Chapter 19
[Entity Name: Chroma Ira has requested 'Tasting'. Do you wish to accept?]
[ [YES] [NO] ]
[Expected Reward: Free Food]
What suddenly popped into my view was a familiar, accursed transparent window.
A Demon's whisper trying to covet my Appraisal.
At the end of that interesting yet dangerous combination of text.
There, hanging enticingly like a forbidden fruit, was the Bait named 'Expected Reward'.
Free food.
Complimentary meals.
Ah, for a mere two-word phrase, how it made my heart pound!
With the blood of a Gamer who loved extreme profits flowing through my veins, it was a temptation I simply could not refuse.
Accept. This is a definite accept.
"Deal."
"Huh?"
[Confirmed!]
I didn't know what exactly had changed, but since it said confirmed, something must have happened.
The only remaining step was to let this arrogant Demon taste(?) me and collect the appropriate 'Reward'.
Free food... it's making my mouth water. Really.
Of course, it wasn't like I was the one living, and I couldn't eat it even if it was given to me! But it felt good, right? Then that's enough.
"Alright. I will allow you to taste me."
"Kyaa~♡ What was with that perverted line just now? I thought my ears were going to rot off for a second! Still, since you gave me permission, I'll give you a special Tasting~"
As soon as permission was granted, a small, soft-looking hand slowly began to reach towards me.
"...Hmm."
Perhaps it was bothersome that another Demon was touching her De?mon. The Contractor looked displeased, but it couldn't be helped.
All of this was for the sake of free food.
Now, hurry and taste me! Demon!
And please be generous with the service. Our Contractor has been starving quite a bit.
"Hiyah!"
Perhaps it was true that the heart was in the chest and not the Head. Senior Demon Chroma placed her soft, squishy hand on my chest with a thud!
"Then, thanks for the meal~♡"
Her arrogant smile, which naturally induced annoyance, held a hint of expectation, but at its core, it was fundamentally laced with disregard.
For some reason, my pride was hurt.
But then.
After a little time passed, her arrogant smile slowly began to crack.
"Hmm?"
Question.
"Huh?"
Doubt.
And....
"Haaang♡"
What the?
As time went on, her face flushed red, and her breathing grew heavy. A strange, nasal moan tickled my ears.
Small tears pooled at the corners of her half-lidded eyes, and a clear string of drool dripped stickily from between her tightly pressed red lips.
Is she a foodgasmer?
It was my first time seeing one in person.
And from this close, too....
"...."
"Ooh...."
"What kind of bullshit is this meow."
Tell me about it.
I didn't know why she was suddenly acting like that, but I wanted her to stop now.
It's too much pressure, Senior.
Also, please wipe the drool from your mouth. Please.
Ah....
It dripped.
***
A Demon is not swayed by their origin.
Of course, some trash lose their minds and give themselves over to their origins like reeds before a typhoon or a Jellyfish meeting the waves, but that's generally how it is.
Chroma Ira's role was usually to laugh at such trashy Demons.
She would personally insult them, calling them, 'A ruined Demon who can't even control their own origin♡.'
But then.
"Ah, ugh... haaah...!"
The hand and Head pressed against the firm chest—no, her entire body—felt as hot as boiling Potage.
"Haa... haah...."
Every time she opened her mouth, feverish breaths leaked out desperately.
Stagger.
It was hard to support her body, as if her muscles had melted from the overwhelming pleasure.
It felt like she would collapse ungracefully at any moment, and the authority she had built up so highly would plummet to the ground.
Her Head burned in real-time, realizing she was in the exact same pitiful state as her other loser Kin.
Sway.
'I need to hold back....'
My emotions. My desires.
No.
I can't control my origin at all!
"Hnn... nt-rstng?"
(Haa... interesting?)
Grind.
She gritted her teeth hard to hold back the Wrath threatening to burst out.
She was annoyed.
At this wretched situation and her incredibly weak self.
Above all else....
She was angry because it was so delicious!!!
'What the hell is with that Crow!? Is he crazy!!? What is this abnormally dense Wrath? Huh?'
Chroma is a Gourmet.
A noble and dignified Seeker of origins who wouldn't bat an eye at ordinary Wrath!
Having lived a long time until now, there was only one menu that had truly satisfied her.
It was solely the 'First Wrath' served by her naive Contractor, Noir.
The first emotion miraculously born and fleetingly faded from a deformed existence incapable of feeling emotions.
Chroma had always considered it the best and took pride in Noir, her outstanding Chef.
Because the Wrath of no other intelligent lifeform had given her satisfaction beyond that.
Until just a moment ago.
'How can such a lingering Wrath exist in this world? Unless he was directly betrayed by the God he devoted his faith to, abandoned by the world, drowned in pain and despair, and lived his entire life on the boundary of life and death! There's no way I could feel such deep hatred and resistance to absurdity! (Spot on)'
-Grind.
'I want to taste more, more. It's not enough.'
It's more violent and stimulating than anything else, but that's exactly why I can't stop.
I've only just barely licked the surface.
Her origin boiled, and the incarnation of greed whispered to her.
As if urging her to covet it even more.
