I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 71: Conversation with a Demon

"It’s not human meat, is it?" Vale asked, eyeing the steaming slab on his plate. His stomach growled, eager to devour it, but his instincts screamed caution. The aroma was rich, earthy, and wild—but something about it made the hair on his neck rise.

The Demon stared at him for a moment, an expression of mild confusion crossing his face—then he chuckled softly.

"Ah, of course not..."

Vale exhaled in relief, gripping his knife. But before he could finish slicing into the meat, the Demon spoke again.

"I only eat human meat on Wednesdays."

The utensils slipped from Vale’s fingers and clattered onto the plate. He looked up, eyes locking with the Demon—only to see a wide grin stretching across his face.

"I’m only jesting. It’s monster meat. Since you’re alive, I assume that won’t be a problem?"

Vale let out a shaky breath and picked his knife and fork back up, nodding.

The two ate in an uneasy silence for the next ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Vale chewed mechanically, trying not to notice the Demon occasionally watching him intently, as if trying to read his mind like an open book. His every movement felt scrutinised, dissected. Was the Demon gauging his strength? Or merely amused?

As the plates emptied, the silence ended. The Demon’s voice sliced through the room like a knife.

"So... what brings you to the mountain?"

"We got teleported here," Vale said.

"Teleport?" The Demon blinked, confused at first—then understanding flickered in his eyes. "Ahh. You must’ve used that old thing... I’m surprised it still works."

Vale’s eyes narrowed.

"He knows of the tower?" the thought echoed in his mind. Then another thought emerged right after.

"Could he be the one who took the last painting from the Dark Tower?"

"Impressive," the Demon said suddenly, breaking the brief silence. "Then you must’ve defeated the Keeper?" His tone hovered somewhere between a question and a statement.

Vale gave a single nod.

"Injured my dragon and defeated the Tower Keeper... impressive feats for someone with only a Dormant core," the Demon added, staring deep into Vale’s eyes.

"I had help," Vale muttered, trying to divert the attention.

"Help?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Vale spent the next ten minutes summarising his group, recounting the journey that had brought him here. He shared just enough to satisfy curiosity—no more. Revealing too much about their abilities could be dangerous, especially against a being of Divine rank. He watched for any flicker of recognition or intent, but the Demon’s expression remained unreadable.

"I see, I see..." the Demon said with a thoughtful nod. "But you do know the tree beside that old relic bears no fruit, yes?"

Vale froze.

"No fruit?!" The thought hit him like a slap. How could that be?

"Ah, yes," the Demon said, almost sheepishly. "I was conducting some... experiments. I might’ve accidentally infected the tree with an ancient disease. Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t crumbled to ash yet."

Vale sat stunned, his thoughts racing. He wanted to call it a lie—some form of manipulation—but what would be the point? If the Demon wanted him dead, he’d already be dead. If he claimed the tree was barren... then it probably was. An ugly truth. And an obstacle.

"It is reversible," the Demon added, piercing through Vale’s thoughts.

He fell into a moment of contemplation before continuing.

"I mentioned it to a few human scouts—those stationed at the castle—but they didn’t seem particularly eager to act."

Vale frowned. "Why wouldn’t they rush to fix it and leave this place?" He chewed on the thought, deeply unsettled.

"If we can create the Elixir of Life," the Demon continued, "we can undo the damage."

"Elixir of Life?" Vale repeated under his breath.

"Yes. I have most of what I need. But the final ingredient is... problematic."

Vale raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"It requires slaying a Centaurion."

"Centaurion?"

Vale had never heard the name. Despite the countless tomes he’d read, not one had mentioned such a creature. What kind of beast could it be? Something erased from records? Or something never meant to be known?

"Nasty things," the Demon muttered. "This one in particular... is a real nuisance."

A sudden thought struck Vale.

"Wait... why don’t you do it? Surely no monster should trouble a—"

"I can’t," the Demon interrupted, voice low.

