axel found his thoughts drifting. He wondered what Ares had been taught about demons or Infernal entities. About creatures like him.

Every time Ares laughed or spoke casually, Axel felt a small sense of relief. And every time he remembered what Ares truly was, that relief vanished.

"There is another matter," the teacher said, snapping Axel out of his thoughts. "Tomorrow, there will be an outward expedition."

"An expedition?" someone whispered.

"Yes," Lin said. "You will be leaving academy grounds to gather crystals."

Some students looked excited. Others looked nervous.

"This expedition is optional," Lin added. "But those who participate will keep what they gather."

Axel was immediately interested because crystals meant value, value meant CNT, and CNTs meant progress.

"That is all for today," Lin announced, and the bell rang shortly after.

Students began to stand and talk, the tension breaking as fast as it had formed.

As they walked out together, Ares stretched his arms. "Finally. I thought he was going to start naming years."

Rick chuckled. "You would still forget them."

Later that day, Axel found Dasha in her usual place. She listened as he told her about the expedition.

"Be careful," Dasha said once he finished. "I did not invest in you to lose you on a field trip."

Axel nodded. "I know."

She leaned forward slightly. "You are my prize. Do not forget that."

Axel said nothing after that.

The next morning, students gathered outside, forming loose groups as instructors moved among them. Everyone was charged with anticipation, including Kinsey.

Axel stood with Ares and Rick again, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the area. Lin stood at the front of the group.

"The portal field you are about to visit," Lin said, "is one of the first portals to ever open on this planet."

"It is stable," Lin continued. "But it is not safe. Stick together. Once you’ve crossed to the other side of the portal, you’ll receive sets of instructions that’ll keep you alive. Now, with nothing else left to say, everyone get on the transport vehicle!"