The Tale of the Alchemist and the Demon

Every alchemist, at some point in his life, tries to summon demons.Ye Shenyue was 17 years old when she did this.

He is a genius.

The glow from the magic symbol told him he had succeeded, but the powerful impact pushed him aside.Ye Shenyue tried to support herself with her hands, but something sticky and disgusting stuck.Only then did he realize that it was the blood of those animals.It has solidified somewhat, with a dark red hue.

In this crazy room, a pure white thing is wriggling, and something is about to be born.

Yue watched all this with a bit of trepidation and excitement. If he could succeed, the demon would show up and fulfill any request he had.

Finally, a few cracks appeared in the pure white egg, and then, it broke completely from there.A large number of white feathers kept falling from the eggshell, and the blood stains on the ground turned crimson.This crazy scene has never been recorded in the previous alchemist's notes.

Then the light died, and there was only the steady, cold moonlight coming in through the window, illuminating it all.

Yue stood up and approached the egg step by step.He was very weak, and the magic almost exhausted his strength.It is not surprising that the alchemist died under the summon of the devil, and only the most tenacious people can continue to have the spiritual power to negotiate with the devil in the future.

But when he got close enough, he saw a marvelous sight.

Those feathers were piled up on the floor, and a pure white person was lying quietly among the feathers.It was a grown man, but with disheveled black hair and pale, thin features, curled up like a child.

Ye Shenyue felt that he had lost the ability to speak, he stared blankly at all this, with a question circling in his mind.

—Is this a demon?

He moved the man out of the warehouse and put him on his little bed.The notes written for the summoning magic were neatly laid out on the table.Ye Shenyue also sat there, holding her chin and thinking: Something must have gone wrong.

There may be a problem with interpretation.

Alchemists seldom write down easy-to-understand words, but are used to hiding their theories in a lot of metaphors.How to interpret it is entirely up to the individual.

Such as the moon, life, baby, and perfect elements.eternal life.

The person on the bed moved slightly, and he woke up.

Later, he said his name was L.

Except for this mysterious code name, L lost all memory about himself.Even if it is about being a demon, I can't think of it at all.

There are still some small signs.For example, he likes to sit huddled in odd positions, or to pick up objects with two fingers.He loves sweets so much that he can't leave them for a moment.And demons all have this peculiarity that distinguishes them from ordinary humans.

Also, he has a pair of dark, bottomless eyes.

——Maybe, it’s just dead fish eyes.

As for the purpose of summoning in the first place?

After L cheated out of the 20 yuan cake with various excuses, he finally said: "Then... what is your wish?"

"Can you make it happen?" Yue, who was already in a state of half-giving up on treatment, ignited a glimmer of hope.

"I don't know. After all, I can't remember anything." L held a piece of cake and answered ambiguously.

"...I want to fly in the sky."

"... Huh?" L put down the fork in a daze. Even as a normal 17-year-old boy, this dream is too naive, right?Not to mention a genius.

"Sure enough...then I'll think about it again." Yue murmured and lay down on her little bed.Chestnut hair, falling a soft shadow across the forehead.After that failed summoning, he wrote many new notes, which filled the small room.

When he was lying there full of thoughts, a shiny white thing suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

A metal fork with a cake dipped in buttercream.

"Because I can't fulfill your wish, I will give you a cake as an apology." The devil still said in his cold voice, his face was as expressionless as ever.

"I bought the cake too." Yue put his hands behind his head.

"That's right." L said after looking at each other for three seconds.

There are also some things Yagami doesn't know, for example, the demon actually sleeps very little.After he finally finished his day's research, L would flip through his books and notes.

During this period his knowledge increased day by day.Like a baby, he is trying to absorb all kinds of things in this world.

The demons in the records are all evil and cruel, and they have no mercy for human beings.But L was different, he couldn't remember anything, so he was more curious about creatures like humans.

Through the small talk he got every time the cake was exchanged, he learned something.

The place where Yue lives looks remote, but it is actually the territory of a great nobleman.The aristocrat funded many of these "seemingly useless" people, including painters, poets, musicians and various researchers.All this is just because his territory is rich, and these people can bring him enjoyment.As long as it pleases him, even the requirement of one cake a day can be satisfied.

Yue once mentioned it so sarcastically.In order to obtain funding for research, these are really nothing.After all, genius alchemists also have to live.

"You can summon demons, so you can't live on your own?" L was very puzzled by this question.The human world always has all kinds of norms that confuse him.

"It's easy to say, but if I leave the current research environment, I won't be able to achieve my goal."

"Is your purpose... to fly in the sky?"

If that's the case, wouldn't it be enough to tie yourself to a kite and let it go? L thought about it seriously, and felt that Yue would be angry if he made this proposal, so he stopped.

"That's one of the purposes." Light twirled his quill, resting his chin in a signature motion.

"What other goals do you have? Maybe I can achieve one of them, and then I can go back."

