《The Great Demon System》 Chapter 1: Prologue

1 Prologue

A strange glowing poisonous looking green liquid was flowing through various cracks on the walls and ground lighting up the room. The walls were lined with a row of bizarre statues with green glowing eyes. Alexander felt like those statues were staring into his soul as if they were alive. He shook his head and took a deep gulp of saliva in order to forget his fears. After thinking long and hard, he finally decided to suck it up and enter the room. As he reached near the center of the room, he noticed a glowing altar with a golden orb floating on top of it. Alexander stood there in shock admiring the beauty and grandeur of what he just witnessed. The sight was something no human would have ever imagined. The orb was floating in the air above the altar like some sort of magic was controlling it. The orb was very small around the size of an egg and shined very vigorously giving off a magical looking aura. One could not help but stop and admire its beauty. After staring at the orb for over 2 minutes, a drop of green liquid fell from the ceiling andnded on Alexander''s head snapping him out of his daze. To his surprise, the liquid was not poisonous at all. Rather, the liquid made him feel energized and more powerful than he ever felt before. It was like a liquid that gives energy. This made Alexander more curious about the origin of the liquid. He noticed that all the liquid was being created from the strange orb on the altar. He began to slowly tiptoe towards the Altar. He stopped and stood very cautiously in front of it. He was very worried about whether or not he should take the orb. Many ruins usually have multiple dangerous traps in order to protect their treasures. After 5 minutes of contemting, he finally decided to take it. Alexander began sweating buckets while also shaking like crazy. As his hands slowly approached the orb, they stopped 1 centimeter away from it. He took in a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Fuck it doood!!" as he quickly snatched it away from the altar. Immediately after the orb left the altar, it vanished into little glowing golden dust. Not too long after that, the entire room started shaking like crazy. It felt like the room was going to copse onto him. Alexander started to look around the room in a panic, trying his best to understand what was happening. As he was running out of breath and was about to give up, he noticed that all the green liquid finally finished gathering at the altar. At that moment, the liquid evaporated into thin air and a green beam of light suddenly shot out of the altar. The beam pierced through the roof of the temple and shot out into the sky. Shortly after that, simr green beams of light were spotted all around the world. A total of 26 beams were shot out. Alexander was standing there out of breath panting heavily after barely managing to survive the ordeal. He looked up into the sky and noticed green rain falling towards him. This was the turning point for humanity. After the green rain fell, everyone on earth noticed that they started to develop special superpowers, some were unique, and some were generic. Powers only seen in fiction were now possible in real life. The green beams were soon found to be an incredible power source. Each power source was easily able to power the current earth for thousands of years. These new revtions ushered in the biggest golden age humanity had ever experienced. In order to maximize the gains from the new power sources, humanity decided on creating 26 new countries around the new power sources. Each country was named after a letter of the alphabet from A to Z. Each one had a green protective bubble around the country in order to separate the borders while also acting as a strong defensive shield. Technological advancements had a massive boom due to the newfound abilities and power sources. Inventions like Teleporters and Holograms were now a normal sight to see throughout the world. Humanity was now also able to go to others due to new warping technology. However, not many others were colonized and only a few bases were set there. Each person is only able to wield one ability so once you get an ability there is no changing it. Some people were not able to automatically get an ability from the green rain so humanity developed special ability crystals called ability orbs that are able to contain an existing ability. These ability orbs allow people with no abilities to learn the ability that is imbued inside the orb by absorbing it. This invention was very important because the newborns of the next generations were not born with new abilities. These ability orbs allowed families to pass down their abilities to their children and it allowed people with no ability to buy a new ability off the market. Humanity lived in peace with not a single massive global issue for 100 years. But then everything changed when the Shalkers attacked. January 7th, 2121, a huge battalion of alien ships were spotted on top of a protective defensive bubble outside of country Z. They are known as the Shalkers. The Shalkers were an advanced humanoid alien race that was feared all around the Gxy. They look very simr to humans. they have a nearly identical size and body shape to that of humans. The only distinguishing features that differentiate them are theirpletely white skin, the single horn that grows on the right side of their head, and the glowing red lines that are on their face. The Shalkers came to earth after sensing an abnormallyrge power readinging from the. This was due to the discovery of abilities. The Shalkers waged war on humans because they felt like they were a threat due to their sudden influx in power. The war stood at a standstill for over 4 years. There was clearly no winning side. The Shalkers were superior to humans in nearly every way. But even with all their advantages, they were unable to win the war. This was due to theirck of special abilities. Neither side was able to gain ground on one another. In the end, both sides agreed that this war was going nowhere and had no clear winner. A treaty of peace was signed between humans and Shalkers on February 7th, 2125, which marked the end of the war. This event left a big impact on humanity. Humanity lost nearly a billion soldiers during the war with the Shalkers. Humans understood that this peace treaty was only temporary and the war will eventually start again. Humanity became more focused on military strength more than ever before. This event unified all humans into one new military force in order to prepare for the inevitable second war with the Shalkers. A new era was then created. One''s social standingpletely depended on one''s strength. Those with weak abilities were discriminated against and were forced into working the worst jobs. They were seen as dispensable and insignificant in the eyes of the military and government. A new society of the strong ruling the weak was born. Children were taught how to fight in schools from the age of 8. This was in order to well train the next generations in preparation for the impending war. Also, upon reaching 16 years of age, all students were forced to attend 2 years of military school. Military school is the ce that will decide one''s future. It is a ruthless ce that will determine who will be great and who will be trash. Where dreams cane true and where dreams can be crushed. Moby Kane, a young abilityless boy is now packing his bags preparing to go to military school. Will he survive? or will he get eaten up by society? Chapter 2: A New Beginning

2 A New Beginning

This left many children as orphans. The government decided to pay for the orphans'' living expenses until they go to military school. The government only provided them with the bare minimum, enough for food expenses, and a 7 metre by 7 metre apartment room. This was only enough room for a small bathroom, a small kitchen, a small bed, a small tv, and a small desk in the corner for studying. Moby Kane is an orphan living alone in an apartment provided by the government. He belongs to a family of ancient martial artists. Moby grew up training in his family dojo. The name of the dojo was "The Way of The Blissful Demon". Moby was seen as a martial arts prodigy as he was able to graspplex moves only at the age of 6. The dojo did not have many students so his family wasn''t exactly the richest. They were saving up their money in order to buy an ability orb for their son to help him in life. Even though his family was poor, Moby was happy with his living situation. He was always cheerful and neverined. He loved practicing martial arts every day and he was thankful for having a kind and loving family. It seemed like he had a bright future ahead of him. But, when the war started 9 years ago, his parents were conscripted and never returned. 3 years into the war, a government official told him that both his parents died on the battlefield. At that moment, Moby''s eyes became sad and lifeless. The news was too hard to bear for 10-year-old Moby. He simply could not ept his parent''s death. He had no other rtives that were alive so he had no one to turn to. He waspletely alone in this world. He shut himself up in his room crying for weeks on end onlying out once a week to restock on food. After a month of non-stop crying, the previously happy and cheerful Moby was now a husk of his former self. He was still sitting in his bed with shallow eyes that seemed almost all devoid of life. He had contemted suicide a few times but he could not go through with it every time he attempted. When he lifted his knife towards his throat trying to take his own life for the 10th time this week, he heard a knocking from the door. He put down his knife andzily walked towards his door opening it. He looked at the man with his dead eyes and said with a sigh. ¡§What do you want?¡§ The man at the door was a tall man in a military uniform. Moby was only up to his waist and he did not care to look at his face. The man seemed unaffected by the sorry, miserable state the child in front of him was. He was really bored and tired from working all day to care. Moby quickly took the box and mmed the door on the military officer without even flinching. He took the box in his room and looked at it with his eyes that were still devoid of life. Then, out of nowhere, he felt tearsing down his face, this was the first time he had cried in over 2 weeks. His eyes have suddenly regained their previous bright green color. A rush of emotion suddenly entered his body from all the memories he had with his parents. When he opened the box, he found a golden ne with a Latin carving written on it, "Memento Mori" This trantes to: "Remember you will die" That has always been his family motto. When Moby wore the ne, he felt all his fears and negative emotions go away like they were never there. His negative emotions flowed out of his body like a river calming his nerves and stealing his resolve to continue living. The process was almost unnatural. On that day Moby made a promise to himself. He left thefort of his house for the first time in weeks and punched towards the big blue sky with a smile making a vow. "Mom, Dad, if you can hear me¡­ don''t worry about me. I''ll be ok, I won''t let this consume my life and I will live life to the fullest" "I''m sure that''s what you would have wanted me to do¡­ right?" When Moby returned to school. He was bullied and humiliated every day. Hisck of ability made him the perfect target. For some reason, he would never fight back or get angry no matter how many times he gets beaten. He always stayed positive no matter the situation. Even during the most brutal torture and maniptions he had gone through. Due to Moby''s harsh martial arts training that he does every day, he was much stronger than the average non-ability user. However, that doesn''t mean much. Even a level 1 ability user with little training would be able to defeat him. Rumors have spread about him throughout his entire school, about a boy who will stay positive no matter what he goes through. Many people tried to debunk the theory to prove he can have negative emotions by torturing him until he breaks. But, no one has yet to crack him which frustrated many students to no end. Ever since he got his ne, he never felt any sadness, anger, or fear. It was like he was mentally unable to have those emotions. He only felt positive emotions. He always believed people''s words thinking they were always honest. It was like the thought that people could lie never even crossed his mind. The only exceptions are when ites to the matter of his ne. Then, you could see small hints of negative emotions boil up inside him. It was really unnatural, almost like there was a greater power in y. ****************** Present-day Sunday, September 4th, 2130 Moby has just turned 16 this year. This means that he is now required to attend military school. The first day of military school begins tomorrow. Throughout the years, Moby has yet to lose his positive attitude. He has been training very severely during the summer in preparation for it. Through his intensive training, he managed to learn 1 of his family''s secret techniques. This is a very big achievement. To put this into perspective, Moby training his entire life was only able to learn only 1 secret technique. But only during the summer, he managed to learn 1 more. This is remarkable growth. By learning these moves, Moby is now confident that he can go head to head with a power 1 ability user while only 4 months ago he would have lost without a doubt. Moby''s family martial arts taught the maniption of an energy called "Demon Energy", in order to perform various techniques. These techniques are by no means an ability or an ability substitute as they are far weaker. His current moves are the follows. \u003c Demon sh \u003e A technique that gathers one''s demon energy into their sword and unleashes a powerful downward sh dealing immense damage. Consumes high stamina and energy \u003c Demon sh \u003e A technique that gathers one''s demon energy in their legs to perform a short powerful step enabling the user to do a short 1-meter dash at immense speed. Can be chained and performed multiple times in session. Consumes medium stamina and energy These techniques require a lot of stamina and energy so they cannot be spammed. This means that Moby must be mindful when to use them in a fight in order to not overexert himself. After Moby finished packing his bags, he decided to go to sleep early in order to wake up refreshed and on time for military school the next day. He threw himself on his bed like a child and started staring at the ceiling while holding his ne in hand. He couldn''t help but smile and feel excited for tomorrow. His eyes started to slowly close and he slept the whole night smiling like a baby. ********** The next morning, Moby woke up feeling rejuvenated after having a good night''s sleep. He slept for over 9 hours. This was more than he had ever slept in months. A soldier from the military woulde to take him to military school at 9:30 so he had an hour to prepare himself. The government always sends 1 military personnel to escort each orphan to military school. They only recently made this rule because many orphans would usually try to avoid going to military school and run away. The soldiers'' job is just to safely escort them to military school. If the orphan was not home, then their job would change to tracking them down and making them go by force Moby just about had enough time to do his morning routine. He had breakfast brushed his teeth, did 100 push-ups,100 sit-ups, and 100 squats before practicing his martial arts techniques. After he finished practicing he noticed the time was 9:15. This gave him just enough time to take a shower. He got out of the shower at 9:25. He wore his usual clothes, put on his parent''s ne, grabbed his bags, and patiently waited on his bed for the soldier toe. Not too long after, he heard a knock on the door. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* And then a voice came from the door. "Moby Kane, this is Private Harry Moris from the country Z military force. I am here to escort you to military school" As soon as Moby heard the Soldier''s voice, he rushed over to open the door. As the door slowly opened, he greeted the soldier with a smile as he cheerfully said "Please lead the way sir, I''ll be in your care" Chapter 3: Such Nice People

3 Such Nice People

Private Harry is currently escorting Moby to the nearest teleport station in order to go to military school. Luckily, the teleport station isn''t very far away from Moby''s house as it is only 1 kilometre away. Moby has never been outside his city or even his general area for that matter. This means he has never used a teleporter in his life. Thinking of this made him even more excited than he was before. The Private kept looking back at Moby in confusion. ''Why does this kid look so positive and excited? His file says that he has no ability and he gets bullied and abused every day, so why is he so cheerful? This kid must have gone crazy,'' he thought. After 10 minutes of walking, they finally reached the teleport station. There were around 50 teleporters arranged in rows. Each teleporter had a long line of at least 20 people behind it, the station was filled to the brim. They would have to wait for at least 5 minutes for them to have their turns. But suddenly he heard the Private speak. "Follow me." As he went into apletely different area of the station. They only walked for a few seconds before reaching apletely empty section of the station. There were only 10 teleporters but nearly all of them were empty. Moby found this somewhat bizarre. But even before he even had the chance to ask the question, it was already answered by the Private. "This is the military section of the teleport station. Only military personnel and military students are authorized to use these." The Private pulled a holographic looking card with a picture of Moby''s face on it out of his pocket and handed it to Moby. "Here you go, kid. That''s your new student ID. Keep it on you at all times and don''t lose it. This card will allow you many privileges only essible to the military. For example, this will allow you to use these teleporters in order to teleport to the ind where your military school Z is located." Moby took the card and inspected it: Name: Moby Kane School: Country Z military school Z-7 Age: 16 Year: 1 ss: ?? Rank: ?? Division: ?? Moby was looking at the card all confused. This was because of all the question marks. *Sigh* "Don''t be confused by the question marks. This card will automatically update your information when it bes avable," the Private said with a somewhat annoyed expression. "Now, go on and scan your card on the teleporter and see what happens." Moby slowly walked over to one of the vacant teleporters and scanned his student ID. \u003c Scanning \u003e \u003c 1% \u003e \u003c 67% \u003e \u003c 100% \u003e \u003c Scan Complete! \u003e \u003c Year 1 military student \u003e \u003c Rank Unknown\u003e \u003c Division Unknown \u003e \u003c Please select your destination \u003e Then, the Private''s voice came from behind him saying: "Ok now select military school Z as your destination." Moby nodded and did as he was told. \u003c Military School Z has been set as your destination \u003e \u003c Please enter the portal when you are ready and you will be swiftly transported to your set destination \u003e Before moby entered, the Private approached and took his bags. "Don''t worry you will receive your belongings back when you enter your dorm. Please grab anybat equipment or weapons that you have. You will need them for your starting examination." Moby nodded to the Private as he took out a pair of beat-up fighting gloves from one of his bags and put them on. Then he took out a very old rusty looking sword and sheathed it around his waist. Moby wasn''t exactly the most well dressed. He wore a tattered ck coat and ripped ck cargo pants that looked like they were abused every day. For footwear, he wore ck running shoes that look like they would fall apart at any second. As Moby was preparing his equipment the Private could not help but stare at him in disgust. Many thoughts went through his head at that moment. ''Hmph, you can tell that he is very poor by just looking at him. I guarantee he will lose his positive attitude in less than a day when he enters the military school!'' When Moby finished preparing he looked at the Private and said with a big smile. "I''m ready sir!" At that moment, the Private panicked and quickly put on a fake smile. He wasn''t expecting Moby to finish preparing so quickly so he caught him a little off guard. "Now, please enter the portal and sign up for what division you want to enlist in. We currently have 3 divisions. The divisions are as follows: thebat division which is for those with attack-oriented abilities, the science division for those who have useful abilities for working with technology, and finally, the support division for those with support-oriented skills such as healing, buffing, and scouting. Looking at your equipment, I assume that you will be enlisting for thebat division." "Yes, sir you are correct," Moby quickly responded. "The sign-ups shouldn''t be very far from the teleport station. Just head north for a few minutes and you should see them just past the school gate, you really can''t miss them even if you wanted to." "Thank you so much for the help sir, I''ll be heading in now," Moby replied with a smile. As Moby was walking towards the portal he couldn''t help but feel like something was off. When he looked at the Private after he finished putting on his equipment, it looked like he was cringing at him in disgust, but when he blinked and looked again, he was smiling like usual. Moby shook his head and quickly erased those thoughts from his mind. He felt ashamed of himself for doubting such a nice, weing, innocent, and well-mannered guy like the Private. As Moby entered the portal he felt his vision gopletely white. Before he knew it, he was already transported to the entrance of military school Z. The school was gigantic. It was at least 100 times bigger than Moby''s previous high school. The school waspletely white and looked very futuristic. There was a huge open gate that leads to the expansive front yard of the school. When looking around, he can see hundreds of students around his age all heading towards the school gates. He smiled and clenched his fists in excitement. He lifted his head up and walked through the gate of the school while admiring the beautiful scenery. He wasn''t really paying attention to what''s in front of him as he was lost enjoying the view when all of a sudden. *Bump* Moby ended up bumping into a big burly student. He had blonde hair and a slightly overweight physique. He looked very intimidating standing at least 5 inches taller than Moby. He lifted his fists as if he was ready to give a punch. "Hey, kid watch where you''re going you made me spill my drink!" The student shouted in a harsh and annoyed manner. "I''m so sorry I wasn''t paying attention to where I was going please forgive me," Moby nervously said while bowing. "Well, how are you going topensate me? That drink was really expensive you know!" The student was lying through his teeth. That drink was just an apple juice he bought from the vending machine right beforeing. It cost no more than 2 dors and 50 cents. The student scanned Moby''s clothing and equipment. He now knew that the kid in front of him was really poor. He scoffed at Moby looking at him in contempt. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Moby''s ne that looked really expensive. "How about youpensate me with that fancy looking ne of yours?" the student said with a sinister smile. "I am so sorry but I can not do that. This ne is very important to me and I wouldn''t give it up for anything," Moby confidently retorted. "Well, how are you going topensate me then? You look really poor and it seems like you own nothing of value. This drink was really expensive you know," the student said while sneering. Moby''s face turned red out of embarrassment. He was ashamed that he wasted such an expensive drink. " I¡­I don''t have any money but I promise I''ll make it up to you somehow!" Moby said while bowing even further. At that point, the student looked very angry and annoyed. "Listen, kid, you already made it on my bad side, either you give that ne or you pay me 1000 dors by next week." At that moment, Moby became really confused. ''What kind of drink would cost 1000 dors,'' he thought But then he decided that it was probably some luxury drink he never heard of. "I''m sorry sir but I''mpletely broke. Even if I sell all my belongings it would only amount to a few hundred dors." ''What kind of retard would actually believe my drink costs 1000 dors? I guess I''ll just roll with it'' The student thought "Ok then give me your ne," the student said with his hands out. "No that will not be possible," Moby replied with a serious tone. The student was taken back by Moby''s sudden shift in tone. At first, The kid in front of him sounded like a respectful push over. but now, he sounded so much more serious. This made the student more intrigued about the true value of that ne. He made up his mind that he will take the ne by force, and teach the kid a lesson he will never forget to show him what happens when you mess with him. "Ok fine, keep your stupid ne I don''t want it anymore. But now you''re officially on my bad side, so you better be scared shitless," the student said as he turned around and walked the other way. Moby felt relieved after hearing that. like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Thank you so much for your generosity sir. I promise I''ll make this up to you somehow. My name is Moby Kane, what is yours?" Moby said with a big weing smile. "The name''s Nathan, Nathan Johnson. you better not forget it," Nathan said with a mean scowl. "Heh, his name is Moby. Like Moby Dick," Nathan said trying to hold back hisugh. Moby thought that Nathan is a really kind guy letting him off free of charge even when he made him spill his 1000 dor drink. All of a sudden an announcement when on: "This a reminder that the sign-ups for the divisions will end in 30 minutes." "Oh crap, at this rate I''m going to bete for the sign-ups," Moby said as he ran straight for thebat division sign-ups. ********** Nathan just returned to all hisckeys all mad and annoyed. His goons were a little worried after witnessing the exchange between Their boss and Moby. "Hey, boss. Is it smart to start beef with other students already? We don''t know what rank they will get from the starting exam or how strong they are. We might start trouble with someone we can''t handle," one of theckeys said while worried. "Rx, that kid ain''t shit. he will at most be E rank. From the clothes he''s wearing, you can tell he has no strong family backing if any family at all," Nathan calmly replied. Nathan''s words made them feel a little better. "That Kid had a nice looking ne that seemed like it might be worth a fortune from the way he''s adamantly protecting it. I want one of you to spy on that Moby Kane for me. I need to know what rank he gets, and what ability he has before we attack him. Joe, that person will be you," Nathan said while pointing at one of his subordinates. "Don''t worry. I''ll have everything to know about that Moby Dick guy by the end of the school day I can assure you that," Joe said while smiling. "I''m gonna have fun torturing that kid. That ne will be mine by the end of the day," Nathan said with a disturbing smile on his face. Chapter 4: Skills Exam

4 Skills Exam

Moby lined up and waited for his turn to sign up. After a few minutes of waiting, a mysterious looking boy lined up behind him. He carried 2 daggers on his waist and he wore a cloak that covers most of his face so you could not really make out his appearance. This person was Joe, the person Nathan sent to spy on Moby. After a few more minutes of waiting, it was Moby''s turn. "Student ID please," said a female voice from behind the desk. Moby took out his student ID and handed it to the girl behind the desk. She then took the card and scanned it on herputer. "Thank you, sir, now please draw a card from this box to see what group you will be in for the skill evaluation exam. As you can tell, we have many students applying so we had to separate each exam into 50 groups with at least 10 people each. Don''t worry, it doesn''t matter what group you end up getting. Every group will do the same exam." Moby nodded and stuck his hand into a huge box full of papers. After ruffling it up for a few seconds he finally picked one. ********** Joe''s POV After seeing Moby ruffle up the papers inside the box, he began to prepare to peek at what group he will get in order to get in his same group. Finally, he pulled out a paper. But before he got the chance to make a quick dash and peek at the paper, he suddenly heard a voice from in front of him. "Cool!! I got group 42," as Moby took his paper and left the booth in a jolly mood. Joe was just standing there speechless at how carelessly this guy gave out his information. After Joe got his ID scanned, it was now his turn to draw a card. After ruffling it up for a bit he pulled out a paper. It was number 42. The same one as Moby. Joe had a special ability that gave him really good sensory which allowed him to choose the same number. This was the reason that he was the one chosen to spy on Moby. ********** Moby''s POV After 5 minutes of waiting alone on a bench all pumped and excited for the exam, he heard an announcement. "Sign-ups are now over. Everyone, please head to the exam area that corresponds to your group number and wait for further instructions." After looking around for a bit, Moby spotted exam area 42. There, he found 9 other students standing there waiting. As soon as Moby showed up, the instructor looked at everyone and nodded. The instructor Leo James was a big muscr middle-aged man with dark spikey orange hair, a full well kept beard and hazel eyes. He had big broad shoulders and stood tall at an impressive 6''4. He was wearing a regr muscle shirt that exposed his bulging muscr arms and emphasized his pecks. The instructor walked over to a weird-looking machine. "Your first test will be this power machine. Just attack the red point on the machine with whatever attack or weapon you want and it will give back a number. Like this!" Leo stepped back and took a fighting stance in front of the machine. Then, he punched the machine with such immense strength that it caused shock waves. The number on the machine started to rapidly grow. 1000 points 3450 points 6942 points 9001 points 23400 points 60060 points I''m number finally stopped at 60060 points. The students were all speechless as they stared at their examiner in admiration. "Well dang, I thought it was going to be higher but I guess my hand slipped a bit, sorry guys," Leo said with a smile while rubbing the back of his head. At that point, the student''s mouths dropped even further than before as they had a hard time believing what they just heard. "Well anyway, this is the second and final test. The speed and reflex test. Just stand here for a few moments and then holograms of balls will shoot at you with increasing speed. Your goal is tost as long as possible without being touched by the ball. I won''t be showing a demonstration for this test because we are already low on time. Are there any questions before we start?" The group just stared back in silence¡­ "By your silence, I assume you''re all ready to go. When I call your name pleasee up and take your exam." After that, the exam went by really quickly, some of the applicants had some really interesting abilities that Moby had never seen before. So far, 8 students have taken their exams. 1 got F rank, 3 got E rank, 3 got D rank, and 1 got C rank. Abby Ried, the C rank student was especially strong. She had long red hair tied up into a ponytail that went down to her waist. She wore an expensive-looking red dress with a long ck cape that covered her backside. From her actions, she seemed like the talented and confident rich noble type that thinks she is better than everyone. She was really prettypared to most other girls which even further boosted her ego. You could tell just by her appearance that she was a fire ability user. Out of all the elemental abilities, Fire is one of the strongest and leastmon due to it not being sold on the market. In fact, only a few families in the world have inherited a fire ability. Each fire ability is slightly different from one another having their unique styles and properties. Each family holds a big influence and power in society. The Reid is one of the better-known families that inherited the fire ability. Abby being C rank from her starting examination is no small feat. She got 7620 points on the power machine. Andsted 5 minutes on the speed and reflex test. This gave her a power level of 7540 . To put this into perspective, on the power test the usual scores are as follows Power Ranks F rank: 0 to 1000 E rank: 1001 to 2500 D rank: 2501 to 6000 C rank: 6001 to 12000 B rank: 12001 to 25000 A rank: 25001 to 40000 S rank: 40001 to 60000 X rank: 60001+ And for the speed and reflex test the usual scores are: F rank: 0 to 1 minute E rank: 1 minute to 2 minutes 30 seconds D rank: 2 minutes 30 seconds to 4 minutes C rank: 4 minutes to 6 minutes B rank: 6 minutes to 8 minutes A rank: 8 minutes to 9 minutes S rank: 9 minutes to 10 minutes X rank: 10 minutes+ These scores are then averaged andbined to create an urate power level. Here is the power level scale: Power Level Ranks F rank: 0 to 1000 E rank: 1001 to 2500 D rank: 2501 to 6000 C rank: 6001 to 12000 B rank: 12001 to 25000 A rank: 25001 to 40000 S rank: 40001 to 60000 X rank: 60001+ Thest 2 people to take the exam we''re Joe and Moby. First, it was Joe''s turn. Although Joe had no strength-enhancing ability he was still able to score 1000 on the strength test. Due to the extra strength, the mutation one gets when they get an ability. However, his true talent would only be shown during the speed and reflex test. Due to Joe having a sensory type ability, he was able to fairly easily dodge the iing projectiles. Joe''s ability enhances his senses to the extreme which gives him superhuman vision, hearing, smell, and reaction time. This gave him a good 3 minutes for the speed and reaction test which easily gave him D ss speed and reaction. In total Joe ended up with a power level of 1710 which is around the middle of E rank. Lastly, it was Moby''s turn. When he started to walk up, you can hear a few girls begin to gossip with one another. "Hey who''s that guy? He''s pretty cute, totally my type." "Ya, I agree that guy is pretty handsome." "Hey guys don''t fall for him, look at his clothes he''s totally broke." "I guess that''s true but maybe he''s super strong! He looks like he trains all the time." "Well you will find out soon enough how strong he is" At this point, Moby was too far to hear anything they are saying. Although Moby is considered handsome, he never got any female attention. He has silky ck hair that fell past his eyes, jade green eyes and fairly pale skin with no sign of e. He was also a fairly respectable height standing at 6 feet tall. Moby never even once considered that he was handsome because females always try to stay away from him. Without fail, every female that found out that Moby was poor with no abilities would avoid him like the gue. Their perception of him instantly takes aplete 180 as their interest for him turns into disgust and bullying. Moby never thought this was the problem and just chalked it up to him just being ugly and didn''t think too much of it. As Moby was walking up to take his exam, examiner Leo approached him and said. "Hello there Moby Kane, from your records it says that you have no ability, is that correct?" "Yes sir, that is correct" As soon as he said that, the girls that were previously interested in Moby had aplete change of heart. "See! I told you he was a bum!" "E, what did I ever see in a guy like that!" "Ya, now that I look at him again he''s not even handsome. If anything he''s pretty ugly." The examiner reached into his bag and pulled out 3 different elemental ability orbs. "As per our policy, we will give any student with no ability the option to choose between the 3 basic elemental abilities. Of course, the ability orb will only be level 1 but it''s better than nothing. You may choose either wind, earth, or water," Said Leo as he showed Moby all 3 ability orb. After thinking for a few seconds Moby shook his head denying the orb. "I am very thankful for your generosity, but I must decline your offer. I don''t have any intentions to be indebted to the military. Plus, It''s not like I''mpletely defenseless. I have my family''s martial arts," Moby said with a firm resolve. After hearing that, everyone, including Leo became very confused. In all his years of teaching, Leo never had a student who has rejected the ability orbs. Leo seemed a bit annoyed at Moby''s answer. "Ok fine then, let''s see how well you do during the exam," said Leo with a hint of skepticism. Moby lined up in front of the power machine. He unsheathed his chipped rusty sword from his waist and took a stance. It was the stance for the demon sh. Moby focused his demon energy into his sword and sliced down with all his might. Visually the attack looked really impressive but... 790 points. Everyone startedughing at him from the back. After that talk about how he''s notpletely defenceless and he ended up with only 790 points in the power test. Moby didn''t think much about his score and immediately went on to the next test. He stood in the designated area and waited for the holographic balls toe out. For the first 30 seconds, they were easy enough to dodge but after that, they became a big challenge. At 56 seconds, it was pretty much impossible for Moby to dodge the balls. Moby now had to rely on his other secret move, the demon sh. He focused his demon energy into his legs and performed 1 demon sh dodging a few balls in the process. For the next half a second, Moby seemed like a blur to the audience but they didn''t think too much of it. Even Joe with his enhanced vision could not clearly see what happened. The only person that clearly saw what happened to Moby was Leo. Moby''s 2 secret techniques greatly impressed Leo so he decided that he would keep a closer eye on Moby. It seems like Leo has taken a liking to this abilityless kid. Moby ended up with 57 seconds on the speed and reflex test which is just under E level. "Moby Kane, F rank power level: 800," said Leo with a smile on his face. Chapter 5: The Breaking Poin

5 The Breaking Poin

A normal gunshot would give a 800 on the power test. This means that the sh that the abilityless Moby performed with no magic equipment and a rusty sword was able to match the strength of a gunshot. But what impressed her more is how he was able to suddenly disappear during the speed and reflex test. She respected and acknowledged Moby''s progress as a poor abilityless boy. That is why she chose not tough at him. As Moby lined up, Leo said: "I have a confession to make. This exam was only a formality and wasn''t really even necessary. I will give you a watch right now that you must have on you at all times. This watch can analyze your entire body and assess your power level through the new deep learning military technology. It will also analyze your equipment and add that to your power levels. However, you need to understand that power levels aren''t everything, they don''t take into ount a person''s ability type, fighting techniques, or fighting experience so it isn''t that umon for lower power levels to win against higher power levels. This watch will also be used as a tracking device in order to monitor your locations. Don''t worry, the tracking device will only activate under special circumstances or when the watch senses you are out of your dorms past curfew or dead." This made the students really annoyed because they felt like they took that exam for nothing. However, they didn''t show it on their face in order to not give a bad impression to the examiner. After Leo finished handing out all the watches, Moby put his watch on and noticed that the number disyed was almost exactly the same as the power level he got on the exam. 800, which was exactly what he got on the exam, so the watch seemed fairly urate. "Alright that will be all for today, sses start tomorrow. Curfew is at 12 am so all students must be in their dorms at that time. Your dorm number will be disyed on your watch in a few moments. You will be sharing your room with 2 other first year''s so don''t be surprised if there is someone already in the room when you get in. Today, you can go explore the city, or you can go check out your dorms right away." After a few seconds, Moby noticed that his watch disyed a different number than it did before, RM 202. That must be the room number of Moby''s new dorm. Before going to his new room, Moby decided to go explore the city to buy some food and to get ustomed to his new surroundings. Suddenly he heard a voice calling him from behind. "Yes, why not! I''ll be in your care Mr¡­ Mr. Joe was it right" Moby said while feeling a bit embarrassed. ''Well, that was easier than I expected. This kid must really be pretty retarded,''Joe thought in surprise. "Yes my name is indeed Joe, I''m surprised you even remember," Joe said while still smiling. "Well I try my best to remember everyone''s names," Moby said while rubbing the back of his head. "Do you mind if I bring a few friends along? They will meet up with us on the way," Joe said as his smile became even bigger. "Ne ne ne no of course I don''t mind," Moby said while nervously stuttering. "Ok then let''s go!" said Joe while walking towards the school gate. This made Moby really happy but nervous at the same time. He never had any friends so he never hung out with people in his life. Now, he finally has the chance to make friends. They both left school and started to explore the city. It was much bigger than Moby''s old city. The buildings were at least 3 times the size and the streets were a lot more crowded. As they were both exploring the city, Moby couldn''t help but notice that Joe was constantly on his phone. This made Moby a little intrigued so he asked: "Hey what have you been doing on your phone this whole time?" Joe looked at Moby and smiled. "I am just texting my friends to set up a meeting spot." "Oh, when will we meet them!" Moby said really excitedly. "Soon, very soon¡­" Joe said with an even bigger smile. After walking for a few more minutes. Joe went into a dark and suspicious-looking alleyway. Moby thought nothing suspicious about it and followed him thinking it was just a shortcut to their destination. But little did he know, that was their destination. The alley was filled with garbage. Drops of water seemed to drip from above and a few rodents could be seen scurrying on the ground. The alley was very dark with only a few light sources. As soon as he entered the alleyway, he sensed a high concentration of bloodlust. Then an attack came from his right side. The attack came at a very fast speed and caught Moby a little off guard. So Moby was forced to demon sh away from the attack. However, it left Moby almost out of breath. This was because Moby was already tired from performing the demon sh and demon sh during the exam which only took ce 30 minutes prior. This didn''t give Moby enough time to recover his stamina. Suddenly another attack came from Moby''s other side and he was knocked out. Before his vision went ck he saw Joe standing thereughing at him. He couldn''t understand anything that was going on, then he closed his eyes and copsed on the ground. Suddenly Moby woke up. He was tied up in the alleyway. His mouth was covered with tape so he couldn''t speak. He reeked of a disgusting smell that smelled like urine. He started to rustle around in an attempt to break loose but he was unsessful. "Boss he''s awake" a voice came from the darkness. Suddenly he heard a lot of footsteps headed in his direction. Suddenly one person pulled out his phone and turned on his shlight which illuminated around him. He saw a bunch of random people he doesn''t recognize. Then he noticed 2 familiar faces in the crowd. They were Joe and Nathan. Moby tried to speak but he couldn''t because his mouth was covered. Nathan came to the front of the group and stared at Moby. ''Sorry, we wanted to wake you up but we didn''t have water so we decided to just piss instead," Nathan said whileughing. "Oh sorry I forgot that you can''t speak," Nathan said as he motioned to one of his goons to remove the tape around his mouth. Moby started to heavily pant trying to get air. "I understand your frustration with me, I know what I did was unforgivable. I spilled your 1000 dor drink. And for that, I will ept any punishment you want." Moby said while feeling ashamed. "Ok then give me that ne of yours. I could have easily taken it while you were unconscious. But that would be too easy of a punishment. I want to break your mind and soul to make you give it to me with your free will." "Aren''t I a nice guy?" Nathan said with a sinister smile. As soon as Moby heard this his tone suddenly shifted. His face truly became like that of a devil. "Didn''t I tell your bitch ass that I won''t be giving this ne up for anything in the world. You can torture my ass all you like, but there is no way in hell ill give you my ne," Moby screamed with resolve. "How dare a poor abilityless bitch like you go against my will. At first, I thought you might be somewhat strong because of how you talked back to me when we first met. So I took precautionary measures by sending Joe to spy. You''re so gullible, why would anyone want to be friends with an abilityless trash like you. I will show you what happens when you go against my wishes, I will torture you so hard until you wish you were dead. That ne will be mine and you will hand it over to me with your own hands," Nathan said while pulling a knife out of his pocket. "Heh, tough talk for a fe with a small cock, I may or may not have taken a small peek when you were pissing on me and that shit was tiny" Moby said as he started tough hysterically. Nathan''s head went red with anger, you can almost make out fumes leaving from his face. "Get his ass," Nathan screamed in anger. All 6 members of his gang started to whale on him. Moby tried to stay silent and try to endure the pain but he couldn''t help but scream at a few of the hits. During the disarray, he managed to spot the power levels of Nathan''s gang by looking at their glowing watches. 930, 970, 1710, 1520, 1850, and 2510 which was Nathan''s power level. He felt so powerless at this moment. They had 2 F ranks, 3 E ranks, and 1 D rank. Moby never stood a chance at fighting back with his measly power level of 800. Although Moby has been beaten like this hundreds of times in the past, he never felt so powerless. This was due to one key difference. Unlike all the other times, his ne was on the line. Moby usually had a calm and collected, naive, happy go lucky personality. But when ites to matters of the ne, he bes much more serious and in touch with reality. After 5 minutes of constant beatings, they suddenly stopped to take a break and assess the situation. Moby had 2 broken ribs and many bruises all over his body. But even still, he refused to yield. Nathan sat down in front of the beat-up Moby. He grabbed one of his fingers and broke it. Moby let out a loud scream as he can no longer feel his finger Nathan smiled and said. "It looks like I might have to take a different approach." Nathan ended up breaking every single one of Moby''s fingers. But Moby still wouldn''t give up "seems like you still won''t talk huh fucker, don''t worry ill help make the answer more obvious." He pulled out a knife and ripped out one of Moby''s nails. Although he can no longer feel his fingers, the pain still remained. Moby let out a sharp scream even louder than ever before. Before he knew it, all his fingernails were gone. Every time Moby was tortured in his past, he always convinced himself that it was his fault and he deserved his punishment. This is because he did not care about anything in the world other than his ne. As long as he had his ne he believed that it would be Ok. He felt no hate, resentment, or despair. But now, all those emotions resurfaced back into his mind. He had never felt like this ever since his parent''s death. When Moby''sst fingernail was torn, he thought that it would be the end of the torture. However, he was sadly mistaken. Nathan motioned to one of hisckeys toe. Suddenly, a green light shined on Moby''s hands and they werepletely healed. At first, Moby didn''t understand what this meant. However, the answer slowly became more obvious to him. "Are you ready for round 2?" Said Nathan while smiling. Nathan then proceeded to break all of Moby''s fingers and tear off all his nails again. Then, he signalled the healer to reheal his hand. This process happened over and, and over, and over, and over again. Moby thought that he would eventually get used to the pain. But, he was sorely mistaken. The pain felt the same every time. Even still, Moby had no thoughts of giving up. During the whole thing, Moby would always take a look at the streets, some times a random person would look inside the alleyway and see all the torture that he is going through. But every time without fail, they would leave without saying a word. This was baffling to Moby. How can another human witness such atrocities and not even say a single word? After Nathan repeated the torture cycle for at least 10 times, they all received the same message from their watches. "It is now 11:30 pm, all students outside their dorms are advised to head there right now. If you are not in your dorm by 12:00 there will be severe punishments" "Fuck! Why aren''t you giving up that ne! What''s so important about it that you would endure all this torture?" Nathan screamed as he punched Moby in the face. *Pant* *Pant* *Pant* "You would never understand. This ne is my most prized possession, it is the only thing I have left to remember my dead parents by. I doubt this ne would sell for much anyway" Moby said while panting and out of breath. Nathan''s face became redder than ever before. It was like his face was about to explode any second now. "WWWWHHHHHAATTTTT!!!! I JUST WASTED MY TIME TRYING TO GET THIS CHEAP FUCKING MEMENTO" Nathan screamed with immense rage. He quickly moved over and ripped Moby''s ne from his neck and threw it on the ground. "FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID NECKLACE. I REALLY WASTED MY TIME ON THIS STUPID PIECE OF JUNK! I DON''T WANT IT ANYMORE THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR WASTING MY TIME, I WILL DESTROY YOUR MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES!" Nathan screamed as he lifted his leg in the air ready to step on it. "NOOOOOO DON''T YOU FUCKING DARE," Moby roared as he used all his remaining energy to jumped out in order to intercept Nathans stomp. But before he could, someone whacked him in the back of the head. He felt his vision start to go dark. He tried his best to stay conscious and crawl to where his ne is but suddenly, *Crack* Nathan''s leg came down straight on the ne breaking it right in front of Moby''s eyes. "Why does this world have to be so cruel?" Moby said, as his consciousness started to slip away even further. Before his vision wentpletely ck he saw a message appear right in front of him. \u003c Demon System Activating \u003e 1% 23% 69% 100% \u003c System activated \u003e \u003c Host has been recognized \u003e And then he can hear a calm and soothing female voice say: "Greetings Moby Kane, I am your new Demon System, and I will help you aplish all your goals." Those were the Last words Moby heard before his vision wentpletely ck. Chapter 6: System Unlocked

