The child suddenly opened his eyes, the deep crimson gradually fading from his gaze, his pupils slowly returning to normal, becoming the natural black that matched his hair color.
Black hair, black eyes, the very traits that other kids who wouldn’t play with him saw as marks of a devil’s offspring. Yet the ruling Augustus of this land also bore black hair, and no one called it a devil’s mark; instead, it was considered an honor.
From the time he could remember, he faced ridicule, mockery, and exclusion. From initial anger and confusion to later resistance and struggle, Wayne matured very quickly.
Although he had no friends and no one wanted to play with him, so what? He still had uncles and aunts, family who liked and loved him. He wasn’t alone.
Not even three years old, little Dou Ding jumped off the bed. Although his growth and life experiences were extremely unhappy, fortunately his material life was decent, because his uncles and aunts were quite wealthy, and he had his own independent residence.
Wayne murmured softly, and then dark red flames ignited at his feet, quickly engulfing his small body.
The originally faint demon runes on his body started to spread across his entire body under the stimulation of the flames, intertwining with each other, and when the runes covered his entire body, his size also surged.
In just a few breaths, the once fragile-looking little Dou Ding, easily bullied, transformed into a two-meter-tall demon.
The new transformation and the tangible sense of power gave Wayne particular joy. He hadn’t imagined that the nightmare-like dreams haunting him daily could grant him such strength.
As he glimpsed the majestic silhouette of a giant seated atop the mountains in his dreams, the temptation from within drove him to step forward. He had already tested it; despite the many demons rampant in the dream realm, he was an undead existence there.
Then, faced with the sudden appearance of a demon, he chose to fight while wanting to move forward. Though ultimately torn apart, he achieved something never before attained—he killed a demon.
It was a big snake, and even now, Wayne could recall the crushing force threatening to grind him to mush when the big snake coiled around him, and the corrosive burning pain as venom splattered onto him.
However, even as terrifyingly strong as that snake was, he tore it apart with his devil’s body in the dream. It was at the moment he killed the snake that he felt part of its power fall onto him.
But he hadn’t expected that upon waking, the power still lingered, though significantly weaker than in the dream. Yet even so, attempting to activate it caused his body to change, transforming him into a demon.
Just as Wayne, with excitement, explored the changes to his body, urgent knocking came from outside the door, along with a tender yet exceedingly sweet voice,
"Open up, household inspection!"
The sudden voice startled Wayne, who was excited but also anxious. In his current form, he wasn’t a Tifflin, but a bona fide devil.
If discovered, he wouldn’t know how to explain, and with this fright, Wayne deflated quickly like a punctured balloon, shrinking back to his original appearance, though all his clothes were burned away.
Meanwhile, the knocking outside grew more urgent. Completely naked, Wayne hurriedly ran to the door and opened it with his little legs.
As expected, the knocker was a palm-sized Little Fairy with translucent wings fluttering in the air, holding a flower pen and sheepskin scroll suited to her size.
She wore a delicate little blue hat on her head, representing her identity as an Investigation Officer from the Statistical Bureau.
Little Wayne rushed to open the door in haste, but the Little Fairy, upon seeing the little figure behind it, let out a shriek and immediately covered her eyes with her tiny hands, though she quickly peeked through her fingers at the little Dou Ding who had opened the door.
Feigning innocence, the Little Fairy covered her eyes and muttered softly, then quickly asked about the business upon seeing Wayne’s dark expression,
"Where are the adults in your house?"
"They’ve all gone out, not home. It’s just me here now."
Wayne quickly grabbed a towel to wrap around his lower body.
"All not home? That’s quite troublesome, when will they be available?"
"I’m not sure, some of my uncles have already gone out of town."
"Alright then, I’ll come back another time."
The Little Fairy sighed in disappointment.
"Wait, what do you want to know? I know everything."
"I need to survey your household’s population, then each person’s race, profession, assets, and general income. If it’s a professional, more detailed questions are required."