Chapter 1

The Devil Whispers

Published on Sep 13, 2026

Chapter 1. The Devil Whispers

Prologue

The birth of a half-breed brought great calamity upon a village.

The woman who gave birth to such a child was destined to burn to death, and the villagers who had lived alongside her were unlikely to escape the ensuing disaster either.

Usually, it meant the entire village would be wiped out.

The Church did not acknowledge the possibility of demons breeding with humans. No—they utterly despised it. They considered it one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Yet there was a village that had defied such a taboo.

Taharan, a small hamlet in the south.

A peasant woman had given birth to a half-breed.

Half-human, half-demon.

The villagers stared in horror at the pitch-black baby.

“It’s the demon’s spawn! Burn it to death immediately!”

“Exactly! Who knows what kind of disaster it might bring upon the village!”

Shouts and curses filled the granary.

The baby, who had been quietly listening, slightly furrowed his brow.

“L-Look at its expression! H-How could that possibly be the child of a human?!”

The baby paid no heed to the villagers’ hostility.

He merely swept his gaze across his surroundings.

The demon’s characteristic red eyes left elongated trails of afterimages in their wake.

The baby’s seemingly leisurely movements made the villagers swallow nervously.

The noisy interior had fallen silent before they even realized it.

An uncomfortable silence lingered.

Until the baby opened his mouth.

“Are you done making a fuss?”

His voice was chillingly cold.

The villagers could not shake off their sense of unease. The words were far too clear to be the first utterance of a newborn. Everyone staggered backward in bewilderment.

The baby continued.

“If you’re done, I’ll make you a deal.”

A deal with a demon promised tangible rewards. It was fundamentally different from the blind prayers offered to God.

“The price is my life. You guarantee my survival.”

The baby had to survive.

He had no idea how he had ended up possessing the body of a baby in this damned world, but as long as he remained alive, he would have the freedom to uncover its secrets—or find a way to escape.

“Do you accept?”

Kim Yohan had become a half-demon in a novel.

Rather than panic, he intended to deal with the crisis directly in front of him.

Chapter 1. The Devil Whispers

The peasants murmured uneasily at the sudden proposal.

“D-Don’t listen to him.”

“He’s surely trying to bewitch us!”

“But…”

They couldn't help but feel somewhat tempted.

Deals with demons brought prosperity to farming households. If one paid a suitable price, even this cramped storeroom could be filled as abundantly as a noble’s warehouse.

“Absolutely not. Do you all want to wither away and die?”

A man had stepped out from among the peasants.

His appearance was unlike that of an ordinary villager from the frontier. He looked like a trained soldier.

The peasants’ gazes turned toward him.

The man spoke again.

“The moment we make a contract with that devil bastard, we’ll become little more than walking corpses. He’ll gnaw away at our souls before throwing us aside like scraps.”

Demonic sorcery could aid farming, but it demanded human souls or lives as sacrifices.

In the end, it inevitably led to ruin.

The peasants glanced at the man and nodded in agreement.

“R-Right. A deal with a demon? Even God would be furious.”

“Of course. Let’s get rid of this wretched monster.”

“Before the Church finds out.”

There was no chance the Church would dispatch a holy knight to a remote frontier like this.

That was how things normally went.

But what if something unusual happened?

The hamlet of Taharan might be destroyed not by a demon, but by humans.

Everyone shuddered in fear.

Yohan wasn't exactly carefree, either.

The appearance of the large man had completely turned public opinion against him. If things continued like this, he wouldn't be able to escape death.

Come on, brain. Work. Please.

The more desperate the situation, the more calmly he had to think.

He couldn't afford to look clueless. The moment they thought him weak, they would kill him outright.

He didn't want to die unjustly without even knowing how he had possessed this body.

He needed information.

He meticulously examined everything within his field of vision.

Shabby clothing, old and rusted farming tools, piles of hay stacked one atop another, a dilapidated storage shed…

None of these things had any value as information.

Most farms in this novel would probably look much the same as the scene before him.