6 System Unlocked

Suddenly, he heard a soft female voice. "I see you''re now finally awake, host. You''ve been out for over 5 hours now" Moby was startled. He started to look all around him but he could not see a single person. "Ha ha ha! I am your new Demon System. I am a part of you now so it only logical that you can''t see me." "Who the heck are you? really," Moby said in a harsh manner. "I am Avilia Graymore, the first demon lord. Before I died I decided to seal my consciousness in that ne of yours in order to help the future generations of demons." The system said. "You are the demon lord! And, you were sealed in my ne?" Moby said in shock. "Didn''t you notice that when you had the ne on or beside you, you always acted calm with no sign of anger or despair. Even when the worst most humiliating things happened to you, you neverined or anything. However, when it came to matters involving your ne, I was not able to absorb all of your negative energy so it would leak out." the system said. "That is true, it was a bit bizarre," said Moby while thinking. "This is because the ne was absorbing your negative energy leaving you with only positive thoughts." The system said. Moby was shocked by this information but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. When Moby was about to get angry at the system for messing with his mind and ruining his life, she said. "I was aware of everything that happened to you, the negative energy you supplied me every day was astronomical. You would have definitelymitted suicide long ago if it wasn''t for me absorbing all your negative energy." ''That is true. I would have definitelymitted suicide long ago if it weren''t for ne absorbing all my negative energy,'' he thought. Moby''s brain felt freer than ever before. He now feels like he can ess another side of his brain that he was never able to ess before. He could think more logically. He has never felt more in control of his mind and body. Although the current Moby knows not to trust anyone, he feels like he can trust the voice in his head without question. Maybe it is because it became a part of himself now. The more the system talked the more it made sense to him. "What happened to me? how did I get here? My memories are still really hazy" Moby asked in a confused manner. "Oh, so you don''t remember? I''m going to transfer all the memories into your brain so prepare for a big mental shock," said the system. All of a sudden Moby felt an immense headache as all the memories flooded back into his head. Moby suddenly started sweating buckets while panting like crazy. He frantically started checking his body to see if he could find his ne but with no avail. Only one single thought was now in his head, Revenge. Moby instinctively tried to force himself to stand up to go find Nathan and kill his ass. But suddenly the system spoke and calmed his nerves. "Host, please calm down, you are currently not strong enough to fight against them. Please think about this rationally." Moby knew what the system said was true. He calmed down and stayed in his bed. Moby feels an almost familiar bond between him and the system but he is still a bit wary. But, as long as it helps him gain power, then he does not care. "So I understand you are here to help me get stronger. How will you do that?" Moby said while intrigued. "Since you are the owner of the ne, this means that you will be the one to inherit my powers and be the next demon lord. This ne was originally a way to help the next generation of demons. So, it caught me off guard when I found out my new host is a human, so it may make it harder to inherit my powers. I analyzed this world to find which way would be the easiest to help you. I found out that everyone ys these things called "Video Games" so I designed your powers like a video game system. Right now if I were to give you all my powers, you would explode. So, you will have to level up the system more in order to unlock more of my powers" The system said. Moby took some time to let all this information sink into his head before replying. "How do I use this system?" Moby asked. Just think of a menu and it will appear in front of you" the system said. Moby nodded and thought in his head, "Menu". All of a sudden a big blue menu popped up in front of him. There he saw he had a few options, ------------------------------------- Stats and Skills Quests Crafting ------------------------------------- When Moby tried to click one of the options it didn''t work. So instead he thought of what option to choose and said it in his head "Skills and Stats". ------------------------------------- Stats ------------------------------------- Name: Moby Kane Race: Human Level: 1 XP to next level 0/100 Power Level: 800 Hp: 100/100 Demon Energy: 20/20 Demon Energy regeneration: 10 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 20 Intelligence: 20 Agility: 20 Endurance: 20 Mind: 10 Avable Points to distribute: 6 ------------------------------------- Skills ------------------------------------- Sense [Level 1] Enhances a users 5 senses ------------------------------------- Inspect [Level 1] Allows the user to inspect any person or object and general information will be avable. ------------------------------------- Demon sh [Level 1] Focuses Demon Energy into the user''s sword and performs a strong downward sh with immense power. Power: 1.5x a normal sh Cost: 12 Demon Energy ------------------------------------- Demon sh [Level 1] Focuses Demon Energy into the user''s leg and does a short dash at immense speed. Effect: increases speed by 1.5x Range: 1 meter Cost: 8 Demon Energy ------------------------------------- "Your stats are actually pretty highpared to a normal person with no ability, the average amount of points for each stat is only 10 while you have 20, Each stat point is equivalent to a 10 on the power level scale expect for "Mind" which is only used for utility rather than fighting power," Avilia exined Moby inwardly smiled as he slowly examined all his skills. It really did seem like a videogame. Although Moby never had the chance to y video games because he was too poor to purchase a game system, he always heard his ssmates talk about them every day so he knew the general basics. He knew that he had to level up his stats and skills by levelling up and doing quests to be stronger. The system suddenly interrupted his train of thoughts. "Host, you know you have 6 free points to distribute. Since you far exceeded the required amount of negative energy that is required to unseal me. I won''t tell you what each stat does because I want you to figure it out by yourself. I am stuck with you for life. You die, then I die. But I would rather die than have a stupid and ipetent demon lord. I need to judge if you are worthy of inheriting my full power. I will aid you every now and then and answer basic questions. But that is all." The system said with resolve. Moby nodded understanding full well understanding the weight of her words. He then rechecked his stats and what the system said was true. He did have 6 stat points to distribute. Moby thought deeply as to where he should assign his stat points. He chose to avoid Mind and Intelligence for the moment because he does not know what they do. Strength, agility, and endurance had a more obvious effect. In the end, Moby decided to put 2 points into strength, 2 points into agility, and 2 points into endurance. Suddenly, he felt an immense surge of power enter his body. Moby has never felt this refreshed in his life. He looked at his watch and saw his new power level: "860" Moby waspletely stunned. By only assigning 6 stat points, he managed to increase his power level by 60 points. Moby smiled really sinisterly. He knew that with this new ability he would be able to attain the power to get his revenge and even more. But before he became too happy, he needed to check how hard it is to get ability points. He instantly navigated to the quest tab. Quests Quests avable: 1 ------------------------------------- Daily Quest Conditions toplete: 0/100 pushups 0/100 sit-ups 0/100 squats 0/10 Kilometre Run Time remaining 17 hours 24 minutes Rewards: +3 stat points ------------------------------------- At that moment Moby''s eyes lit up with hope. He couldn''t help butugh out loud. The daily quest was just his normal everyday training routine and by doing that he can gain 3 stat points. From what he saw, 1 stat point was equivalent to 10 points on the power level scale. So, by doing the daily quest, Moby can increase his power level by at least 30 every day. And, this doesn''t even include the other quests that he would eventually receive in the future. However, this sudden power increase will cause him many problems. It is not normal for anyone to increase their power level this drastically in a short amount of time. Especially someone with no ability. This will cause a lot of suspicions and unwanted attention to him. If he were to be caught, he would most likely be a guinea pig to the military as they would probably experiment on his body. Moby needs to avoid that at any cost. Luckily, the school doesn''t monitor each student''s power level''s and they don''t track their locations full time because of privacy reasons put in ce so that the military doesn''t spy on the noble children''s families. He needs to find a way to change the number on his watch in order to hide his true power. Abruptly, his thoughts were interrupted by the system. "Host, if hiding your powers is a problem, try suppressing your inner Demon Energy. By doing this, you should be able to control what power level is disyed on the watch. However, be aware that when you release your full power, your power level will go back to normal." Moby became startled as he was not expecting the system to speak. "Hey, can you read my mind?" Moby asked. "Well, I am now part of you, it is only natural, " The system replied. Moby was a little disturbed that the system can read his mind but he decided that it wasn''t a big deal and that it would most likely be a benefit to him in the future. After hearing the system''s advice. Moby tried to suppress his Demon Energy. On his first try, he was able to get his power level down to 800, which was exactly his powerlevel prior to his increase in power. Moby was ecstatic, The experiment was a sess. Now, he has no worries about being caught by the military. Moby remembered that there was one tab that he didn''t check yet. The crafting tab. As soon as he opened it, he saw a huge selection of items to buy. There were weapons, armor, potions. The cheapest thing he saw on the first page was 1 million dors. Moby was in disbelief at how expensive they were to buy. Moby then found the sorting option and sorted all the items from the cheapest to the most expensive. The cheapest things he could find were some very weak potions being only $2000 worth of ingredients. He kept scrolling down until he saw the cheapest weapon he could find. It was a sword that cost $4000 worth of ingredients. ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Katana +30 strength +10 Mind Special Effect: +5% attack power per every consecutive hit. (blocked hits also count as long as the attacks are consecutively chained) Cost: 4 Naga Scales (4000 dors) ------------------------------------- Even though the Katana cost 4000 dors worth of materials, the stat increases would make it well worth the investment. Even though Moby still doesn''t know what mind means. He can only assume that it will be something useful, and the 30 strength would be insane. And this is only the least expensive sword, Moby could only imagine how strong the more expensive weapons would be. Moby became more curious and started to search for the cheapest set of armor this time: Equipment: ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Scarf +10 strength +10 endurance Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Shirt +10 endurance +5 strength +5 Agility Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Gloves +10 strength +10 endurance Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Pants +10 endurance +10 agility Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Shoes +10 endurance +10 agility Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Ring +30 mind +30 intelligence Cost: 1 Ignuim jewel (10000 dors) ------------------------------------- Full set bonus: Demon based attacks are 5% more potent. ------------------------------------- Although each armor piece is really expensive. They give an insane amount of stats. Plus if he gets the full set. He would be able to get the full set bonus. Moby thought it was a good idea to start finding ways in order to make money. Moby took a deep breath and started to process everything that he just learned and obtained from the system. He felt extremely happy. Now that he had a clear and undisturbed mind he can finally get back at the world that wronged him. This is the first time in his life that he felt like he had the power to change his fate. And it will start by torturing and killing that bitch Nathan and his group. \u003c System alert \u003e \u003c New Quest \u003e Getting Revenge ------------------------------------- Details: Get revenge on Nathan and his group for what they did to you. Conditions toplete: 0/6 Students Humiliated 0/6 Student''s Killed Time limit: None Rewards: New Skill unlock +10000 XP +50 stat points ------------------------------------- \u003c Will you ept this quest? \u003e \u003c Yes \u003e \u003c No \u003e Chapter 7: A Pleasant Surprise

7 A Pleasant Surprise

Not only will he be able to get his revenge a lot faster thanks to the system, but he will also be greatly rewarded for doing so. It was like a dreame true. Moby was lucky that no one was in the nurse''s office because it was stillte at night. If that was not the case, then, he would seem like a lunatic psychopath with his darkugh and the few instances where he talked to himself. Although the system and Moby couldmunicate telepathically, at times Moby was so ecstatic that he couldn''t help but think out loud. All the pieces were starting to fall into ce in Moby''s head. He knew that before he started devising any ns, he needs to be much stronger. Then, he remembered his daily quest. The quest reset at 12 am every day so he had a long time toplete it. But, since he had nothing to do until the morning he decided to do them in the nurse''s office. After he added his extra stat points, he no longer became tired due to his sudden surge of power. That meant that now is the perfect time to finish the daily quest. The time is 5:30. ss starts at 8:00. And, the nursees into the room at 7:00 so he should try to be done by then. The push-ups, sit-ups, and squats, were simple enough and only took him 45 minutes toplete. The real problem was how he was supposed to run 10km in the nurse''s office. When he opened the curtains to see the rest of the room, it waspletely empty. The room was by no means small, in fact, it was pretty huge for a simple nurse''s office. But even still, there was hardly any room for running. Moby decided to try running in circles to see if that would go topleting the quest. After running for a few minutes, he decided to check his progress: 679m/10km It was working! although running around in a circle was impractical, slow, tiring, and nauseating. It was the only option he had. Moby could not stand to waste his time. Now that he had a clear way of getting stronger. Only a fool would waste his time after making such a discovery. ************************* 45 minutester. Nurse''s Pov, The Nurse was walking down the hallway on her way to her office. She was very worried. She didn''t expect to have a patient from the first day. Moby was literally knocking on death''s door. If the retrieval team got him to her anyter. There would be no doubt that he would be dead. His ribs were broken poking into his lungs. He had a concussion, a broken femur and many internal injuries. The oddest parts were that all his fingers were broken, his nails were all torn off, and he reeked of human piss. She knew that this was no ident and the boy was on the receiving end of unbelievable torture. She had many questions to ask him in order to file her report on what happened. When she opened the door, she was greeted with the most absurd sight she had ever seen. The boy that was knocking on death''s door just a few hours ago was running in circles like a mad man having a sugar rush. She dropped all of her belongings in shock as she was bbergasted from what she just witnessed. "How are you already out of bed!" She screamed with a hint of concern. ************************* Moby''s Pov, Moby felt like he had been running for a while. But, he has yet to receive a notification forpleting the quest. He hasn''t been focused on the time so he had no idea the clock just hit seven. The door started to unlock but Moby was too upied with finishing the quest to even notice. Then, he received a notification. \u003c Daily Quest Complete \u003e \u003c +3 stat points \u003e Moby didn''t even have time to catch his breath and feel happy for his aplishments before he heard a loud banging from the direction of the door. As he looked, he saw a nice looking young girl wearing a white coat and sses. Under her, were a bunch of books on the ground. She had short brown hair that came down to her shoulders, bright blue eyes, and an impressive looking figure with a cute face. She didn''t look any older than 25 years old. "How are you already out of bed!" Moby quickly looked at the time and noticed that it was already 7:02. He began to beat himself up inwardly at how careless he was. "I just woke up a few minutes ago and I decided to do some exercise, is there something wrong," Moby asked while scratching the back of his head, putting on a fake expression. "Yes! There is something wrong! With your previous condition, you should have been out for at least 1 or 2 days! But, here you are running around good as new!" "Condition?" Moby said while trying to feign ignorance. "What? You don''t remember what happened?" The nurse asked in surprise. The nurse should have expected this oue. She forgot that the boy suffered a big concussion so there was a high probability that he would have lost his memory. "As I said, I woke up in this room not too long ago. I suspected that I might have been injured and brought here. However, I have no memories of how I became injured. When I woke up, I felt like I had no injuries and waspletely full of energy so I decided to exercise like I usually do every morning," Moby said like he couldn''t understand anything going on. Moby then heard augh in his head: "Heh heh heh. Host, I never knew you were such a smooth liar," the system said. "Well, my old self was always honest thanks to you absorbing my negative energy so I was unable to tell a lie. Now I can do whatever I want with no shackles restricting my brain. I can''t let her know about Nathan because it would definitely get in the way of my revenge so this is the best option I have. Hopefully, she believes me or else I will be in really deep shit due to my carelessness," Moby replied. "I believe you, since you lost your memories, I will not pry any further into this affair. I don''t know how you recovered so quickly but I am really happy that you are okay. You were nearly dead when you came in for treatment you know? This is a miracle that you survived." The nurse said with a genuine-looking smile. "Oh was I really? Thank you for saving my life. I am so sorry if it was any hassle," said Moby while nervouslyughing. "No, no, I promise you were no hassle. I am only doing my job," the nurse said nervously. The nurse then coughed twice and regained herposure. "I have prepared your new student uniform for you since your old clothes were torn up and dirty, the retrieval team also managed to find your sword, it was right next to your body when you were found. Your clothes will be in the next room where you will find a shower. I rmend you take one because you smelled very unpleasant when you arrived. Sorry if that sounded a little mean, that was never my intention and I was merely trying to inform you, that''s all. After that, you should head straight to ss, you will be informed about your homeroom from your watch 20 minutes before ss. I wish you a safe day at school. If you remember anything about what happened to you, please let me know and I will do everything in my power to help you." She said with a concerned, loving smile. Moby nodded with a smile and headed towards the showers. As soon as he exited the room, his smile instantly disappeared into his usual serious expression. "I never thought that faking a smile could be so tiring," Moby mentally thought with a sigh "Thatdy seemed really nice don''t you think?" the system said. "Don''t be fooled, she definitely had some sort of ulterior motives. From my past experiences, I''ve learned not to trust anyone no matter how nice and fluffy they look on the outside. The only person I can trust is myself," Moby replied. "Do you trust me?" The system asked "Well you are part of me now so ya I guess" "That''s good to know, host." "And stop calling me host, it''s annoying just call me Moby. And I don''t feel like calling you system all the time, it makes me feel like a robot so from now on I''ll be calling you Avilia." "Ok, Moby, I understand" "By the way, why are you even asking me questions? I thought you can read my mind" Moby questioned. "Well I am only able to see your surface thoughts and general ideas so I wouldn''t say I canpletely read your mind," Avilia replied. "Well, that''s good to know," Moby said while smiling. ************************* 20 minutes have passed since Moby left the nurse''s office. Moby got out of the shower wearing his new school uniform. The uniform was a ck button-up coat with white and red lines enting the look. The pants were a pair of flexible joggers that matched the same colour scheme. And the shoes were all-ck running shoes. The entire outfit was extremely flexible andfortable to wear. Moby has never worn such nice clothes in his life. The time was 7:35, so it was 5 minutes before he will be notified about what ss he will be in. He suddenly remembered that he still has 3 stat points to assign frompleting the daily quest. After a little thinking, he decided to add 1 point into endurance, 1 point into strength, and 1 point into agility. He wanted to have a more well-rounded build. But he still didn''t have the time to experiment with intelligence and mind so he still ignored them for now. Moby''s stats were now as follows: Stats ****************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Human Level: 1 XP to next level 10/100 Power Level: 890 Hp: 100/100 Demon Energy: 20/20 Demon Energy regeneration: 10 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 23 Agility: 23 Endurance: 23 Intelligence: 20 Mind: 10 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ****************** Suddenly his watch started to ring "RM 219" That must be his ssroom number. Moby still had 20 minutes before ss started so he was in no rush to go to ss. So he decided to walk to the ss slowly as he decided to explore the school a little. On his way to ss, he noticed many disgusted stares from other students. As soon as they saw his power level, they would look at him with cold hating eyes like he was some sort of unwanted rodent that wound up in the school. He saw many instances of girls that tried to approach him but then walk away quickly when they notice the number on his watch. Moby has seen these scenes y out many times during his time in his previous schools but, only now does he realize their true meaning. Mobyughed inwardly to himself and continued walking ignoring the awful stares. It doesn''t bother him now. Because, in the future, he will rise above all of them, and show them who they were looking down on. After a few minutes of exploring the school, Moby finally decided to head to ss. ''Room 219, this should be it,'' Moby thought. As Moby entered the room. He started to look around. It seemed like most of the ss was already here and most of the seats were taken. Then, he heard a familiar voice that would have been impossible for him to forget. "Hey Moby! Come here! There is an open spot right next to me!" He shouted while smiling at him. Chapter 8: An Old Friend

8 An Old Friend

Although he was not very strong, he was well strong enough to beat Moby. Since he was still considered weak, he was also bullied every day. Almost every day, he would use Moby as a punching bag and extort him out of a lot of money to vent out his anger. The past Moby was naive and stupid so he would always take his beating with noints. But now that his mind is clearer, he wants nothing more than to kill him. Moby did not give two shits about how he was also bullied. Whoever messes with him will get what he deserves. That is his new way of life. Moby decided to act like his previous naively positive personality to not arouse any suspicions. Moby walked towards him and sat right next to him. "Hey there Eric! Its been so long! I''m so d to see a familiar face in my ss," Moby said with a fake smile. "Hey, Moby old buddy, Didn''t ya miss me? I bet you got bored all summer without mypany" Eric replied whileughing. Eric knew that Moby is extremely stupid and easily manipted so he couldn''t help butugh. He looked at Moby''s power level just to be sure he is still much weaker than him and it was still the case. The number it disyed was: \u003c 800 \u003e Eric could not help butugh even louder. "Summer was very boring without my buddy Eric!" Moby said while still smiling. "Anyways, since you and I didn''t see each other during the summer, you are 90 days overdue with your daily payment. My sister is still in the hospital and her condition has gotten much worse. I need your help paying for her expenses! Since you are overdue 90 days, I will add some interest to your daily payment of 10 dors a day. So your total will be 1200 dors." Eric said while sinisterly smiling. Eric was of course lying. You can easily tell by his tone of voice. The excuse that his sister was in the hospital is a total fabrication. He was simply trying to find an excuse to extort a stupid ignorant kid that was weaker than him to gain more money. "Also my fighting skills have gotten a little rusty so I wish to practice with you after school. Meet me in the woods behind the school at 5 o''clock there you will give me the money and we will have our little spar, ok?" Eric said with an even creepier smile. Moby looked at Eric''s watch to see his power level. \u003c 950 \u003e No wonder he was able to easily beat Moby. Before the system, Moby''s power level was a measly 800. The difference in power level was simply too high. But now, Moby''s power level is 890, so he stands a much higher chance of winning. "Yes of course anything for my buddy Eric! I''ll grab the money and meet you in the woods behind the school at 5!" Moby said while smiling even bigger. \u003c System Alert \u003e \u003c New Quest \u003e "The F ss Bully" ******* Description: Kill the Bully Eric Quinn in the most brutal way possible. Make sure to torture him and make him pay for ever messing with you. Students Killed: 0/1 Students Tortured: 0/1 Time limit: 15 hours and 30 minutes Rewards: 15 Stat points 1 XP/Tear 5 XP/Times Begged For life 3 XP/Scream ******* \u003c Will You ept This Quest? \u003e \u003c Yes \u003e \u003c No \u003e At that moment Moby could not help butugh out loud. As he instantly Clicked "Yes". Eric thought that it was a bit bizarre and out of character but he thought nothing of it. He was dying to beat the shit out of Moby because he has not vented his frustration on him in over 3 months. This was a very intriguing quest for Moby. It seemed like he gets rewarded by how hard he tortures Eric. Moby could not have hoped for a better quest. "Thank you for the wonderful quest Avilia," Moby thought inwardly. "No problem! The guy deserves it! Just look at his smug face. I can''t stand it," Avilia said like she was in disgust. "It seems like we are in agreement," Moby replied. Suddenly a big muscr man with a full beard walked in the room. He had spikey orange hair and hazel brown eyes. His Attire was very professional as he was wearing a button-up shirt and tie with dress pants. It was examiner Leo! "Good morning students, I will be your homeroom teacher, Professeur Leo." Moby was surprised to see that his homeroom teacher is the same person that judged his exam group. After a 7-hour straight lecture about the history and horrors of the war only taking a break to have lunch. It was now 3:00. School was finally over. Although the lecture was long, Professeur Leo somehow managed to keep everyone''s attention. This lecture was a scare tactic to make students work harder. Moby didn''t really care about the lecture so he slept through most of it. On his way out, he saw Eric waiting by the door. "Don''t forget, I will meet you at the entrance of the woods behind the school at 5 o''clock. Don''t bete" Eric said while walking away. "Don''t worry, there is no way I would forget, trust me," Moby said with a disturbing smile. As Moby was walking out of the school, he noticed it started to rain. He began thinking of the different ways he was going to torture Eric to maximize his XP gain. He decided that he will need to buy some rope to tie him up with after he knocks him out. The School provides each student with a 50 dor sry every day. The money is transferred straight to each student''s watch. The school already provides free food and drinks to students. So, the money they provide can be used for anything the student wants because they do not have to pay for food or shelter. Seeing people with higher power levels extort people for their daily sry is a verymon sight because the teachers do not care. So Moby had to go very low profile to not grab the attention of any high levels. Moby managed to make it to the supermarket with no problems. He used most of his money to buy a long sturdy rope. He put the rope in his bag and walked back to school. He headed for the entrance of the woods while keeping a low profile. The time was exactly 5 o''clock. As he neared the entrance of the woods he could see the figure of someone waiting. As he got closer, he saw that it was Eric. "You kept me waiting, you are 1 minutete. I guess this means that I will have to go tougher on you in training," Eric said while smiling. "I understand, I feel awful for making you wait for me. I will ept whatever punishment you see fit" Moby said while bowing hiding his creepy looking smile. "You have the money right?" Eric asked in a harsh tone. "Of course I do, you don''t have to worry about a thing," Moby said while smiling. "There is a river that flows further in the forest, we shall go there for our secluded training. Not many people know about it so we will definitely be undisturbed there," Eric said while smiling. "Secluded uninterrupted training! I like the sound of that!" Moby excitedly said whileughing. They both began walking to their new location. It took them 20 minutes straight of walking to reach their destination. Moby could not help but feel like that was time wasted. For these 20 minutes, Moby could have been torturing Eric. He felt like he was wasting valuable XP. This made Moby very angry. But, he could not show it on his face in order to not arouse any suspicion. When they arrived they put their bags next to a tree and wore their fighting gear. "We are finally here. This river is my secret spot, no one should disturb us here. This will be fun" Eric said whileughing cynically. "Yes, this will be fun indeed," Moby replied with a big smile. Chapter 9: The Sweet Taste Of Revenge

9 The Sweet Taste Of Revenge

The area they were in was a clearing in the forest surrounded by trees. Moby decided to test out his inspect skill on Eric before the fight started: ****** Name: Eric Quinn Race: Human Ability: Level 1 Wind Power Level: 950 Hp: 100/100 Mana: 27/27 Strength:32 Agility: 22 Endurance: 14 Intelligence: 27 Mind: 0 ****** Moby was surprised at the amount of information the inspect skill provided him. It not only provided him with what ability his opponent has and what level it is. It also provided him with all their stats. Moby made a few observations while examining the information that was provided with him. The first was that he used mana instead of demon energy. This must be their energy pool for using their ability. Second, each ability has a level next to it which corresponds to how much the skill is developed. Third, andst, is that he has 0 points in mind. "Mind is a statistic that corresponds to mental powers such as mind control. It is a given that he doesn''t possess any points in mind" Avilia said. "Then how do I have 10 points in mind?" Moby asked inwardly. "Every demon has at least 10 points in mind. Since you are inheriting my powers, it is only natural that you would possess some points in mind," Avilia replied. "I guess that makes sense," Moby replied. Suddenly his train of thought was interrupted. "Are you ready buddy? We will start the fight in 5 seconds if that''s ok with you," Eric said while stillughing. "Of course I''m ready! I''m going to have so much fun!" Moby replied as he regained his previous excitement. 5 4 3 2 1! Moby decided to hide his power in order to wait for his opponent to let his guard down. Eric created 2 wind des, One on each arm and threw them towards Moby. Moby managed to clumsily dodge both des leaving shallow wounds on his body. -7 Hp Hp: 93/100 Eric continued his onught of wind des towards Moby. -3 Hp -6 Hp -9 Hp Hp: 75/100 Although Moby can see his Hp go down on every attack like he''s in a game, the pain was still real. Moby dodged each attack in a way that made him seem like he got hit and heavily injured. This is only a tactic to fool his opponent into thinking that he is fatally injured and rush him carelessly. In fact, Moby was precisely dodging each de in a way that made it look like he took full impact and made his shallow wounds look deep. Moby started heavily panting while clutching his heart in pain. Of course, this was just the bait for his opponent toe to fight him up close. In a ranged fight, Moby would stand no chance of winning as he does not have any ranged attacks. Also, he wasn''t fast enough to close the distance while dodging all the wind desing at him. So getting Eric to rush him is his only chance to ensure his victory. *************************** Eric''s Pov, Eric startedughing inwardly. "He is truly as weak as before! I''ll take it slow and have fun with him." Instead of staying far away, where he has the biggest advantage, he decided to go up close and personal since it looks like his opponent is out of breath and severely injured. Eric created a wind sword and rushed at Moby while smirking ominously. Moby went on one knee and pretended to cough blood. Eric finally reached Moby. He lifted his sword and shed down onto the clearly hurt and tired Moby at immense speed. "This will be your punishment for making me wait!" Eric screamed like a lunatic. Before Eric''s wind sword reached his head. Moby suddenly disappeared. Then he felt an immense pain strike him in the back of the head. His vision went dark and he lost control of his body as he hit the ground hard with a powerful thud. Eric waspletely unconscious. *************************** Moby''s Pov, As soon as he saw the wind swording down on him, he immediately activated his demon sh to quickly go behind him. Then, in one smooth motion, he used his demon sh with his sword still in its scabbard to attack the back of his head knocking him out instantly. This all happened in an instant which left Eric with no chance to react. It was thest thing he ever expected to happen. As soon as Moby saw Eric''s unconscious body, he couldn''t help butugh like a mad man. He felt happier than he could ever remember being in his whole life. However, he felt even happier when he thought of all the cruel ways he can torture him. Moby quickly ran and got the rope out of his bag. Then, he firmly tied it around Eric''s still unconscious body. The time was already 6:00 so he still had 5 hours and 30 minutes to torture him. Moby felt impatient and started pping Eric''s face trying to wake him up. He is trying not to seriously injure his body until he is awake. This is because he wants him to be awake for all the pain he will inflict on him. After 5 minutes of pping, he was still not waking up. So, Moby gave up on that idea. Then, he remembered something obvious. The river, he can drown him a bit in the river to wake him up. Moby started to beat himself up for his stupidity for not realizing that sooner. Moby dragged Eric''s body by the hair to the river. He grabbed his head and shoved it into the water. It didn''t even take 10 seconds before Eric''s body started squirming in the water. Moby instantly grabbed his head out of the water and threw it on the ground. Eric let out a loud scream as he started to cough a huge amount of water. "You fucker! What the hell did you do to me! Eric roared in anger as he tried to break out of the rope. "Save your breath, you won''t be able to break out of the rope. It is a high-quality military-grade rope so it won''t break that easily. And with your hands tied, you have no way of activating your ability" Moby said as he punched him in the face. "Hey, Moby old buddy, Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends," Eric said nervously. "Friends my ass! Every day you would beat me up senseless until I could barely walk! You extorted me out of most of my money under a fake premise of your sister being in the hospital. You exploited my stupidity and weak strength to mess with me and push your own agenda" Moby said as he continuously kicked him in the stomach. Eric let out multiple cries and threw up litres on the ground. "How can weak, stupid trash like you do this to me! I was sure that your power level was way lower than me! This should have never happened! You were supposed to be my ve and punching bag for all eternity!! Eric roared in disbelief. "Are you sure about that? Why don''t you look again?" Moby said while smiling. Eric took another look at Moby''s watch. \u003c 890 \u003e Eric was staring at the number on the watch in disbelief. There is no way that someone can hide their power levels. He was sure that Moby''s power level was a measly 800 just a few hours ago. "Tell me how you bastard! What kind of prank is this! No one can hide their power level! It''s impossible!" Eric screamed going crazy. "Seems like it''s not as impossible as you think then," Moby said, failing to hold back hisughter. At this moment Ericpletely gave up hope. His only hope now is to grovel and beg for forgiveness. "P..p..p..please spare me. I promise to never bother you again. Even better I''ll be your ve for life just please spare my life! I''ll do anything!" Eric screamed as a waterfall of tears gushed out his eyes. Moby then crouched down to meet Eric at eye level and smiled very sadistically. "I will torture you so hard that you wish you turn to dust. Until you start bleeding tears. Until every bone in your body has been broken. Until your face is unrecognizable and you look like a monster. Only then will I allow you the freedom of death. I will pay you back 1000 times harder for all the pain and suffering you caused me." Moby said with a creepy distorted smile. "However, if you managed to beg me for your life 1000 times then I might consider letting you live," Moby said whileughing. Of course, Moby had no intention of letting him live no matter what. Moby just thought of this idea in order to maximize his XP gain. "PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE! PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE! PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE! PLEASE SPARE MY LIFE! " Eric started screaming like a lunatic. Moby ignored his screams and grabbed one of his fingers, breaking it. Eric let out a loud disturbing scream. Moby had been tortured so many in the past that he couldn''t wait to try on his enemies what he had experience in his past. He had been tortured such an insane amount of times that doing it himself does not disturb him in the least. It''s like watching your brother y video games as a spectator for many years and now it''s finally your turn to give it a try. "I''m going to start out nice and easy with you, don''t worry about a thing," Moby said whileughing. Moby then broke every finger on his hands. Then he ripped out all the nails. Slowly, one by one. Before he knew it, he had already taken them all out. The whole time, Eric was still asking Moby to spare his life all while crying like a baby. Eric hung on to the false sense of hope that he might be able to survive if he continued begging. Moby grabbed Eric by his hair to the nearest rock. Then, he repeatedly smashed his face on it until his face was no longer recognizable. As he was doing it, he noticed teeth and blood flying everywhere as Eric continued to cry and beg for mercy. Almost all of Eric''s teeth were gone, his nose was broken, his face was bleeding like crazy with many cuts and bruises. You can literally not tell that this person was Eric Quinn even if you were his closest rtives. Moby couldn''t get to Eric''s arms because they were tied up. So, Moby quickly cut off the rope that was tieing Eric. Eric''s barely recognizable eyes lit up, it was like a gift from the heavens! It was now his chance to get his revenge for all the torture. But, before he even got the chance to use his ability. He saw both his arms flying in the air above him. Eric let out a scream louder than any other scream he ever did in his life. His false sense of relief and victory was shattered in only a few seconds. Moby could not help but roll on the groundughing at his predicament. Eric saw this as a chance to escape so tried to run away. But before he knew it, he tumbled down as he can no longer feel his legs. Moby cut them both off just like he did with his arms. Eric is now just a body with a head. He has no arms or legs anymore. Eric tried to scream but only a faint sound escaped his mouth. All the screaming and begging that he did wore off his vocal cords. His eyes also dried up as he no longer has enough water in his eyes for tears. Eric was bleeding out on the ground like crazy, he only had 10 minutes to live at most. The time was already 11:20 pm so the quest ends in 10 minutes anyways so Moby didn''t mind knowing that. "It seems like you still have a few working bones and internal organs. Why don''t we fix that shall we" Moby said in a sadistic tone? Once again Eric tried to scream for mercy but nothing woulde out his mouth other than an ugly squeal. Moby then stomped on his body with such tremendous force that all his bones and organs copsed all at once. He puked out all his innards in a puddle right in front of him from how strong the blow was. Now, Eric had a few seconds to live at most. Moby knew this fact very well. He knew exactly what he had to do. "SAYONARA BITCH!" Moby said as he swiftly cut off his head. \u003c System Alert \u003e \u003c You Have Gained 150 XP From Killing a High-level F ss Opponent \u003e \u003c Quest: "The F ss Bully" Has Been Complete \u003e \u003c Tears shed: 1403 \u003e \u003c Times Screamed: 204 \u003e \u003c Times begged for life: 367 \u003e \u003c Rewards: \u003e \u003c +15 skill points \u003e \u003c + 3850 XP \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e \u003c You Have Reached Level 10! \u003e \u003c You Have Reached The Stage Of Evolution! \u003e \u003c Do You Want To Evolve? \u003e \u003c Yes \u003e \u003c No \u003e Chapter 10: Evolution!?

