Hm? Why aren't any of them coming closer? Strange, shouldn't they be fighting each other to possess me?

"Well? Come on, it's free real estate," I remarked, in an effort to prompt them to do something.

​​

Still no response...

"Do not waste your breath, they can all tell that attempting to take over your body would be a futile effort," Suddenly came another voice.

Is there someone else in here? I turned my attention towards the direction it came from...it was a physical being.

"Are you a body possessed by a Demon?" I inquired, as he approached me.

It appeared to be male, with long blonde hair and pointed ears...an Elf? He also had a third eye, the whites of his eyes were black and he had horns. The body looked frail and sickly, but still very much alive.

"Indeed I am," He responded with a smirk.

"Assuming that's the body of an Elf...I know they're supposed to have long lifespans, but how has that body survived for all this time inside this barrier without sustenance?"

"Well, 'survived' is a stretch...it is actually falling apart quite drastically. But I am the Demon King, and therefore, I can modify my host body as I please, I can significantly increase the durability of a host body, even without food or water. This host body is almost at its limit, even a child could likely defeat this body in a fight."

He claims to be the Demon King...if so, that's ideal for me...

"So, then you're the strongest Demon? You said that current host of yours is falling apart...why not let it die and try to take over my body then?" I suggested, taking a step forward.

"Yes, I am certainly considering it...you see, all Demons can tell the probability of them being able to successfully possess a potential host just by looking at them...in the past, I have never encountered any creature that I did not have at least a fifty percent chance of possessing...however, even I only have a ten percent chance of successfully possessing you, that should not be possible. What are you?" He inquired with an intrigued and cautious gleam in his eyes.

"I'm human. Or at least I was...I have consumed the life forces of five other monster kings, including the Vampire King...I want to add you to my collection. Of course, I can't force you to possess me if you're too afraid to take the risk."

"Hah, I commend you, you have impressive nerve to try and provoke me, the Demon King Diablo! And you are?" He remarked with a laugh.

A rather clichéd name, but that's irrelevant. All I care about is obtaining his power.

"You can call me Kuro. So, will you take the bait or have me leave empty-handed?"

"Taking over your mind will be extremely difficult, but if succeed, I will gain unimaginable power...and if fail, I may even cease to exist entirely. Hah, why not? Such a challenge will be worth my time!" He declared enthusiastically.

"Good decision...now, then, bring it on."

The Elf body then started to rot rapidly and collapsed onto the ground, a dark cloud emerging from it. It was larger and darker than the other Demons' corporeal forms. It then shot towards me, as I sat down on the ground with my legs crossed and closed my eyes, entering my own consciousness as he did the same.

Hm, he's strong, this is going to be significantly harder than the time with Lazarus. But while it may take more effort and time, I can definitely do this. It's well within my abilities.

"Wh-what is this? Some sort of mental fortification!? Impossible, only a Demon can alter the structure of the subconscious!" He exclaimed incredulously inside my head.

"That's not quite true."

"That voice...Lazarus Orlock? Is your consciousness trapped here? Now I see, you pulled him into his subconscious, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't. I did at first, but after I pulled him in enough times, he figured out how to do so on his own. And he made the alterations and fortifications to his subconscious by himself, all I did was tell him how," Explained Lazarus.

Specifically, the changes I made to my subconscious ensured that my own consciousness would have a more solid presence in it, while any foreign consciousnesses will have a weak presence, along with a few other minor tweaks that work in my favor.

"That cannot be...even a divine being like Belia isn't likely to be capable of that..."

"Enough talking, let's get on with it. Now, then, it'll only be a matter of time before I have your power for myself, Diablo," I remarked, ready to begin.

"Hah, bold words, Kuro...I will make sure to crush that confidence, as I take your body and powers for myself instead!"

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Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc

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It was the 25th of November, two whole weeks since I lost my sense of Kuro's location. I'm running out of time, I need to find him, but where the hell is he!? If this keeps up, I'll die without being able to do a thing about it, as will he. The four idiots that were off-limits to me had come over uninvited because they wanted to talk. I really didn't feel like dealing with them right now.