To turn the situation around, he needed a distinguishing detail he could exploit.

As he rapidly surveyed his surroundings, an old, hoarse voice emerged from among the peasants.

“So, Gaf, what do you think we should do? About this abomination.”

It was an old man sitting on a pile of hay.

He prodded the soldier-like man with his cane.

…Wait.

Gaf?

A flash of recognition struck Yohan's mind.

It was an extremely familiar name.

Gaf, captain of the Kandeya Mercenary Corps.

He was a character from the novel, one who played a fairly significant role.

After losing all of his subordinates because of his own mistake, he fell into despair and settled in a remote village.

At least, that was how Yohan remembered it.

It was probably a common enough character setup.

But that wasn't what made Gaf a notable character.

It was his daughter.

The Great Witch Ilea.

She was the one responsible for much of Gaf's screen time.

The moment Yohan heard the name Gaf, he fell deep into thought.

There had to be something he could use.

While he was pondering, the old man spoke again.

“Gaf, I asked what you think.”

Gaf looked at the old man.

“We need to dispose of it as soon as possible. Before it brings some great disaster upon us.”

“That may be so. But the question is how.”

One of the peasants joined their conversation.

“Burn it! Along with its mother!”

Gaf and the old man shook their heads simultaneously.

The old man spoke.

“Foolish. Demons leave curses behind when they die. Life cannot grow where black blood has seeped into the earth, and the smoke from their burning corpses attracts other demons. That's common knowledge.”

The peasant looked puzzled.

“Village Chief, I know that. But doesn't that only apply to high-ranking demons? It's nothing more than a newborn that can't even walk yet.”

The village chief clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. Your eyes are practically useless.”

He pointed at Yohan.

“Look at its forehead. A newborn has already grown a single horn.”

A pure-white horn had sprouted from Yohan's forehead.

It was only about the size of a fingernail, but a single horn was unmistakably a threatening symbol of a demon.

The moment the village chief finished speaking, the peasants began to murmur.

“A horn? Where…”

“There! Look! That tiny thing!”

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed there.

Everyone took several steps away from Yohan.

“I-If we can't kill it, then what in the world are we supposed to do?!”

“Village Chief, please, give us an answer!”

The village chief was considered the wisest person in the village and was also well-versed in matters concerning demons.

Everyone waited for his decision.

“We must abandon it in the Gorge of Death.”

The answer came from Gaf instead.

The village chief nodded in agreement.

“That is the most appropriate alternative we have.”

The peasants swallowed their groans.

“The Gorge of Death…”

“Are you serious?”

The village chief nodded.

“There is no other way. If we kill it, we'll suffer the consequences. If we hide it, the Church will discover it eventually. It's only a matter of time.”

He slowly scanned the peasants.

“We must abandon it in the Abyss. Who will go?”

Everyone looked at one another.

No one volunteered.

The Gorge of Death—the Abyss—was a place more terrifying to humans than hell itself.

It was a remnant of the Holy War.

Even after five hundred years, the aftermath of the great war still lingered there.

An ordinary human could barely even approach it.

Anyone who ventured too close would suffocate and die from demonic energy.

One of the peasants muttered.

“…You're telling us to commit suicide.”

The village chief clicked his tongue.

“All you have to do is put it on a ferry when the tide is right and send it downstream.”

A small river flowed near the Gorge of Death.

If someone released the baby into the river upstream, the village chief's solution would work.

Even so, no one stepped forward.

Aside from the issue of safety, simply accompanying a demon was unpleasant enough.

Yohan, however, felt differently.

He sensed hope.

The name Gorge of Death supported the hypothesis he had been building.

This had to be the southern part of the kingdom.

Moreover, judging by Gaf's apparent age, he could roughly deduce when he had possessed this body.

This was the introduction to the Ilea arc in the novel.

It was more than enough information to resolve the crisis.

Just as his thoughts reached that point, Gaf took a step toward Yohan.

“I'll go.”

The village chief's lips curled upward slightly.

“You?”

“Yes. I'll take this abomination there and dispose of it.”