10 Evolution!?

Moby patted himself on the back for his amazing aplishment. He jumped up and down celebrating like a child opening his presents on Christmas. He was too happy to hold back his excitement. Then, he noticed that one notification lingered and didn''t disappear like the others. \u003c You Have Reached The Stage Of Evolution! \u003e \u003c Do You Want To Evolve? \u003e \u003c Yes \u003e \u003c No \u003e Moby stopped his celebration and wore his usual serious expression. He didn''t know the exact meaning of the notification so he didn''t want to rush into any decision. "Avilia, what is this evolution thing?" Moby inwardly asked. "It''s a surprise! If I tell you now, it will ruin it!" Avilia said in a cute tone. "Some help you are¡­" Moby said while sighing. "Don''t be like that! Fine, I''ll tell you this much. If you want to inherit my full power. You will have to go through the evolution process. To tell you the truth, I did not expect you to evolve already. You really farmed the shit out of that Eric guy," Avilia said while cheerfullyughing. After hearing that, Moby decided that he had no choice. If he intended on getting even stronger than he is right now, he will have to go through with this. Moby steeled his resolve and quickly chose the "Yes" option. Suddenly he started feeling immense pain in his chest and head. Then, he felt like his skin was burning and his blood was boiling. After that, he started throwing up ck blood in litres and he felt his bones start to crack. It felt like his body waspletely destroying itself. Moby started screaming so loud that it sounded almost inhuman. This was by far the most excruciating pain that Moby has ever felt in his life. Nothing even came close. After 1 minute of Moby trying to endure the pain. It finally stopped. Although the pain onlysted for one minute on the outside, for Moby it felt like months or even years of torture. Moby was clutching his heart in pain as he was desperately breathing heavily in order to catch his breath. \u003c Congrattions! Your evolution was sessful! \u003e As soon as Moby caught his breath, he demanded an exnation from Avilia, "What the fuck Avilia! Are you trying to kill me! Exin yourself now!" Avilia started to giggle and then said. "Open your stats and skills and you''ll find out" Moby then instantly opened his stats and skills immediately after hearing what Avilia said. Stats ------------------------------------- Name: Moby Kane Level: 10 XP to next level 0/1000 Power Level: 940 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 25/25 Demon Energy regeneration: 12 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 23 Agility: 23 Endurance: 23 Intelligence: 25 Mind: 15 Avable Points to distribute: 105 ------------------------------------- Skills ------------------------------------- Basic Demon Energy control [Level 2] (passive) Allows the user to sense and use Demon Energy. ------------------------------------- Sense [Level 2] (Passive) Enhances a users 5 senses ------------------------------------- Inspect [Level 2] Allows the user to inspect any person or object and general information will be avable. ------------------------------------- Demon sh [Level 1] Focuses Demon Energy into the user''s sword and performs a strong downward sh with immense power. Power: 1.5 a normal sh Cost: 12 Demon Energy ------------------------------------- Demon sh [Level 1] Focuses Demon Energy into the user''s leg and does a short dash at immense speed. Effect: increases speed by 1.5x duration: 0.1 seconds Cost: 8 Demon Energy ------------------------------------- Eyes of Sin [Level 1] Special eyes only possessed by those of the demon race. Greatly improves vision and perception. Allows the user to see 0.1 seconds in the future. Increases all stats by 10% Cost: 2 Demon Energy/Second ------------------------------------- Nightmare [Level 1] Inflicts your opponent with fear by making direct eye contact, paralyzing them. Effect Duration: 0.5 seconds (Duration increases as mind stat goes up) Max range: 0.5 Meters Cost: 10 Demon Energy ------------------------------------- Moby stood there speechless as he carefully read everything in front of him. "I''m¡­ I''m¡­ I''m¡­ a demon!" Moby screamed in confusion. "Wee to the demon club, my friend," Avilia said with a cheerful tone. Moby''s initial shock about bing a demon slowly faded away as he started to ept his change. If it would make Moby stronger, he was all for it, and from the changes he sees in his stats and skills, he is already liking what he is seeing. The first thing he noticed is that his hp cap is now 120 instead of 100 and his Demon Energy cap is now at 25 instead of 20. And, his power level increased from 890 to 940. The second thing he noticed was that his Demon Energy regeneration has gone from 10 Demon Energy/hour to 12 Demon Energy/hour. The third was he suddenly got 5 more points in mind and intelligence without assigning any stat points to the skill. "Demon''s have a lot of mind-rted powers and abilities and have arger energy reserve than humans. So, by bing a demon, it is obvious that you would gain at least some points in mind and intelligence," Avilia quickly interjected, answering Moby''s question. The fourth was that he now has a mouth-watering 105 stat points to assign. Going by his previous knowledge that 1 stat point is equal to 10 power levels, He should be able to raise his power level by 1050 points! This got Moby really excited. The fifth was that his inspect, basic Demon Energy control, and sense skills have now reached level 2. Moby really noticed the difference with his "sense" passive skill. All his 5 senses now feel ultra heightened. Moby can clearly see through the darkness of the night like he had night vision. He can hear the slightest sounds that happen with considerable rity. And, his nose became far more sensitive as he was able to clearly smell and distinguish the different herbs in the forest. He was also able to more clearly smell Eric''s putrid corpse which made him chuckle a bit as he was reliving the good times they both just had. Finally, thest thing he noticed was 2 new skills at the bottom of his skills tab. The first one he noticed was the skill "nightmare". The skill paralyzes the opponent for 0.5 seconds. This might not sound like a lot but with 0.5 seconds, it would be just enough distraction to deliver a fatal blow. The duration can also be increased by putting points into the mind stat. At least Moby now has an incentive to focus more on the mind. The skill cost 10 Demon energy so it was really expensive. This means the Moby needs to think carefully before using it and depleting his energy reserves. The second skill is the one that caught Moby''s attention the most, the "Eyes of Sin". The effects it provided was astronomical. It allowed the user to have much greater vision and perception. Allowed the user to see 0.1 seconds into the future. And raised all stats by 10%. However, this skill has one huge drawback. The immense energy consumption at 2 Demon energy/ Second. Even with full Energy reserves, the skill wouldst 12.5 seconds at most and there would be no spare energy to use any other skills. This was a huge problem. Moby decided to keep this skill as ast resort or when it is absolutely necessary. He needed more energy reserves and regeneration to properly use this skill in actualbat. Suddenly Moby''s thoughts were interrupted as he heard 5 footsteps 2 Kilometres away headed straight for his direction. Suddenly it hit him, How could Moby be so stupid and careless. Whenever a student dies, the watch pings their location. Then a retrieval group wille to investigate what happened. Moby should have immediately run away from the scene as soon as he killed Eric. But instead, he was careless and stayed as he was too distracted from the system notification. The time was already 11:35, Moby had exactly 25 minutes to return to his dorms without being spotted by the retrieval team. If he was caught by the retrieval team, he would be considered the prime suspect in the murder. And, if he was caught outside his dorm past curfew, he would also be considered as the biggest suspect as there were many people that saw both him and Eric enter the woods together. "They are closing in fast! They are only 1.5 kilometers away! Stop standing there like an idiot and move!" Avilia shouted snapping Moby out of his panicked state. Chapter 11: A Sight to Behold

11 A Sight to Behold

As Moby started feeling helpless and was about to give in to his cruel fate, he suddenly remembered that he had 105 free ability points to assign. Moby knew what he had to do. But, he was reluctant to do it as it would mess up his previous ns. Moby that screamed a mental "fuck it dood" as he used 75 of his new points into the agility stat. Although he was hesitant to do it in order to not drastically unbnce his stats, he knew it was his only chance at surviving this ordeal so he went with it anyways. Moby then assigned his remaining 30 points into strength. He knew that he is a total ss cannon right now. He has almost no points in endurance but, this was definitely the best course of action. With a lot of speed, he can rely on his ability to dodge instead of withstanding hits. So, endurance became less of a priority. The problem is that there is no use for the super speed if his hits feel like no more than a tickle. That is why he poured his remaining points into strength. Moby dashed out into the forest at an incredible speed, he was easily 4 times faster than before. Considering his previous estimation, he should now be able to reach his dorms in well under 15 minutes. This means that he should be able to reach his dorm well before curfew. The sea of blood that gushed out of Eric during the entire torture session mixed with the small traces of Moby''s blood making it virtually untraceable. He did not worry about leaving a trail leading to him as he decided to jump from tree to tree instead of running as it removes footprints and should make him untraceable as long as he doesn''t break any branches. The increasingly heavier rain dried up his bloody clothes making it drip water instead of blood, meaning he wouldn''t leave a trail of blood behind him as well. Moby''s previous top speed was a zing fast 40kph (25mph). This is the peak speed for a human with no ability. But, ability users could easily exceed that amount of speed with low efforts. Now, due to all his stats in agility, his speed is around 200kph (124mph) which is well over 4 times faster than his previous top speed. His speed had increased a total of around 2kph (1.24mph) per point he assigned into agility making it a very drastic increase. Using his newly upgraded senses, Moby can pinpoint the exact distance and direction the retrieval team is headed. This allowed Moby to choose the most optimal path that will ensure his safety. his new stats were now: ****** Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 10 XP to next level 0/1000 Power Level: 1990 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 25/25 Demon Energy regeneration: 12 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 53 Agility: 98 Endurance: 23 Intelligence: 25 Mind: 15 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ****** ************************************ The retrieval team was now only 200 metres away from where the watch pinged the signal. They began to smell a putrid smelling from their destination so they knew something serious had taken ce. But, they did not seem too worried as they have probably seen these things many times in the past. It is almost like they got used to their Jobs. Although they were professional military soldiers that have seen and experienced a lot in life. They were not at all prepared for the sight they were about to witness. When they arrived, every one of them without exceptions looked at the scene with eyes of horror. It was a feeling they have not experienced in many years. Some of them could not help but throw up after what they just witnessed. Guts and body parts were scattered all over the field. Almost all the grass in the area had been dyed red from all the blood. The body parts were all deformed and bent in weird and disturbing positions. The hands had all their fingernails ripped out and all the fingers were broken. A rock can be seen severely cracked and soaked in blood with a bunch of teeth found surrounding it. The head of the student was cruelly cut off. They could not even recognize his face at all from the brief report and pictures they were given to identify him. He had no teeth, his nose broken, his face''s bone structure all crooked and bent out of shape, and some of his hair had turned white from their previous ck. His facial expression the moment he died was the most disturbing thing of all. The expression he wore was that of someone who was given a false sense of hope, only to have it snuffed out momentster in the cruellest way possible. The retrieval team could not help but feel immense pity. This was also an emotion that was lost to them for many years. They reluctantly put all the body parts in a storage ring so they can bring it back to the nurse to do an autopsy. The retrieval team has now split up into 2 groups. One will bring Eric''s body back for an autopsy, the other group will stay and search the area for any leads or potential suspects. ************************************ It was now 11:50 pm, Moby had finally safely made it to his dorm room. Moby instinctively controlled his power level back down to 800 as soon as he arrived at the door. He then scanned his student ID to sessfully unlock it. As he reached to open the door, he noticed his bloody hands, then he took a better look at all the clothes he was wearing. They were all soaked in blood from head to toe. He then remembered he is not alone in his dorm room and is sharing it with two other people. "Fuck me sideways, How stupid can I be!" Moby inwardly cursed. If he opens the door and both his dorm mates are awake, he would be in very deep shit. He would then have to resort to drastic measures in order to silence them. Moby does not want to do that because it would have a high chance of backfiring in his face. He just has to bet on the small chance that they are asleep so he can safely clean and change his clothes. Moby''s hands were trembling like crazy. He had never felt so anxious in his entire life. His hands slowly approached the door handle while shaking even harder. He firmly grasped the door handle. His face started sweating like a waterfall from all the stress. For the first time in his life, he started praying to God to help him. Then all of a sudden, a crazy pain hit him in the head making him lose his concentration as he identally opened the door. When a small portion of the room was finally visible, Moby noticed a bright lighting through. "Fuck! I''m done for! Why is life always so cruel!" Moby inwardly cursed as he felt his whole life sh before his eyes. Chapter 12: The Great Escape

12 The Great Escape

He had dark blue hair that fell down past one of his eyes. His blue eyes lookedpletely empty with terrible bags under them. He wore a pair of headphones that blocked out all the noises from his surroundings. He did not even bat an eye to Moby that abruptly opened the door. Moby''s mind was in shambles not being able to make heads or tales of his situation. Moby instinctively readied his Katana and was about to attack the student when he felt Avilia''s voice ringing in his head. "ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED??!" Moby suddenly stopped what he was doing and finally regained his senses. "That boy does not even notice that you entered the room! You were about to ruin everything with your stupid impulses. Now go to the washroom and clean up before he notices you!" Avilia urgently pleaded. Without even a moment of thinking, Moby demon shed towards a door that looked like it would belong to the washroom. He swiftly opened the door and entered quickly closing it behind him as quietly as possible. Moby leaned back on the door sighing in relief. "It''s finally safe," Moby inwardly thought. Then his moment offort was abruptly halted by the sound of singinging from the shower. "No longer a sidekick no that''s not me! Picture my booty up in 3D! I''ll shake my booty! In my own movie!" "Fuck me sideways! Why do I always have to jinx myself every damn time! I really am cursed," Moby inwardly panicked. "The sink! Quickly wash your clothes in the sink!" Avilia screamed, making Moby promptly follow her suggestion. Moby then stripped all the way down to his birthday suit as even his underwear waspletely drenched with blood. Its previous white is now dyedpletely red. Moby turned on the hot water and started scrubbing his clothes as fast as he could. Thanks to all the points Moby put in agility, he was able to clean much faster. His hands were moving so fast it seemed like a blur. It looked almost like a spinning turbine. His extra strength also yed a huge role as each scrub would have more power behind it making it clean much faster. Moby has never been so happy about a decision in his life until now. His "genius" n (that was totally not out of panic) of assigning most of his points in agility and the rest in strength has been working wonderfully. "Thank God for all this unexpected luck" Moby inwardly thought. Then, another huge pain even bigger than before hit him in the head. "Are you trying to kill your self?! Remember! You''re a demon now! What kind of demon thanks, God! If you keep doing that sooner orter you will end up dead! I can''t allow my sessor to die in such a stupid way!" Avilia eximed in anger. When Moby was on his final piece of clothing, he heard the annoying singing stop, and momentster, he heard the water turn off. Moby''s hands were already burning like crazy from all the scrubbing he has been doing. His hands felt like they were about to fall off any second now. He has never felt so tired in his life, even with all his previous training regimes. He steeled his resolve and managed to push his body past its limits to finish cleaning. He activated his "Eyes of Sin" to gain an extra 10% boost in all his stats. He only had 17 Demon Energy left because he used a demon sh (which cost 8 demon Energy) to enter the washroom. This means he can only maintain his "Eyes of Sin" for only 8 seconds. Suddenly, He can now see a clear outline of everything that was going to happen 0.1 seconds in the future. It was almost too overwhelming for his brain to keep up with all the predictions but he somehow managed to keep up with all the predictions. When he activated the eyes, his pupils turned red and a weird purple pattern appeared on his eyes. Moby didn''t notice the changes in appearance because the bathroom mirror was all foggy. Moby only needed 3 more seconds Suddenly, A hand came out of the shower curtains. At that moment Moby almost lost all hope and was about to surrender to his cruel fate. But, instead of opening the curtains, the hand grabbed the nearest towel and took it back in. Moby''s eyes glowed again with a renewed hope. He finally finished washing his final article of clothing. Moby speed ran putting on his clothes and instantly ran out the washroom closing the door as quietly as possible in order to not rm anyone. He got out exactly 0.1 seconds before the person got out of the shower ording to his "Eyes of Sin". Moby looked over at the bed to check if the other student noticed something but, it seemed like he was even more invested in his game than before. Moby thought that he could get out of the room and re-enter the room pretending that he just arrived. But the time was already past curfew so that n would not be possible. Moby decided to just wait on a chair for the student taking a shower to finish as he can predict that the guy ying video games doesn''t want to be interrupted. After 1 minute of waiting, he heard the bathroom door open. "Looks like our missing dorm mate has finally arrived," The student said with a smile on his face. The student had dark purple hair with ents of ck on the tips. He had a well-defined body, not too skinny and not too muscr. He stood at 6''1 only an inch taller than Moby. His face was also very handsome with a sharp jawline that could slice butter. He was definitely built like a model. Suddenly the student startedughing uncontrobly. Moby assumed from his looks that he is most likely a stuck up high-level looking down on him after seeing his power level. Moby was preparing himself for a harsh time in his dorm until he finds a way to get rid of his dorm mates without making it look suspicious. Then, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted crushing his previous perception. "Why are all your clothes wet? Was the rain really that bad?? And, why are you wearing your shirt and pants both backwards and inside out! And, your shoes are on the wrong way as well! Don''t tell me you went to school like that!" The student said while rolling on the floorughing. Moby''s face became flushed red out of embarrassment. At least this confirms that he did not notice him in the washroom which is a huge weight off his conscience. "Sorry about that! You probably have your reasons so I won''t pry any further in your business. I think we both started off on the wrong foot. My name is Alex Hart. I am in thebat division just like you. it is a pleasure to meet you," Alex said with a smile while offering his hand for a handshake. Moby had thepletely wrong idea about the guy. He might not be the bully type at all. But, Moby didn''t have the luxury to trust aplete stranger because he knows first hand what the consequences are. He decided that he would act nice and try and get along with him until he figures out his true nature. The second he feels that he is a danger, he will immediately try and get rid of him. Moby looked over at his watch to see his power level, \u003c 9490 \u003e The second he saw the number, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets, he couldn''t believe he was so strong. This was the highest power level reading he had ever seen. Moby now really wants to stay on Alex''s good side until he gets strong enough to deal with him. Moby inwardly wished for Alex to be a nice guy and that it would note to that. But, he could not get all soft and careless now. Moby reached out and shook Alex''s hand with a smile. "Thank you for the warm introduction. My name is Moby Kane. I hope we get along well." Alex looked around and noticed the other student in bed still immersed in his video game. He slowly walked towards him and whacked him in the head. "Ray! Why the fuck did you not greet the new roommate when he entered the dorm" "What the fuck man! I was on the final boss! You can''t do that to me! That''s so cruel" "Don''t be rude and go introduce yourself to our new roommate!" "Whatever," Ray said while sighing with a bored expression. Ray slowly walked over to Moby and also put his hands out for a handshake. When he was lying down, you could not really tell his height. But now that he is standing in front of him, he seems really short standing at around 5''6. His watch was green instead of the normal blue and it disyed, \u003c3750\u003e This is about half of Alex''s power level but it is still high and respectable. "This is our resident genius, he is like an entire encyclopedia. It''s like he knows everything" Alex said with a friendlyugh as he put a hand on Ray''s shoulder. "Hello, my name is Ray Gwane. I am part of the research division. Sorry for not greeting you as soon as you entered. I was honestly too busy to even notice you enter. I promise I''m a nice guy. I hope we can get along," Ray said with a straight unmoving face. Moby made a mental note that a green watch most likely indicates that one is part of the research division. "My name is Moby Kane. I am part of thebat division. It is nice to meet you. I also hope that we can be friends. A toxic environment in the dorms will be a bad time for everyone," Moby said with a fake smile. Chapter 13: A Night To Remember

13 A Night To Remember

Moby, Ray, and Alex then decided to have a "male bonding session" to get to know each other better and deepen their bonds. They discussed many things about their lives, their ns for the future, and then they yed video games for the rest of the night. Alex was from a rich, important family that used one of the most powerful elemental abilities, lightning. He said he was once a stuck up bully back in elementary school but an incident happened that made him change his perspectives. He did not go too in-depth into the story and nobody wanted to pry any further to respect his privacy. His dream for the future is to change society for the better no matter any cost. Moby admired Alex''s dreams and ideals. But, he still does not trust him yet. He will have to observe him for a while longer before making his final judgment. If what Alex said was true, he can see them bing good friends. Ray was a child genius, he was not part of any big family like Alex, but it was still enough for a good life. Ray''s ability enhances his brain strength allowing him to do anything that requires mental strength much faster than others. This also allows him to use telekinesis, although very weak. Telekinesis allows a person to control and move objects and people without touching them. In school, Ray was never interested in making friends because he was always busy learning and experimenting with new things. By the age of 12, he learned everything that he ever wanted. He got bored and started to y video games every day which gave him a new excitement in life. Due to him never talking to people in his early days in school, he never learned how to properly socialize and make friends so he was always alone. When he found out that he would be sharing dorms with 2 other people, he was ecstatic because it was a great chance to finally make friends. And, he currently has no big ns for the future. What Ray said soundedpletely genuine. But, even still, Moby can notpletely trust his words at face value. He will wait to evaluate him on his actions. Ray has not tried to get stronger or smarter since he was 12 years old. This means he had a power level of 3720 at only the age of 12. If he actually tried again, who knows how much smarter he would be. Finally, it was Moby''s turn to talk about himself. He decided to tell them the truth as it really would not matter if they know it or not. He, of course, left out the part about Avilia and Eric. He also left out Nathan''s name because it might cause some trouble if they can rte his future death back to him. At the end of Moby''s story, Both Alex and Ray''s faces were all teary. "That''s so terrible! How can people do such things!" Alex said while sniffling. "I agree with Alex. We can not let all those deeds go unpunished. If you are ever in trouble again please let us know," Ray said with a straight emotionless face with tears falling from his eyes. Moby was bbergasted by their strong reaction. He did not expect his story to resonate with them so deeply. "It''s fine guys. I can take care of myself. You don''t have to worry about me," Moby said, trying to calm them down. "If you ever get into another predicament, please let us know. We are friends now and we should watch each other''s backs," Alex said with a firm resolve while Ray nodded in agreement. In Moby''s mind, he was thinking the word "friends" is a huge stretch. He would consider them as on the "to not kill list" at most. He has yet to grasp if what they said is true. He will try to just stay on their good side and see how things y out, never letting his guard down. After they finished all their discussions, they decided to y some video games before going to sleep. They yed a 3 yer racing game (think something like Mario kart). Moby got a little excited since it would be his first-ever time ying video games. At first, Ray would win every single time while nearly ovepping both Alex and Moby. Moby got used to the controls really quickly. By the end of the y session, Moby was nearly able to win against Ray. Moby waspletely invested in the game. He never thought he could have so much fun. He let go of his facade as he was genuinely enjoying himself and not pretending. "What the hell! how are you so good! Are you sure this is your first time ever ying a video game?" Alex asked in disbelief. "Ya, you had me nearly beat on thest 2 races. And I''ve been ying this game for years," Ray asked, trying to smile but failing horribly. After Moby realized that he just let himself go uncheck for nearly an hour. He felt really stupid and ashamed of himself. "So much for not letting my guard down," he mentally sighed. Moby took a few moments to reorganize his thoughts and soon went back to normal. "Ever since I was little, I was always considered a genius by my family. I was able to grasp new martial arts techniques after only a few demonstrations. I guess I have a gift at learning things quickly, "Moby said with an embarrassed look on his face. Ray and Alex both looked at Moby with eyes of admiration. "If you had an ability who knows how strong you''ll be! You would for sure be at least top of B rank!" Alex eximed in excitement. "It is unfortunate that a talented person like you has been oppressed by bad luck your whole life," Ray said in a sad tone. "It''s fine guys don''t worry about it. I''ll get an ability eventually so don''t worry about me. Even if I''m weak right now, I can defend myself just fine. If I need help I''ll let you guys know," Moby said with a fake big smile. Moby needed to keep up the act that he is weak and helpless. Until he finds a way to justify his new powers, he needs to keep it as a secret at all costs. The time was already 3 am, so they decided to go to sleep to wake up refreshed enough for school. As Moby looked back at the time he had tonight, he would be lying if he said he didn''t have fun. Moby still does not possess a sliver of trust in his roommates. But, even if they were just pretending, he could not help but feel a little thankful for them being nice. ------------------------------- The nurse was still in her office doing paperwork when the retrieval team suddenly barged in with a fearful look on their face. "It''s a monster! a monster is roaming the school! you need to see this!" One of them eximed with horror-filled eyes. The nurse had a very puzzled look on her face. In all her life as a nurse, this is the first time she has ever heard of a monster roaming the school. One of the members of the retrieval team gave the dimensional storage ring to the nurse which contained the body parts of the dead student. When released all its contents on arge table. She was not in the least scared or grossed out about what she saw. You can see some of the retrieval team members shudder again as the body parts were all dropped on the table one by one. The nurse kept a level head and carefully examined the body parts. She could tell that this was the work of torture that was made specifically in the most hurtful ces. No monster would be able to precisely break and bend nearly every body part. Also, the cuts on the arms, legs, and head were so clean, that it would be impossible for any monster''s ws to cause. It was definitely the work of a man-made de. She stepped away from the table that had all the body parts and looked at the retrieval team dead in the eye. "This is definitely the work of no monster." "I think we have a vicious murderer running around in our school," the nurse said with a deadly stern tone. Chapter 14: Planning

14 nning

The time was already 6 am. Moby was used to sleeping for only a few hours every day due to his rigorous training regimes. But, even still, he had never felt so full of energy after a measly 3 hours of sleep. "Demons have a much faster natural regeneration ability to that of humans, therefore, requiring much less sleep," Avilia said. Moby took a mental note of that. "Avilia, you''re already awake?" Moby said as he quietly got out of bed trying not to wake up his still sleeping roommates. "Well yes, of course I am. I am always awake," she said in a snarky manner. Moby remembered that he has yet to retrieve the bags that he gave to the sergeant that escorted him to school. He went over to the terminal in the corner of the room and scanned his student ID to retrieve his bags. Suddenly, the white te beside the terminal started to glow. His bags suddenly teleported on the te a mere momentter. Moby Only had 2 small bags. Naturally, since he was poor, he did not have many belongings worth bringing. He only brought his parent''s martial arts books and 2 sets of clothing. Moby never had the chance to admire how big and nice his dorm room is. It was at least 5 times bigger than his old apartment. There were 3 closets, one for each student, a single bathroom, a big t screen tv, a fridge, and a microwave. And, The beds were 3 bunk beds stacked on top of each other. Moby unpacked the bag with the clothing first and hung them up in his new closet. As he opened the closet, he noticed that half of it was filled with student uniforms. Moby assumed that due to all the training that they will have to go through, they give extra uniforms in case one gets ruined. He then unpacked the bag with all the books. He has read the books over and over again trying to understand their meaning, but it seemed like some of them were written in anothernguage that he could not understand. As soon as Moby touched a certain red martial arts book, a system notification appeared. \u003c New Demon Skill Acknowledged \u003e \u003c The Host is too low level to learn the skill \u003e \u003c Level Requirement: Level 100 \u003e Moby''s eyes were staring at the notification in astonishment. He can even feel that Avilia has a simr reaction in his mind. "What the fuck!? Level 100!" He inwardly thought. "Moby, what kind of people were your parents? How do they possess such strong Demon Skills? When we first met, I was really surprised that you knew 2 demon skills already even though you were a human." Avilia asked in shock. "About that, I was wondering how my ne got into the human world, to begin with," Avilia said as she was deep in thought. "How the hell should I know? And what do you mean by the human world?" Moby asked in confusion. "There are 3 dimensions, the Nether Realm, the Human Realm, and the Celestial Realm. Each realm is separate and not intended to coexist with each other. Humans seem to have no knowledge of the other realms so I would keep your identity as a demon a secret of great importance, " Avilia exined. The sudden revtion of the existence of different realms shocked Moby, only a little though. From all the crazy shenanigans that had happened to him in thest 2 days, this much wasn''t surprising. "For now, put that book in your inventory and don''t reveal its existence to anyone." Avilia calmly added. "My what?" Moby asked in confusion. "Oh yeah, didn''t I mention that you unlocked your inventory when you evolved? Whoops," Avilia said nervously. "No, you didn''t! If it''s what I think it is this will bepletely broken" "It is an infinite storage space, that''s the simplest way I can put it. Within the inventory, time and space are frozen so any item you store will be the same when you take it out. For example, if you store hot food, the food will remain hot and fresh when you take it out even if it stays in the inventory for years." Moby became really excited. Just thinking of all the ways an infinite storage space can aplish is like a wet dream. He can steal pretty much anything with no evidence against him, he can stealthily carry around weapons and armour without being noticed, and he can bring extra school uniforms with him to change into after he finishes killing someone. "Is it possible to hide a dead body inside the inventory?" Moby asked, trying to hold back his excitement. "You can store anything as long as it''s not living, nts are the only exception to this rule. So, the answer to your questions is, yes" Moby could no longer hold back his excitement, he opened his "Menu" and noticed that he had an extra tab called "inventory". A huge grid of empty boxes appeared right in front of him. It was like the shop tab butpletely empty. Moby stored the level 100 book along with a few extra uniforms. He also stored all of the money that he had left. He didn''t have much money at all from buying the rope. The rope ended up falling into the river after Eric broke loose so he was unable to reuse it. Just thinking about it made Moby a little angry. Moby then decided to go outside toplete his daily quest. Around the dorms was a huge field that students used to practice their abilities. If Moby used his full power, he would be able to finish his daily quest in no longer than 15 minutes. But, since he was still in an open area, he was not able to do that without having a high chance of being caught. After he finished everything except for the run, he was surprised that he was not in the least bit tired. This must be a side effect of his evolution and level increase. When he was doing his run, he heard Avilia talk to him in a worried tone. "Yesterday night you acted weirdly. Why did you suddenly go soft on me?" "Ya I know what you mean, I wasn''t acting like myself. I should not have been so trusting. I guess it was a bad habit from my previous self. I thought I left that part of me behind but some of it came back yesterday night." Moby said, feeling disgusted at his actionsst night. "This time I was lucky that nothing happened. But, who knows, next time it happens, I might end up tortured again like that night," Moby said while remembering what happened with Nathan and his gang. Just thinking about it made his blood boil with anger. "Avilia, promise me if I ever go soft again to snap me back into reality, I am counting on you, " Moby said in a serious tone. "Don''t worry, you can count on me! A soft demon is no sessor of mine!" She said proudly. \u003cDaily Quest Complete!\u003e \u003c+ 3 stat points \u003e Even after a 10-kilometre run that would leave any man trying to catch his breath Moby was not tired at all. A demon''s constitution must be amazing, he inwardly thought. Moby opened his skills and stats menu to assign his new stat points. Moby them noticed his new power level \u003c 1990 \u003e Mobypletely forgot to even check his new power level after his new evolution and levels. Moby was thinking long and hard about what to assign his remaining stat points on. He wanted to add it to strength but if he did, then his endurance would be leftcking and he would be defeated by a single attack which was really risky. "Put it into Mind, trust me," Avilia interjected, breaking Moby''s train of thought. "Why Mind?" He said in a confused manner. "Have faith in me, If you do, I will show you the funniest shit you will ever see." She said, trying to contain herughter. "But first, you will need 30 points in Mind" She added. Moby''s interest had peaked. Knowing Avilia for only one day, he can tell that she is cynical and with no remorse while also having a kind, and caring side when ites to him. So, if she says this will be funny it is most likely urate. He chose to trust her judgment and do as she suggests. He put his 3 points into mind making it increase from 15 to 18. Moby still needed 12 more points in mind to reach 30. This means he will have to wait at least 4 more days of doing the daily quest until he gets enough points. This was a bit disappointing. Then a brilliant idea came into his head. If he was able to buy the "Novice Demon Katana" that raises his mind stat by 10 points and his strength by 30, he would be killing 2 birds with one stone. First, he would have enough mind to get to mind level 30. And, he would get his strength level closer to his agility level, bncing them once again. But first, he needed a way to gain $4000 as quickly as possible. "I think I might have to go on a huge stealing spree," he inwardly chuckled. Chapter 15: Skill Creation

15 Skill Creation

\u003c 7:00 am \u003e He still needed to take his morning shower and get ready for school so he headed back to his dorm. When he reentered his dorm, he noticed that his roommates were still fast asleep in awkward positions. He couldn''t help but chuckle a bit at how ridiculous they looked. He did not even have to get clothes ready for the shower as he already had everything in his inventory. As he casually entered the bathroom, he went over to the sink to wash his face from the little sweat he built up doing the daily quest. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he could not help but inwardly scream. "WHAT!? WHO THE FUCK IS THAT!?" This was the first time he ever saw his face ever since his evolution. Thest time he was in the bathroom was when he was washing his clothes. At that time, the bathroom mirror was all foggy from Alex taking the shower so he was not able to see his reflection. Moby''s previously pale skin has turned a shade darker giving him the look of a natural tan. His previous jet ck hair now has a few red strands. His green eyes had a subtle glow that made them look almost unnatural. His facial features were also much more defined. If he was considered somewhat handsome from before, he would be considered a top-ss model now. "Avilia what is the meaning of this!?" He screamed in anger. "Ohe on don''t be like that," she said while chuckling. "I''m just going to say, the expression "handsome as a devil" very much has a lot of truth in it. I thought you might like the change. You''ll be a chick ma now, " She added whileughing even harder. "You and I both know that this is a bad thing. First, I don''t give a rats ass about attracting those filthy whores who treated me like no more than a pile of dog shit on the street. Actually, I take that back. At least a pile of dog shit would be left alone and ignored, not constantly mocked and bullied every day. Second, I don''t want to attract too much attention to myself. My n was to keep a low profile while making ns from the shadows. But, this change will ruin it." Moby inwardly cursed his constant bad luck. Moby thought of wearing a mask to hide his face butpletely discarded the idea. First, masks are not allowed in the school without special permission. And second, a mask would attract even more attention than not wearing one. Moby just had to suck it up and go to school like normal. He decided that he will try to blend in with the crowd to avoid being noticed. After taking a shower, the time was already 7:15. He still has 45 minutes until school starts. His roommates are still fast asleep like babies. "Is there any way I can get stronger right now? I don''t like sitting here with my hands up my ass doing nothing of value," Moby asked Avilia in a bored but somehow serious tone. "I''ll give you a hint, skill books are not the only way that you can gain skills. You can develop your own," Avilia answered with the mental equivalent of a wink. "Also, the only way of levelling up your skills is by repeatedly using them, and others can only level up when you reach a certain level or when you evolve," She added. "I can create my own skills and level them up! Why did you not tell that sooner!" Moby asked in a surprised tone. "Well, you never asked and this is the only opportunity I found to tell you because you have always been busy ever since you got the system. Maybe you should try asking me more questions in the future," Avilia replied, winking once again. "True, I will take a mental note to ask you more questions in the future. I''m still not quite used to having a voice in my head," Moby said with a chuckle. "It''s ok, you''ll get used to it eventually..." Avilia replied with the mental equivalent of a smile. If Moby wanted to be able to consistently practice his skills, he needed a way to swiftly replenish his demon energy. Currently, he would need to wait for a little over 2 hours topletely replenish his demon energy. This would be way too long and impractical if he wants to train without 2-hour breaks to wait for his demon energy to recharge. He searched his memory long and hard for such a technique. Then he remembered in a moment of brilliance. He remembered one of his parent''s techniques that had been buried deep in his memory. It was the memory of his dad closing his eyes and going into a meditative state. He remembered feeling a huge concentration of energy building around his dad while he was performing the technique. Moby stood up from his chair and tried to do the same thing as his father in the memory. He closed his eyes trying to feel the flow of energy in the air. Then, he noticed a faint flow of energy in the air around him. After that, he visualized the energy entering his body. \u003c New Skill Created! \u003e -------------------------------------------------------- Skill name: NA By gathering the energy in the air and directing it in his body, the user can replenish his demon energy back to full. The user must be standingpletely still and requiresplete focus. The process can not be interrupted or else the skill will be cancelled. Time to activate: 5 minutes -------------------------------------------------------- \u003cWhat would you like to name your new skill?\u003e Moby was really satisfied with his newly created skill. With this, Moby can train his other skills without the worry of running out of energy. Avilia was impressed by his new skill giving him a mental nod of acknowledgment. Moby was now thinking of a proper name for the skill. After rejecting many of his useless and cringe name ideas, he finally settled for one. "Nature''s Stimtion" \u003c Name Choice Acknowledged \u003e \u003c "Nature''s Stimtion" \u003e As Moby was about to start training his skills, he heard a loud ringing sound. He looked over and saw that the sound wasing from an rm clock. The time was already 7:40, which is 20 minutes before school starts. The rm woke up both Ray and Alex. Moby left the room as soon as he noticed them wake up. Luckily, Moby managed to slip out of the room before they noticed him. He was in no mood for talking right now. And from the little he knows about them, he assumes that they would want him to walk together with them to school which would attract too much attention. Especially since it would be 2 high levels together with a low level which would be seen as sketchy at best. After 5 minutes of walking, Moby finally reached the entrance of the school. The school was crowded from head to toe with students. The hallways were as lively as ever. He tried to stick with the crowd on his way to ss. But, the n did not work out as well as he thought it would. He saw a bunch of girls looking at him with eyes of admiration which quickly turned into disgust. However, this time, some of the girls seemed to feel devastated knowing that they could never be together instead of disgusted. A lot of boys were looking back at him with eyes of spite and jealousy. "So much for keeping a low profile, it seems like I''ve already made a lot of enemies by merely existing," He inwardly cursed. Out of the crowd, a girl walked out and stood in front of Moby. She had an elegant and proud walk that screamed. ''Out of the way peasants, I am rich and important.'' She had dark blue hair that looks well maintained that goes down to her waist and sky blue eyes that looked almost hypnotizing. Her figure was slim thick with curves in all the right ces. Even with little makeup, her face was considered really cute and attractive. She wore a standard year 1 student uniform with a few modifications that were made to reveal more skin. All the boys were literally drooling in her direction. They did not even try to hide it. Moby seemed to be immune to her feminine charms. When he saw her approach him, he started to inwardly curse at why the world hates him. He tried not to show it on his face and tried to y it cool and hope it blows over. "Good morning miss. Do you want something?" He said with the best fake smile he could muster. Then, she started to chuckle out of nowhere. Moby got worried thinking he said something rude or stupid. "I like you, why don''t you be my pet?" She said with a dark cynical smile. Chapter 16: Your What!?