A heavy silence settled over the room. Vale watched him closely as the Demon’s gaze dropped, his expression darkening.

"My core has been shattered," the Demon said quietly. "My combat abilities are nearly gone."

Vale’s brows lifted, surprise flickering across his face before he could hide it.

His core... shattered? The question echoed in his mind. Who could possibly be strong enough to shatter a Demon’s core?

Thoughts swirled—until a memory surfaced. The painting the had seen in the dark tower. The one depicting a demon betrayed by his own kin, stabbed in the back after a triumphant battle against the gods.

"So that’s it..." Vale realised. "That’s why he’s been experimenting... he’s trying to fix his core."

It all started to make sense—but one question remained.

"This Elixir of Life," Vale began, his voice slicing through the silence, "Would it also heal a shattered core?"

The Demon’s expression shifted from thoughtful to faintly amused. A smile tugged at his lips, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

"Correct. It should be able to restore my core."

Vale’s gaze hardened as understanding settled over him.

"That’s why I’m still alive..." he muttered. "He needs me—to kill the Centaurion... or at least figure out how to."

"Don’t worry," the Demon said, his tone calm and calculated. "Once the Centaurion is dead, I’ll make enough Elixir to heal both the tree and my core. That way, we both get what we want."

Vale narrowed his eyes.

"You speak as if I’m guaranteed to succeed. If you can’t kill it, what makes you think a human with a Dormant core can?"

The Demon paused.

For a moment, he seemed to search for the right words before finally answering.

"If you were just a human with a Dormant core," he said at last, "you’d already be dead. Surviving the Snowveil Mountains is no simple feat... And besides"—his smirk returned—"humans can be surprisingly ferocious when they come together."

"Together?" Vale echoed, puzzling over the word until its meaning hit him like a falling stone.

His eyes widened in realisation.

"He wants me to use the people from the castle..."

Before Vale could probe further, the Demon spoke again.

"You’re too weak right now. That much is true," he said, the smirk fading into something darker. "So we’ll simply have to make you stronger."

This time, his smile reached his eyes—just barely.

Vale looked at the Demon with a perplexed expression.

"And how will we do that?" he asked.

The Demon lingered for a moment, then answered with a spark of mischief in his tone as if he simply pretended to think about the question.

"How fortunate," he said. "We can solve the problem of the many monsters locked away in this place, while also making you stronger."

Vale blinked, realisation dawning on him.

"You want me to execute all the monsters that are locked up in here?"

"Execute?" Aamon looked at Vale with a mildly offended expression. "Of course not."

He leaned backwards in his seat, his hands clasped on the table.

"You will duel them. One by one."

Vale nearly choked.

"What? That’ll take weeks—maybe months!"

"Exactly," Aamon replied, already rising to his feet. "Which is why we will not waste another moment."

As he strode toward the door, he paused, almost as an afterthought.

"Ah—where are my manners?" he said, placing a hand briefly over his chest. "With all this excitement, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Aamon. It is a pleasure to meet you, Vale," he said with a smile.

And with that, he turned on his heel and disappeared through the doorway, robes trailing behind him like a whisper of shadow.

Vale remained seated for a while, the room quiet except for the soft crackling of the hearth. His thoughts raced, spiraling through everything he’d just learned. The Elixir. The shattered core. The Centaurion. The duels. Aamon. Each fact slotted into place like blades in a war machine—one that he was now a part of.

But before he could dwell on any of those, a realisation hit him like a sledgehammer.

"Wait—how does he know my name?"

A chill ran down Vale’s spine as he thought about it. The Demon had no chance of learning his name, and yet, he did. The idea sent shivers down his spine. He did not feel good about any of it.

But above the chaos of thoughts that erupted in his mind, one thing rang louder than the rest—his resolve.

"If there’s a chance to grow stronger," Vale thought, rising from his seat with determination burning in his chest, "then I’ll take it."

He took one last look at the half-finished meal on the table.

"Even if it comes from a Demon."

Then he followed Aamon into the unknown of his home.