"Hey, Shiro, has something been on your mind lately?" Asked Persia with a look of concern.

How annoying...I don't have a choice but to act it up again...

"Well, I can't sense Kuro anymore, and that has me worried. He might have figured out a way to block my sensing ability," I responded, putting on a worried tone.

"If you stopped sensing Kuro, then he's probably dead, didn't you say that he could only exist for a few months unless he managed to kill you before that?" Inquired Rai curiously.

Tch, he's smarter than he lets on sometimes...

"You've been really high-strung these days, is something bothering you?" Added Azyl, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Damn it, they might be getting suspicious after all...curse that bitch, Fuo...! No matter, I can still salvage this...

"I...I'm sorry, everyone, I know I've been on edge lately. It's just...that bastard, he...he killed Mika...I want to kill him so bad that it hurts. And you saw all those crazy new abilities he gained that I don't have, he could easily have figured out a way to stop me from sensing him...I don't know what I'd do if he comes after one of you guys too...," I remarked in a grave tone.

Good, based on their expressions, that was a convincing performance. I made sure my voice trembled and cracked slightly to really sell it, and it looks like my efforts paid off...and using my Healing Factor, I made my eyes gloss over to make it seem like I was emotional.

"Yeah, that's understandable...you did see him kill her right in front of you, that must have been painful," Replied Key sympathetically.

I could see hints of guilt in some of their faces...there's no mistaking it, they really had been getting suspicious of me, but it looks like I had managed to eliminate most of that suspicion just now. It certainly helped that they didn't want to believe that I'm the imposter.

After all, no matter how plausible it may seem that I'm the imposter, they would all prefer to trust in their memories than not to...all I needed was a convincing explanation for my different behavior, and they'd gladly toss aside any and all suspicion they have against me.

Hm, but I can't afford to keep making them suspicious, I need to hide my impatience and frustration better and pretend to be Kuro more convincingly. How annoying, but I don't have a choice...if they realize that I'm the imposter before I can kill Kuro, I'll lose my advantage...heck, they might try to kill me themselves if that happens. And I wouldn't be able to defend myself since I'd die if I harmed them.

"I'm sorry if I worried you guys, that wasn't my intention at all. How about we all go out drinking, I could probably use some intoxication to take my mind off things," I suggested with a weak smile.

"Yeah, sounds good to me! Ooh, I know, I still have some of those vials from Bronztan, let's crack 'em open!" Suggested Rai eagerly.

"Absolutely not," Responded Key immediately, a frown on her face.

"I second that," Added Azyl in agreement.

"Yeah, no way we're drinking those again," Concurred Persia with a look of disdain.

"I don't mind, but that's probably only because I can use my Healing Factor to eliminate it if I drink one with an embarrassing effect," I chimed in jokingly.

I hate putting on this act, it feels so cringy, but it's definitely working...any traces of suspicion they might have had were all but gone now. But if Kuro doesn't show up by the last day of the deadline, I might as well kill these four...after all, if I'm going to die anyway, I'll have no reason to let that handicap restrain me. That way, at least to an extent, I'll die on my own terms...

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Kuro Black

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"This is impossible...I am not sure exactly how long it has been since I entered your body, but it has surely been more than a few days already...how have you been able to survive this long without food or water!?" Exclaimed Diablo incredulously.

"Simple, I can sacrifice my own literal flesh and blood to sustain my body, and then use my Healing Factor to restore the lost flesh and blood. Essentially, self-cannibalisation."

"Wh-what? That cannot possibly be sane!"

"Sanity and insanity...they're completely irrelevant factors. So long as it's logically sound, an abstract concept like sanity has no bearing whatsoever."

"H-heh...I am starting to believe that this may have been a mistake on my part..."

"I may have the advantage, but not by much, you're pushing me quite hard...this is taking longer than anticipated. Why don't you just give up? The final outcome will almost certainly end with my victory, so all you're doing is struggling in vain," I remarked objectively.

"I will not surrender so easily, I do have my pride, after all...the power of the Demon King cannot be obtained with such a meagre level of effort!"

"Hm, fine then, suit yourself...after all, I'm in no particular hurry, I have plenty of time..."

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