16 Your What!?

Moby quickly looked over at her watch to check her power level to see who he is dealing with. \u003c3420\u003e Moby inwardly cursed. She was way too powerful for him to take care of at his current power level. His only chance is if he maybe caught her off guard as he did with Eric. Moby''s current top priority right now was to stay on her good side until he finds an opportunity to take her out. So, he needs to try to stay as respectful as possible. "Ummmmm, excuse me miss, I had a hard time understanding what you meant," Moby said, trying his best to sound respectful. She started to giggle even more which made Moby even more nervous. "I mean that you are really attractive and I want you to be my "servant", "she looked at him while winking. All the boys that were previously looking at him with eyes of envy now look at him like they were ready to murder him. Moby forced down a gulp of saliva and responded with the only possible answer. "It would be an honor to be the servant of such a beautiful maiden such as yourself," Moby said with a deep now, trying to hide the disgusted look on his face. He had to ept her request, even if he really didn''t want to. There is no doubt in his mind that he would be dead if he were to decline. Moby just had to endure it for now. The girl''s face became flushed red out of nowhere. "My my, you sure do have a way with words," she said while giggling. "What is your name handsome? My name is Jayden Griffith, " she said in a soft gentle tone. "My name is Moby Kane," he replied with a smile. After noticing all the annoying res of the men surrounding them, Jayden''s expression took aplete 180. It was like the difference between heaven and earth. "All you losers listen up! If anyone of you bitches everys a hand on my pet! I will have them wish they were never born, spread this message to anyone you see! No one touches my belongings without my consent!" She screamed in a stern angry tone like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Moby inwardly cringed at her referring to him as "pet" and as "her belongings". But he had to endure that self-deprivation for now. He knows that the only reason she was doing this was because of Moby''s low power levelbined with his good looks. This makes her think that she can " tame" him because he is not strong enough to refuse. After considering all the benefits of being her servant, he could not help but feel like this is a win-win situation. As long as she does not make him do anything sexual, he will try and endure it biding his time. After she finished her crazy speech, she instantly regained her previous demeanor and looked back at Moby with an even crazier look. "Meet me at the front gate after school, I have things I n to do with you," She said with a sadistic smile that turned into a giggle. Then she walked away as elegantly as she came. ''If she dares do anything weird to me I will make her regret the day she was born,'' Moby inwardly thought. After the stress from his encounter faded away, Moby checked the time on his watch to see how much until ss starts. \u003c 7:50 am \u003e He still had 10 minutes to get to the ss which means that there is no need to rush. When Moby walked towards the crowd surrounding him, each person without exception immediately made space for him to go by. It was a feeling he had never experienced before in his life. He could not help butugh out loud at his newfound authority making a few boys in the crowd''s face turn red out of anger. Moby proudly walked the halls with no care in the world. Although many people looked at him with eyes of spite and anger, no one dared to approach him. ''It seems like the message has already spread fast. This Jayden chick''s family must be really important,'' He inwardly chuckled. On his way to ss, he noticed that many of the low levels we''re being maliciously bullied by the higher levels while the teachers just stood there with no care in the world. Moby could not care less about upholding justice and helping the weak. In his mind, that was just a fool''s errand. In his head, as long as they don''t mess with him, he won''t mess with them. The world is a cruel ce where the only person that you can trust is yourself. He learned never to waste his breath to help people just like people never wasted their breath to help him. He had to learn that hard and painful way. Moby reached his ss at 7:58 am, 2 minutes before the bell. When he saw the empty seat next to his, he could not help but inwardly chuckle. He quickly took his seat and waited for the ss to start. Thanks to his improved hearing, he was able to pick up on the other student''s conversations even if they were whispering. Half of them were talking about the incident this morning with him and Jayden, and the other half was talking about the death of Eric. Suddenly Professeur Leo entered the room banging his hand on the table making the entire ss gopletely silent. "Good morning ss, I have terrible news to inform you. Yesterday at night, a fellow ssmate of yours was murdered in cold blood. The school is currently doing an investigation on the matter. So far we have no suspects or witnesses, if you saw something, I urgently encourage you to go to the general''s office," Leo said in a serious tone. The entire ss stayed silent. No one even moved an inch. "Well anyway, now that the official stuff is out the way, I will start with today''s lesson." "Today, I will be exining to you the importance of magical equipment." "Magical Equipment is made out of body parts of magical beasts such as scales and teeth that can be found on differents and from rare ores and materials aswell. They are an imperative part of any soldier''s arsenal. When humans were finally able to travel past the milky way gxy, we discovered that in other gxies there are really powerful beast-like creatures that provide materials for weapons and armour. These creatures are now known as magical beasts" Professor Leo continued to ramble on about different types of magical beasts and their uses alongside all their rarities that also go from F to X . Moby did not really care for the lesson. Instead, he used this time to level up his skills. The only skill he can level up without being noticed was his "Eyes of Sin". By activating it while keeping his eyes closed, he was able to sessfully train it while not being noticed under the facade of sleeping in ss. He spent the entire ss alternating between using "Natures Stimtion" to replenish his energy and "Eyes of Sin" to train it. Suddenly the bell rang signaling that lunchtime started. Moby chose to sit in a spot all alone in the low-level section of the cafeteria. No one dared approach him because of his status as Jayden''s pet so he had a table all for himself. Moby was just chilling and eating his food with no care in the world. Then, he suddenly felt the presence of 2 people sit right next to him. Moby almost jumped out of his seat in surprise as he never thought anyone actually had the balls to approach him after all the threats Jayden gave. Then he noticed that it was just his roommates, Alex and Ray. "Hey Moby, how''s it going," Alex asked with a smile. Usually, he would bepletely against them sitting next to him because they are high levels while he is a low level which would attract trouble and unwanted attention. But now, he did not have such worries as he is confident that no trouble woulde his way. Moby noticed a few angry res staring at him and his roommates but he paid them no mind. The 3 just talked about trivial things like how much they like school and cool ces to visit in the city. It was mostly Alex and Ray talking while Moby said a few words pretending that he cared. Suddenly the mood became all gloomy and serious. "Moby, I heard that you became the pet of that bitch Jayden," Alex said with a sigh. "Why? Do you know her?" Moby replied in surprise. "Yes of course I do," Alex said in an unnaturally serious tone. Chapter 17: Library

17 Library

"My family and hers have always had good ties. Our parents were really good friends even before I was born. When I was young I was always forced to spend time with her whenever our parents met, which I might add was pretty often." "At first our rtionship was pretty good, we were really good friends. She had a really kind and caring personality that showedpassion to all. At Least that is what I thought." Alex took a long pause to calm down and gather his thoughts before continuing with another long sigh. "One day when we went to the park to y in the yground, a boy identally bumped into her. She fell on the mud ruining her favorite dress. She damn near killed the kid. If it wasn''t for me holding her back, the kid would have been definitely dead." "That is when I understood that the way she treated me was not like how she treated others. She sees everyone who is weaker or of lesser birth than her as no more than her "ythings"." "From that moment on, I avoided her like the gue. I don''t want to associate myself with such a person. However, whenever our parents meet, she always tries to approach me and act nice like nothing happened. She is a true psychopath." "Moby, you are no more than a disposable doll in her eyes, when she gets bored with you, she will throw you in the gutter. I warn you to steer clear of her at all costs." Moby pretended to be shocked, taking in all that Alex just told him. By her actions and demeanour, he already assumed as much. When he epted Jayden''s offer, he knew full well what he was getting himself into. "Don''t worry about me, I know what I''m doing," Moby replied with a smile. "Are you sure? If you want I can go talk to her. Maybe I can convince her to stop." Alex said, with a worried expression. Moby pretended to think about Alex''s proposal before replying. "That would never work, even if she agreed, I have already made an enemy out of nearly every single male student in the school. Without her protection, I would be as good as dead." Moby replied with a sad expression. "Then, I''ll protect you instead!" Alex said with a firm resolve. Moby did not expect Alex to offer himself as a bodyguard. If it weren''t for Moby''s ns, he would have definitely epted his offer. He would have been the perfect puppet. "That would never work, even if you are high-level, you can not monitor me 24/7. There would always be moments where I would be vulnerable to an attack. Also, a high level guarding a low level has never even been heard of and would be definitely scorned and might attract trouble that maybe even you can''t handle." Moby replied while pretending to feel depressed. Alex took a long time to think about Moby''s point before giving up. ''I don''t understand this Alex guy, why is he going so far for a low-level like me? He must have an ulterior motive. I must keep a closer eye on him,'' Moby thought. "I''ll take you up on that offer," Moby answered with a smile. Suddenly, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. The trio said goodbye to each other and left their separate ways. It was now time for the break. Moby wanted to go to the school library to see if there are any records of demons mentioned. He was not surprised to find that there are no such mentions of demons in the fiction section. He spent his entire break time skimming through things he found in the books. "Hey, Avilia, It says here that demons are weak to anything holy, is that true?" "Yes. That is the only weakness we demons have. You must stay clear of churches, mosques, or temples. Anything rted to god is a no go." Moby took a note to stay away from anything god rted. Luckily, Religions have heavily dwindled ever since the discovery of abilities. People suddenly getting god-like powers and abilities made many people lose their faith in god. This was a big advantage for him. Moby continued to skim through the books when he ran into some disturbing things. "Do I need to bathe in the blood of newborns to strengthen myself?" Moby asked in disgust. Moby is ready to use any means at his disposal to gain power but this is just too much. He holds no grudge against babies. who arepletely innocent and he does not n on being a baby killer anytime soon. "Hell no! These humans and their sick fantasies are revolting!" she replied with genuine contempt. "There is one more disturbing thing I found, Do I have to have sexual master-servant rtionships with a harem of girls to gain power," Moby asked, seemingly even more worried than about the killing of newborns. "Who do you take me for? A slut? I am the first demon lord. I never had to do such a thing in my entire life." When she said that a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. "Lastly, this is an important question that has been on my mind for a while now. Is it possible for me to turn others into my demon servants?" "Yes, it is. However, with your current power, it is only possible to turn one." Moby had a big smile on his face. "That''s exactly what I needed to hear." Suddenly, the bell rang signaling the end of the break. Moby still had one more ss to attend before the end of school. It was another ss with professor Leo. He was exining the basics of martial arts and its importance to the ss. Moby was already a martial arts master from his constant training so he decided to not pay attention. He decided to spend the time leveling up his "Eyes of Sin" instead. Leo noticed the sleeping Moby but he decided not to pester him because he knows by his student records that he definitely knew all the information he was talking about. After a long and boring 2 hours, the bell rang signaling the end of school. Even after the constant training, his "Eyes of Sin" has yet to level up. This did not dishearten Moby because he knows that results can only be achieved with time and hard work. As Moby walked out of the schoolpletely ignoring all the murderous resing his way, he noticed Jayden waiting for him at the front gate. Behind her was a long white limousine that floated off the ground. When Moby came close to Jayden, she instantly ran over to him skipping up and down like she had no care in the world. "It seems that my cute little pet has finally arrived!" She said with a disturbing smile. Chapter 18: The Calm Before The Storm

18 The Calm Before The Storm

Jayden started to chuckle a bit before saying. "I was going to punish you for making me wait 3 minutes. But, your impable manners have saved you just this once." "Next time you make me wait you will be punished. Do you understand, my little poodle?" She said in a dreadfully serious tone. "Yes, ma''am. This pet shall never again subject my mistress to such treatment," Moby said, trying his best to hold onto his smile and not strangle her. "Good, boy!" She said as her expression cheered up again. Moby was already fuming with anger, but he somehow managed not to show it on the outside. He had never been publicly humiliated to this extent in his entire life. "We shall go to my mansion. Once we are there I will exin my ns to you," She said as she entered the limousine. "What are you doing there like a dog! Come on ande into the limousine," She yelled. "I thought I was supposed to be a dog," Moby retorted. Jayden started crying out ofughter from Moby''s remark. ''It wasn''t even that funny,'' Moby thought. When he entered the limousine he was astonished at how much fancier it looked on the inside than on the outside. The red seat couches were the mostfortable seats he had ever sat on. The inside was lit up by white crystals that shined a golden light. There was an entire t-screen television alongside a long table with what looks like alcohol on top of it. For his entire life, he could not remember ever riding a flying car even though they were reallymon to find in the city. Moby did not even have the money to ever order a taxi so he was used to always walking to all his destinations. The ride to her house was especially awkward. Moby did not have any reason to strike a conversation and he liked it that way. He began to level up his "Eyes of Sin" while he waited for them to arrive. More than anything, Moby hates to waste time. "Every minute is precious, and only a fool would waste it", were the words he always lived by. Suddenly, his training was abruptly interrupted by a nudge on his hand. ''I only needed 5 more seconds toplete "Nature''s Stimtion" Fuck!'' He inwardly cursed at his terrible luck. Due to the unfortunate interruption of his skill, Moby now had 0 Demon Energy which leaves him defenceless. "Hey, would you like to have a drink?" She asked him with a ss in her hand. Moby really wanted to refuse. He does not drink alcohol because he finds it unhealthy and useless. He also does not know how alcohol would make him feel which would make his actions unpredictable. This might even ruin his entire n if itpletely changes his personality. As soon as he took a sip of the drink, he saw a system notification appear right in front of him. \u003c Sleeping Poison Detected \u003e \u003c New Skill Learned \u003e -------------------------------------------- Poison Immunity (Passive) The user is immune to all poisons no matter the strength or type. -------------------------------------------- ''Sleeping poison?'' He inwardly thought. "She most likely put some sleeping drugs in your drink. Luckily, demons are immune to all types of poisons no matter the strength. I rmend you pretend that the poison worked and sleep or else it would raise many suspicions," Avilia said. Moby decided to follow Avilia''s suggestion and pretended to sleep for the rest of the ride. Luckily, since he was able to stay still for another 10 minutes, he was able to fully recover his Demon Energy which was a huge relief. While they were still on their way, Moby tried using his inspect skill in order to better formte his n of attack. ------------------------------------ Name: Jayden Griffith Race: Human Ability: Level 3 Shadow Power Level: 3420 Hp: 100/100 Mana: 90/90 Strength: 77 Agility: 110 Endurance: 65 Intelligence: 90 Mind: 0 ------------------------------------ ''It seems Like she has some sort of shadow ability. But, that doesn''t give me much information on her ability other than the type. All I know is that she has immense speed and low defense just like me. However, she also has high intelligence. I can only assume that means she has strong magical attacks which are bad news.'' After careful consideration, he decided that waiting for a moment where he can catch her off guard is his best bet at winning. Moby tried to use his enhanced listening to try to pick up on any clues that Jayden might say but she stayedpletely silent. When the car finally stopped at the mansion, the only words she ever spoke to her servants were, "Leave us alone, I want some secluded time with my little pet." Then she tied Moby up tightly with rope before carrying him on her back inside the mansion. After walking for what seemed like forever, they finally reached a room in the house. Moby could not risk opening his eyes without the fear of blowing his cover. With his strength, he can easily break out of the rope with minimal effort. The rope was only designed to contain a low level which is why Jayden thought it would be enough to restrain him. Little did she know Moby was not a low level at all. He was thrown on something soft which was most likely a bed. "You wait here while I take a shower and change. I''ll be back in 15 minutes and then we can have some fun," she said with a giggle. "Whoops, I''m sorry I forgot you are still fast asleep, such a cute pet," She said with a loudugh. Then a loud sound of a door banging sounded in the room which means she most likely left. Then, with his enhanced hearing, he could hear a pair of footsteps walking out of the room which confirms that she indeed left. Moby now felt that it was safe to open his eyes. He was in awe at how big and fancy the room looked. The room was deep velvet in color with a roof at least 10 meters high and a diameter of over 20 meters. The bed was at least 5 meters by 5 meters in size surrounded by a velvet curtain the same color as the room. around him, he noticed a bunch of candles on tables which helped set the mood for what is about toe. Moby could not help but shudder at the thought of what would happen to him in this situation if he was powerless. Out of all the torture and bullying, the only thing Moby has yet to experience was being raped. But, he did not think it would at all be a pleasant feeling. Suddenly, Moby could hear a pair of footsteps approaching his room. He instantly closed his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep. Then, the door abruptly opened and then instantly closed. "I''m back, my little Chihuahua! did you miss me!" Chapter 19: The Raging Storm

19 The Raging Storm

Then a huge ssh of water went on his face. It came as a huge surprise to him because he was concentrating on when she got close so he could strike while he was still supposedly asleep. Moby woke up pretending to not know what is going on. "It seems like my little kitty has just woken up," She said while giggling. She was only wearing a purple bra and panties showing her stunning body on full disy. She threw away the water bucket and crawled closer to him like a lion hunting its prey. Moby pretended to struggle to get out of the rope tied around him. "What''s going on! where am I!" He screamed in distress. "You are in my room, silly. I will show you the best time of your life so just lie down and rx while I do my thing," she said in a seductive flirtatious tone. Moby tried his best screaming for help but with no avail. This was bait to see how she would react. "Ha ha ha, You are in my house, who do you think woulde and help you. And besides, I have a noise-cancelling crystal installed in the room. Soundes in but doesn''te out. So, no matter how loud you moan with pleasure, your voice wouldn''t reach the outside. So, don''t worry about holding back your excitement if you are afraid of being embarrassed," she said as she inched ever closer to him. Moby inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. If what she said is true, then Moby has no worries of her calling for reinforcements or of anyone on the outside hearing what is about to go down. Moby put the best face of despair he could muster squirming around trying his best to escape with seemingly no results. Jayden was finally only arm''s length away from him and went in for a kiss. This was now Moby''s best chance at catching her off guard. He quickly broke the rope with his strength and grabbed his sword out of his inventory performing a "Demon sh" towards her heart. All of that happened in an instant which left Jayden Almost no chance to react. Almost. Moby felt his sword go through her flesh before being stopped by something unknown. Around Jayden''s wound, he could see a dark shadowy smoke emerge. The smoke quickly repelled Moby''s attack and consumed her entire body. Her previously cute yful face with a hint of sadism has beenpletely distorted into what could only be described as a monster. Moby instinctively took a step back from the sudden change in her demeanour. He had never seen anything like it in his entire life. Then he noticed that the wound he inflicted was still bleeding which means that his previous sneak attack was not aplete failure. \u003c-20 Hp \u003e Moby coughed up a mouthful of blood from the strength of the attack. 5 more hits like that and he would be dead. His ss cannon build was doing him no justice in this situation. Jayden''s movements we''re too weird and obscure for him to grasp even with his enhanced senses. "YOU ARE SUCH A MISBEHAVING PET TRYING TO KILL YOUR MASTER!" She roared in a weird screechy voice. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO PETS THAT ATTACK THEIR OWNER?" "THEY GET PUT DOWN!!" She screamed while creating what looks like a pair of daggers made out shadows. ''Fuck my luck, why does shit always have to get worse'' He inwardly cursed. Jayden Disappeared into a ck smoke-like shadow just like in herst attack. Moby tried to predict where she would appear. So, he shed behind him assuming she would pull the same attack as before. To his surprise, she was not there at all, instead, she appeared to his side instead. She shed multiple times at his stomach area before kicking him away once again. Then she appeared behind him by flowing his trajectory and kicked him away once again smashing him onto another wall. \u003c -37 Hp \u003e \u003c -21 Hp \u003e \u003c -23 Hp \u003e Moby only had 19 Hp left. He had many cuts and bruises all over his body with some broken bones. He could barely breathe from the sudden burst of damage. He had a hard time even standing up. His vision became blurry from all the pain. His only chance at still fighting was to cut off his pain receptors which is exactly what he did. "How did a weak little puppy like you ever think that they could defeat someone like me! I do admit that I underestimated you and you caught me off guard. But a puppy is still a puppy no matter what! She said with an evilugh that seemed almost ripped out of a horror movie. After Moby came so far, he could not ept defeat. He steeled his resolve and took a fighting stance. Suddenly a system notification appeared right in front of him. \u003c System Alert \u003e \u003c New Skill discovered \u003e ----------------------------------------- Undying Will [Level 1] (Passive) The user''s unbreakable will gives him a boost of strength to defeat his enemy. Condition to activate: Less than 30% Hp +20% to all stats ----------------------------------------- Moby''s eyes lit up with renewed hope. He felt a sudden rush of energy surge into his body making him much stronger. However, Moby knew pure strength is not enough to defeat Jayden. He needed some way to sense her unpredictable movement pattern. Then a sudden hint of genius popped into his head. ''Everything living no matter what has an energy signature'' he inwardly thought. If he was able to follow her energy signature, he would be able to know exactly where she would appear. " I thought you would have found it an honour that such a beautiful noble girl like me would choose such a weak disgustingmoner like yourself as a pet¡­" As she continued her endless rambling monologue. Moby used this time to focus on trying to sense her energy. Suddenly, he was able to sense a deep purple glow of energy surrounding her body. His experiment was a sess! \u003c System Alert \u003e \u003c New Skill discovered \u003e ----------------------------------------- Energy sense [Level 1] The user is able to sense the Energy signature of any living thing. The user is also able to sense Energy through walls Range: 10 meters ----------------------------------------- When she is in her smoke form, it seems like she can not attack so she always had to materialize her body before striking. Also, she waspletely invincible in her smoke form. When Moby tried shing her smoke from before it had no effect. So Moby has to wait for her to materialize before attacking. As soon as Jayden finished her long monologue, She immediately turned into her smoke form and rushed towards Moby. He can now clearly see her direction thanks to "Energy Sense" but he still felt too slow to keep up with her movements. Moby activated his "Eyes of Sin". Thanks to the extra utility that his "Eyes of Sin" provides, he can now easily keep up with her movements. Moby only had 20 Demon Energy left so he only had 10 seconds to end the fight. Thanks to his 0.1-second future sightbined with "Energy Sense", he could easily know where she would appear. As soon as he saw her outline appear from under him, Moby immediately jumped up to avoid her attack. Jayden was bbergasted at how he knew exactly when and where she would appear. Then she noticed Moby was falling down on her with immense speed. She had no opportunity to dodge. The attack was too fast and sudden. Moby came down on her shing his sword on both her eyes, blinding her. She jumped away screaming in agony due to her lost eyesight. She released a burst of shadow energy pulsing through the entire area. A strong ck wind spread through the entire room. The shadow made it hard to breathe while the wind made it hard to move. His skin felt like it was slowly decaying. \u003c-1 Hp \u003e \u003c-1 Hp \u003e \u003c-1 Hp \u003e Moby was losing 1 Hp for every second he was in the shadowy wind. He unactivated his "Eyes of Sin" because he had no use for it at this moment. After his use of "Eyes of Sin" Moby only had 8 demon energy left which was exactly enough for 1 "Demon sh". Moby''s range on "Demon sh" was only half a meter which was not that long. The distance between Moby and Jayden was only 10 meters. All that Moby needed to win was one good hit to knock her out. Moby began walking towards Jayden trying his best to resist the wind. As he neared the eye of the storm, The wind became almost unbearable. Moby was now walking at a snail''s pace weekly gaining seemingly no ground. They were now only 1 meter away from each other and Moby only had 7 Hp left. After using almost every ounce of energy left in his body, he managed to close the distance enough to "Demon sh". Moby Demon shed behind Jayden and bashed her with the hilt of his sword with all his strength. The shadow wind has finally stopped and so did Moby''s Hp loss. She was finally knocked out. Moby managed to barely survive the encounter. He only had 3 Hp remaining. Moby''s Body had been beaten almost beyond recognition. He had many bruises, broken bones, and he had muscle tissue showing from his skin decaying. He was barely managing to stand on his 2 feet wheezing and panting more than he ever did his entire life. Moby looked down at Jayden''s unconscious body with a glow in his eyes and a big grin from ear to ear. Now, Moby canmence the n that he endured all this anguish to aplish. Chapter 20: A New Servan

20 A New Servan

\u003cLevel up!\u003e ''Only 1500 XP for almost dying. This system sure is cruel.'' He inwardly sighed. "Avilia, quickly, can you tell me how to turn someone into my demon servant?" Moby asked while heavily panting. "Just put your hand on her head and spread your demon energy into her body overwhelming her conscience. As long as she doesn''t resist the process, which is impossible when knocked out, you should be fine." She replied. Moby nodded and followed Avilia''s instructions. He grabbed her limp head and spread his demon energy inside. A raging purple aura enveloped Jayden''s body. Suddenly, he saw her unconscious body start moving in obscure ways. He heard many bones breaking and cracking only to regenerate a few secondster. He saw her skin burn off before being reced by new skin. ck blood starteding out of every orifice in litres. ''Is this how my transformation looked like when I evolved?'' he inwardly thought, looking at Jayden''s body in disgust. Suddenly a system message appeared in front of him. \u003c You Have Created a Lesser Doppelganger Demon! \u003e \u003c Congrattions on Making Your New Demon Household! \u003e \u003c Please Choose a Name For Your Household \u003e ''Demon household?'' He thought in confusion. ''It seems like the Nether Realm has most likely gone through a lot of changes since my passing for this to happen, '' she sighed. ''A demon household is a powerful family of demons usually reserved for noble and higher demons. I''m surprised that turning 1 human has already created a demon household. From my knowledge, which might be outdated by now, This has never happened before, '' Avilia replied. "Demon households have many bonuses that you will discover. I don''t want to ruin the fun and surprise. I can''t be giving you all the answers or else it would be too easy for you. I need to see if you are worthy of inheriting my legacy and powers, " She said in a yful tone. Moby took in everything that Avilia said. At first, he thought that this demon household thing would be a hindrance and an inconvenience. But, after hearing that there are benefits he instantly thought differently. Moby now needed to think of a name for his demon household that sounded cool but not too edgy or cringy. Due to what is most likely some form of brain damage from the fight, Moby was unable to think correctly. He thought of many bad ideas like, "The House Of Sin" and, "House Of Total Destruction" beforeing up with his final answer. "House Of The Blissful Demon" Moby decided to name his household after his parents'' dojo''s name to pay homage and respect to his parents. Even if Moby hates everyone and everything in his life. The only people he could nevere to hate were his parents. \u003c Congrattions On Creating Your New Demon Household: "House of The Blissful Demon" \u003e \u003c Hidden Quest Complete \u003e ---------------------------------------- Demonification Turn 1 human into a demon Rewards: +25 stat points +10 Levels to the first demon servant created. ----------------------------------------- \u003c Hidden Quest Complete \u003e ---------------------------------------- Birth of a New Household Create your own demon household Rewards: +50 stat points +Household bonus You and demons under your household will share 50% of their XP upon killing or defeating an enemy with you without lowering their total XP gain. ----------------------------------------- Moby''s eyes were wide open while his mouth dropped out of sheer surprise. He had gained a total of 85 stat points out this endeavour while he was only expecting to gain a simple minion. ''Sorry for ever doubting your generosity Avilia, '' he thought. ''No apology necessary'' She calmly replied. Moby was really excited about the extra stat points but the most important thing was the household bonus of XP sharing between him and his minions. It seems like amassing more servants would be to his benefit. Sadly, at his current strength, he only has the power to turn 1 human into a demon. Suddenly, he felt movementing from under his feet. He had no energy to move due to his injuries so he just stood there watching. Jayden has finally woken up. All her injuries including her eyes seempletely healed. Moby gritted his teeth in anticipation waiting to see the results of his work. He just has to hope and pray (to Satan) that this psychopath would not attack him and instead be under his control. "You! What did you do to me?!" she roared out in anger. When she tried to move and attack Moby. An unknown force stopped her in her tracks. She waspletely immobilized. ''Avilia, what the hell is going on?'' ''Household members arepletely loyal to their master''smand. They are physically and mentally unable to harm their master. This means that there is absolutely no chance of betrayal. The only way that they can break out of your control is if they hate you to an extremely unimaginable degree. ''Fuck, I think she definitely hates my guts. I''m totally dead,'' Moby sighed in resignation. ''Don''t worry, she wouldn''t be able to break your spell until after a week has passed since she got turned. So, you need to somehow tame this psychopath and make her submit to your will. A demon lord who can''t rule over their subject is not fit to inherit my powers. So, good luck!'' Avilia said in a yful tone. ''Damn that bitch Avilia'' Moby cursed Avilia for not telling him about that earlier. But, it seemed she is no longer responding to his calls even though he knows full well she is listening because he could hear a few giggles every now and then. ''Fuck! thatpletely messes with my ns! I had thought that the master-servant rtionship was absolute! I was going to use her as a ve to do my every bidding!'' Moby thought, in turmoil. Moby looked back over to Jayden who looked like a lunatic trying to break out of invisible chains. Moby tried to test his authority over her. ording to Avilia, she should follow all mymands. "Kneel," Moby said in an authoritative tone. Jayden''s face instantly smashed on the ground like the gravity around her suddenly got multiplied by a hundred. Moby can sense the anger and disgust in her heart like they had some sort of connection. He could not directly read her mind but can read her emotions. Her emotions were overwhelmingly strong. If he can not tame this psychopath in a week it will be the cause of endless troubles most likely leading to his death. At the end of the week, he could just order her tomit suicide and write a suicide note exining her reason for doing it. But, if he did that. it would probably cause a school lockdown and interrogate every student in the school seeing that she is from a really important family. If they have an urate lie detector, then he would bepletely screwed. And, even if they didn''t, it would still cause inconveniences for him toplete his revenge on Nathan. He needed to avoid a situation like that at all costs. Moby''s best move by is to try to win over her loyalty by any means necessary. He wanted to establish their difference in status before getting friendly with her. He needed some way to solidify some form of loyalty between him and her. If that doesn''t work, then he will try a more friendly approach in order to win her over that way. "Calm down. All I did was turn you into a demon. I am a demon after all." Moby said in a calm tone trying to hide his inner turmoil. She startedughing hysterically in disbelief at what Moby just said. "You? A demon?! Don''t make meugh! There is no such thing! If you really are a demon, then show me proof," As soon as she said that, a purple glow emitted out of Moby''s eyes. His eyes had many different rune like-drawings on them that looked very mystical in nature. Staring at them made her feel like staring into an endless abyss which made her shudder with fear. Moby only had 1 demon energy left in his reserves due to his 12 energy/ hour regeneration speed. So he was only able to use his "Eyes of Sin" for half a second. But, it was more than enough to prove his point. Using "Eyes of Sin" by the master on a servant of their household is a way the master uses to put fear into their hearts. This effect only works on household members. Moby did not know that fact so he was surprised to see Jayden trembling in fear. "Wait so I''m a demon now?!" She asked, seemingly forgetting her previous anger. "Yes, you are now a doppelganger demon," Moby replied. Moby had no idea what a doppelganger was. So, he asked Avilia hoping she would know. ''Doppelgangers are a very powerful kind of demon that specializes in the skill of transformations. A doppelganger can transform into anyone, copying all their power and skills up to 70% of their strength. They can also replicate clothes but without the additional buffs and uses they might provide. Doppelgangers are the masters of the art of deception.'' She replied. ''It seems like this 2 faced psychopath got the type of demon that perfectly fits her personality.'' He thought. With her maniptive and untrustworthy attitude, Moby feels like she will be a nightmare to deal with. "What is a doppelganger?" She asked in confusion. After only a little, Moby finished exining to her what a doppelganger is by telling her exactly what Avilia just told him. To his shock, she seemed more happy than angry at what she became. "Why do you seem so happy? Weren''t you just about to kill me like 5 seconds ago?" He asked in confusion. "I felt like there was a huge change in my body but I couldn''t quite put my finger on it. My skin and hair feel smoother than before and I feel more full of energy than ever in my life. Plus, these new doppelganger powers are amazing." "At first, I thought that you were a filthymoner who tried to kill me after I showed you so much kindness and generosity. But now, I understand that you were a great and powerful demon all along. You were just trying to help me gain new power out of your affection towards me. So, I shall forgive your previous transgressions." ''This bitch! Who does she think she is! She thinks too highly of herself. The only reason I chose to turn her into a demon was to extort her for her money and use her for protection at school so the bullies stay away. I need to make her better understand her situation'' "Kneel harder," he spoke in a powerful tone causing her to kneel so hard that the floor under her started to crack. "I don''t think you understand your situation here. I am now the master and you are my pet, I can control every action you do with but a thought. If you value your life, you will join me as my servant. I promise to treat you well in exchange for your trust and loyalty. If you join me, I will grant you more power and make it worth your time. If not, then I will just kill you right where you stand." He said in a firm manner. "Ya whatever, I guess I''ll join you. As long as I keep my new powers, get stronger as you say, and have the freedom to do what I want, then I will be willing to join you. However, I will only take the orders that I want from you. If you ask me to do anything boring, I will decline your offer in a heartbeat. That is my deal," She said with no hint of fear in her eyes. As soon as Moby was about to scold her for her tone, he felt a huge pain ravaging throughout all his body. Hepletely forgot that he cut off his pain receptors in his fight with Jayden. ''Why the fuck do my pain receptors go back to normal now of all times!'' He inwardly cursed his seemingly never-ending bad luck. His eyes suddenly felt blurry, his body lost the energy to stay standing. Moby fell on the ground with a loud thud leaving him unconscious. ----------------------------------------------------- If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 21: Experiments Part 1

