I am Kim Dongwan and it was my real name. I am working for the government and my department was very unique. To many others here in the organisation, I am an Agent of the Nation Internal Security Department but in reality, I am the Demon Appraiser! Infact, this title was craved underneath my name board on my office door. The words was so small that a lot of people did not see it well as if I had a lot of visitors.....

My department was at 13th level of the East Wing. My department supposedly consist of 2 staffs, namely my immediate superior and myself. However, I only saw my superior on the day that I first started work. He shook my hand and muttered," Hwaiting and do your best" and thereafter, I did not see him again. So I am the only one in my office but this did not bother me.

There was practically not much work for my department and I hardly had visitors, except for those who came here by mistake. I had so much free time that I read the newspaper and surfed the Internet and my job was quite relaxing. 

I had my fair share of woes....

I had encountered a few lunatics: Firstly, there was a lady who claimed to be the Flower Fairy and she attached roses all over her hair. She also claimed that she could make flower bloom by magic and insisted that I got a few pots of plants for her to show me her magic. After squatting for half an hour, nothing happened. She even claimed that my office was emitting evil aura which affected her magic. She promised to return the following year once the level of the evil aura had reduced.

Another occasion, an old man claimed that he was the messenger of the Gods and he was being tasked to spread God's messages to the mankind. His saliva splattered all over me as he was chatting away excitedly.

The list could go on and on and on and.......

I had repeatedly instructed the guard not to send weirdos to my office unnecessarily but to no avail. I bet that the guard had poor judgement or eye sight!

Currently, I am facing a 3 meters tall chap and he was hunching his body in my office. His long black fingernails were holding into a form and he was swaying it in front of me, fearing that I could not see it.

I grabbed the form from him hastily," Hey, I am not short sighted just because I am wearing my glasses! You are Eric Jung?"

"Yes, sir." Eric bowed," I am a real demon though I can't let you see my true appearance."

I did not respond to Eric. Of course, I am aware that he was a demon else which normal human being would be so tall? He would had been kidnapped by the scientist for experiment.

Yes, there were demons in this world and my job as Demon Appraiser was not a prank though I did not wish to admit the fact that Demons existed!

My right eye could see the true form and appearance of any Demons. So right from the start, I saw the real Eric Jung which others could not see.

The real Eric was 3 meters tall, dark complexion and he was a kind of canine type Demon. Well, in layman term, he was a dog Demon and he had sharp nails on his paws.

Based on my experience, Eric was a young demon about 100 years old. I believed that his human form was a teenager.

Suddenly, I wanted to see if my guess was right and I took down my glasses. My glasses was custom made whereby, the left len blocked my view, allowing my right eye to see the Demons. After removing my glasses, I could see 2 Erics.

Eric's human form and Demon form was so hugely different that I was still adjusting to what I saw. It was similar like stepping into darkness and one had difficulties to adapt.

Oh my gosh, if I knew it earlier, I would not have removed my glasses....

Eric was probably afraid that he did not look like a Demon to me and did a bit of touch up! He had very dark and thick eye liner, having several piercing on his ears... I slapped my forehead, trying to think why on earth that the guard allowed Eric up to my office.

"You can go back now." I put on my glasses.

"Why are you humouring me and why are you not taking my words seriously!" Eric was furious. "I told you that I am a Demon and I demand that you certified me!"

I looked up and spoke in my coldest tone," What? You want to beat me up?"

"Er.... No...." Even though Eric was 100 years old but he was still a child and he quickly became obedient. " I just need you to certify me as a Demon." Eric spoke in a timid voice.

Aishi, this kid was so persistent. I stared at Eric," It takes time for assessment and approval. You go back and think over it properly on your decision to be certified as a Demon."

 Eric pouted and refused to leave. 

I had surfed the Internet for an hour and he was still in my office, glaring at me with his large dark eyes. Well, Eric was a canine type of Demon and so his eyes were large. Staring could be his strong attribute but his stare was making me uncomfortable.

I could not take it and stopped doing with my thing," Eric. Do you realize the consequence of being certified by me?"

"I know that I can use my power after being certified." Eric answered me straight without much thinking.

In my realm, there was a shield guarding us. Since ancient time, Mankind and Demons had been constantly at war in another dimension. The strength of both sides were about the same and hence there was balance being maintained. 

However, the number of Demons surged rapidly after the millennium and chaos was everywhere. The normal human beings could not see it but some of them could feel the restlessness. The Demonic realm threatened to force open a portal to link the Mortal realm to the Demonic realm, making entrance to Mortal realm without hinderance. They vowed to rewrite the history of Mankind!

It was the first time that the Demon slayers of the East teamed up with the Exorcists of the West to fight the Demons. It was the fiercest battle in history and both sides suffered heavily. We, the Mankind, was losing the battle.

Seeing that the portal would be forced open, the Demon slayers scarifier themselves to prevent this calamity from befalling on Mankind. They used their flesh and blood to seal up the portal while facing the brutal attacks from the Demons. It was a tought and deadly decision made by a senior Demon slayer. In total, 365 Demon slayers from the 9 clans struggled through 3 days and 3 nights, sacrificing themselves. Their blood tainted the earth and thus formed the barrier shield over this realm.

Henceforth, no Demon here could use their power while inside the shield. Any Demon who enter inside to my realm would be reduced to human form and not be able to use their powers at all.

"You are right Eric. Being certified enabled you to use your powers." I paused and looked into Eric's eyes," If you gain something, you will lose something. You will lose your freedom once you are certified. The pain and sufferings is far more than you can imagine or endure! Think over this carefully before you speak to me again!"

Even though there was the shield protecting us but it had flaws. There were mountains which fell outside the shield and Demons tried to attack us from those areas. With very low number of Demon slayers left now, the government set up a special unit which no one heard of, except for the top Management and a handful of people, like myself. 

The unit was termed Special Force and groomed a batch of Demon trainers. These trainers in turned assessed and trained the certified Demons to be sent to the battle ground to fight off any intruding Demons. The binding contract with the certified Demons was perpetual, meaning, there was no turning back if they regretted in future. It was extremely torturously towards them!

I had expected Eric to back off after hearing what I said but he stared at me with determination in his eyes," I know that once I am certified, I will become a pawn or lackey for your human government! And to fight against my brothers and sisters in the battle field till either them or me is dead."

"You knew and yet you..." I was angry but I did not continue because I saw the expression in Eric's eyes.

I knew that it was futile for me to dissuade Eric further as he would not change his mind.

"You are a fool Eric Jung!"

"Please, I beg you." Eric pleaded with me.

"Don't think of bribing me because there are hidden CTV camera here. If so, just slip the money in my letterbox."

"Okay." Eric agreed immediately.

"Pabo. I am joking." I took Eric's form and photocopied it.I signed and stamped 'Certified' in the bottom column. I realized that my hand had been shaking.

I pretended to be calm and raised my head," Eric, are you sure that you do not want to reconsider this?"

Eric smiled and shook his head.

I sighed and passed the form back to Eric," Bring this form and your recent photograph to the address stated in this form." I pointed at the words on the bottom of the form," You can get your identification card there."

Eric nodded and turned to leave.

I felt slight itchiness in my throat and I spoke again," When you are there, do not rush to process your identification card. Listen to the staff there carefully. You can back out anytime if you regret."

"Thanks." Eric ran out of my office quickly.