The villagers secretly breathed sighs of relief, their expressions awkward.

“If it's Gaf, we can trust him.”

“Please do us this favor. You know it's harvest season.”

“We owe you one.”

Ignoring their superficial words, Gaf looked down at the baby demon.

“Don't try any tricks. You won't be escaping.”

At this rate, Yohan would be abandoned in the Gorge of Death.

Even if he made use of the information from the novel, there was no way he could survive in that accursed land.

He was still nothing more than a powerless newborn.

The village chief watching them spoke.

“You can leave right away. You should arrive in four days.”

Gaf nodded and reached out his large hand.

Just as he was about to grab the baby by the scruff of his neck, Yohan spoke with an utterly composed expression.

“You'll regret it.”

Gaf narrowed his eyes.

“Bullshit…”

“You haven't even heard my offer yet.”

“Shut up. I won't sell my soul for some temporary benefit.”

With that, Gaf tore his shirt open.

“We've got a long road ahead, and I don't intend to listen to your bullshit the whole way. I'll shut that disgusting mouth of yours.”

He brought the strip of cloth he had torn off toward the demon's mouth.

Yohan paid it no mind.

“Temporary? Who said it was temporary? Is reuniting with a lost child nothing more than a fleeting moment of happiness to you?”

The moment Yohan finished speaking, the peasants began to stir.

“W-What?!”

“What did that devil just say?!”

“Something about our children…”

Even Gaf's expression betrayed a flicker of agitation.

His probing had worked.

Yohan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he had expected, children had been disappearing from this village.

The Taharan Village Disappearance Incident.

It was just like the early part of the original novel.

Gaf clenched his fist and spoke.

“This wicked half-breed is somehow reading our minds! Don't let yourselves be deceived!”

Then he grabbed Yohan by the scruff and lifted him into the air.

“If you say another word, I'll rip out your tongue!”

The man before him was a mercenary who had made killing his profession.

As a modern-day person, Yohan couldn't help but feel intimidated by his murderous gaze.

He was honestly afraid.

But he managed to endure it.

Without letting his fear show, Yohan simply spoke calmly.

“Ilea.”

At the same time, Gaf's eyes wavered.

Yohan didn't miss his reaction.

With a faint sneer on his lips, he continued.

“Yes. Your daughter, Ilea. She disappeared too, didn't she?”

Gaf's entire body began to tremble.

Yohan added in a sinister voice,

“Now, can you still rip out this tongue?”

If he did, Gaf would never learn where his daughter was.

“G-Gaf! Didn't that devil just say your daughter's name?!”

“I heard it clearly too. Ilea!”

“How could that name have come from its mouth…?”

The reactions varied, but everyone was clearly flustered.

Yohan, still held in Gaf's grasp, slowly swept his gaze across the villagers.

“Many of you here are probably in the same situation as Gaf. You lost someone precious—a child. Perhaps you've assumed they were dead? You were mistaken. Your daughters are alive and well.”

Every person present wore an expression of shock.

How could a newborn possibly know the situation in the village, much less single out the name Ilea?

And the demon had declared that the missing children were still alive.

The villagers were so stunned that they could hardly keep their mouths shut.

Even the village chief's face had gone deathly pale.

Watching their reactions, Yohan spoke again.

“You can see your children again. I believe that's more than enough reason to talk to me.”

Then he stared directly at Gaf.

“Gaf, don't you want to know where Ilea is?”

Gaf bit down on his lip.

Blood trickled from it.

“…How could you possibly…”

Could the demon really see into his mind?

Or perhaps…

Someone shouted.

“L-Let's at least hear what it has to say!”

“Yeah! We've got nothing to lose!”

Yohan's lips curled into a broad grin.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

A deal with a demon always demanded a price.

“So let's trade.”

His eyes, redder than blood, stared directly at the villagers.

“What will you give me?”

After all, a demon was a monster that lured humans astray.

Tempting offers.

Irresistible enticements.

If you listened to their words, before you knew it, you would find yourself walking toward the edge of a precipice.