21 Experiments Part 1

"It seems that you are finally awake, "boss", "An unknown voice came from behind him putting an emphasis on the word, "boss". Moby got startled by the unknown voice and quickly went to grab his sword finding out that it was not at his waist. When he noticed that the unknown voice was just Jayden, he calmed down. Only a little. She was sleeping right next to him on the bed. ''She might have taken advantage of me while I was unconscious. I don''t want my first time to be with that whore!'' Moby thought in distress. "What did you do to me! did you have sex with me while I was asleep!" He screamed at her. "Of course not! I lost interest in you a while ago, " She said, pretending to scoff at him. Moby breathed a sigh of relief at the good news. At her not raping him but most of all, her not liking him anymore. It was a huge weight off his conscience. Due to their mind link, he knew she told the truth because he felt like she was angry at him. The mind link can not tell him if she is lying or not. It only conveys her emotions. However, that could not be any farther from the truth. She was angry for apletely different reason. She had tried to force herself on him multiple times while he was still unconscious but with no avail. Every time she attempted to try something on Moby, It was like an unknown force in her head stopped her from doing it. It was like the time she tried to attack him before feeling like she was tied down by invisible chains. "How long have I been out?" He asked. "About 2 hours," she replied. It was shorter than he expected. When he checked his Hp, it was already full again. ''It seems like I only need 2 hours to naturally regenerate all my health'' Moby thought, taking a mental note of his discovery. Moby looked around the room noticing that all the damage the room sustained from the fight has already been fixed. "How is the room already fixed from the fight? If someone told me this room was on the brink of copse 2 hours ago I would not believe it." "Well, naturally a bumpkin like you wouldn''t know. The entire house is embedded with a magic crystal that repairs any damage the house sustained in only an hour, " She said while puffing her chest forward in pride. Moby ignored her meanment vowing to teach her a lesson in the future. "How do you get magic crystals?" Moby asked with eyes of interest. "How should I know? My dad just installed them in my house for me," she said, scratching her head. Moby was banking on her high intelligence stat having more significance than raising just her power-level but it seems like he was wrong. Then a sudden realization popped into his head. "Well yeah, obviously. My family mansion is at least 20 times bigger than this small dump, my parents just bought this house for me to stay in while I attend military school. There is no way I would stay in that hell hole they call a dorm." "Oh and before you ask. Since my family is a big donor to the military I have a choice to live in a dorm or not. Unlike you," sheughed while saying thest part. After that, many things went through Moby''s head and not one of them was nice. He had never imagined someone could be so spoiled in his entire life. But then he realized the bright side of this. "So, that means you must be spoiled rich right!" "Uggghhhh, I wish!! My parents only send 4000$ a week! They say stuff like I have to try living in moderation! It''s bullshit! I had to beg them non stop for a year to only end up in a low-end mansion like this with only a few servants!" She said while pouting. Moby inwardly shuddered when she said that 4000$ a week was only enough for a modest life. That is more than he can make in 5 months of constant work. And, she has to do nothing at all to earn it, no work even necessary. "Well¡­ do you have any expensive decorations we could sell for money?" Moby said trying to find something positive in this predicament. "The most expensive decoration in this house is only like 100$. I don''t waste my money on things like that! I just spend my money on clothing." "Good! Then we are selling all your expensive clothing!" He said cheerfully. "Nooo!! I won''t sell my clothes for anything in the world!" She firmly replied. ''This bitch is so annoying'' Moby thought, almost popping a blood vessel. His patience can onlyst so long before snapping. "Well, I need some way of getting money! I found this hidden website that sells really good magical equipment. They are all really expensive so I need money for that, " He said, trying his best to stay calm. "Well, it''s not my problem that you are poor," she scoffed. "You do understand that I have your life literally between my hands, right?" He said with arge grin and a visuallyrge vein pulsing on his head. "Uhh fine! I''ll sell some of my old clothes and some clothes that I don''t like and I''ll give you half of my weekly allowance. Is that enough?! My only condition is that you must use some of that money to buy me some equipment from that website of yours every now and then," She said reluctantly. This was the first good news he heard in a long time. Now he had a steady 2000$ a week for doing absolutely nothing. In less than a month, he would have enough money to buy the basic demon gear. But, the more expensive gear was still way out of his ie bracket. He still needed a way to get more money but that is a problem for his future self to figure out and now is not the time to worry. "Thank you so much! I promise to make your investment worthwhile!" He said trying to act nice to keep her on his good side. "It better be worthwhile!" She scoffed. ''Can''t she even pretend to act nice just for once. I need some way to keep her under control.'' he inwardly sighed. The time was already 7 o''clock so he still had 5 hours before curfew. Moby decided to do a few experiments to pass the time. "Have you tried using your doppelganger powers yet?" "No, not yet, I still don''t know how to properly do it. So, I waited for you to wake up to ask you how. So, how do you do it!" She looked at him with eyes of anticipation. Moby did not know what to say. He had no knowledge about such things. Today was the first time he ever heard of doppelgangers. Moby could not show his distress on his face in order to not show weakness in front of her. ''Avilia can you please tell me how to do it?'' He asked in a desperate tone. ''It''s really simple actually. The only conditions are that you must have a vivid imagination, you must have met the person or animal you want to transform into, and the person or animal must not be too much stronger than the doppelganger. All you have to do is imagine what to turn into and control the demon energy in your body to shape your body into the transformation,'' Avilia exined. ''Well damn it looks like I have to teach her how to use demon energy,'' he said in an unhappy tone. "I''m gonna teach you something new. You need to know this before learning how to transform, " Moby said. "Close your eyes," "Why should I?" "Just trust me" She reluctantly closed her eyes like she was told. "Ok, now, try focusing and visualizing your inner demon energy," "My what?!" She asked in confusion. "Just focus! You won''t be able to do this without precise concentration" Moby said to shut her up. ''I know that she won''t be able to do it so fast. It took me months to finally discover my demon energy and I was considered a genius for doing so. I will have to waste my time training her every day. I just hope that it wou¡­'' "I SEE SOMETHING!!" Jayden screamed in excitement interrupting Moby''s thought process. "Wait what! What do you see!" He jumped in surprise. "I see 2 flows of energy in my body. One is purple and one is blue." ''Blue?'' He almost blurted out loud. ''It seems like she still has ess to her ability on top of her demon powers. The other flow of energy must be her mana flow'' Avilia exined. ''Wait, does that mean that I can learn an ability on top of my demon powers!'' He thought in surprise. ''Well yes naturally, why wouldn''t you?'' She asked in confusion. ''That''s overpowered!'' He inwardly cheered. Moby now felt so d that he didn''t take the basic ability orbs the military offered him. He would never forgive himself if he was stuck with a shitty ability for the rest of his life. Moby wanted to know what ability would best suit his demon powers but he set aside those thoughts to focus on the task at hand. As he looked at the sudden burst of purple energy around Jayden. He couldn''t help but be envious of how she learned what took him months to aplish in only minutes. ''So much for a genius'', he said disappointed in himself. ''Hey! Don''t be like that! Cheer up! She is now a demon so it is obvious that she would be more in tune with her demon energy than when you were a human. It is a miracle for humans to use demon energy at all while ites naturally to demons,'' Avilia said with a soothing voice. Moby mentally nodded to her thanking her for cheering him up. ''Well, I guess I really am a genius then!'' He inwardlyughed regaining his previous confidence. Moby now focused his attention back on helping Jayden use her doppelganger powers. "Focus on the purple flow in your body and try to shape it into an animal or person you want to transform into. Let''s start with a cat for now," Jayden nodded. She tried to imagine the ck cat that she saw on her way to school this morning. Then, she formed her demon energy into that shape. Moby saw Jayden quickly shrink before starting to grow ck hair all over her skin. The process looked a little disturbing but Moby did not shudder at all. Things like that can not scare him after all that he had experienced. "Look! I''m a cat now!" She said ecstatically. "Congrattions!" Moby said with a big smile. When she tried to move, she automatically fell over. She repeatedly tried to walk but failed miserably every time. "Fuck! What the hell," She screamed in frustration. "It seems like you are not used to your new body. You need to learn how to walk on 4 legs before being able to properly move." Mony said with a sigh. "I guess I have to relearn how to walk," she said with a sad expression. "Can you use your ability while transformed?" Moby asked with curiosity. "I don''t know, let me check," She replied. Suddenly, a dark shadow emitted from the cat''s body. "It seems like it works," She said excitedly. "THAT''S BROKEN!" Moby blurted out in surprise. ----------------------------------------------------- WE HAVE ALREADY REACHED 2ND PLACE IN THE CONTEST!! YOU GUYS ARE INSANE!! If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 22: Experiments Part 2

22 Experiments Part 2

"That is true, but a 30% debuff from the original is a pretty big debuff, assuming that I copy someone with a power level of 3000, I would only get a power level of 2100," She replied. "Yes, but you would still have the use of your ability on top of the one you copied. So theoretically, your power level should be a bit higher than 70% of the original''s power level. I believe in certain situations, you would be at an advantage while in others you would be at a disadvantage, it just depends on the type of opponent you face." "So by 30% do you mean that all my powers and special abilities would be 30% weaker?" "Ya pretty much, just imagine it like a 30% debuff from an RPG. " "Seems easy enough to understand," she nodded. "I''m assuming that the debuff is so high because you''re a lesser doppelganger. When you evolve into a normal or even greater doppelganger the debuff should be reduced, " he exined. "What kind of demon are you?" She asked with curiosity. "I''m a lesser demon," he replied. "Seems pretty basic," she said whileughing. Moby ignored herugh and asked Avilia if there are any other skills doppelgangers know. ''Avilia, is there anything else I should know about doppelgangers?'' ''The only other thing I can think of off the top of my head is that they have a small degree of mind-reading. When transformed, they can read the surface thoughts of the people around them to better grasp how that person is supposed to act and how others perceive how he should act. This allows doppelgangers to almost perfectly assume another''s life. The only downside is that if the person that the doppelganger reads their mind has prejudice towards them they might have inconsistency in their behaviours that might raise a few red gs,'' she exined. Moby repeated what Avilia just told him to Jayden. "So I have a basic mind-reading ability that reveals surface thoughts?" She asked in surprise. "Ya pretty much," he replied. "Then why can''t I read your mind now?" "Probably because you are a cat and I have no opinions on a cat," he said with a sigh. "So, all I have to do is transform into someone you know and then I would be able to, right?" As soon as she said that, her body started to transform again. She shed all her hair that just disintegrated in mid-air and grew human skin instead, She grew very tall standing at a little taller than moby. A student uniform appeared on her body out of nowhere which fit her perfectly. "How do I look!" She said with joy. "You look like Alex!" He replied in shock. "I know that you two are roommates so I thought this would be the perfect person." Moby was waiting to see if her nose would grow like Pinhio but it seems like she actually believes what she is saying. "So how does it work? Can you read my mind?" He asked, clenching his fists in anticipation. "Hahaha, it''s telling me that you see Alex as a dubious maniptor who acts nice to pursue some ulterior motive." She said whileughing. ''Seems pretty urate'' he inwardly nodded. "Try using his lightning ability," Jayden nodded as she conjured a huge bolt of lightning that destroyed one of the walls in her room. "Whoops, looks like I tried too hard," she said with an awkwardugh. Moby was dumbfounded at how strong that attack was. if she was holding back while still having a 30% debuff than he can''t imagine how strong Alex would be at his full power. At Moby''s current strength, he would be one-shot without a doubt. Moby quickly regained hisposure and asked, "Try using your shadow ability now," She nodded as she conjured 2 shadow daggers in each hand. "Now try using both abilities at the same time" She did as she was told and surrounded her shadow daggers by an electric aura. "Ok stop, it seems like my hypothesis is correct. You are now able to wield 2 abilities at once which is pretty broken." "Tell me something I don''t know," she replied proudly. "Ooo! I have an idea! Let me try transforming into you!" She said excitedly. In only a few seconds she had already assumed Moby''s exact form with no way to visually distinguish each other. It was pretty amazing looking at himself but at the same time really creepy. "Dangggg!! It looks like you''re packing big!" She eximed while taking a peek at his legendary spear. "Stop that right now!!" He screamed in embarrassment! "Fine I''ll stop, " she said with a giggle. ------------------------------------- 3 hourster... After a few more experiments, Moby figured out that their mind link can be used for telepathicmunication from any distance which is a huge asset. They also figured out that Jayden was limited to choose only different 5 transformations per day which adds yet another limit to her power.?Although with a slight dy, she would be able to effortlessly switch between the 5 transformations as many times as she wants. But, if she tries it to transform into someone other than them, the transformation would fail. Also, every time Jayden would change between her transformation, a portion of demon energy would be consumed. Her demon energy would also be slightly consumed every second during her transformed state so she was not able to stay transformed forever. Furthermore, Jayden was able to effortlessly copy all of Moby''s moves and she even learned "Energy Sense" and "Nature''s Stimtion" into her own body because they were not race-specific skills like the rest of his skills. She was also able to modify "Nature''s Stimtion" to restore both Energy and Mana instead of just Energy. Jayden started to get the hang of walking on 4 legs but she still messes up quite a lot. They also discovered that when Jayden tried to transform into any of the professors, it would always end in failure. It was most likely because they were too powerful for her to copy. The time they used was very efficient. They discovered many things in the process. But, all good things muste at a cost. Thest 3 hours were the most frustrating and rage-inducing time Moby had ever felt. He had never met someone so annoying in his entire life. "I have to leave now before I get in trouble, the curfew is only in an hour. Can you give me a ride?" "Why should I? You have 2 working legs for a reason," "Because then I won''t make it back in time you bozo, " "Fine! Let me call the butler, " she said while running out of the room. When they reached the front door and Moby was walking away with the butler, She suddenly tugged on his shirt signalling him to wait. "Since we will be working together from now on I think that we should trade our contact info," She said while awkwardly rubbing her hands together. "Why should I? We already have a telepathic link. It''s better than any other way of contact," Moby said with a confused expression. Jayden''s face instantly turned beet red. "NEVERMIND!" She said as she smashed the door shut. Moby was just standing there in confusion not knowing what just happened. He didn''t have the chance to read her emotions but from her face, he could assume she was angry at him for some reason. Then, the memory of Avilia telling him that he only had 1 weeks to tame her or else there is a high chance she would betray him yed again in his mind. ''I need to find a way to keep her under control or else I''ll be dead.'' Moby said with sweat running down his face. Moby entered the limousine and the butler drove him towards the school. Since this was the first time he was alone with peace and quiet ever since he got his new stat points, Moby can now finally assign them. He had a total of 85 points to distribute. After careful consideration, Moby decided to assign: 30 points in strength. 30 points in Intelligence. 12 points in mind. 13 points in Endurance. His new stats are now: Stats ------------------------------------- Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 11 XP to next level 500/1200 Power Level: 2720 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 55/55 Demon Energy regeneration: 27 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 83 Agility: 98 Endurance: 36 Intelligence: 55 Mind: 30 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ------------------------------------- Moby''s current goal was to even out his stats because he believes that was is his best way to distribute them. He also wanted to reach 30 points in mind to get the skill Avilia wanted him to learn. Moby noticed that as his intelligence stat went up, so did his maximum energy capacity. This was a fix to his low reserve of Demon energy. So, Moby decided he should focus on getting his intelligence and endurance up so he can have more energy and not get killed with one hit. As soon as Moby finished distributing all his points, he got a system notification. \u003c System Alert! \u003e \u003cDue to the user having 30 points in the "Mind" stat a new skill has been learned! \u003e ----------------------------------- Lesser Mind Control [ Level 1 ] By staring at a target for 20 seconds, the user can control their actions for 5 seconds. The skill can not be used on anyone with a higher power level than the user and can not be used to inflict severe or fatal self-harm or harm on others. Activation Time: 20 seconds Duration: 5 seconds Cost: 25 Demon Energy ----------------------------------- ''Avilia, is this the skill you wanted me to learn?'' Moby asked. ''Ya! Isn''t it amazing! It was always my favorite skill to use. It may not be able to order someone to harm themselves but it can make them do some really stupid shit! Whenever I got mad at people, I always used this skill to embarrass them. And no one can use this skill on me because I was the strongest demon. If you n on humiliating that Nathan guy and his goons this is the perfect move! Just imagine all the life-ruining shit you can make them do! As long as there is no severe self-harm, you can make them do anything!'' ''That''s amazing!'' He eximed jumping out his seat startling the butler in the process. Moby had never heard Avilia sound so excited about anything she had ever spoken about. And, after hearing what Avilia said, Moby could not help but feel just as enthusiastic. Moby and Avilia spent the rest of the ride home discussing all the best and most embarrassing applications of this skill for maximum devastation on Nathan and his gang. ------------------------------------------ If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 23: The Power Of Mind Control

23 The Power Of Mind Control

At times, he would even be rolling on the seats while clenching his stomach. In his eyes, Moby seemed like a crackhead that looked insanely high while at the same time having a huge sugar rush. ''The Young miss should not associate with someone like him,'' he thought After 30 minutes of driving, they finally reached the front gate of the school. Moby thanked the butler for driving him and headed back to his dorm. When he arrived, he noticed that both Alex and Ray were already fast asleep. He was hoping that would be the case because he wasn''t in the mood to socialize and wanted to instantly go to sleep. He used up a lot of energy today and he needed to sleep in order to recover. As soon as heid his head on his pillow, he slept like a baby for the rest of the night. ------------------------------------ 6 am the next morning, Moby woke up fit as a fiddle. There was absolutely no lingering fatigue from his near-death experience he just had the day before. His roommates were still fast asleep which was a good thing for him. He went outside toplete his daily quest beforeing back to take a shower. Moby decided to put his 3 points he got from the daily quest into "Endurance" so he could be less of a ss cannon and increase his survivability a little more. His endurance was now at 39 points. The time was already 7:30, so he quickly left the dorm making sure not to wake up his sleeping roommates. When he reached the front of the school, he found his target. It was one of Nathan''s goons. It was the one with the healing ability that healed all his broken bones only for Nathan to break them again. Currently, Moby''s power level of 2750 was higher than Nathan himself who was only at a power level of 2510. So he knows that his new skill would also work on his whole gang who were all much weaker than him. Moby contacted Jayden to inform her of what is about to happen. He wanted to build a better rtionship with her in order for her to not betray him in the future. From the little time he knew her, he knows that she would find what he is about to do hrious. ''Hey, Jayden. Where are you at now.'' ''Why are you calling me now! You better not waste my time,'' she answered in an annoyed tone. ''Just answer the damn question!'' He quickly replied. ''My butler just dropped me off at the front gate.'' ''Quickly! Come to the front of the school! There is something funny I need to show you!'' Moby said excitedly. ''Fine! But this better be worth my time!'' She said angrily. ''It will definitely be worth your time!'' He replied enthusiastically. 15 seconds had already gone by since he began casting it. ''I''m at the front of the school now. What''s so funny and important that would make you waste my time like that,'' She said, sounding really annoyed. ''Just wait 1 more second, '' he said trying to contain hisughter. Suddenly, one of the students in the crowd ripped off his clothes making him bare naked. He started shaking his prepubescent soldier in front of a huge crowd while running around farting and jumping like a maniac. He was doing funny and stupid faces the entire time, putting his hands in his nose, putting his tongue out licking his face in a disgusting manner, were only the tip of the ice burg. He ended his spectacle by squatting down into the fetal position as he began to shit on the floor. Only when the shit was halfway down, did he finally regained his senses. "Huh?" He said looking around in confusion. It only took him a momentter to recognize his situation. His face turnedpletely red out of embarrassment. He was butt naked without any way of wearing clothes because he already ripped them all. He instantly put his hands covering hisher regions as he ran away screaming and crying. Due to the unfinished poop still protruding from his anus, he left a trail of feces that followed from behind him. There was an entire crowd all around him spectating everything that just transpired. Half of them were looking at him in disgust like he was an escaped monkey from the zoo while the other was filming him orughing their ass off. Jayden was part of thetter. This was by far the funniest thing she had ever seen in her entire life. She wasughing so hard that she felt her stomach start to severely ache, but she did not even care. She had a hard time breathing as she started to severely hyperventte. At times, herughter would suddenly stop so she could catch her breath and try to calm down before erupting again not too long after from images popping back in her head from what just happened. This cycle repeated over and over for more than 5 minutes until she managed to finally regain herposure. Moby was not faring any better. He wasughing just as hard as Jayden if not a little harder. He had no memory of himselfughing that hard in his entire life, even when he was torturing Eric, which is an impressive feat, to say the least. Avilia had a severe sense of nostalgia because she made people do these things in her past a myriad of times. He could even hear Aviliaugh in his head at least 3 times harder than him like she was reliving the funniest moments of her entire life. The only thing he was disappointed in was that he didn''t smear his feces all over his body like he wanted him to do because the mind control ran out of time. However, what happened was still more than funny and embarrassing enough to satisfy him. This was more than enough to ruin someone''s life and reputation for a lifetime. The only downside to this is he might kill himself before Moby gets to him. He still needed to properly pay him back for all that he did to him. Moby just had to hope that he wouldst at least until tomorrow so he can exact his n. Suddenly, Jayden contacted him l, interrupting his train of thought. ''HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA WAS THAT YOUR DOING!?'' She asked, unable to contain her immenseughter. ''Ya, that was me'' He replied while chuckling, remembering the scene that just urred. ''THAT WAS THE FUNNIEST SHIT I''VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!! HOW DID YOU DO IT?!'' She asked whileughing even harder. ''Let''s just say I got a mind control ability after I left your house yesterday, '' he replied with a smirk. ''FOR REAL! You sure are creative!'' She said, starting to calm down a bit. ''It took a lot of brainstorming'' He answered with a small chuckle. ''By the way, who is that guy? Why did you choose him of all people? Don''t get me wrong, I don''t give a shit about him and I appreciate the humour. But, I know that there must be a reason behind this, '' she asked with curiosity. ''There is a reason. I didn''t have the chance to tell you yesterday because we didn''t have enough time. I''ll exin everything to you at the break. We need to head to ss right now, we only have 5 minutes left until it starts.'' ''Sounds like fun! I''ll meet up with you at break time then,'' she excitedly replied. ---------------------------------- If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 24: Leos Tournament Part 1

24 Leo''s Tournament Part 1

Thanks to Moby''s enhanced hearing, he was able to pick up on every conversation in the room. Nearly every single student was talking about the crazy incident this morning. "Did you hear what happened this morning!" "Ya! Some crazy guy stripped naked and took a shit in front of everyone while jumping around like a weirdo!" "Dang! I wish I were there in person! That''s hrious!" "At least you can watch the video on the web. It already has 1 million views even though it was only uploaded 5 minutes ago!" "Really! That''s crazy!" Moby could not help but feel proud of his aplishment. He caused quite the spectacle. Suddenly, Professeur Leo came into the room looking happier than usual. The entire ss instantly went silent as soon as they noticed him enter the room. "Good morning ss. Yesterday, we learned the basics of martial arts and its importance. Today, we will be putting what we learned to practice. We will be heading to fighting arena B on the first floor." The entire ss burst out into chatter. Some seemed really excited to finally startbat training. However, there was anotherpletely different group that cursed the day they were born. They dug their faces in their desk sulking and groaning in despair. Moby''s ss was a mixed gendered ss consisting of both boys and girls. The ss had a total of 32 students. 1 F rank, 14 E ranks, 16 D ranks, and 1 C rank The divide between the strong and the weak was like the difference between night and day. While the strong students celebrated and got excited, the weak students got really depressed. After only 5 minutes of walking, the ss had already reached battle arena B. The arena was a big dome-shaped room around the size of 2 football fields. It was light blue and white which made it look really high tech. There was a huge TV on the roof that most likely disyed the fights. The arena was surrounded by stands that spanned for what seemed like forever. The inside of the arena was a dome-like bubble that separated it from the stands. It was most likely a defensive magical force field that protected the people in the stands from the attacks going on inside. "This is bullshit! I can''t use my ability!?" A student blurted. "You must cover your basics and fundamental movements before you start properly implementing them with your abilities. It''s like trying to run before you crawl. If you try to use these new techniques with your abilities it would be much harder to master. We need to build you from the ground up! Most of you if not all of you have no fighting experience! If you have any objections with my teaching methods then take it up with me!" Leo responded. The entire ss went into silence. Although many students seemed really angry, no one dared talk back to Professeur Leo. "Oh and don''t even try cheating. I am really good at catching underhanded tactics. If one of you dares break the rules then he will be severely punished," He said in a serious tone. The gloomy faces of the low levels suddenly got a bit brighter. Only a little. Even if they were able to beat a high level, it would not end well for them after ss ends. It is not worth it for them to anger the high levels. The only good thing about the use of no abilities for them is that they would get beat up far less than if the use of abilities were allowed. "For the first ss, I want to gauge each person''s fighting abilities. So I will make this into a tournament. You will be paired with someone at random. Whoever wins the fight, moves on to the next round. The loser will be eliminated. Thest one standing wins! The winner will also get a reward from me!" The tournament and prize got the students excited once again. At first, Moby wasn''t nning on trying very hard in this ss to avoid making more enemies. But now, he disregarded that idea. He had already made it on the bad side of nearly every male in the school so what harm can a few more enemies do? Keeping a low profile does not have any merit if everyone in the school already knows who you are. If no abilities are allowed then he might have a chance at victory. He really wanted to know what reward Leo had. Every student spread out evenly into the field and waited for the signal to start. Moby ended up paired with an E rank student with a power level of 1217. He had spiky brown hair sticking out like a porcupine. He had small hazel eyes, small lips and a huge nose. The amount of hair product that was on his head was astonishing. Thanks to Moby''s enhanced senses, he could clearly smell the gel like it was a scented candle. Moby could not help but think that the yellow bandana he wore on his head was used to cover up his receding hairline from the sheer amount of gel he used that ruined his hair. "So you must be Moby Kane, Jayden Griffith''s little pet!" "And you must be¡­. Hmmm, who are you even?" "How dare you insult me! I am Laymen Smith, also known as the poison viper!" He said, trying to sound cool. "Who?" Moby responded in confusion "I know you''re just acting tough because you think you''re safe with Jayden Griffith''s protection. But since we are doing a friendly spar where idents can happen, It wouldn''t be my fault if I identally injured you. Right?" He said with a wide grin. "I mean you can try, but without your ability, you stand no chance," Moby had already used his inspect skill to see who he was dealing with and he was not impressed. ------------------------------------ Name: Laymen Smith Race: Human Ability: Level 2 Poison Power Level: 1670 Hp: 100/100 Mana: 64/64 Strength: 32 Agility: 40 Endurance: 31 Intelligence: 64 Mind: 0 ------------------------------------ Even if Moby held back his power level to his normal 800, he would have no problem beating him if he didn''t have the use of his abilities. Abilities cause a mutation in the body that makes a person''s body much stronger and more durable than a normal human''s, even if that person''s ability is not to be stronger or more durable. The higher the level of the ability the more their body gets strengthened. This is how people with non-defensive abilities are still able to survive attacks that would definitely kill a normal man. Such as, being flung through a wall. Laymen has a level 2 ability so his body and strength would be much higher than that of Moby who was holding himself back to only a power level of 800. However, Moby was still confident in his ability to win. His extensive martial arts experience would be more than enough to bridge the gap in power. Even though most of Moby''s training was with the sword, he is still a master at hand to handbat. Moby and Laymen both took a fighting stance eager to start. Suddenly, a gunshot sounded signalling the students to begin. Laymen took the initiative running blindly at Moby. Moby could clearly tell that he had no training and had no idea what he was doing. Although he was much faster than Moby, Moby was still able to really easily keep up with him due to his use of "Energy Sense" and enhanced senses. It made it feel like Laymen was running in slow motion. Laymen threw a right jab using the weight of his entire body behind it. Moby exploited that by ducking and grabbing hold of his hand before flipping him over using his own weight and momentum. Hended on the ground with an impressive thud. Moby kept hold of his hand and used it to help pin him in a chokehold. "Say you give up and I''ll let you go," Moby said in a monotone manner. "You bitch!" He screamed while squirming around trying to break free. Moby didn''t really care about this fight. He instantly knew that he would be able to win with no problem the second he sawymen take his first step. He was just another ant he needed to stomp on his path to get his goals. Even after 5 seconds of choking, he still would not yield. Moby got bored, so he decided to find out if his prediction about the bandana was urate. "Now let''s see what''s behind that bandana of yours!" He said with a wicked chuckle. Suddenly, he got a system notification: \u003c System Alert! \u003e \u003c Poison has been detected in your body \u003e ------------------------------- Thank you so much for your support! If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 25: Leos Tournament Part 2

25 Leo''s Tournament Part 2

Suddenly, the ground started shaking like an earthquake. a huge whirlwind erupted in the middle of the arena blowing away everything and everyone in its way. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped by 20 degrees and the lights went dimmer and started to flicker. It was like the shadow of death was looming over everyone''s shoulder. The entire ss just stood in ce shivering unable to take a single step. Moby looked up and saw a monster surrounded by shadows, or was it the god of death? Moby was so shocked that he did not notice that Laymen had disappeared from under him. The unknown entity was holding Laymen by the throat with such killing intent that hisher regions suddenly got wet and a brown stain can be seen from his rear. He was shaking so hard you can hear his teeth nking against each other with the sound of an engine. "When I say that whoever cheats gets a severe punishment, I really mean it," the man said while letting out even more killing intent. Laymen''s eyes rolled back as they turnedpletely white. His mouth started foaming like crazy and his entire body stopped responding. The entire ss was paralyzed in horror by the pressure and killing intent emitted from that monster. Then as fast as it came, the pressure and killing intent suddenly disappeared. The shadow of death had passed. The monster went over to Moby and asked him with a heartwarming smile. "Hey, kid. You ok?" Moby was still in shock from what just happened so he only managed to give back a nod. The man in front of him was no god or monster. It was Professeur Leo. Moby had no idea he was such a scary strong guy. His personality flipped like a switch. He was back to his usual demeanour as if nothing happened. ''Avilia, remind me to never get on Professeur Leo''s bad side'' he thought. ''Why? He''s not even that strong, don''t tell me you''re actually scared? that guy is not at all impressive'' She said in a bored tone like she was waiting for her morning coffee to finish heating. Moby did not know what to be more scared of. How strong and terrifying Professeur Leo was when he got angry or, how indifferent Avilia felt about the situation. "I need a student that has already been eliminated to get this guy to the nurse''s office," Leo said in a casual tone. No one volunteered. The entire ss was still frozen from all the events that just transpired. No one dared move other than the mass shivering and teeth nking that gued the arena. "You there!" Leo said while pointing at a short blonde girl. "Y...y...y...yes¡­ sir" She barely managed to mutter. "Did you lose your fight?" He asked still in his casual tone. " *p* Good! Then you can take him to the nurse''s office," he said with a smile. She slowly nodded before running out of the arena carrying Layman''s body on her back. "Ok guys! Back to work! Let''s resume where we left off and finish the first round of fights," Leo said before firing another gunshot signalling them to rmence. Moby shook his head and steeled his resolve. He could not allow things like this to get to him or else he won''tst long in the real world. After a few seconds, Moby had already regained his previous vigour as if nothing happened. The same could not be said about the rest of his ssmates. They all look traumatized like they just went face to face with death its self and survived. The only other person he noticed who had also regained her vigour was a red-haired girl who was in his same group for the skills exam. It was the only C rank student in his ss, Abby Ried. It seemed like she was one of the only people other than him who had already finished winning their first fight. Moby predicted that If he would meet anyone in the finals, it would be her. After 5 minutes, it seemed like most of the ss got their courage back. Mostly. You can still perceive a few of them still shuddering at times from the PTSD they most likely got. The next 2 rounds were just as easy for Moby to win as the first. The only difference was that this time, no one dared to cheat. Moby went against 2 more E ranks. The first one he won by tripping his opponent and then stomping on his throat with all his might knocking him out. As for the second one, he managed to knee his opponent in the face by exploiting his momentum which instantly knocked him out. Moby had already defeated a total of 3 E ranks which gave him a total of 1200 XP for his efforts levelling him up to level 12. Moby decided to instantly assign his 10 new skill points to "Endurance" in order to bring it more on par with the rest of his stats. He now had 49 endurance. For the fourth round, Moby is going against his first D rank opponent. Jay Truce. He was a guy with blonde hair and lotus green eyes standing only an inch shorter than Moby. He had hand wrappings around his hands which were typical for a boxer. "I do admit! You have some skills, kid! Even though you were physically weaker, you still defeated the other losers because of your superior martial arts training." "But, what are you going to do against someone who is physically stronger than you and has professional training in boxing?!" He said with a smirk. Moby just stood there seemingly unphased by Jay''s provocations. "That''s right! Nothing! If you give up now, you can save face, if not then I won''t have mercy on you. So, what will it be, punk?" He said with an overbearing tone. "I''ll pass on that one chief," Moby said without even batting an eye. Moby knew that what Jay said was right. So far, all his opponents have all beenplete amateurs and his superior skill was able to bridge the gap in physical strength and speed allowing him to win. But in this situation, the strength and speed gap has gotten even wider while the skill gap has gotten even narrower. Moby used his inspect skill to get a better grasp on who he is dealing with. ------------------------------------ Name: Jay Truce Race: Human Ability: Level 3 Earth Power Level: 3010 Hp: 100/100 Mana: 78/78 Strength: 80 Agility: 74 Endurance: 69 Intelligence: 78 Mind: 0 ------------------------------------ "It seems like his stats are really well rounded. I assume that his stats here are his stats with full use of his ability so his actual physical prowess should be much weaker than it is listed on his stat sheet." Moby concluded. He just had to hope that the physical gap and the narrowed skill gap would not be impossible to ovee. Professor Leo shot the gun signaling the start of the round. Jay instantly bolted to Moby throwing a few jabs. Jay was by no means a professional boxer, but the difference between him and the rest of Moby''s opponents was like night and day. Moby managed to dodge all the jabs by the skin of his teeth. Then, suddenly, hisst jab sped up a little faster than all his others. Moby had no room to dodge so he had to resort to one of his skills. "Demon sh" Out of all the matches, this was the first time he was ever forced to use one of his skills. ''This Jay guy is no joke'' he thought. "I''m surprised you managed to dodge that. But you can''t dodge forever!" Jay said as he rushed towards Moby once again throwing jabs left and right. As Moby was dodging his attacks, he noticed an opening. He ducked down and struck him in the liver where it hurts most. However, it felt like he punched a mountain rather than a person. His attack had no effect at all. Jay used this opportunity to kick Moby away using all his strength. \u003c -67 hp \u003e ''Fuck! My attacks are having no effect on him,'' he inwardly cursed. "Hah! That tickled! You call that an attack!" Jay scoffed. Moby decided to take the initiative to attack this time instead of defending. He activated a chain of demon shes that confused Jay and allowed Moby to go behind him without him noticing. Then, he struck him at the pressure point at the back of his neck with all his strength. But even still, he was not able to make him even flinch. After he noticed that his attack was useless, Moby instinctively stepped back to make distance between him and his opponent. ''What the fuck! Is this guy made of steel or something! Are level 3 ability users that much stronger than level 2 ability users?'' He thought. "Thanks for that buddy! My neck was feeling a bit sore!" He said whileughing and working out his neck. Moby had already used up a lot of demon energy on his previous attack. He only had 12 demon energy remaining out of his original 55. Moby''s only attack with any chance to harm Jay was his "Demon sh". But, without a sword, he would not be able to use it. Moby had never tried to gather his demon energy in his fists for an attack. But to win, he must try it. When Jay rushed again doing his regr barrage of jabs, Moby found the opening once again and infused his fists with the rest of his demon energy and went all in for the attack. Jay blocked his liver assuming that Moby was going to strike there once again. But, to his surprise, Moby was not dumb enough to try the same attack twice. Instead of going for the liver, Moby went for the jaw using an uppercut. His demon energy-infused fists managed to ovee Jay''s defenses dislocating his jaw. This left Jay stunned for a few seconds. His hands were no longer protecting his liver which gave Moby an open hit. Moby used this opportunity to deliver the finishing blow. His fists that were still infused with demon energy hit Jay straight in the liver causing him to spit blood and barf out his morning breakfast. Jay''s limp body fell on the ground with an outstanding thud marking the end of the match. \u003c System Alert \u003e \u003c New skill created \u003e -------------------------- Hell''s Fist [ level 1] The user gathers demon energy into their fists increasing its damage output immensely. Effect: 1.25x attack to punches Duration: 2 seconds Cost: 12 demon energy --------------------------- \u003c System Alert!\u003e \u003c You gained 1500 XP for defeating a D ss enemy \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e Moby is now in the final round. As he predicted, his final opponent will be none other than the strongest and only C rank student in his ss. The fire ability user Abby Ried. ------------------------- If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 26: Leos Tournament Part 3