-Endlessly coveting!
It wasn't a poetic expression; it was literally whispering. Was she crazy?
'Ah, seriously! Just shut up, you stupid Pig♡. I'm in a bad mood. Don't you remember I told you not to peek!?'
-It is a misunderstanding! Regina Gura was merely watching the Human Race greedily devour their food! I absolutely was not peeking at Ira!
'This idiot.... I told her not to invade my territory, so.... so many times!'
How dare she. As if invading her territory without permission wasn't enough, Regina Gura's attempt to covet her emotions completely scorched the mind of Chroma, who had always maintained an optimal temperature.
Crackle.
A tiny ember sparked up and landed softly on dry grass.
Fwoosh...!
She was angry.
'Gura. Just you wait.'
To her stupid Kin who didn't even pretend to listen to her words.
'What, is there a show to watch?'
The stupid guests and rookie Employees treating her like a spectacle, the foolish Crow and shedding Cat, the Kid with low self-esteem. To all of them.
'This is annoying. Really.'
Wrath is like fire.
It is faint at first. But once it starts burning, it never stops until it consumes everything around it.
Fwoosh.
Flames flickered in her red Pupils.
A small, white hand slowly 'defied the heavens' towards the sky, resisting the absurdity known as the World's laws.
Eyes gathered on Chroma's abnormal behavior.
The eyes of the guests enjoying their meals were filled with questions, while the eyes of the Clerks and Regular Customers who knew Chroma were filled with shock!
"This is crazy!!!"
"Nyanyanyang! Miss Chroma is going out of control again, meow!"
"Uh-oh!? Miss Chroma!? What are you doing!!?"
"Kyaaah! Owner! Miss Chroma is causing trouble again!"
"Miss Noiiir!!!"
Using the colorful screams as firewood, dark red flames flared up at her fingertips.
Dark red hatred shimmered like a haze around Chroma.
'You annoying, loud, incredibly weak, and trashy Mortals.'
[Hate. Deny.
Spew out the absurdities you have endured.
Slander with your red mouths.
Crush with your black hands.
Because that is the reason you and I.
The reason this World exists.]
["Flambé"]
What leaked from her twisted red lips was a tiny ember that would burn the World. The Authority of a Great Demon.
The flames burning at her fingertips condensed into a single point to form a small sphere, and prepared to be unleashed upon the world, boiling over blackly like freshly heated caramel.
And then, the moment that small hand reaching towards the sky was about to quietly fall, pulled by the World's rule known as gravity.
"Chrom. Stop."
A fist wearing a pure white Glove flew in and struck Chroma's red Crown.
Bonk!
"Ouch!"
Sizzle....
With an incredibly pathetic sound, the Wrath instantly died down as if water had been poured on firewood.
"Ugh."
Although it didn't hurt, Chroma rubbed her Head out of embarrassment and soon looked up at her Contractor.
A black bob cut neatly to the nape for hygiene, and an emotionless face like a sculpture carved by an Artisan.
A custom-made, pure white Gown and Cotton Gloves blended over that cold impression, overflowing with the dignity of an Artisan.
The thin string tied tightly around her waist made her full chest and slender waist stand out even more, drawing the eye.
An elegance suited for a Queen ruling a kingdom rather than a Chef.
As expected of the best masterpiece she had chosen, Chroma thought.
"This is the punishment for violating the Contract. Consider your salary gone for this month."
"That's too mean~ Owner♡"
At the calm voice of Noir, the Owner of the Rainbow Tavern announcing the end of the situation, the Clerks and Regular Customers breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks to Miss Chroma, the Tavern almost became a battlefield again. Just thinking about that time, ugh."
"It's a relief the Owner was here this time; otherwise, the Guard Squad would have been dispatched and caused a huge uproar."
"By the way. Why did she go out of control again this time?"
"I think it's because of that Crow head over there?"
"Crow head...? Huh? Uh-oh? Isn't that the crazy Demon who reportedly went out of control on the Dungeon Road today?"
"What? That's the crazy Demon? He doesn't smell like rotting corpses like the rumors say?"
"Does being with a crazy Demon make other Demons go crazy too?"
"As expected of the crazy Demon. He's completely insane."
Thanks to the hot potato known as the crazy Demon, which accidentally leaked from the conversation between the Clerks and Regular Customers, Chroma's rampage, which was no different from a regular event, was long forgotten.
The Rainbow Cup was suddenly filled with rumors and stories about the 'crazy Demon Dungeon Road rampage incident', growing louder and more lively.
And Raven, standing at the center of all those incidents, rumors, and stories, getting bumped around here and there, had his eyes quietly closed as always.
'Stop staring. You Humans.'
Desperately praying that by the time he opened his eyes again, everyone would have lost interest in him, and the table would be full of free food.
Of course, whether there was plenty of free food or not, he couldn't even touch it.
"...So when exactly are you going to take our order?"
"I'm dying of hunger, meow! Hurry up and take our order, meow!"
And, Shion and Yuri were simply hungry.
Quite a bit.
Read more at https://noveldex.io/series/novel/i-became-the-demon-of-terror-in-the-dungeon-city