Fire Devil

The sun hadn't even fully risen when Leo was already halfway through his push-ups. His shirt clung to his back, soaked in sweat. One hundred wasn't a challenge anymore. His muscles had hardened; his breath was steady. Routine was starting to embed itself into his bones.

[System Notification: Urgent Quest Issued]

[Mandatory Quest: Eliminate the Low-Rank Stray Devil]

Time Limit: Tonight, between 1:00 AM – 3:00 AM

Target: Class: Stray Devil (Low-tier), Objective: Terminate

Reward: +500 System Points

Penalty: [Locked]

Leo froze. He stared at the glowing panel in his mind, unmoving.

"A stray devil…?" he muttered. "This soon?"

He thought, 'My strength and stamina are decent, but my ability is extremely bad. I don't think I can defeat one head-on in my current state.

But then came the reward.

"Five hundred points…" he whispered. "That's two full stat upgrades. Or one major skill evolution."

He paced the floor for a moment. The risk was real. But so was the payoff.

"…Alright. I can't brute-force this. But maybe I don't have to."

He turned to the window, watching the early light break through the clouds.

"But… I do have one advantage."

A slow grin curled on his lips.

"Its true that I was a gacha addict, yeah,but I was also a chemistry nerd."

He stood. "Let's see if all that late-night science documentary binging finally pays off."

Leo skipped school that day. He didn't fake a fever or lie to his parents. He just told them he had something he needed to do. His mother hesitated but nodded. His father simply said, "Come back safe."

He opened his small personal safe and found a neatly stacked wad of bills—saved over birthdays, chores, odd jobs.

'It seems the original Leo liked to save his money. Sorry, man , I need these now."

With that, Leo headed out.

Five hours later, the kitchen table was a battlefield of chemicals and components.

Muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) – from a pool supply store.

Distilled white vinegar – supermarket.

Bleach – high chlorine content, multipurpose.

Drain cleaner –

Red food coloring – for theatrical impact.

Aluminum foil

Salt, capsicum powder, kerosene, sand – gathered from both store and home.

A 23-inch plastic water gun – custom chambered.

Safety goggles – because even regeneration had limits.

Leo looked at his haul, cross-checking everything against mental notes and a scribbled plan.

"I'm really feeling like MacGyver right now."

He packed everything into duffel bags and scoped out the area, locating an abandoned concrete service warehouse just six blocks from home. Cracked walls, shattered windows, rusted metal everywhere,it would do.

Inside the warehouse, he began preparing.

Bottle one: Bleach + Vinegar → Chlorine gas

Bottle two: Vinegar + Muriatic Acid → Acid fumes, corrosive mist

Mixture three: Kerosene + Red Dye + Salt → Ignitable slurry

Mixture four: Capsicum + Salt + Sand → Pain delivery agent

Metal bat with spikes: From scrap metal, screws, a rubber-wrapped grip

Tripwires: Monofilament line across hallways

Buckets rigged to fall on trigger

He worked for hours, masking chemical smells under ventilation fans, careful with every pour and drop. He placed them across key chokepoints: narrow doorways, stairs, false paths. The building became a trap-laden labyrinth.

Finally, he sat on a beam and wiped sweat from his chin.Little proud of his work

"I guess,I am something of a scientist myself."

[System: Would you like to purchase Devil Lure Spray (Low-Tier)? – 20 SP]

"Yes."

[Purchase Complete. SP Remaining: 5]

A small, unmarked red spray can appeared in his hand. The scent that hit him was sharp—metallic and unnatural, like spoiled blood and ozone.

Leo pocketed it and made his way home. Rest was crucial now.

11:56 PM

He sat on his bed, boots laced, hoodie on. Fingers drumming against his knee.

"When exactly does the devil show up?"

[Window of Manifestation: 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM]

He stared at the digital clock. Still four minutes.

"How do you even know this stuff?" he asked.

[System: Source confidential. Data accurate.]

"All right then,keep your secrets "

He started to get ready

1:07 AM

He stepped outside and sprayed himself once on the neck, wrists, and collar with the devil lure. The air seemed to shift around him—colder, heavier.

He walked. Calm, unhurried. Eyes alert.

Then he felt it. Like a ripple in the air. A wrongness. Something trailing behind him, close but not quite touching.

"System. Is that it?"

[Confirmed: Target within 30 meters and closing]

Leo turned the final corner and stepped into the warehouse. The moment he crossed the threshold, he sprinted.

The presence accelerated behind him. Quiet, but inhumanly fast.

Inside, the devil followed. It looked vaguely humanoid,gray skin, red eyes glowing faintly. Its smile was stretched and wrong.

"You think you can hide, little human?" the creature said, voice oily. "You don't even have wings."

Leo didn't respond. He let the devil pursue.

A step. Another step. Then—

Snap.

The devil tripped a wire.

A hanging bottle crashed onto the floor and shattered.

A thick, yellowish fog erupted instantly—chlorine gas. The bleach and vinegar combo mixed as designed.

The devil stopped short, staggered, coughed. Its eyes watered, claws scratching at its face.

"Wretched little—!"

Leo's voice echoed from deeper inside. "A small surprise gift for you, Mister Devil. Did you like it?."

The devil roared and ran forward, half-blinded.

Snap.

Another wire tripped. This time, the air hissed sharply as vinegar and hydrochloric acid mixed mid-fall.

A corrosive cloud enveloped the devil. Its skin sizzled, blistering from the mist. It screamed, stumbling further into the maze.

Leo was above on a rafter, watching.

He waited and then He dropped the glass bottle filled with hydrogen gas, made by mixing aluminum foil and drain cleaner.

Next-

Thud.

Splash.

A bucket tipped. The devil was now drenched in a red-dyed kerosene mixture.

Leo didn't hesitate.

From his jacket, he lit a disposable lighter and tossed it.

Fwoom.

The explosion wasn't massive, but it was enough. Flames clung to the devil's skin, feeding on the soaked kerosene.

It screamed again, a hellish, gurgling sound.

Leo jumped down, water gun in hand—loaded with kerosene. He sprayed more fuel onto the burning creature. It convulsed violently, half its body charred black.

''AAARRGGHH!! IT BURNS!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! MY SKIN—IT'S MELTING!! NOOOO!! AAAAHHHHHH!!''

Then Leo stepped back and picked up a second bucket.

He hurled it straight onto the devil's face.

The contents: salt, capsicum, sand.

The reaction was immediate. Salt dried open wounds. Capsaicin attacked nerve endings. Sand tore into raw flesh.

The devil howled. Not in rage—but desperation.

"I—PLEASE—STOP—!! I'LL LEAVE—JUST—LET ME—"

Leo walked toward him slowly.

"Nope, sorry" he said while looking at him.

He lifted the spiked bat from a metal box, gripped it with both hands, and raised it.

The devil shrieked and crawled away.

The first swing shattered its left arm.

The second caved in a knee.

The third went straight into its back, piercing through.

The fourth ended it—through the skull.

Silence.

Blood pooled on the concrete. The air stank of acid, smoke, and kerosene.

[Quest Completed: Devil Eliminated]

[+500 SP Awarded]

[System Points: 505]

Leo dropped the bat, breathing slowly.

He stood over the corpse, face unreadable.

"…Man, I'm really becoming more of a devil than these devils."

He grabbed his bag

"I have school tomorrow, I really need to sleep right now."

Back home, 3:27 AM.

He collapsed onto the bed.

*A/N*

Should I try those methods of fighting more in the future?Let me know. Yes or No?