26 Leo''s Tournament Part 3

He assigned 8 points into "Intelligence" and 2 points into "Endurance". He now has 51 endurance and 63 intelligence. He now has a maximum capacity of 63 demon energy instead of his previous 55. After Moby finished his fight with Jay, he had 0 demon energy left. Abby was still fighting her battle which gave him time to use "Nature''s Stimtion" to regain his energy. There is no way in hell he would be able to defeat Abby without the use of his demon energy. After 3 minutes, Abby had finally defeated her opponent. "Attention everyone! We have finally reached the finals! You all have done very well! But now it is the time to see what the 2 best hand to hand fighters have got to offer!" Leo said enthusiastically. "On the right, we have Abby Ried!" Leo said while pointing at her. The entire ss erupted with cheers. She ignored them like they were not even there. She was more focused on the opponent in front of her. "And on the left! We have Moby Kane!" He said while pointing at the still sleeping Moby. Usually, the entire ss would be booing him and throwing insults. But, in front of Professeur Leo, they would not dare. They did not know how he would react to such things. After what they saw him do a few minutes ago, none of them would even risk a chance of getting on his bad side. The ss just looked at him with mean disgusted res instead. They couldn''t believe he would dare take a nap at a time like this. "So you must be Moby Kane, the most hated guy in school. From the matches I saw you do, it looked like you had some real skill. I really respect the hard work and dedication you put in to get where you are now. It is a pity you do not possess an ability. If you did, I know you would be at least C rank without a doubt. I hope we have a good clean fight," Abby asked in a calm tone. Moby just kept on sleeping and did not respond to her. Abby has never been ignored or humiliated to this extent in her entire life. ''I will teach him proper manners,'' she thought angrily. The truth is, Moby was not ignoring her at all, he was still in the middle of using his "Nature''s Stimtion". So, he was blocking out all outside urrences in order to concentrate on regaining his energy. Leo lifted his gun in the air about to shoot. Abby took a fighting stance while Moby was still sleeping with seemingly no care in the world. "3" "2" "1" "Start!" Leo said as he shot his gun in the air. Without hesitation, Abby dashed towards Moby with the speed of a bullet train and performed a flying kick aimed at Moby''s head. Moby used his " Demon sh" to get away and dodge the attack. Due to Moby''ste activation of "Demon sh", her kick still managed to graze his face. \u003c -15hp \u003e ''What the fuck even is my luck! God must be ying sick jokes on me because I''m a demon now. I wake up to a fucking train aimed for my forehead with only a split second to react.'' He thought. ''I assume that the final round has already started'' he thought while inspecting his opponent. ------------------------------------ Name: Abby Ried Race: Human Ability: Level 4 fire Power Level: 7540 Hp: 100/100 Mana: 198/198 Strength: 267 Agility: 158 Endurance: 131 Intelligence: 198 Mind: 0 ------------------------------------ ''What the hell! Her stats are insane!'' He inwardly cursed. "it seems like you are finally awake. I''ll have you know I don''t take kindly to being so tantly ignored and disrespected so I will have to teach you a lesson on manners." Abby said while taking her fighting stance once again. Moby had no idea what she was talking about. He could only assume that he ignored her while he was using "Nature''s Stimtion" to recover his strength. Abby darted towards Moby unleashing a very powerful punch. Moby had no opportunity to dodge so he did the next best thing. He needed to know how much his strength stacks up to hers. He infused his hands with demon energy and used "Hell''s Fist" shing with her punch. The result of the sh was that Moby flew 10 meters away while Abby just stood there unfazed. The skin on his knuckles had been torn off leaving his flesh exposed with a bloody mess. His arm became numb and bent in a weird way from the sheer strength of the impact. Moby dislocated his arm back into ce regaining control of it once again. He lost a total of 48 hp from that attack which was not at all pleasant. He only had 57 Hp remaining. 1 or 2 good attacks and he would be dead. He started to feel like there is no chance of winning. Then a genius idea popped into his head. A smile formed on Moby''s face. He activated "Hell''s Fist" and dashed towards Abby throwing a punch. Abby decided to throw a punch of her own shing with him once again. But this time, Moby was the one left standing. Abby was blown 5 meters away and got startled a bit after the attack. The entire ss including Leo was looking at Moby in awe at how the tables have suddenly turned. ''Incredible! Kid, you are smarter than I thought. The instant you felt both your hands shing together, you raised your power level back to 1800 to boost your attack power. It was too fast and seamless for the watch to even register the sudden spike in power and it looked too natural for all the spectators. You needed perfect timing on this or else your attack would have had no effects or you would have exposed your true strength to your entire ss.'' Avilia eximed. ''However, don''t get too careless, you only have 31 demon energy remaining so you have to end this fight quickly before you run out. If you run out of demon energy, the fight would be as good as over, ''She added. ''Thanks for the advice but I''m well aware of my situation. Now that I actually damaged her, she will start to be more careful and act less recklessly. I need to find a way to win this quickly before I run out of juice.'' He thought. ''Also, I can''t do that technique all the time because it requires a huge amount of focus and mental strength. If I use that technique again, it will have to be for the decisive strikes.'' "Wow, where did all that powere from. I guess I should stop holding back too, " She said with a smile. ''FUCK ME SIDEWAYS THAT WASN''T HER FULL STRENGTH!'' He inwardly cursed. Abby rushed over with more speed and vigor than ever before. Moby readied himself by activating "Hell''s Fist". They started exchanging punches left and right. From the perspective of the audience, they looked evenly matched. But that could not be farther from the truth. Even though Moby was blocking each one of his opponent''s attacks, he was still taking a substantial amount of damage. \u003c -6hp \u003e \u003c -8hp \u003e \u003c -9hp \u003e \u003c -12hp \u003e The duration of "Hell''s Fist" was only 2 seconds so Moby knew he couldn''tst much longer in this exchange. He was not able to find any openings in her technique. Moby did not want to do this but to win, he had no choice. He had to resort to his trump card. Suddenly, Abby stopped attacking. It looked like she was paralyzed with fear out of nowhere. Moby then abruptly appeared behind her. He sped both his hands and hit her in the back of the head with all his strength making her fall on the ground creating a small crater in the process. Thest words she managed to barely mutter before passing out were, "What the hell are you¡­" ------------------------- If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 27: Reward!

27 Reward!

[ You have defeated a C rank enemy! ] [ +5000 XP ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] Moby was too deep in thought to even notice all the system alerts bombarding his peripheral vision. He was the only person who was able to hear Abby''sst words because she said it in such a low voice that only Moby with his enhanced senses could perceive it. ''Fuck! Did I go too far, I did not want to use that move in order to not arouse too many questions but she forced my hand,'' he inwardly thought. ''Hopefully, she doesn''t go running her mouth off after she wakes up about what just happened or else I might have to add her on my hit list,'' he thought. The entire ss was standing there speechless. They just witnessed the upset of the century. An F rank defeating a C rank even under these circumstances has never been heard of. From their perspective, it looked like Abby got startled from Moby''s moves which gave him a chance to dash behind her and catch her off guard. However, their assumptions werepletely wrong. What actually happened was during the exchange, Moby managed to get direct eye contact on Abby in order to use his "Nightmare" Skill. This was his first time ever using it so he was notpletely sure if it would work. If the target''s mental strength is too strong, the skill would have no effect. So, it was a big gamble at best. Luckily, it worked out fine without a problem. The effect duration of the skill increased from 0.1 seconds to 0.3 seconds due to his increased mind stat giving him just enough time to finish the job. "And the Winner is Moby Kane!" Leo said also in disbelief at the oue. "He must have cheated!" Someone with huge guts said from the audience. At first, people were reluctant to back him up because they were scared to get in trouble with Leo. But, if everyone does it, then he would have to punish the entire ss or punish no one. That was their mentality. After the second person spoke up. A chain of students started speaking up right after. Until the entire ss was in an uproar. "Ya! Are you sure he doesn''t have an ability! He must have used it when no one was paying attention!" "Ya! there is no way an F rank can defeat a C rank! He must have cheated!" "I wouldn''t be surprised if he drugged her or something!" The entire ss kept on spewing insults and allegations until Leo finally spoke up. "Everyone be quiet!" He screamed making the entire ss go silent. Moby started awkwardlyughing when he heard thest part. For a second there he thought that Professor Leo figured out his true identity. But, it was just his paranoia getting to him. The entire ss still looked at him haltingly still unable to ept what happened. But, after what Leo just said, no one dared speak up. Moby knew that by winning, he would paint a bigger target on his back. But, he was banking on the reward being worth it. "Ummm, Professor Leo, I was wondering when I will get my reward for winning," Moby asked impatiently. "Oh, that," "I almost forgot I promised a reward," he said with a chuckle. Leo grabbed a ring with a weird crystal on it out of his pocket and gave it to Moby. As soon as they saw the ring, every student looked at it with surprise and eyes of greed. "What is this? Sorry but I''m not into jewelry," he said in confusion. He was hoping for something more shy like a new weapon or armour and all he got was a weird looking ring. Leo startedughing at Moby''s remark. "Kid you crack me up! This isn''t just a piece of jewelry, this is a storage ring. It is a ring that can store all your objects in another dimension allowing you to carry many things without the extra weight. It contains a total room of 5 meters cubed. Also, anything you put inside will stay the same when you take it out. For example, if you put in a hot meal, the meal would stay hot when you take it out" Leo exined. At first, Moby was unimpressed. It was just like his inventory but with only limited storage. Then his disappointment faded away when he realized the things he could do with the ring. ''Rings like this must be worth a fortune! I bet I can make bank by selling this!'' He thought. Then, an even better idea came to his mind. ''I can now use my inventory in front of everyone under the pretense that I am using my storage ring! It''s a perfect n!'' He thought excitedly. "Thank you for your generosity Professor Leo, I will dly ept this ring," Moby said with a smile. Right after Moby took the ring, an announcement came on. "Can Moby Kane please report to the general''s office immediately." At first, Moby did not know why he was being called to the general''s office. Then it hit him. ''This can''t be anything good, No way the news of me defeating a C rank student has already spread that fast. This can only be one thing. It must mean that they found witnesses saying they saw me and Eric both enter into the forest together on the day he died. They are most likely going to question me as a suspect. If they have some way to detect lies, then I''m fucked!'' He thought in panic. "I guess that''s me! I''ll be going to the general''s office now. Thank you for the reward Professor, I really appreciate it, " Moby said while bowing to Leo and exiting the arena. *** Thanks so much to everyone that supports the novel! if we try hard enough we might be able to still squeeze first ce in the contest! I believe! If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 28: Interrogation

28 Interrogation

General Ryker was in his office flooded head to toe with seemingly endless paperwork. He was a middle-aged man with medium length ck hair that went down to his nose. He had a scruffy unkempt beard and blue eyes that had a case of severe bags from exhaustion andck of sleep that made him look straight out of a zombie movie. He was a very tall man standing at 6''6 with a broad muscr build. ''When I signed up to be general I was expecting to be on the battlefield kicking ass, not stuck in a room all day forced to ve night and day on a never-ending pile of papers,'' he inwardly sighed. ''And now we have a case of murder in the school. I knew it would happen sooner orter but I did not expect it to happen this early.'' ''If the noble households just allowed us to use the watches for tracking and monitoring every student at all times this would not happen! All because they fear us spying on their children! It''s so frustrating! Why do they make my life so much harder!'' ''We can''t even use the watches to monitor their power levels in real-time. Like how paranoid can you be? All they are good for is to ping their location once they are dead which is not much help.'' ''At least it was only some random F ranked nobody. If it was someone from an important family then that would have been a huge problem. If that happened I wouldn''t get to sleep for another month, '' He shuddered at even the thought. ''Witnesses say they saw the victim and this Moby Kane guy enter the woods together that day. The only leads we have been: clear evidence of torture, some obscure looking ck blood sttered on the grass, and finally, Moby Kane.'' He thought as he took a sip of coffee and pulled up his file. ''Moby Kane'' ''F rank'' ''Power Level: 800'' ''His parents died in the war when he was young and he has been living alone ever since'' ''He has no ability and he turned down the school''s offer for a basic elemental ability orb, interesting'' ''He has always been a goodie two shoes in school and has no criminal background'' ''He also became Jayden Griffith''s pet in only the first 3 days of school'' ''I don''t know what his rtionship with the Griffith family is but I need to know how much they value him in order to not anger them,'' he thought When Ryker got to the bottom of Moby''s file he got a message. \u003c ess Denied! \u003e Ryker''s previously dead-looking eyes lit up in surprise. "What the fuck!" He blurted out loud, jumping out of his seat spitting his coffee everywhere. ''What kind of information about this kid would be so top secret that it would be off-limits to even a general rank in the army,'' he thought. Then a knock came from the door. *ahem* "Pleasee in." A young handsome tanned man standing at 6''0 entered the room. He had Jet ck hair with visible streaks of red, and bright green eyes that almost looked hypnotizing. General Ryker kept on looking back and forth between the picture found on his file and the man in front of him. ''Is that even the same guy?'' he thought "Are you Moby Kane?" "Yes sir, I am! I am here answering your summons!" Moby said with a salute. ''I guess he must have changed a lot since this picture was taken,'' he thought, dismissing the matter. "Please take a seat on the chair in front of me" Moby went and took a seat like he was told. "Do you know why you are here?" "No sir." "Well, we have many eyewitnesses testify that you and the currently deceased Eric Quinn both entered the forest together on the day he died. I need you to answer all my questions truthfully and then I will let you leave, " Moby nodded back at the general with no sign of nervousness or fear. "Good, now put your hand on the magical crystal in front of you. This is a lie detector. It has been proven to work 100% of the time. So, don''t even try to lie because your punishment will be 5 times more severe if you do." "Yes sir!" Without hesitation, Moby put his hand on the crystal and waited for questioning. "If the Crystal turns green, it means you said the truth, if it turns red, then it means you lied." "Let''s start with the big obvious question. Did you kill Eric Quinn?" "No, I did not!" Moby answered with a serious yet almost annoyed tone. The crystal started to glow and emanated a bright white light before turning green. Ryker was good at reading people''s emotions. He has been in the business long enough to pick up on that. What he sensed from Moby wasn''t fear or anxiety. Instead, although it was subtle, he sensed boredom and annoyance with a hint of anger that was masked under a serious face. *Ahem* "Next question, do you know what happened to Eric Quinn and how he died," Ryker asked. "I have no idea, all I know is he died a few days ago, " he replied. The crystal shined green for this question as well. "Ok final question. What is your rtionship with the Griffith family?" Suddenly, Moby''s face became brighter and more excited. "I have a very good rtionship with the Griffith family. They are very nice, rich, and powerful people. Although they can be very cheap and stingy to their only daughter, I still like them very much!" Moby said with a genuine-looking smile. Ryker could not believe his ears. ''There is no way this F ss reject has a good rtionship with the prestigious Griffith household,'' he thought as he waited for the crystal to turn red. To his surprise, the Crystal shined a bright green instead. General Ryker was lost for words, he could not believe his eyes. "Am I free to leave now sir?" Moby said impatiently. "Yes, you are dismissed," Ryker managed to mutter still in a dazed state of disbelief. "Then, I will be excusing myself. Thank you so much for your hospitality," Moby said with a bow as he exited the general''s office. ''First, there is a locked section on his file that even I can''t ess, and next, he has a very good rtionship with the Griffith family. At first, I thought he was just some random nobody. But now, I have to reconsider my opinion. He might be more important than I anticipated.'' ''I''m going to keep a closer eye on this Moby Kane guy,'' he thought while ruffling his beard. -------------------------------- Moby''s Pov, Moby stormed out of the general''s office with bottled-up anger and annoyance. It was really boring and time-consuming. It was already time for the break so he didn''t have to return to ss. Instead, he marched up all the way to the school roof in anger like he was raring to give someone a piece of his mind. There, he saw a 6''0 tall tanned man with ck hair that had a few streaks of red. He was looking up in the sky with an uneasy expression like he was waiting for someone to arrive. That man was none other than Moby. "You better have a good exnation for all this!" Moby screamed at himself. *** If you are reading this and you enjoy my novel. Please leave a review to help the Novel get rated! 3rd ce in the Contest is about to overtake us so if you enjoy my work and want to support me in the contest please vote with power stones! If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 29: Partners

29 Partners

"You contacted me in the middle of ss asking me to transform into you and to go to the general''s office to answer some questions like they were directed at me! You gave me no exnation at all! And now, I even wasted all my lunchtime talking with the general! Just because your sorry ass was toozy to go yourself!" Jayden said angrily. "That''s because I couldn''t exin anything to you without messing up the n. You needed to go in blind or else it would have never worked, " he sighed. "Really! Well then exin yourself!" She said while crossing her arms. "I lost our mind link as soon as you entered his office so I got even more worried than usual. He must have had some magic crystal that prevents outsidemunication or interference. It seems like our mind link isn''t something that can bypass everything," he groaned. "Ok, I guess that''s good to know, but you still didn''t answer my question! Exin yourself!" She said as she got angrier. "First of all, did you make sure you weren''t followed when you came up here?" "Of course I did! I''m not an idiot you know!" She said in annoyance "Good. Now, first of all, I need to know how it went with the general," he asked,? leaning forward with anticipation. "He just asked me about that trash Eric Quinn who died in the forest a few days ago. He made me take a lie detector test with a magic crystal. He first asked me if I killed him, which I answered, no. Then, he asked me if I knew what happened to him or if I knew any leads which I also answered, no. Andstly, he asked me what my rtionship was with the Griffith family which I answered honestly. All my answers came back as true and then I was dismissed from his office." A huge weight the size of a mountain just got taken off Moby''s shoulders. If they did a proper investigation instead of relying on a lie detector, they definitely would have been able to find the truth. They would have asked more questions and they would find holes in Jayden''s answers. For example, if they asked her what time she got home that day and she said 6:00 and then they asked Moby''s dorm mates the same question and they answered 11:50, it would be a massive contradiction. Luckily, they relied on a lie detector which was 100% urate that allowed them the luxury to only ask a few very broad and important questions. Their strategy would have worked wlessly if they were actually interrogating the right person. Moby had to take a huge gamble. If they used a lie detector then he would be fine. But if they did a proper investigation he would be caught without a doubt. Luckily, Lady luck blessed him for once in his life and his gamble paid off. "Or, Maybe, I was the one who killed him and if I went I would be fucked," He said with a sigh. When Moby asked her to do his n, he specifically made it look like he was toozy to go himself. This was the first-ever proper order he had ever given to her since he turned her into a demon because he knew this was the only way she would do it. He had to be sure that the idea of him being the killer never crossed her mind. He had to make 100% sure that she would not suspect him as the killer and only see it as he was simply toozy to go. If she was able to deduct that Moby was the killer. The interrogation would have ended in disaster. Jayden stood there with an odd expression on her face. She finally started to connect the dots. Everything started to make sense to her. ''It was no wonder he did things as he did. If I knew anything, then he would have been busted, that''s why he had to leave me in the dark and pretend like he was simply toozy to go,'' she thought. "I finally understand what happend," she said while calming down. "But, I need you to exin everything to me. I''m really curious about all of this." She said in a serious tone. Moby knew that when he made Jayden into a demon, he would eventually have to exin everything to her. He could not hide everything for long. Now is the perfect time to tell her. Moby told her everything that happend to him ever since his first day of military school. Of course, he left out all the parts about the system. He told her that demons get much stronger after every fight and get strength a lot faster than humans as his excuse to exin his sudden growth in power. Jayden listened to his story in a serious tone with genuine worry. Normally, she would not care at all about other''s problems but for some reason, she seemed like she cared about Moby''s. She had never had any friends other than Alex but even he eventually left her. She grew up very spoiled from a very young age. She always got what she wanted whenever she wanted with no repercussions. She would always get her way with people at school and they could do nothing about it because they are scared of her family. She grew up seeing everyone beneath her on the social standings as no more than one of her ythings. Ever since she had met Moby, she had felt happier than usual. He had full control over her. But instead, he didn''t abuse his power in making her do things she doesn''t want to do like she would have done in his position. Instead, He made her into a cool demon and helped her control her powers. And, on top of that, they have a very simr sense of humour and satisfaction. Only now she notices that she had finally made her first real friend. When Moby was telling his story of how he was abused every day and how Nathan tortured him because of his ne, he noticed that Jayden seemed like she genuinely felt bad for him. Moby even used his "Mind Link" to read her emotions to double-check he was not imagining things and it confirmed his suspicions. ''What the fuck? I thought she was a heartless psychopath, why the hell would she feel bad when she does the same shit all the time?'' He thought. Then, when he got to the part about when he killed and tortured Eric. Her expressionpletely changed. "Hahahahah! Tell me more about the part where you smashed his head into a rock until he was toothless!" She said as she was dying ofughter. ''Nevermind, she is a psychopath. But, so am I,'' he thought with a chuckle. She found the exnation of Moby describing his torture methods so amusing that at times she would be on the ground rowling on her stomach. Moby was also having fun reminiscing about all that happend. He was actually having fun for once instead of just pretending. Moby had never let himself go this hard in his entire life. With her, he felt like he could actually be himself with no worries of betrayal or maniption because of their mind link. The conversation then escted to more serious topics. "What is your current goal right now?" She asked curiously. "Honestly, my current goal is to just get as strong as possible. I have no idea what I should do or what my purpose is," he sighed. "I''m sure you''ll find one eventually, " she said brimming with optimism. Suddenly, the bell rang marking the end of the break, abruptly ending their conversation. "Well, if you have anything fun nned just let me know! After your story just now, I am raring to give some of your methods a try. From now on your enemies are also my enemies, we are partners after all," she said, with a sadistic smile. "Well, then you''re in luck. Meet me after school and I will exin everything to you, partner," he said, with a smile that was somehow even more disturbing than her''s. *** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 30: A Ray Of Hope

30 A Ray Of Hope

David Green, the man who went naked and shit on the ground in front of the entire school was crying in the middle forest with a knife in hand. In one day, he became theughing stock and punching bag of the entire school. He was still confused about what led him to act the way he did. The video has already been posted online and has garnered over 20 million views worldwide. He had been beaten and mocked so many times in one day that he could not take it anymore. In one day, he had endured more punishment and humiliation than he had ever had in his entire life. If it were not for his healing ability, his face would be totally unrecognizable even to the people he knows best. Even Nathan and his gang have kicked him out of the group with a beating for being an embarrassment. "My chances of ever having a social life has already been flushed down the drain! My future is ruined! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LIVE FOR! He screamed as he swung the knife towards his throat. "NO!! WAIT!! DON''T DO IT!!" Someone behind him screamed at the top of his lungs. When he looked over he was shocked to find out who it was. "Boss!?" He screamed in surprise stopping the knife mere inches from his throat. There he saw Nathan standing beside a tree, panting hard from what seemed like a long run. "Don''t do it! You have so much to live for!" Said Nathan in a worried voice. "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT ME! WHEN I NEEDED YOU THE MOST! YOU JUST ABANDONED ME SAYING THAT I''M NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE AND THAT I''M A DISGRACE! THEN YOU GAVE ME A BEATING AS A REMINDER NEVER TO ASSOCIATE WITH YOU EVER AGAIN! AND NOW YOU ARE TRYING TO HELP ME OUT!! YOU ARE FULL OF SHIT!!" David screamed like a mad man. "I''m so sorry! I now realize the grave error I made! You are an important part of our gang! I don''t know what got into me when I kicked you out! If you join back, I promise you I will try my best to restore your lost honour! So please forgive me and join back with us!" Nathan said with what seemed like genuine. This was the only positive thing that had happened to him ever since the incident. David knew that Nathan was acting extremely out of character. Even still, he didn''t stop to question it. This was the only sliver of hope he found in his dark tunnel and he is hanging on and not letting go. "B.. Boss¡­ do you really mean that?" He said while sniffling and wiping away his tears. "Of course I do! I promise that from now on, you will be under my protection! No one will harm you ever again! You have my word!" "Th.. Th¡­ thank you, boss! I promise to repledge my full loyalty to you! I will make sure you don''t regret your decision!" He said bowing his head on the dirty ground with eyes full of tears. "Good! Now follow me deeper in the forest. We have much to discuss. I want to spend more time with you to better know your situation and your mental state. We will go deeper into the forest where we can''t be disturbed. We will meet up with a new member of the gang. You two are pretty simr and I hope you get along," Nathan said as he headed deeper into the forest. David nodded enthusiastically and followed right behind him. After 20 minutes of walking while at the same time making small talk, they finally reached their destination. It was a big cave that opened from the side of a small hill. When they both entered, the entrance to the cave suddenly closed. David was startled at the sudden darkness and closure of the cave. "Don''t worry, I just used my earth ability to close the entrance of the cave for more privacy," Nathan quickly said tofort David while glowing a few light crystals for more visibility. David instantly calmed down and resumed following Nathan deeper into the cave. After a few more minutes of walking, they saw a hooded figure standing in the distance. David took a step back and became on high alert as soon as he saw the man. "Don''t be scared, that''s the new member I was talking about," He said with a smile, taking away all of David''s worries. When they finally reached the hooded man, Nathan told David to go introduce himself. "Hey, go introduce yourself to your junior. Don''t worry, he doesn''t bite, I promise. Give him a proper wee as a senior and be confident in yourself." Nathan said with a smile. David nodded and approached the hooded figure. The man was much taller than him who was only 5''8 while he stood at 6''0 tall. From his angle, he still could not see his face at all. "Hello there junior. I am David Green, your senior. You should be honoured to join our great gang under the power of our glorious Boss, Nathan. As your senior, make sure to pay me your proper respect. ok newbie?" David said in an overbearing tone. He felt like he suddenly got his lost confidence back. However, his confidence did notst for long The man under the hood startedughing hysterically like he just heard the funniest thing in the world. As soon as the man took off his hood, David was struck with his previous fear and despair. His legs started shaking like a vibrator and he fell on the ground cowering in fear. "Do you remember me?!" The hooded man said whileughing even harder. *** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 31: A Taste Of Your Own Medicine

31 A Taste Of Your Own Medicine

It was the same man that they beat up and tortured in a dark alley a few days ago, Moby Kane. However this time, the number on his watch disyed 3240 instead of 800. Moby had assigned 30 points in Intelligence from the start points he gained after levelling up 3 times from defeating Abby bringing his power level up to 3240. "BOSS!! BOSS!! HELP!! IT''S AN IMPOSTER!! IF WE TEAM UP WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BEAT HIM!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. However, no one answered his cry for help. Instead, Nathan showed up behind Moby with a huge grin from ear to ear. "It seems you don''t understand what just happened. Let me enlighten you." Nathan said as he shrunk down into the form of a girl. "You thought it was Nathan Johnson, but it was me! Jayden Griffith!" She said with a cute chuckle. "Jayden Griffith?! Where is Nathan! What did you do with our boss?!" David cried. David looked over at Jayden''s watch which disyed a staggering 6470. Ever since she became a demon, her use of demon energy and the stronger constitution a demon body gave her had greatly increased her power level. Of course, she usually hides her true strength just like Moby in order to not arouse suspicions. She had also levelled up an extra 10 times from Mobypleting his hidden quest to turn his first human into a demon. Her current stats are as follows: ********** Name: Jayden Griffith Race: Lesser Demon (Doppelganger) Ability: Level 4 Shadow Level: 25 XP: 1750/15000 Power Level: 6470 Hp: 120/120 Mana: 175/175 Demon Energy: 124/175 Strength: 167 Agility: 202 Endurance: 103 Intelligence: 175 Mind: 25 ********** "You don''t get it, your boss was never here. It''s just the three of us. Alone in this cave. Where no one can hear you no matter how loud you scream. And trust me when I say there will be a lot of screaming," Moby said with a devilish smile. "IT''S YOU! YOU MUST HAVE BEEN THE ONES WHO RUINED MY LIFE!! YOU USED SOME SORT OF HYPNOSIS!! RIGHT NOW AND THIS MORNING AS WELL!! YOU RUINED MY LIFE YOU FUCKERS!!" He screamed like a madman. "I''m sorry to tell you, but this is no hypnosis. This is the real deal" Jayden said as she transformed into David leaving him drowning in his own urine from fear. When he looked into Moby''s eyes. He saw an ominous purple glow that looked inhuman emitting from them. Then he fell into a nightmare far worse than he had ever experienced before. Except for this time, it felt real. "A.. A... Are you two even human?!" He managed to mutter. David instantly knew what he had to do. There was only one way to escape from his predicament. He grabbed the knife around his waist and shed it towards his throat wishing for a quick, painless, death. But, he was disappointed and horrified to find that his knife suddenly disappeared from his hand. "You looking for this?" Moby said while ying around with David''s knife. David panicked and decided to do the next best thing. Biting his tongue. Although it will be far more painful, it would still be far better than whatever kind of torture he would have to endure if he were to stay alive. As soon as he opened his mouth. A piece of white cloth suddenly appeared in his mouth blocking his bite. "HAHAHAHHAAHA!! You are right Moby! Giving people hope before snuffing it out is so cruel that it''s hrious."Jaydenughed. "The time is only 5:30 so don''t worry, we will have plenty of time to have fun together. Don''t you agree?" Moby said as he slowly approached David. David stood up and tried to run as far as possible from where he is. He would be screaming in fear if it weren''t for his mouth being blocked. Suddenly, his legs got stuck in the ground as they sunk into quicksand. 2 earth pirs erected from the ground binding both his arms so he could not move. Jayden had turned back into Nathan in order to use his earth ability to bind David, stopping him in his tracks. Moby gradually approached the horrified and immobilized David while slowly pping. "That won''t work but Imend you for trying," "Since I''m feeling generous today, I will start easy on you. I will make you feel the taste of your own medicine, "Moby said while breaking a few of David''s fingers. David let out a disturbing cry that echoed throughout the entire cave. His mouth was still covered so it sounded more like a moan than a cry which made Jayden crack a little chuckle. 10 secondster, all his fingers have been broken. But for David, it felt like an eternity. David''s face is crying like a waterfall and no matter how hard he tries to move and break free of his binds, he still can''t break free. Mere momentster, Moby pulled out the same knife that David tried to kill himself with and used it to rip off all of his fingernails while he let out a loud moan for each nail. When David thought that it was finally over, he felt a soothing green light hit his fingers. When he looked up, he was healing himself. Jayden had transformed into David and copied his healing ability in order to heal all his wounds. ''So this is what he meant by getting a taste of my own medicine! If he says that he is going easy on me I am scared to find out what he will do to me next,'' he inwardly shuddered. "Are you ready for round 2?" Moby said with a cruel devilish grin. Moby would alternate between each bone in David''s body. For each one he would break it and heal it 5 times before moving on to the next one. After he was done with the bones, he moved on to internal organs repeating the same pattern. Jayden had needed a few breaks in order to restore her mana and demon energy using, "Nature''s Stimtion". In the meantime, Moby would be using his knife to cause as many cuts on David''s body without causing him to bleed to death. His skin would be filled with countless deep red scars that lingered even after the use of healing. After 5 hours of straight unbearable torture, David''s entire body had gone numb. He can no longer move or feel any part of his body. His hair had turnedpletely white and he even started balding. He looked at least 50 years older than his actual age. He had cried so much that he ran out of tears which made his body look severely dehydrated and wrinkled. He had thrown up so many times before the barf got stuck in the cloth in his mouth forcing him to swallow it back. He had screamed so loud and for so long he lost his voice making him unable to moan. Only then did Moby and Jayden give him the luxury of death. [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Killed A High-Level E Rank Opponent! ] [+ 750 XP ] Getting Revenge ********** Details: Get revenge on Nathan and his group for what they did to you. Conditions toplete: 1/6 Students Humiliated 1/6 Student''s Killed Time limit: None Rewards: New Skill unlock 10000 XP +50 stat points ********* Jayden let go of her earth binds leaving David''s body crashing against the hard floor. Moby would have normally taken David''s body and put it in his inventory. But, if he were to do it, it would be far too suspicious. He had already informed Jayden about his endless personal pocket dimensional storage so that was not the problem. The problem was that if he put the body in his inventory, It would reopen suspicions back on himself. The previous top suspect gets a dimensional ring and on the same day the killer goes and kills another student, but this time, the body is gone. He would be the prime suspect once again. And he would not be able to wiggle out of it likest time because Jayden knows full well what transpired. so their previous strategy would not work at all. So, Moby decided to just leave the body in the cave instead so he would avoid that trouble. Jayden transformed into a white lion-like magical beast and started to rip away at David''s flesh. this was to make it look like the work of animals instead of human torture. In the end, David''s body ended up like a small mush of blood, flesh and organs with w marks on every inch of his skin. It does not look like the work of humans at all which was what they were going for. Moby had made sure using his " Energy Sense" that they were not being followed. He also made sure that there were no witnesses that saw them enter the forest. So, there is no way to tie him back to the murder. "HAHAHA!! that was so fun! when will we do it again!!" Jayden said turning back into her normal body jumping up and down in excitement like a little girl. "Don''t worry, it will be very soon. 1 down, 5 more to go!" Moby said with a sadistic grin from ear to ear. *** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 32: Concern and Worry