L said.He has checked in his notes these days that any demon will disappear after fulfilling the contract with the alchemist.If so, he must grant Yue a certain wish.And Ye Shenyue thinks so too.They have been together for a while, and L can tell that Yue doesn't like to take care of others, doesn't like to ask the maid of the castle for his cake every day, and doesn't like anyone to read his notes or speculate on his thoughts.Therefore, the reason why L has not been sent back is not because he does not want to do it, but because he cannot do it.None of the anti-summoning spells could be established.

But this sentence was not answered.Yue looked at him for a while, then put everything on the table aside.

Then he answered irrelevantly and said, "I was thinking... I should give you a human name."

"what?"

"It's too weird to be called L all the time. Don't you have a human name?"

"Okay. If that's the purpose..." L sat on his chair, shrinking up. "Let's call it Ryuzaki."

Old research guidelines seem to be replaced by new things.After receiving No.60 cakes, Yue finally received the ultimatum from the lord.

It was said that the king was coming to visit the domain, so he asked the alchemist to contribute his best invention.Otherwise, exile him from the territory.

This is for real.I don't know how many people have been driven out of their homes and wandered around.To put it bluntly, these people are like this. They can be raised for nothing in normal times, but if they lose the ability to please others, they will immediately lose their shelter.

— but what is the best invention?This matter was not mentioned above.

"Yes, that master is such a person. Even if you give him what he thinks is the best, he will just say 'this is wrong' and feed your hard work to the dogs without saying a word." Abe, the bar owner, was speaking while serving a glass of beer to each of them.

"Why, do geniuses bother with this kind of thing?" He continued to tease.Although Yue seldom walks around the town, she is still quite famous.

"That's not true, the big deal is to be exiled." Yue took a sip of beer, the slightly hot temperature and mellow taste, an inexplicable wonderful taste.

This is his first drink.

L beside him also followed suit, picked up the beer glass and took a big sip.

"Is this guest your friend?" Over there, the boss was still chatting with Yue.

"Ah...yes, I met while learning alchemy...wait, wait? Hey! Ryuzaki!"

...L's consciousness suddenly became chaotic, and he hugged himself who was about to fall from the chair with both hands.The voices and laughter in the hotel became distant, and everything began to become less clear.Just like the day he first appeared, he woke up on the feather bed, reassuring and soft.

"sorry."

"what?"

"Did I get drunk after drinking a little? I'm sorry for causing trouble to you."

The man appeared above him, looking very confused.Then, he stretched out his finger and poked L's face.

...What is this for?

"...Will the devil be so polite..." After poking, Yue turned around talking to himself, and began to bury his head in taking notes again.

Hey, I heard it all.

L wanted to say that, but the effects of the alcohol kept him from getting up.He couldn't understand how the magic of that drink could make such a good man.Or maybe the physique of the devil is different from that of normal people?

He suddenly felt a little regretful, and missed the appearance of that small town.Although Yue said that the houses there were small and old, and the streets were not tidy, only Able's beer was considered a good thing.However, he still couldn't forget that place.

Because this is the first time he has been to this kind of place since he was summoned, and he has seen so many humans with different expressions.

What's more, they had planned to check out the tree outside the town, which was huge and grew on the edge of the cliff.Yue had promised that it was the most beautiful scenery he had ever seen.Especially in the sunset, the crown of the tree will cast a magnificent shadow in the valley, and in the moonlight, every leaf will dance in the breeze.

If Yue was there, would it be a little different?

L felt the alcohol gradually subside from his head, he turned his head and saw Yue sitting at the desk.Still working so hard, still resting his chin with one hand.The only sound in the quiet room was the rustle of quills.

The shadow of the swaying lamp reflected his outline, like a pattern carved on the canvas, elegant and quiet.

For so many days, they have faced each other day and night, but there is no moment like this moment, which allows him to connect this moment with eternity.

By L's count, this is the No. 12 night he spent as a "human".

The first night he had a name.

No. 12 nights, he felt the subtle emotions of human beings for the first time.

No.20 night, it rained.

It was a rare thunderstorm in this area, and Yue's warehouse began to leak. The two of them rescued many experimental materials stored there overnight, filling the room where people lived.Just when Yue was trying to find something to cover the magic circle, a gust of wind blew past and knocked the roof over.

Then, the two could only watch the rain pouring down, washing away the magic circle on the ground.

At the same time as the magic circle disappeared, the feathers that appeared with L also fluttered up one after another, shining in the rain, and then gradually disappeared.Huge lightning seemed to have taken away their brilliance, carving crazy patterns in the sky.

The two stood there speechless, at a loss for a while.The disappearance of the magic circle may mean that the passage between the demon and the world has also disappeared.

L has yet to grant a single wish.

Will he disappear?

Moon couldn't help thinking about such a question.

He turned his head to look at L, who still looked the same, standing there with his body slightly bowed and his head lowered.Some messy black hair, all wet from the rain, stuck to the pale forehead and nape of the neck.The rain ran down the skin, as if he had touched it before, with an indescribable authenticity.

He couldn't help reaching out his hand to hold L's hanging hand.He was soaking wet himself, and clasped his hands together.Only at this moment, thunder and lightning struck, and the earth shook as if tilted.