MTL - Demons Beside You (The Demons Beside Me) - Chapter 1 I'm here to save the foreign people

The story is about a boy entering high school, who answers a strange call from a public phone one night. The caller challenges him to a bet: She’ll remove the birthmark which he sees as the cause of so many problems, and he’ll have fifty days to win the heart of a girl he’d considered far beyond his reach. And with this, a very strange summer begins.

If the Red Dragon's head could pour out half a skull's worth of magma, the world would then witness the rise of the most enlightened monarch—the Red Dragon Book.David closed the book, a puff of Dragon Breath turned it to ash, and he whipped himself up a bottle of Fiendfire Elixir.To hell with bloody rationality.I just want to do as I please!This is the story of a Red Dragon rampaging through an alternate world, constantly rewarding itself by embodying the Seven Deadly Sins.

In a bustling modern city where ancient secrets and mysterious powers collide with everyday life, 22-year-old Ethan Cross seems like your average college student. Behind his unassuming demeanor lies a man shrouded in secrets—a masked vigilante known only as “Virtuoso,” feared by criminals and sought after by powerful organizations.Ethan is overpowered, sarcastic, and ridiculously skilled at everything he does. But there's one thing he’s terrible at: romance. When the enigmatic and fiercely independent Mia Harper stumbles into his life, she unknowingly becomes the key to unraveling a conspiracy that ties Ethan's past to an ancient prophecy.Between laugh-out-loud moments, explosive action, and unexpected twists, Ethan navigates his double life while trying to protect Mia, keep his identity hidden, and maybe—just maybe—figure out how to confess his feelings without being a complete disaster.

Deep below the earth's surface, a mystifying subterranean seascape lurks, an archipelago bathed in inky blackness where suspense and horror hold court. Here lie strange islands and even stranger monsters, far beyond the realms of human imagination. In this domain, mankind is far from dominant; instead, madness and death rule supreme.

Pleading for mercy from the unknown creatures of the deep only leads to a slow, tortured existence. The trapped survivors gradually distort, losing what made them human, both physically and mentally, to the gloom as they remain trapped in this eternal obscurity. Their only hope? A perilous expedition into uncharted sea territories.

Fueled by determination, Charles embark on this daunting voyage aboard his steamship, aiming to reclaim humanity's past glory. Together with his crew, they sought a way out of this hidden sea world, a path back to the sunlit world above, where humans once stood tall.

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I read a few comments from Chinese readers that compared this novel with Lord of Mysteries because of similar elements: Lovecraftian, western fantasy, first industrial revolution, and steampunk. However, I have yet to finish reading Lord of Mysteries to do any actual comparison, but I do think those who have enjoyed that novel would enjoy this as well. Also, the author of LotM, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also did a shout-out for this novel, so I guess he approves of it too?

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