32 Concern and Worry

They parted ways on the route back. Jayden transformed into a cat so she could go more unnoticed while Moby circled around to the other side of the forest emerging right behind his dorm building. On his way, Moby used his inventory to change back into a new, clean student uniform and washed away all the blood from his body before finally reaching his dorm. When he entered the room, he could see Alex sitting on a chair tapping his feet like he was impatiently waiting for something while Ray was lying on his bed ying video games like usual. "Where were you! I was looking for you all day!" Alex asked in a worried expression. "I was just studying in the library! Don''t worry about me like that, I''m fine" Moby replied. "Don''t lie to me! I checked every nook and cranny of the library at least 5 times and you were nowhere to be found! Tell me the truth! You were with Jayden, weren''t you! Is she forcing you to stay quiet!" He asked in a serious expression. "Fine I was with her, but it''s not what you think! Our rtionship is not that bad! I just didn''t want you to be worried about me!" Moby replied with conviction. "Are you sure?! My experience with her was not at all pleasant and seeing that you are much weaker than me you probably had it a lot worse. She is ruthless, she does anything she deems as "fun" andpletely disregards the safety of others. You don''t have to stay quiet through all this abuse! I promised that I would help you no matter what!" So please! Be honest with me! I am trying to help! I promised myself that I would help those who are abused and in need! And if I can''t even help and protect my roommate, then how am I supposed to help others!" Alex said with clear passion and confidence. Moby was taken back by how strongly Alex feels about what he is saying. Although Moby wanted to believe that he had some sort of evil ulterior motive, he could not see anything in his expression that would point to that. ''Either he is really good at acting or he is actually 100% serious about what he is saying. If so, then is he trying to be some sort of noble hero of justice? How childish,'' Moby thought. "I promise you I''m fine! Just look at me! I''m not at all injured or anything," Moby said trying to calm Alex''s nerves. Moby could not allow Alex to know the truth. He still has no way of fully knowing if he is truly trustworthy. He just needs to keep pushing and maybe he will forget and drop the subject. "Please! Stop! I promise I am okay! Jayden has yet to do anything bad to me! I understand you are trying to help. But, please understand that I ampletely fine! I promise you if she ever tries anything on me that I wille to ask you for help! So can we please drop the subject!" Moby said in a kind tone. Alex was still not at all convinced by Moby''s words. The Jayden that he knows eats and chews people like Moby for breakfast and uses them as a toy until she gets bored and throws them out for being "no longer fun". Alex thinks that Moby is too kind and caring to suffer such abuse and that Moby does not want him to bother helping him for the sake of his own safety. " *Sigh* Fine, I will drop this matter for now. But, know that it is never toote to ask me for help." Alex said with a warm smile. Moby inwardly breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Alex had finally stopped. "Anyways, I heard that you beat a C rank student in a hand to handbat fight without the use of abilities. That''s impressive!" Alex said while smacking Moby''s back in a friendly manner. "Maybe you and I should spar, I am also a C rank you know. You might also be able to beat me!" Alex added with augh. "Heh, you are giving me too much credit, I only won on a fluke. You would no doubt whoop my ass pretty bad, " Moby said in embarrassment. "What''s that ring on your hand?" Alex asked with curiosity. "Oh, this. This is the prize my teacher gave me for beating the C rank in the tournament. It''s a dimensional storage that can store up to 5 meters cubed worth of space, " Moby replied. "WHAT THE HELL! He gave you a medium grade dimensional ring! That thing is worth a fortune!" Alex said, jumping out of his seat. "So, how much we talking?" Moby asked with curious greedy eyes. "It''s worth at least 25000 dors!" Alex replied. Moby''s eyes went wide open from shock. If he were to sell this ring, he would have enough money to buy theplete novice demon equipment. Moby was about to question why Jayden did not point out the worth of his ring or at least be surprised. Then he remembered. ''Oh ya, she''s rich, it''s probably not that expensive or surprising to her,'' he inwardly chuckled. Moby fought back the urge to sell his ring so he can keep the use of his inventory skill in front of others without arousing any suspicions. He felt like it would pay off more for him in the long run if he kept his ring. Plus, if he sold it, it might be a sign of disrespect towards his teacher and he definitely does not want to be on Leo''s bad side. Suddenly, Ray went off the bed and went to join in on their conversation. "What are you guys talking about," He said in his usual emotionless expression. "Nothing, we were just talking about how this guy bested a C rank in abilityless hand to handbat for a ss tournament and even won a medium-tier dimensional storage as a reward!" "Really. That''s amazing," Ray replied trying his best to smile but failing miserably in the process. The 3 boys talked a bit more about Moby''s fight. Moby exined to them what happened in the fight leaving out all the parts that made him look good in order to convince them that it was truly only by luck that he managed to win. Then, they yed the racing game they all yed thest time. This time, Moby managed to beat Ray once in one of the races which was a huge aplishment for him which made him really thrilled in the process. Whenever Moby ys video games, it is almost like he ispletely sucked in making him at times get carried away with excitement. The group then went to sleep at 2 am in order to wake up refreshed for school the next day. *** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 33: A Change of Plans

33 A Change of ns

Every day for thest 5 days, the school has been finding scattered human remains all around the forest. 5 students have already been found dead in such a manner. Each body and limb was torn off by what looked like force instead of a clean cut. Organs, bones, clumps of gray hair, and blood littered the areas of their death making any witness be traumatized for life without a doubt. There were signs of deep w marks that ran deep into the few still recognizable pieces of flesh. Upon examining the first body, orck thereof. The nurse adamantly insisted that it was not the work of a senseless monster. The fact that the student''s hair turned gray signifies either extreme fear or extreme pain, and she was leaning more towards thetter. However, she could not deny that the victim was attacked by some sort of beast-like ws. She could find no evidence leading to the use of any weapons or any sign of other abilities being in use. The bodies were too damaged and unrecognizable to find any solid evidence. When the nurse gave her report and conclusion to general Ryker, he was very skeptical about it. But in the end, he trusted the nurse''s intuition. From his knowledge, the nurse has yet to be wrong about her predictions. The school decided to interrogate everyone with a transformation-rted ability in hopes of finding the killer. This also included even the teachers and every officer in the school that had that type of ability. However, the school came up empty-handed. Their investigation yielded no results. They could find no pattern or corrtion between the students killed. In the eyes of the school, it seems like they were being killed at random. In the end, they concluded that it was probably some beast roaming around the forest. After the 5th student was killed, the school deemed the forest as off-limits in order to minimize the casualties. Various search parties were sent out into the forest to investigate for any dangerous beasts that might be lurking in there. The search parties only found weak animals like bears and wolves that could not possibly harm even the weakest of students. General Ryker was having the biggest headache he ever had in his entire life. 6 students were dead in only one week of school. This has never happened in the school''s entire history. Luckily, none of the dead students were any important. But, what if the next victim is an important student. If so, then he would definitely lose his job and his position and he would never hear the end of it for the rest of his life. He needed to avoid such a predicament at all costs. ********** In the past 4 days, Moby had gotten a good amount stronger. Jayden had received half of the XP Moby had received due to their household bonus, giving her 4275 XP, which was not even enough to level her up once. Sadly, Jayden''s ss has yet to startbat training so she is yet to gain any XP from, in-ssbat which would have greatly helped the 2 of them get much stronger. Moby had also gotten 12 points frompleting his daily quest, meaning that he had a total of 32 stat points to assign. He decided to assign 10 points in strength and 22 points in endurance. His new stats are: ------------------------------------- Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 18 XP to next level 2850/5200 Power Level: 3570 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 93/93 Demon Energy regeneration: 47 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 93 Agility: 98 Endurance: 73 Intelligence: 93 Mind: 30 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ------------------------------------- Abby is still unconscious in the nurse''s office which was a little worrying for Moby. He had been spying on her condition every day just in case she wakes up and starts running her mouth. Moby still does not know how much she knows about his secret from him using "Nightmare" and he is not willing to take chances. He would kill her to ensure his secret if he could but, it is nearly impossible to kill her as long as she stays in the nurse''s office. Luckily, even if she tries to expose something about him it would only sound like the babbling of a crazy person, but Moby is not even willing to take even the slightest risk. For now, all he can do is monitor her condition and just hope and pray it all works out fine. For thest 5 days, Moby has spent nearly his entire time working towardspleting his current quest. So far, it has been a very enjoyable experience and he is only now getting to the good and juicy part. ********** Getting Revenge Details: Get revenge on Nathan and his group for what they did to you. Conditions toplete: 1/6 Students Humiliated 5/6 Student''s Killed Time limit: None Rewards: New Skill unlock 10000 XP +50 stat points ********** Moby and Jayden have been targeting members of Nathan''s gang for the past 5 days. They had already killed and tortured everyone in the gang leaving Nathan forst. Moby and Jayden needed to proceed with a lot of caution in order for their ns to work without them being caught or for the school to catch on making it impossible for them toplete their ns. They decided against severely humiliating their victims in public before the kill for obvious reasons. If they did that, then it would be way too simple for the school to predict who the next target is going to be. They would know that whichever student acts unnaturally and severely humiliated themselves would most likely be the next target. Then, all the school had to do is provide them protection or keep an eye on them waiting for the killer to arrive making Moby''s and Jayden''s npletely impossible. Instead of humiliating their victims in public. They opted to humiliate them while they were alone while they took a video of everything they made them do. When they finish killing all their targets, Moby and Jayden will anonymously upload everything they filmed on the web giving the military no leads to work on and at the same time extremely humiliating Nathan and his gang. Their only lead is if they knew all the members of Nathan''s gang which is very unlikely. The gang disbanded immediately after a few of them disappeared and they were only a small gang that no one cared about or remembered to begin with. After disbanding, The members of Nathan''s gang had gone to some of the teachers begging for protection because they were scared for their lives only to be ignored because they were too weak and insignificant for the teachers to care. And, after the same people died. The teachers covered for each other and pretended like nothing happened in order to not lose face or gen in trouble in front of the general. Moby knew this which is why he was confident that the school would not be able to find the connection between all the victims. Sadly, on thest day when they were nning on taking out Nathan, the school announced that the forest is off-limits and that it is now heavily guarded. Thispletely ruins Moby''s ns. The only secluded ce Moby knew where he could torture people without the fear of being caught was in the big forest around the school. The thought that the school wouldpletely close off all the entrances of the forest never crossed his mind. ''Fuck, thispletely messes up my ns! I should have been able to predict this! Where else can I torture people in peace and seclusion!'' Moby inwardly cursed while hearing the morning announcement saying that the forest is now off-limits. Then suddenly, he heard a familiar voice in his head. ''Moby, it''s me, Jayden. I just heard the morning announcement about the forest being off-limits. Don''t worry, I had already assumed something like this would happen sooner orter so I had another n ready just in case this happens!'' Jayden said in a cheerful tone. ***** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 34: Love Struck Fool

34 Love Struck Fool

Nathan Johnson was walking out of school by himself. His entire gang had abandoned him leaving him all alone. All because they were too scared that something might happen to them. The school had yet to release the names of the dead students so Nathan had no idea that they all died. He just thought that they were trying to avoid him after they ditched the group. ''Those damn fucking pussies, ditching the gang just because they were too scared! I ain''t scared of shit! If anyone tries messing with me I''ll beat the shit out of them! I will find new members for the gang and make it 1000 times better than when I was with those chumps!'' Nathan thought to himself as he angrily walked outside the school gates heading towards his dorm. Then, suddenly, his phone started ringing. It was not a number he recognized but he decided to answer it anyway. "Who the fuck is this! I''m in a bad mood right now so make it quick!" Nathan said as he answered the call. "Hello, is this Nathan Johnson?" The caller asked. The voice sounded like a smooth seductive voice that had a very sexy allure to it. "Ya, that''s me! What do you want! And how did you get this number!" Nathan said softening his tone up a bit after hearing the voice of the caller. "This is Jayden Griffeth from the one and only Griffith family. I have my ways of getting your number but don''t worry this number is for only me and me alone. I definitely won''t share it with anyone." The voice said keeping the same allure in her tone. ''What!? Jayden Griffeth! She is arguably one of the hottest girls in the entire school! And plus, from what I''ve heard, she ispletely loaded! What the fuck does someone like that want with me!'' Nathan inwardly panicked. "Why are you calling me? What do you want! If I ever messed with you then I sincerely seek your forgiveness!" Nathan said,pletely switching his tone of voice. Then, he heard a cute chuckleing from the other side of the phone. "Before we continue talking, I want you to go somewhere private and make sure you are not being followed or spied on. Ok?" Jayden said with a small adorable chuckle at the end. Nathan had left the school and went to apletely secluded dark alley making sure he wasn''t being followed the entire way there. "Ok, I''m nowpletely alone and out of anyone''s sight. I made sure of it. Now, what was it that you needed to tell me?" Nathan asked nervously, expecting the worst. "I called you to make¡­ a confession. I''ve been holding off on it for a long time but I can''t hold myself back any more! Ever since I saw you on the first day of school! I''ve had the biggest crush on you!" She said in a loud lustful tone. "Umm, I''m sorry to ask¡­ but, is this some sort of prank?! Are you sure you have the right person?" Nathan asked, nervously still in shock. "Don''t belittle my love for you like this! I ampletely serious! I Jayden Griffeth love Nathan Johnson from all my heart!" She answered with a firm resolve like she was questioned and forced to defend herself. "What about that bitch Moby Kane, I heard you took him as your pet! Are you still involved with that fucker?!" Nathan asked in a somewhat serious but still nervous tone. After Nathan said that, a long awkward silence ensued where Jayden did not respond. And then she talked again like nothing happened. "Oh him? He was just my little toy for a while, I got bored of him and threw him out a while ago! He and I didn''t even have anything intimate, I just used him like a dog and a ve following my everymand..." "Just like all low-level scum should do!" Nathan said continuing her sentence with a clear confident attitude. "Hahaha! Yes! Exactly! See! You and I already share so much inmon!" She said with a cute giggle. "Don''t worry! I don''t see you as a pet like that Moby Kane! You are my one and only true love! I didn''t tell you this at school in order to not cause a big fuss. I want our first time and our first date to bepletely private. I think it''s more romantic that way! So please, hold off on bragging to your friends about me until after our first date." She said with her cute seductive giggle. Nathan could still not believe his ears. It was almost too good to be real. He was just having the absolute worst week of his life and now it has turned into a dreame true! His mini trooper started to grow and get aroused. He was so excited and horny to even think about anything other than going to see her right now. "Jayden, my love, when can Ie to see you? I am dying to have our first date!" Nathan said in a clear lustful manner. "Right now would be perfect! I also can''t wait to see you! Come to my house right now! Also, make sure that you are not being followed. I don''t want people to know that we are together before we personally announce it to the world tomorrow. My address is 34 Grover Street. It''s a big mansion. You can''t miss it, " Jayden said while also blowing an audible kiss. "I''ll be there right away my love!" Nathan said, blowing back a kiss. "I can''t wait! I''m getting horny already! Don''t take too long. It''s rude to make ady wait!" Jayden said still with her seductive voice ending the call. As soon as the call ended, Nathan immediately called a taxi to drive him to her house. He made sure that he wasn''t being watched before getting in. *15 minutester* During the entire taxi drive, Nathan had been fantasizing about what he would do with Jayden. The taxi driver found Nathan''s expression super disturbing but, he decided to notment and pretend nothing happened. When Nathan finally reached Jayden''s mansion, he was bbergasted at its sheer size and grandeur. ''I knew Jayden was rich, but not this rich! If I marry into the Griffith family, not only would I have a hot wife but I would also be filthy rich!'' Nathan thought with eyes of greed and a lustful smile. After Nathan walked through the huge garden in front of the mansion admiring how expensive it looked, he finally got to the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited impatiently for someone to open. Not too long after, an old man with gray hair and a mustache wearing a butler uniform opened the door. "Ohh, you must be Nathan Johnson. The one that the young miss has been waiting for. Allow me to escort you to her quarters," The butler said with a bow. "Yes, I am indeed Nathan Johnson. Your young miss''s true love. I am really excited to finally meet her, " Nathan said with an overbearing tone. On the way to Jayden''s room, Nathan could not help but keep looking at everything in the house with greedy eyes not holding himself back at all. ''He must be another one of the young misses "Toys". But, he is different from thest one she brought. This one is as fat and greedy as a pig with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. How has the young miss sunk so low?'' The butler thought with a sigh. After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination. "This is the young miss''s chambers, she has been awaiting your arrival. I will be on my way now," the butler said bowing and walking back the way they came. Standing in front of the door, Nathan felt many emotions. He felt nervous, excited, but most of all, horny. His little trooper has already reached its full capacity from just fantasizing making a small visible bulge in his pants. He steeled his resolve and opened the door. There, he saw Jayden sitting on a bed in a very alluring manner wearing very revealing lingerie clothing. "I''ve been waiting for you, my love!" She said with a cute giggle that would make any man go crazy. ****** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help me in the contest! Chapter 37: The Much Awaited Torture

37 The Much Awaited Torture

Moby had just finished breaking all of Nathan''s fingers and ripped out all of his fingernails. Nathan let out a loud scream of pain with a gushing waterfalling down his face every step of the way. When Nathan''sst fingernail was torn, he thought that it would be the end of the torture. However, he was sadly mistaken. Suddenly, a bright green light shined on Nathan''s hands and they werepletely healed. "David!? Where did youe from!? You bitch! Were you working with them all along!" Nathan roared in anger and surprise, regaining more and more emotions. "Nah, it''s just me!" Jayden said with a chuckle as she transformed back into her original body. "Y...y...y...y...you are no humans! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!" Nathan screamed like a madman. "Hahaha, you just now noticed! Of course, we are not humans! We are demons!" Moby said, staring into Nathan''s eyes, using his "Nightmare" skill. The skill onlysted a second, but for Nathan, it might as well have been days or even weeks. Then, Moby squatted down to Nathan''s eye level looking straight into his pale, terror-filled eyes. "Are you ready for round 2?" Moby said with a sadistic smile. ''I was waiting to say that line for a while now'' Moby thought with a chuckle patting himself on the back. Moby once again broke all of Nathan''s fingers and ripped out all his fingernails. The pain was just as hard as the first time as Nathan kept screaming and crying all the way through. Then, Jayden would heal his hands and they would start again Moby repeated the process 10 times before Jayden finally interrupted him. "Can I have my turn now! You can''t hog all the fun for yourself!" Jayden said to Moby in a slightly impatient tone. "Sure! Knock yourself out" Moby said with a smile, walking away from Nathan. "Do you know how ufortable I felt every time you would stare at me like I was a doll and every time you called me "Honey", "Dear" or "My love"? I wanted to throw up every time I was pretending to like you and how you actually thought you had a chance. But, all of that has been more than worth it for this moment now!" Jayden said with a cynical smile. "Do you know how many times you said either "Honey", "Dear" or "My love"? Because I do! 17! And I will make you pay for every word! Jayden said as she took off Nathan''s pants and underwear, exposing his tiny soldier. "So, that is the puny, little, disgusting thing you fantasized about putting inside me huh?!" Jayden said with a loudugh. "Pathetic!" She screamed as she used a swipe of shadow energy, slicing it clean off. Blood started gushing everywhere from where his sorry excuse for a cock used to be. Jayden picked up Nathan''s dick off the ground using her shadow ability as she refuses to touch or evene anywhere near his disgusting cock. "You also expected me to suck this little thing! Disgusting why don''t you have a taste then!" Jayden said as she forced Nathan''s Mouth open using her shadow ability, shoving his dick into his own mouth, choking on it. Nathan started to gag on his own dick with eyes filled with fear and embarrassment. Struggling to spit it out before finally seeding. "Don''t get too happy!" Jayden said with a chuckle. "This was only the 1st of 17 times! You still have to endure this 16 more times" Jayden said with a smile that would have definitely made Nathan piss himself if only he still had a dick to do it with. Suddenly, Jayden transformed into a short green hair girl instead of David, to do the healing. "Your friend David''s ability is super slow and weakpared to this girl''s. He can''t even regrow lost limbs as he was only limited to healing bones, and injuries. I''m d I found this person or else this would have not been possible!" Jayden said with a smile as shepletely healed Nathan''s penis making another one grow back where thest one used to be. After the 16th time of Nathan gagging and getting his dick cruelly sliced off, it was finally Moby''s turn to do the torturing once again. At this point, Nathan could no longer feel hisher regions anymore. He doubts that he would ever be able to go to the washroom without suffering severe PTSD or if his dick would ever work properly again. But, that was now the least of Nathan''s worries. If he dies, then there would no longer be a reason for him to go to the washroom or use his dick ever again. Nathan''s skin was as pale as a ghost, his eyes have long since dried up from tears and he had nearlypletely lost his voice from screaming. "Are you happy to see me again?!" Moby said with a smile. Nathan tried to run away from Moby as soon as he neared him. But, he only ended up squirming in a ce like a worm having a seizure trying his best to scream and cry with nothinging out. Nathan has yet to recover from Moby''s "Nightmare" which felt like more torture than everything else he had gone through. All that Nathan wanted was a fast painless death. The pain he felt never got old and he never got used to it. If anything, it felt more painful every time. But, he knows full well that his wish is out of reach. "Jayden, can you please be a dear and heal his eyes and vocal cords for me? I really want to hear his loud pain-filled screams and see his waterfall of tears once again," Moby said with a heartwarming smile towards Jayden. "Why certainly!" Jayden replied with a cute smile, doing as asked. "Please!! Just kill me now!! I can''t take it anymore!! I beg of you!!" Nathan screamed as soon as he felt that his voice had been healed. Suddenly, Moby startedughing in hysteria at Nathan''s words. Then, he cut off Nathan''s bindings and looked straight at him with a slight glow in his eyes. "Shove your fist up your ass" Moby ordered in an authoritative tone. Moby found out that he can use his "Minor mind control to make people do only a little self-harm as long as it''s not severe, or fatal. Breaking bones was not allowed but eating or drinking anything was possible. Shoving someone''s fist up their ass waspletely in the realm of possibility of the mind control. He had a lot of time to experiment with the rest of Nathan''s gang. They were the perfect test subjects. Suddenly, Nathan felt like he had lost control of his body as his hands moved all by themselves. He formed a fist and shoved his hand his ass fairly deep. After 5 seconds, Nathan pulled his shit covered hands out of his ass. It gave off a dreadful smell from the clumps of feces that covered his hands. "Now, eat it!" Moby said, pointing at the shit covering Nathan''s hand as he started tough. Nathan tried his best to resist but it was no use. Before he knew it, he had already been sucking on his hands like a toddler, licking off every spec of shit covering it. Although Nathan''s body was moving on its own, the taste of his own shit was still very real and revolting. As soon as the mind control wore off, Nathan threw up in litres. "It was you! You were the one who controlled my body and made me do all that weird shit in the washroom that day! Luckily, no one else saw but I know you had another motive!" Nathan managed to mutter. "I''m surprised you are still able to think properly even after going through all that! I guess I need to pick up the pace! But, your right! I had everything filmed and I am going to be posting it online! I''m going to make so much money from that video!" Moby said with a greedyugh. "OH GREAT DEMON LORD MOBY KANE!! PLEASE SPARE ME!! I AM WILLING TO SUBMIT MY SELF TO YOUR WILL!! PLEASE MAKE ME INTO YOUR ETERNAL SERVANT!! I PROMISE THAT I WILL BE OF GREAT USE!!" Nathan screamed like an insane madman. He had already lost all his dignity so what is the harm of begging onest time. Even if it has a 0.000000001% chance of working. As soon as Nathan said that. Moby looked like he was deep in thought taking in what Nathan was saying. ''I guess, it''s about time I try this out!'' Moby thought with a smile. "Fine! But you better make yourself useful! Once you be my servant you will be bound by my words and orders and have no will to disagree." Moby said as he put his hands on Nathan''s head. "I THANK THE ALL-POWERFUL DEMON LORD FOR HIS KINDNESS!! I PROMISE TO BE YOUR ETERNAL SLAVE!! I WILL DEFINITELY BE USEFUL TO MY LIEGE!!" Nathan screamed with a hope-filled expression. His 0.000000001% gamble had paid off and now he has a second chance at life! He could finally see a slight light at the end of a previous pitch-ck tunnel. And, he was grasping on to every shred of hope still left. Suddenly, an unknown energy began to invade his body. It was like nothing he had ever experienced in his life. It felt like a true blessing of pleasure and joy. He felt true bliss like all his pains and worries were being flown down a river. Suddenly, Nathan felt an immense paining from his head in the area where Moby is grabbing. "HOW FUCKING STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM?" Moby wailed as his grip on Nathan''s head became much tighter, forming cracks in Nathan''s skull. Suddenly, Nathan felt like his blood was boiling with the heat of 1000 suns. Every bone in his body bent in weird ways and broke all at once over and over again. All his organs felt like they turned inside out. He felt his skin start to boil off with the intensity of boiling magma. ck Blood started to pour out of every orifice of his body in litres. His previously blonde hair could be seen turning white with the naked eyes before starting to fall like rain on the ground turning him bald. His skin started to age and gain wrinkles at rapid speed and his fat chub started to fade away making him look like a starving, old senior citizen. The torturested for over 10 minutes before it stopped. Nathan was now on the groundpletely motionless, shrivelled up like an old leaf. But he was still very much alive. Moby and Jayden had been watching the entire spectacle in awe and amusement. It was like they were watching the world cup finals where their favourite team came back from a 20-0 deficit in only thest 10 minutes of y. Moby''s experiment had ended much better than he expected! Moby had wanted to try this experiment out for a very long time now and what better guinea pig than Nathan. Moby had noticed all the extreme pain thates with turning into a demon, so he wanted to test out if it could be turned into a torture method. Moby''s theory was that if he provides Nathan less demon energy than needed and does not give it with the intent to turn him into a demon that it would provide the same painful torture effects without turning him into a demon. The amount of torture and pain he had witnessed looked much more painful and took much longer than both his and Jayden''s. ''Now, time for the moment of truth!'' Moby thought as he used his inspect skill on Nathan. ************** Name: Nathan Johnson Race: Human Ability: Level 1 Earth Power Level: 40 Hp: 9/100 Mana: 0/1 Strength: 1 Agility: 1 Endurance: 1 Intelligence: 1 Mind: 0 ************** Moby''s eyes became wide open in shock after witnessing Nathan''s new stats. His stats have been so severely reduced to the point of crippling him. Those were the stats of a toddler or even a newborn baby. Moby noticed that he was also still human which means that his experiment was aplete sess! ''I''m impressed you figured that out all by yourself!'' A familiar voice came from Moby''s head which he had not heard speak in a while. For thest few days, Avilia has been very quiet, taking a back seat and enjoying the show eating metaphorical popcorn. All that Moby had heard from her are her insanely loudughs every time something funny happens or when he starts to torture people. This was the first time in a while that he had heard her finally speak to him. ''When you inject demon energy into a human without the intent of turning them into a demon,? it will cause them such an astronomical amount of pain and anguish that is almost unrivalled. It is far more painful than your evolution process without a shadow of a doubt. However, this technique has many limitations. It can only be used if the opponent is either severely weakened and injured or when someone willingly lets you inject your demon energy into their body. That is why this technique is only really used for torture. The more demon energy you inject into your target the more suffering you will cause them. Seeing that you provided this Nathan guy with just under the needed amount to turn a human into a demon, it caused a really insane amount of pain.'' Avilia exined. ''Thank you for the exnation Avilia! It seems like my theory was mostly true!'' Moby thought in excitement. Moby now had a quick, easy, and essible way of torture that is far more painful than he could ever normally cook up. ''You are growing much smarter and more cunning these days. I''m starting to like you even more! I feel like you will make a fine demon lord!'' Avilia said in a happy tone. ''Thank you for thepliment Avilia!'' Moby thought. ''No problem! I onlypliment you when I feel like you deserve praise. And now, you deserve it!'' Avilia said with a mental equivalent of a smile. Moby looked over at Nathan''s still unconscious body and decided to take his final piece of revenge. The cherry on top. He unzipped his pants, pissing all over Nathan''s shrivelled face. Suddenly, Nathan opened his eyes slowly. "Oh! sorry! I ran out of water, so I decided to piss on you instead!" Moby said with a loudugh. Nathan ignored the stench of piss that his body reeked off as it was currently the least of his worries. The memory and pain of hisst torture had just hit him like a train all at once. His body was so weak that he could barely even move, he looked at his stick-like arms and legs in eyes ofplete horror. He was shivering faster than a vibrator on steroids. When he saw the figure of Moby and Jayden in the distance, his eyes became even more fearful than before. Which was very hard to believe even for him. "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!! NEVER AGAIN!! PLEASE NEVER AGAIN!! NEVER AGAIN!! I WILL TAKE ANYTHING BUT THAT!! LITERALLY ANYTHING!! MAKE ME EAT MY DICK OR MY SHIT AGAIN!! BREAK EVERY BONE IN MY BODY WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER!! PEEL MY SKIN OFF WITH A RUSTY KNIFE LIKE I WAS AN ORANGE!! JUST PLEASE!! DON''T MAKE ME GO THROUGH WHATEVER YOU JUST DID TO ME EVER AGAIN!!" Nathan screamed like aplete nut-case. Sadly, even if Moby wanted to do it again, Nathan would just end up withering away and dying. Moby looked at his watch to check the time. [ 10:34 ] Curfew was only in 1 hour and 26 minutes so he did not have much time remaining. Nathan''s body was now too weak to be tortured. His bones were as fragile as a stick and his organs and bone structure looked like they were about to fail in less than an hour, even if good healing was provided. "Jayden! You know what to do, right?!" Moby said to Jayden with a smile. "Yes! Of course!" "I''VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!" Jayden said with a distorted grin from ear to ear, truly befitting of a demon leaving Nathan somehow more fearful than before. ***** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 38: Death At Last!

38 Death At Last!

She wrapped her shadowpletely all around him, making him unable to squirm but just tight enough to notpletely crush him. She also wrapped it around his mouth making him unable to scream. Moby and Jayden could not kill Nathan in Jayden''s house or else the school would be notified as the watch would ping her house as Nathan''s ce of death. "Time to take out the trash!" Moby said with a smile, shoving Nathan''s still bound body in a garbage bag. Nathan''s eyes were crying blood as he tried his best to move with absolutely no result. Then suddenly, he had stopped his futile attempts of escaping. His eyes went gray from hisck of hope, motivation, and will to live. He just wanted a chance to kill himself, to free himself from all this pain. But now he gave up, knowing that a swift death is far out of reach which he should have realized long ago. Moby and Jayden took Nathan to the nearest dump, making sure they were not followed the whole way there. They were literally taking out the trash. The city dump was only a few kilometres away from Jayden''s mansion which did not take them very long to reach, even on foot. They used the shadow of the night to mask their movements the whole way there. The city dump was huge, having mountains, on top mountains of waste. It was in a field a kilometre away from any building due to the absolutely revolting smell that is emitted. The trash would be vaporized in a hole every week using an advanced machine. But, the city would always have so much waste that the dump would rarely be seen empty. Moby and Jayden snuck into the city dump. Making sure that no one is around before letting Nathan out of the bag. Moby even used his "Energy Sense" to make sure that there is no sign of life in sight. Nathan fell out of the bag like a lifeless corpse. Although he was very much alive, His eyes werepletely devoid of any colour and his skin was paler than a ghost. He looked like an empty shell of a human being. Moby doubts that even if he were to break a few bones, that he would just have an empty reaction. He was truly a broken man, a pathetic sight. Moby squatted down to Nathan''s eye level and said. "Now finallyes the part where you die! Aren''t you happy!" Moby said with a smile. Nathan just stared back at him with an empty zombie-like emotionless look. Then, Nathan saw Moby''s wide-open hand slowly approach his head. As soon as he recognized the familiar sight, his body began to give him danger signals once again. Life came back into his previous emotionless eyes. Tears of blood started to gush out of his eyes like a waterfall. He began screaming and begging for his life which only sounded like a muffled cry due to Jayden''s shadow that surrounded his mouth. When Moby''s hand made contact with Nathan''s head. He started to feel the same blissful sensation once again. But this time, he was not at all happy about it. He knew exactly what was about to happen to feel any kind of joy or relief from all the pain. Nathan''s skin turned rock hard and pitch ck. His eye sockets went inside out beforepletely dissolving. ck blood started to pour out of every hole in his body like a river. Then, Nathan''s body fell on the ground cracking into different pieces like he was a rock statue. Nathan Johnson was finally dead. \u003c System Alert! \u003e \u003c You have killed a D rank enemy! \u003e \u003c +7500 XP \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e ''Yay! We did it! That was so much fun!'' Jayden said to Moby telepathically in order to not make any noise while jumping up and down in Joy. ''Yes! Indeed it was!'' Moby said with a smile. ''What''s next! Are we going to try ruling over the school!? Torture more people? Oh! Or! Maybe we can¡­'' ''I don''t know, my goal will be just as it always was. I don''t have any real motive and I don''t go after people unless they fuck with me or my ns. Until I find any reasons or motivation to think otherwise, my n will be to simply get as strong as possible. But, don''t worry. I''m sure there will be many hardshipsing our way. Which means more fun,'' Moby told Jayden with a smile. ''Don''t worry! I will be with you every step of the way! Even if we are not always torturing people. Just being around you is enough for me! And plus! You''re a really fun guy to be around!'' Jayden said with a cute chuckle. ''I appreciate that.'' Moby replied, feeling a little embarrassed. ''I think we should upload the video tomorrow. I doubt that it will get any views if we upload it thiste at night. I''m nning to make bank off that video you know!'' Moby said. ''Ya! that makes sense! We should upload it tomorrow in the afternoon! We should meet up either at lunchtime or break to upload it!'' Jayden replied. ''Sounds like a n!'' Moby said with a smile giving her a thumbs up. Jayden transformed into Abby Ried and used her fire ability to quickly burn Nathan''s corpse before they left the dump. The me was a bright crimson that burned with intense vigour. Yet, it still looked very beautiful and elegant. After less than a second, the mes had already quickly turned Nathan''s body into a mushy ck ash. Moby and Jayden snuck out of the dump just as quietly and carefully as when they came in making sure they were not spotted or followed. When they finally got back to Jayden''s mansion, the time was already 11:20. The ride from her mansion to the school is around 30 minutes so Moby had to leave right away if he wanted to make it back before curfew. Moby said goodbye to Jayden before getting into the limousine with the butler. In the middle of the ride. Moby decided to assign the 10 stat points that he gained from levelling up. After a lot of thinking, he decided to spend his points on agility, strength, and intelligence, ignoring endurance and mind for now. From his experience, he found that to be the best stat distribution for him. Due to his better martial arts skills, Moby is able to better dodge and predict his opponent''s movements. And if he is faster than them, then there would almost be no chance of him being hit unless his opponent is also a martial arts master or if he is somehow caught off guard. This allows him to safely leave endurance on the back seat only levelling it up when itgs severely behind. Strength for an obvious reason: to deal more damage which wouldpliment his high speed. And finally, intelligence increases his total demon energy capacity allowing him to use more of his skills. This is really important for him in a fight as a lot of his skills require arge amount of demon energy. However, the only downside to upgrading his intelligence is that a lot of his good skills that require lots of energy like "Eyes of Sin" arepletely useless in public as he would definitely expose his secret of not being human. As for mind, Moby decided that he would hold off on assigning points into it until he isfortable with his other stats. From now on Moby will prioritize his agility, then his strength, then his intelligence. Moby assigned his 10 stat points as follows. 5 points into agility, 3 points into strength, and 2 points into intelligence. His new stats are now: ------------------------------------- Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 19 XP to next level 5150/8400 Power Level: 3670 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 95/95 Demon Energy regeneration: 48 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 96 Agility: 103 Endurance: 73 Intelligence: 95 Mind: 30 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ------------------------------------- The limousine dropped Moby off right at the front of the school. He left the limousine, thanked the butler, put on his hood, and immediately headed towards the school at a normally paced jog. The time was already 11:53 which gave him only 7 minutes to get back to his dorm. Thankfully at his pace, he should definitely make it back well before curfew. It was 11:58 when Moby finally made it to the door of his dorm room. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a familiar sight of Alex impatiently waiting on a chair and Ray, on his bed ying video games. "Where have you been! I was so worried!" Alex stood up and said in a concerned voice. ****** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 39: Return of the Red Head

