*Ding*
[Detected host has come into contact with the supernatural.
Assessing danger levels… Assessment completed.
Warning! You have encountered a Level 4 Blood Devil. Please proceed with caution.]
"…"
Zane stared blankly at the floating screen in front of him not knowing how to react.
Devil? Level 4 Blood Devil? What was that even supposed to mean?
The questions in his head were multiplying faster than he could find answers.
But he knew that this was not the time to get distracted.
Even the system had warned him to be careful.
He somehow managed to shift his attention back to Sophie who was now watching him like a hawk.
*Gulp*
"I… am sorry. Hope I didn't interrupt your lunch."
Zane tried throwing a line he thought was witty but what met him was cold eyes with a hint of curiosity.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid!"
"Then why aren't you running?"
"I want to, but I can't move my legs."
"…"
"…"
This strange conversation somehow managed to calm him down a little.
Zane felt his shirt sticking to his back from cold sweat.
His heart was pumping at 100mph but he could feel his thoughts getting clearer.
"So… what now?"
"mmh, don't worry. I am registered. Won't do anything to you."
'What does that even mean?'
Zane shouted the question in his head but lacked the strength to ask it out loud.
It was already good that he was still standing. No need to complicate things further.
"Aren't you going to sit down?"
Sophie's flat voice cut through his spiraling thoughts and Zane could only stiffly find a high stool to sit on.
"Am I really that scary? I won't you or anything."
'Yeah right. That's exactly what someone who'd eat me would say.'
Still, Sophie's soft voice managed to calm him down a little.
His body was still shaking from all the adrenaline but he still managed to lower his guard a little.
I mean, if she was going to do anything to him, she'd have already done it.
And even if otherwise, Zane did not think he had the ability to resist.
He might not know what Level 4 Blood Devil meant, but it sure as hell wasn't something he could handle.
"So… are you a blood devil?"
Zane felt like slapping himself after asking that question. But it was already out there.
"Ah, yeah. But don't worry. I can survive on rations from the government."
Zane felt like they were having two different conversations but could not bring himself to ask anymore.
He could only try to keep busy with this and that.
His fidgeting betrayed his nervousness but he just couldn't sit still.
"*Sigh* You don't have to stay if you are so uncomfortable. My shift ends in thirty. You can come back then."
"Ah, oh. I'd rather not. I can't think straight right now."
Still, this awkward back and forth helped him force down his unease.
It did not take long for his body to relax a little more.
At least, he could now command his body properly.
That said, the silence between them was palpable.
This was not the comfortable silence he had come to enjoy since he started working here.
It had been a month and he was used to not having anything in common to talk about with Sophie and that was fine.
But now, the silence just felt awkward.
He could only pull out his phone to keep busy.
Search about registered devils while he was at it.
And the result only left him more speechless.
With all these posts and topics about devils and demons, how come he was hearing about it now?
Well, maybe he did hear about it before, but he had always managed to ignore it for some inexplicable reason.
Still, he managed to understand why Sophie was so chill about him finding out her identity.
First, this world had devils and demons. Nobody knew where they came from, but they seem to appear out of nowhere.
But he did find out why they appear. Most devils and demons are kind of a manifestation of some negative and dark desires and emotions.
Blood devils for instance appear because of fear. The fear of blood to be precise.
Second was that devils and demons mostly have special abilities tied to their origin and type.
Blood devils for instance could manipulate blood to do all types of weird things.
As for levels, there seemed to be very little information about that. Just that the lowest was level 1 and the higher their levels, the more absurd their abilities.
Third was the difference between devils and demons.
Devils were mostly humanoid and they were in full or partial control of their abilities.
Demons on the other hand had close to no control of anything.
They mostly manifested as rampaging abominations that could only be put down.
The more Zane read, the more astonished he became.
But it also kind of made sense. Why else would accidents and gas explosions be so popular in this world?
The most ironic thing though was the concept of registered devils.
These were devils who basically behaved themselves and helped the government deal with demons.
And it made sense.
If all the things he'd read so far were even 10% true, then there was no way for humans to deal with demons and devils.
Unless they used WMDs which is also a bad idea.
If the fear of blood could give rise to a Sophie, what the hell would a fear of Missiles give rise to?
Zane broke into a cold sweat just thinking about it.
But this also gave rise to another equally brain breaking question. How the fuck had he managed to live so long without encountering a devil?
Was Sophie not a devil before or was there no reason for the system to react when he first met her?
The more Zane thought about it, the more dreadful the whole thing seemed.
'SYSTEM!!! Come out and explain yourself!!'
*Ding*
[…]