39 Return of the Red Head

"You were with Jayden! Right?!" ''Here we go again,'' Moby thought with a sigh. "Didn''t we have this conversation? I told you already! I''mpletely fine! You don''t need to worry about me to this extent! You''re not my mom and I''m not a disabled child that needs to be looked after every second of my life!" Moby said in evident annoyance. "I''m sorry, but I have a feeling she is doing something bad to you. You don''t evene to eat with us at lunch anymore! I''m just trying to help you out! I promise I will try my best to help you! I know she must be forcing and threatening you to stay quiet!" Alex said with a firm resolve. "Please, just drop the matter. I told you I''m fine. Sorry if I''m a little grumpy right now. Today was very tiring for me," Moby said as he headed straight to his bed. "Goodnight," Moby said as he went into his bed, closing his eyes. ''Moby! don''t worry! I?promise! I will save you!! I won''t let things end like they didst time! I''ve changed from back then! I promised myself that things will end differently this time!'' Alex said to himself. ***************** 6 am. The next day. Moby woke up before both his dorm mates, as usual, and did his normal morning routine. He spent his 3 stat points all on agility, raising it from 103 to 106. The time was only 7 when he finished taking his shower after he finished his daily quest. Moby always used this time to try to level up his skills. He had been alternating between "Demon sh" and "Eyes of Sin" every day as he sees them as the most useful skills in his repertoire. Even though he had been training the skills for hours every day, they had yet to level up even once. Moby was used to long and extreme training that yielded little to no results so the skills taking a long time to level up did not bother him in the slightest. It took him his whole life to learn the "Demon sh" and "Demon sh" and in only 1 week, he was able to learn so many more new skills and abilities. Moby practiced his skills until 7:30 when he left his dorm heading towards the school. He ignored the usual murderous or envious res from every male student in his way. And he walked right by the all-female students looking at him. Ignoring the few that stared at him admiring his good looks and the many that were looking at him in disgust. The time was 7:50 when Moby finally reached his ss. As soon as he entered, his eyes fell on a certain person that had not attended ss for the past week. Abby Reid is back. However, this did not mean that Moby can just get careless. He still needs to keep his guard up at all times in case she tries to attempt something on him. If so, then Moby would have to resort to drastic measures to ensure the safety of him and his secret. As soon as Abby saw Moby enter the room, she immediately rushed over to him. "Moby Kane. We need to talk. Privately," She said with a smile in a voice loud enough for the entire ss to hear. As soon as the ss heard what Abby said, rumours started to spread like wildfire. "What the hell does the fire princess want from Moby Dick?" "Is she trying to steal Jayden Griffith''s pet! This will be juicy!" "Why is Moby Dick getting all the hot bitches. He''s not even that good looking!" Moby was expecting something like this would happen so he was not at all surprised. "Sure thing!" Moby replied back with a smile of his own. "Follow me, we still have 10 minutes before the start of ss and we have much to discuss," She said in a serious tone. Moby nodded at her in understanding. Moby followed her as she left the ss and headed to an empty hallway. "So, what was that you wanted to discuss? If you are wondering how I defeated you, I promise it wasplete luck," Moby said with a hint of worry and embarrassment in his eyes. "Cut the crap! I already know your secret! It was definitely not by luck! You think I wouldn''t notice!" Abby said in an extremely serious tone. ''Fuck! Did she really figure me out just from our one small exchange?! I need to quickly find a way to take her out before it''s toote!'' Moby inwardly cursed his bad luck as he started to panic. "There is no way a normal human would be able to defeat me, even if I did not have the use of my ability," "There is only one logical exnation." Moby could no longer hide the genuine distress in his face, as you can see him sweating profusely at the naked eye. "You are an ancient martial arts master!" She blurted in excitement. "Don''t worry, I still haven''t told this to anyone else. Your secret is safe with me!" She said with a smile. Moby''s head was spinning in full gear from what he just heard. He was expecting to hear the worst. Instead, he heard the exact opposite. Luckily, she had no memories of Moby''s nightmare skill that he had used on her in order to win their fight. ''Thank you Satan for your kindness and generosity!'' Moby thought. ''Who the hell is Satan?? I heard you mention him before and I also ended up quite confused. I''m very intrigued,'' Avilia asked in confusion. ''He''s like the most prevalent devil mankind knows,'' Moby replied to Avilia. ''Never heard of him, he was most likely born after I was sealed. That is probably why I don''t recognize him. Or maybe, he is not even real and he is just a character humans created,'' Avilia said. ''Yes, that could very well be true,'' Moby replied. Moby''s and Avilia''s conversationsted less than a split second so it did not interfere with his conversation with Abby. "Shit! You really did find me out! I appreciate you not spreading the news and telling me first. But I know that is not the reason you called me out here all of a sudden. Right?" Moby asked with his best poker face. "You are correct for assuming that. To tell you the truth, I want to ask you for a favour." Abby asked with a slightly red face. "What is it? I''m all ears!" Moby said with a smile. "Can you please train me in martial arts! My skills are verycking in that field. I must get as strong as possible to defeat a certain someone. I will do absolutely anything to get stronger, no matter the cost! I will be eternally grateful if you agree to train me! I promise to properlypensate you for your troubles." Abby said with a deep bow. Moby was not expecting her to act so nice to him even to the point of bowing. Moby still had doubts about her intentions but, getting close to her will give him an easier chance to kill her if she ends up betraying him. If he declines her offer, then, he would risk making enemies with a powerful, and influential person like her which he does not want. After careful thinking and consideration, he made up his mind. He had thought about a full proof perfect n to turn this situation into a sess. "I will take you up on your offer! I promise to teach you martial arts. But don''t forget about my reward!" Moby said with a chuckle. "Really! You''ll do it! Thank you so much! And don''t worry! I never break my promises! You will be properly rewarded for your efforts!" She said, with a smile. "Meet me at the Jasmine Gorgan tea shop today after school to start our training. Don''t bete!" Moby with a heartwarming smile. Moby ideally wanted somewhere secluded where no one could see them like a dark alley since the forest is off-limits. But, if he did it might seem too suspicious. "Yes! Of course!" She replied feeling excited. "Oh shit! Look at the time! We gotta dip!" Moby said as he checked the time. It was already 7:58, so they only had 2 minutes to get to ss before it starts. When they had both made it back to ss, the entire ss started to talk about Moby and Abby once again. Although most of them were whispering. Moby was still able to hear them like they were sitting right next to them. "She looks happier than usual!?" "Ya! I see it too! Maybe she made him do something sexual!" "Jayden Griffith won''t be happy about this! Knowing her, she would probably kill Abby!" "I would pay good money to see a fight between them!" Suddenly. Professeur Leo entered the room putting an end to all the whispers in the ss. They had yet to recover from seeing him get mad during practice so they were still very much fearful of him. "Good morning ss. I have important news to share with all of you! Next month, you will be having an exam. It will be the first of five exams that you will have this year. You will be put into bnced teams. Each team''s average total power level per member will be around the same making it a fairer experience for all. You will finally be hunting your first magical beasts!" Leo said with an excited looking smile. ****** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 40: A New Targe

40 A New Targe

"*Sigh* don''t worry. The first exam will be worth much less than every other one thates after it. It is mostly there topare your results from the start of the year to the end of it, to gauge your improvement." Leo said as soon as he saw the distress on his student''s faces. ''The ss has been much quieter and more respectful ever since our first practice in the gym. Did I really scare them that hard??'' Leo inwardly thought. Leo spent the rest of the ss teaching and demonstrating new martial arts techniques for the ss to learn while Moby tried to contact Jayden to tell her the news of what just transpired. ''Hey, Jayden! You wouldn''t believe what just happened! Do you know that Abby girl I told you about? The C rank I defeated in my ss tournament. Ya, she¡­'' ''I''m so sorry, but can this conversation wait? I''m in the middle of a fight right now. My ss finally started to practice fighting in the gym. Just tell me at lunch,'' Jayden said interrupting him while heavily panting. ''Ok, then I''ll tell you what happened when we meet up at lunch. Good luck in your matches.'' Moby said while closing the mind link. Since Moby was unable to contact Jayden, he just used the time to level up his "Eyes of Sin" like he usually does. During ss, he felt like sudden surges of energy were constantly entering his body. [ Your servant has defeated an E rank enemy ] [ + 250 XP ] [ Your servant has defeated an E rank enemy ] [ + 250 XP ] [ Your servant has defeated an E rank enemy ] [ + 250 XP ] [ Your servant has defeated a D rank enemy ] [ + 750 XP ] [ Your servant has defeated a D rank enemy ] [ + 750 XP ] Jayden had gained him a total of 2,250 XP making him only 1000 XP away from levelling up. ''Good job Jayden!'' Moby thought with a smile Suddenly, the bell rang marking the start of lunch. Moby immediately rushed over to their usual meeting spot, the school roof. It was one of the few ces in the school that is always empty for some reason which made it perfect for their hiding spot. Also, Moby and Jayden would alwaysmunicate using their mind link to avoid the risk of them being eavesdropped on. Moby made sure he was not being followed as he finally reached the school roof. There, he found Jayden on the roof with an angry face. ''Shit! Is she angry at me? What did I even do?'' Moby inwardly panicked. "Hey, what''s wrong?" Moby asked in a concerned voice. "I lost!" She grumbled. "Her name is Natalia Xane! Her ability is called ''Blink'' which allows her to do a quick short-range teleport. I request to make her our next target!" Jayden said with a firm resolve. Moby took a while to ponder over all the information before he gave his answer to Jayden. "That would be almost impossible," Moby said with a sigh. "Why not!!" Jayden said not even trying to hide her immense disappointment. "The Forest is currently off-limits for who knows how long and we don''t have any other secluded ce we can lure her. Also, using my mind control ability on her would be impossible since she has a higher power level than I do. And, I don''t think we can lure her into your house like Nathan since I assume she won''t be that stupid or if she ever dide, she would bring more than one person with her for protection. Due to her high power level and arrogant attitude, I assume she is from a somewhat important family which makes her an even harder target," Moby said with a sigh. Jayden took in everything that Moby just said and she would be lying if she says that it does not make any sense. "That is true. Her family is far less important than mine but her parents pamper her far more. She is rarely found without high-level bodyguards around her." Jayden said with a sad expression as some tears started to flow down her cheeks. Moby does not know why, but seeing Jayden sad like this makes his heart ache a little for some reason. His impulses immediately screamed at him to make her stop crying Suddenly, Moby gave her a big wide smile immediately brightening the mood while at the same time wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Did you not hear me correctly? I said ''almost'' impossible. We still have a chance during the exam! We will be transported to another world to hunt magical beasts. Her bodyguards would not be able to follow her there and I doubt there would be any teachers who will observe us. It would be the perfect time to do it! All we need to do is find her and lure her away into a secluded area like a cave and we would be all good!" Moby said with a big wide heartwarming smile. "Th...th...thank you¡­ That n sounds perfect. I will try my best to endure her and hold myself back until then," Jayden said with flushed red cheeks. "Anyways! Now is not the time to feel down! Today is a happy day! We will make so much money from uploading that video online!" Moby said with augh. "Y...yes of course!" Jayden said regaining her normalposure. She pulled out 2 lunch boxes and handed one over to Moby. Since he would miss his meal every time they met on the roof at lunchtime, Jayden would always prepare an extra lunch for him. Her lunches were made from top-ss chefs which tasted 1000 times better than the slob they offer at the cafeteria so Moby definitely has noints and instead feels extremely grateful. "Before we upload the video, I have something important to tell you, " Moby said in a serious expression. "Is this what you were going to tell me when we were in ss?" She replied. "Yes," Moby nodded While they are, Moby proceeded to exin the entire story to her making sure to not miss a single detail. He had also exined his n to her as well. "Hahaha! She really got you good! You must have been shitting yourself!" Jayden said with augh. "Anyways. I had already heard rumours of what went down. They said shit like ''The fire princess is stealing Jayden Griffiths pet'' but I of course did not believe a single word because I haveplete faith in you," Jayden said with a smile. "So anyways, it is very strange that someone that powerful would ask a low level like you to be their master seeing that she doesn''t know the truth about you. Are you sure about this n of yours? It could easily backfire. No pun intended" Jayden said in a serious tone. "Don''t worry! The n is full proof! I''m sure it will all work out fine!" Moby said with confidence. "I''ll trust your judgement on this one then," Jayden responded. "Anyways! Now is a perfect time to upload the video! You got everything ready!?" Moby said in excitement. "I sure do! I asked my buttler topletely encrypt my new FireWatch ount (the video watching website) called "HallOfTheShitty" to make sure that it can''t be traced back to us. He also made a secret bank ountpletely separate from us to where the money will be deposited. My butler has done things like this many times before so don''t even worry about it," Jayden said with firm confidence apanied by a smile. "What kind of super butler do you have?! And what do you mean he has done this many times in the past!?" Moby asked in surprise. "Ya, my butler is a jack of all trades. He has experience in all types of things! He had been my personal butler ever since I was only a child and I have yet to see something he is not good at," Jayden said proudly. "Well, anyways. Let''s just upload the video!" Moby said impatiently. He had been waiting for this moment for a very long time now. He really wanted to find out what kind of new skill he would gain frompleting the quest. Every time he tried asking Avilia, she always either cracked a joke or told him that it''s a secret. This made him even more anxious to find out what it will be. "Okay! The video is uploading now!" Jayden said in excitement. FireWatch is the most popr video-sharing site in the world. There is no type of censorship and any kind of videos could be found on it. Creators get paid $1 for every 1000 views so if they get 30,000,000 views, that would be the equivalent of 30,000 dors. The contents of the videos varied from someone drinking toilet water and licking the rim of the dirty toilets to someone smearing shit all over his body and licking it off his face. For Nathan, the video was "special" to say the least. It was a video of him pissing in his own mouth like drinking from a water fountain while shitting on the floor and eating his shit off the ground like the pig he truly was. "The upload isplete! The video is now up on the channel!" Jayden said jumping up and down in joy. ''From the way Avilia was hyping this up, this new skill better not be shit!'' Moby inwardly hoped, waiting for the notifications to show up. [ System Alert! ] [ Quest "Getting Revenge" Has Been Complete! ] [ +10,000 XP ] [ +50 stat points ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Due to the user reaching level 20, a new member can be added to your household ] [ New Skill Unlocked! ] *********** [ Devil''s Hand (Level 1) ] The user can summon an invisible hand to attack and control things around him akin to telekinesis. Number of hands: 1 Cost: 10 Demon Energy/Second Range: 10 meters *********** As soon as Moby saw the hoard of notifications overwhelming his peripheral vision, he could not help but smile andugh like a child opening his presents on Christmas day only to find out that his parents had gotten him exactly what he wanted. ''Oh, yeah. It''s alling together,'' Moby thought with a wide grin from ear to ear. ****** Read the author''s thoughts to see why the upload was sote (sorry). I am truly grateful to each and everyone one of you ???? If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 41: New Skill!

41 New Skill!

"I''ve been working on a new technique for a while now and I just made a breakthrough!" Moby replied in excitement. "Really! Let me see!" Jayden asked with a curious look in her eye. Moby''s eyes glowed a slight purple as he used his "Energy Sense" once more to check if there was anyone spying on them or if anyone was in the area. He was relieved to find out that there was no one within the range of his energy sense except him and Jayden. "Here it goes!" Moby said as he lifted Jayden 1 meter off the ground. ''She is as light as a feather'' Moby thought with a smile. "WOOOOWWWW!! How are you doing this! Did you develop telekinesis!?" Jayden asked bbergasted by what she is seeing. "Sort of¡­ It''s an invisible hand technique. I''ve been working on this technique for a while now," Moby said, lying through his teeth. He was still notfortable about exposing his secret about the system just yet and he has yet to tell her that he can read all her emotions. He doesn''t know how she would react to it. He ns to tell her soon but he has yet to find the opportune time. At this point, Moby has full trust in Jayden without a shadow of a doubt. He had been checking her emotions every day and every time he did, it always seemed genuine. She has yet to act fake around him, not even once. In his entire life, Moby has never had anyone like her. Someone who he can put his full trust into. A true friend. But, nowadays, he feels like he wanted to be more than that. But, he was still inexperienced in those matters and can''t properly sort out his own emotions about such things. Moby sometimes finds himself thinking, ''Maybe I should have just let her **** me that day,'' Before shrugging it off. Moby assumed that their mind link was always right so he never bothered to ask Jayden about her emotions towards him. Moby''s and Jayden''s mind link does not share emotions rted to love. But, Moby has no knowledge of this. So, he just assumes that Jayden no longer has any interest in him like she said the day he turned her into a demon. Most of the time he would check her emotions, it would only show as "happy", so he assumed that Jayden had no attraction towards him anymore. So, anytime his lustful thoughts emerged about her, he would always shove them to the back of his head thinking. ''If I get my emotions too out of control, I might say something weird or I might someday abuse my power to force myself on her and order her to do things she does not want to do which will ruin our rtionship." Jayden is his first-ever true friend and he does not want to ruin it just because of his selfish desires. "Do you feel a hand holding you from your shirt?" Moby asked Jayden. "Try slicing it off, I want to test out its durability, don''t go too hard on it at first though," Moby said. "Sure thing!" Jayden said, karate chopping the invisible hand, doing no damage to it. "Now try using your full power, without using your ability," Moby said after seeing that her first attack was ineffective. Jayden nodded as she did a full-powered karate chop towards the invisible hand. Again, her attack had no effect. "Now try using your ability," Moby said. Jayden nodded once again as she infused her karate chop with her shadow ability, breaking the hand in the process. ''The durability is not even that bad, but, I need to do more experiments with this new skill in the future. There are many things I still don''t know about it. I need to test its limits. It costs 10 demon energy every second, which is more than any other skill in my repertoire. In these few seconds of experimenting, he had already consumed all of his demon energy on this skill. If he were to use it in a fight, it would only be for short bursts of less than one second to throw off the enemy or quickly pull them in for an attack,'' Moby thought. Jayden fell back on the ground in an elegant manner and had eyes brimming with excitement. "I''m going to try this new skill out myself!" Jayden said as she transformed into Moby. When she tried the ability, her range was only 6 meters and it looked like it took her a lot more effort to pick Moby up than when he tried it on her. Also, her invisible hand was a lot more fragile than Moby''s making her a bit disappointed. "Why was it so much better when you did it!" She grumbled as she transformed back into her normal body. "Remember, you get a 30% debuff when you transform into another person. but, don''t be discouraged. You are still able to wield 2 abilities at once, in my case, all my skills plus your ability and I''m sure the 30% debuff will considerably lessen once you evolve," Moby said, trying to cheer her up. "Ya, your right! Thanks for that! you always know how to make me feel better!" Jayden replied with a cute, heartwarming smile that made Moby''s stomach flutter a little. *RING* *RING* *RING* *RING* The bell sounded marking the end of lunch and marking the start of the break. "We still haven''t finished our lunch yet. I was about to dig into that delicious chicken sandwich. Care to join me for the rest of break?" Moby said to Jayden, returning the same heartwarming smile she had just given him. "Of course! I would love to!" Jayden replied, smiling back at him as she sat down next to him to continue their lunch. They spent the rest of their break together making small talk and cracking jokes about the torture spree they had just recently finished with. After the break ended and everyone went back to ss, Moby decided to assign the 70 stat points he had gained frompleting his revenge quest on Nathan and his gang. Moby assigned his 70 stat points as follows: 15 - Intelligence 25 - Strength 30 - Agility His new stats now: ------------------------------------- Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 21 XP to next level 0/10000 Power Level: 4400 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 110/110 Demon Energy regeneration: 55 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 121 Agility: 136 Endurance: 73 Intelligence: 110 Mind: 30 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ------------------------------------- ************* After school, As soon as the bell rang, Moby immediately left school and headed towards the Jasmine Gorgan tea shop located only 2 kilometres north of the school to meet up with Abby. The shop was a fairly quiet ce, perfect to have a normal conversation while drinking tea. Rarely do students ever go there which is perfect for Moby. There was no one in line. So, Moby did not have to wait for his turn to order. "1 medium Gorgan ssic, extra milk and lower sugar. please, " Moby ordered. "That will be 5 dors, sir!" The cashier replied with a smile. Moby scanned his watch on a white pad on the counter to pay for his purchase. [Payment Confirmed!] Moby had a total of 450$ from saving up the 50$ the school gave him every day. A 5 dor decrease was not a big deal for him at all. "Thank you, sir! Your tea will be ready in 2 minutes please find a vacant seat and we will call you when your tea is ready!" The cashier said, while still smiling. Moby walked away and chose a seat on a 2 person table. Moby had gotten Abby''s contact info on their way back to ss in the morning. So, he decided to contact her to see where she is at. As soon as he was about to send her a message, He saw a girl with long red hair tied up in a ponytail wearing a student uniform enter the shop heavily panting. She had a nice, slim yet busty figure apanied by a cute face. It was Abby Ried. Even though he does admit that she looks much better than most girls at school, Moby found no sexual interest at all in her appearance. For Moby,pared to Jayden, she still looked fairly subpar. "Sorry, I''mte! I hope I didn''t make you wait too long!" Abby said while still panting. ****** If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 42: Moby Sensei

Chapter 42 - Moby Sensei

Abby bought a tea of her own and joined Moby at his table. "Sorry that I was sote, I was doing my regr exercises before I got here. So, why did you call me here instead of starting the training right away?" Abby asked in a somewhat annoyed manner. "I just wanted to get to know you, and what your motivations are better before we properly get started with our training," Moby replied. Moby was just trying to get as much information as possible out of her. He wanted to know what kind of person she is before going through with his n. "Ok, I guess that makes sense," Abby said, cooling off a bit. "I heard you say that there is someone you must defeat at all costs and you need to quickly gain strength. Can you please borate on that?" Moby asked. "Honestly, I don''t like to talk a lot about that, but, since you will be my future master, I guess it will be fine to tell you," Abby said in a serious tone. She took a deep breath before continuing what she had to say. "As you probably know, the Ried family is one of the only fire families in the world and one of the more powerful and well known." "Ever since I was little, I have been very weak, fragile and I was always greatly overshadowed by my older sister." "Her name is Emilia Ried, she is a second-year at our school, and she is already an A rank student. She is currently my main goal to defeat and get my revenge on." The word "revenge" had intrigued Moby very much. In his eyes, she didn''t look like the type of person to go after revenge. "She has always been a lot more talented than me. She would non-stop bully, abuse, and mock me every day just for being weak, useless, and most of all a disgrace." "She would always use me as a target for her aim practice and even develop her new techniques on me in practice matches as an excuse to hurt me. It was like she found it fun and enjoyable." "I even have severe burns and scars that couldn''t be healed even by some of the best healers." She said as she exposed a little bit of her shoulder showing a deep red, ugly scar. "The servants never reported anything to my parents either out of fear or because they didn''t like me because they saw me as a failure to the family." "I was so weak and fragile that I would be called a disgrace to the family on a daily basis by the servants. Sometimes behind my back, and sometimes to my face." "My sister was always my parents'' favourite. So, she got away with so many things. She would always threaten to torture me so I do not speak of anything she does to me to our parents." "I wanted to tell my parents everything that happened but every time I did, they never believed me or they just seemed uninterested. It was like they hated me as much as my sister and all the servants. They must have also seen me as a disgrace to the family." "To this day, I still don''t know why they even kept me alive and fed me every day." "One day my sister found out that I had tried to expose her to our parents. Of course, they either didn''t believe me or simply didn''t care." "That night, we had one of our usual training sessions. But this time, it was not like the rest. That night, I had felt more pain, and fear than I had ever felt in my entire life. She had burned and scared even more of my body than ever before. The pain and anguish were like nothing the little me even imagined could be possible." ''Why are mentally unstable people always attracted to me? What is her motive for telling me all of this? Is she trying to make me feel bad for her? I expected to fish for all this information myself, but it''s just being handed to me for free. But, if she speaks the truth, I can see many simrities between mine and her life so far,'' Moby thought his usual paranoid thoughts. "After that night, I had contemted suicide many times. But, in the end, I decided that I couldn''t let my family have thestugh. I could not just back down and let them win. I decided to get stronger to make them pay for all they have made me suffer." "I promised to make them agonize hundreds of times harder than they had made me endure." "Ever since I was 10, I had been training my ass off every day, trying my best to not waste even a single second of valuable time." Moby then noticed that Abby had really chiselled muscles for a girl that was hidden under her fairly baggy student uniform. ''Wow, she might be even more of a training junkie than you,'' Avilia remarked with a chuckle. ''Heh! That''s impossible! I am THE training master! This is one of the only things I can confidently say that I have over everyone else,'' Moby said with a clear prideful tone. "That is why during the skills exam, I admired all the hard work you had put in to get to the point where you are today instead ofughing at you like all those fake bitches." Moby did find it weird how she was the only person in his group for the skills exam that didn''t ridicule his performance on the test. But now, he has gotten his answer. Moby now feels a little more respect towards Abby than he had before. Only a little. "Due to all my training, I never had the time or interest to make any friends at school. Also, I was unable to trust anyone with anything due to my previous experiences." "To be honest, I don''t trust you at all but, since you are much weaker than me, I feel morefortable talking with you. No offence." "And to be honest, you are my only hope at improving. For the past few months, I had hit a bottleneck in my training. I was not improving at all no matter how hard I tried. Honestly, I would rather die if I had to stay at this strength for the rest of my life. I am still far too weak to exact my revenge. And if I can''t do that. Then what is the point of me even living?" "I believe learning martial arts might help me ovee my bottleneck and reach the next level." ''She has indeed reached her limit, from what I can tell, she was in fact born with a very weak, and fragile body. She had already trained her body and ability to the utmost limit of her capability. No matter how hard she trains, her power level would not increase by much, if at all. She would stay like this for the rest of her life,'' Avilia said. ''So, all she needs to get stronger is a tougher body? Correct?'' Moby asked. ''Yes, that is correct,'' Avilia replied. ''Perfect!'' Moby thought. "I had tried to follow and practice professor Leo''s techniques but they seem to be no help for me at all." "When we fought, I felt like you had an immense, almost monsterish strengthing from you. Your martial arts and your techniques were like nothing I had ever seen in my life." "I just had a feeling that you would be able to help me break through my bottleneck." "So, do you think I am fit enough for you to train? Even if your training doesn''t help me break through my bottleneck, I still promise to pay you!" Moby pretended to take a long time to ponder her story. He had been intensely listening to her the entire time and had already decided what he would do. "I know how to make you ovee your bottleneck, I can definitely promise you that! However, the process will be really painful, are you still up for the task?" Moby said with a smile. Moby was testing if her resolve was truly as strong as she ims and, most of all, to see if her reaction looked genuine. "REALLY!! YOU CAN REALLY DO IT!? I PROMISE YOU THAT I DON''T CARE ABOUT THE PAIN! I WILL LITERALLY DO ANYTHING TO OVERCOME THIS BOTTLENECK!" Abby screamed, jumping out of her seat, bringing all the attention in the shop to their table. "Calm down! You are causing a scene!" Moby whispered under his breath. "Oh! I''m so sorry! I just couldn''t help myself! This is the best news I have ever heard in my life! No exaggeration at all!" Abby said with a smile, sitting back in her seat trying to calm herself down. "So! How do you do it! Let''s get started right away!" Abby said with clear impatience. "Yes, I can get it done all today! You don''t have to worry about that, but first, why don''t we meet up with my other pupil?" Moby said with a smile. "Other pupil!? You are telling me that I am not the only one!?" Abby said in shock. "You have probably heard of her before. You will know who they are once we get there. let us go there right now. Quickly finish your tea and follow me," Moby said as he stood up and went towards the shop''s exit. "Hey! Wait for me!" Abby said as she chugged the rest of her tea and ran after Moby. Moby ordered a taxi to drive him to their destination. During the ride, Abby kept on asking Moby about their destination and who his other pupil was. But all that Moby would reply with was. "You will find out soon enough." After a 30-minute taxi ride, they finally reached their destination. It was a big mansion with a big garden in the front which led to the big wide mansion doors. Although it was still smaller than her family mansion, Abby was astonished at its beauty and grandeur. It looked much nicer and calmer than her family''s house. When they knocked on the door, an old butler immediately opened up for them like he was expecting them toe. "The young miss is waiting for you in the battle arena. Allow me to escort you there," the butler said with a bow. "Thank you very much!" Moby replied with a smile using a familiar tone like they had known each other for some time. The whole mansion just gave off a warmer feeling than Abby''s family home. It was most likely due to all the bad memories she had to endure in her old mansion and not because the mansion she is in right now looked nicer. After a minute or so of walking, they finally reached the entrance to the arena. "This is the entrance to our battle arena, the young miss will be waiting for you inside. I shall be taking my leave now, if you need anything, all you need to do is call," The butler said, bowing and leaving from the way they came. The arena was huge which really surprised Abby. She never imagined that such a big arena would fit in this mansion. In the middle of the arena, there was a figure of a beautiful blue-haired woman standing there waiting. "Your pupil is Jayden Griffith!? I heard that she had made you her pet! Was it just a cover story for her being your pupil!?" She eximed. "Yes! Of course!" Moby replied with clear confidence. When they finally reached the center of the stage meeting up with Jayden, she gave him a bow saying, "Greetings master. It seems like you have gotten a new pupil." "Yes, indeed, she will be your fellow pupil. I hope you 2 can get along well," Moby replied with an authoritative voice. "Umm¡­ Master¡­ You have yet to tell me how you will help me ovee my bottleneck?" Abby asked, with a bow. After seeing how Jayden was acting so respectful to Moby, she just felt like it would be weird if she acted too casual around him. Especially when she is trying to ask for something. "Your bottleneck is due to the weak body you were born with. You have already trained your body to its utmost limit. No matter how hard you train, you will never be able to get stronger. But fret not! To tell you the truth, I have gone through a simr experience myself. I was weak, very weak, and my strength was rarely ever growing. However, recently, I have discovered a new method of gaining absolute power, breaking through our human limitations, breaking free from the shackles of mortality itself to be something much greater!" Moby said, telling her the partial truth but still hiding many things. "I am not sure I understood what you just said. But, if it is able to get me past my bottleneck and help me gain more strength, then I will be forever indebted to you," Abby said with a deep bow and a firm voice. "This method will be very painful, more pain that you have most likely ever felt in your entire life. Are you sure you still want to go through with this?" Moby asked in a serious tone. "More sure than I have ever been on anything in my entire life! If this works! I promise topensate you with anything you want that I am able to provide. Anything at all!" She replied with no hesitation at all. "Good! Now, all you need to do is rx and let my energy flow inside your body without offering any resistance," Moby said as he put his hand on her head. Suddenly, a wonderful sensation spread all over her entire body as she felt an unknown energy enter through her head. She felt calmer at and more at peace than she had ever felt in years or maybe even her entire life. ''This is not so bad¡­'' She thought with a blissful smile on her face. ******* If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 43: Failure??

43 Failure??

An intense pain ravaged throughout all of Abby''s body. Her skin burned off being reced with a newyer while every bone in her body broke and regenerated over and over again while at the same time, ck blood oozed out of all her orifices in litres. Moby was not wrong, it was definitely the most intense, excruciating, physical pain she had ever experienced. However, she persevered with all her might to not resist the unknown energy ravaging throughout her body. She is more than willing to endure the pain for the sake of her revenge. Although the physical pain she is currently feeling is much more intense than all the torture that her sister made her go through, it still pales inparison to all the mental pain she had to endure in the past. The misery of being ignored, tortured and hated by her entire family with no one to turn to, all for a reason outside of her control, was too painful for her to bear. When she thought about the revenge on her family, it made it much easier for her to endure the pain, telling herself, ''It will all be worth it, for the sake of my revenge! Even if it only had a 0.000,000,0001% chance of working.'' Moby and Jayden were both looking at Abby in awe, but forpletely different reasons. ''I had to go through all that pain for my transformation as well? I guess I''m lucky that I was knocked out when Moby turned me into a demon,'' Jayden thought, feeling slightly relieved. As for Moby, he was surprised to see her endure the torture so well. Moby''s ns for Abby had changed several times throughout the day. At first, his n was to be "friends" with Abby in order to keep a close eye on her just in case she remembers what happened to her during their match and to manipte her and use her as a pawn for future ns. Then, his n changed again upon reaching level 20. Upon reaching level 20, he gained the ability to add one more member into his demon household which made hime up with a new n. His second n was to turn Abby into a demon and exploit the 1 week time where she has a 0% chance of betraying him before making her write a suicide note and killing herself on thest day of the week. However, when Moby learned about Abby''s traumatic past and thirst for power and revenge, his nspletely changed once again. Instead of using her as a disposable pawn for 1 week before making hermit suicide, he can instead make her into one of his permanent servants. Having another permanent servant gives him the huge advantage of gaining yet another source of XP due to the 50% XP sharing from the household bonus. Moby will share a 50% portion of extra XP to both his servants giving his household a 200% total XP boost, a 50% bonus to each servant every time he gains any XP from defeating or killing an enemy. However, the true advantage is that Moby will have 2 extra sources of XP while his servants will only have 1 extra source of XP, being, of course, himself. Servants can''t share XP with each other and can only share them with their master, meaning that Moby will gain more total XP than his servants allowing him to grow at a faster pace than both of them. At first, Moby assumed that Abby was apletely righteous person with a determination to get stronger. He thought she would be repulsed after knowing what Moby and Jayden did and vow to oppose them no matter what. He also assumed that she would be disgusted to be turned into a demon and would never ept gaining power by such means. But now, Moby understands that he waspletely wrong. From what Moby has seen, Abby does not care about how she gains power. She is not at all opposed to the thought of revenge and torturing those who you have been wronged by. She also seems to have a sense of loyalty and dept towards those who have helped her which is perfect for Moby. Moby has no idea if her story ispletely true or if she was just spouting some non-sense in order to guilt him to help her out. And, he did not know if she was actually going topensate him for his troubles or if she was just saying that to entice him to help her before just leaving withoutpensating him at all because she knows that he is too weak to oppose her. Luckily, all his questions can be answered truthfully with just a simplemand of telling her to tell him if all that she had told him was the truth. If all that she said was true, it would then lead into Moby''s best and final n, to have her as a permanent servant. By telling her that he hasplete control over her, having the power to take away her new strength whenever he wanted and that he will help her get revenge on her family, she will be forced into bing his permanent servant with a near 0 chance of being betrayed. Her thirst for revenge would not allow her to. Moby also wanted to test out her resolve to see if her will and determination is as strong as she ims. Turning someone into a demon while they are still conscious is a very risky move. If the person tries to resist the transformation, then, the transformation will fail, crippling them in the process. Also, if a transformation fails once, then that person will never be able to undergo the demon transformation process ever again. This is why it is always good to turn someone into a demon while they are unconscious or in a really deep sleep. Moby could have easily told her she needed to drink some paralysis or sleeping pills before undergoing the transformation so she doesn''t feel any pain at all to guarantee sess. However, he opted to not do it that way. If her will is too weak and she gets crippled, all that it means is that her will and determination we''re not strong enough to endure the pain deeming her unfit to be his servant. And, when she is crippled, it would make for a guaranteed win against her in a fight and they would be able to quickly take her out, ensuring that she never reveals or remembers their secrets, killing 2 birds with one stone. However, if she can endure the transformation, it means that she has an unbreakable will stronger than steel and if he can gain her loyalty and support, she would never betray him and would be a great asset. Moby was looking at the screaming Abby waiting to see how it will turn out, waiting for her screams to end or for a system notification to show up. After 2 minutes of torture, Abby''s screams ended and he was yet to receive a notification. Abby was now on the ground unconscious curled up in a ball. ''Failure huh¡­ how disappointing, I was really looking forward to having an extra XP source¡­'' Moby thought in disappointment as he approached the still unconscious Abby with a rope in hand with hopes of tying her up. He can''t just kill her in Jayden''s house without her watch notifying the school about her death. Moby really wanted to have another servant as soon as he received the system notification telling him that he can get one. He wanted someone really strong, influential, cruel, and loyal at the same time. He had thought that it was too good to be true when someone that fit his exact description and may even have a chance of remembering his secret in the future, just showed up on a silver tter for him to turn into his new servant. He felt like for once in his life,dy luck was giving him a break from all the troubles that she has been constantly shoving down his throat. But, s, Moby once again realized that nothinges easy in life and if something was too easy to obtain, then it is most likely too good to be true. ''I must have jinxed myself at some point. I should have realized something this promising was too good to be true,'' Moby thought, with a depressed chuckle. As soon as Moby reached Abby and was about to tie her up, a few blue text boxes appeared in Moby''s peripheral vision, greatly brightening up his mood. [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a New Demon! ] [ You Have Created a Demon Necromancer! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] ''Or, maybe it wasn''t too good to be true!'' Moby thought with a big smile. ******* If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 44: Fanatic

44 Fanatic

''You Have Created a Demon Necromancer, '' He thought, reading the message once again in his head. ''Shouldn''t it be "lesser demon necromancer"? Wait a second...'' Moby thought in shock. Suddenly, he heard Avilia startughing in his head. ''I''ve never seen a demon turn someone into a demon that was more evolved than him! This is hrious!'' Avilia said,ughing in hysteria. ''It won''t be for long! Now that I have a better XP ie! I will be sure to surpass both my servants and evolve in no time! It''s only been a week since I''ve gotten the system and I''ve already gotten this strong! And once I get a good ability, my power level will surely spike!'' Moby said, trying his best to stay optimistic. ''That is true. Sorry for my earlier harsh words. To be honest, I never expected a weak human like your previous self to turn into such a fine demon in such a short period of time. I truly am proud of you! You have grown so much in only a week. I am looking forward to seeing your future endeavours,'' Avilia said with the mental equivalent of a smile. ''I don''t think I ever got the chance to properly thank you for everything you have done for me. If it weren''t for you, I would have already killed myself long ago. And even if I didn''t, I would be forced to live the rest of my life as a living nightmare,pletely powerless to do anything to change it. Thanks to you, I actually do have the power to forge my own path in life. I am truly grateful,'' Moby said in a serious tone. ''Stop it! You''re making me blush!'' Avilia said with a chuckle. Suddenly, Moby noticed that the previously unconscious Abby started moving. Moby quickly put on a serious face and stood in front of her with an imposing stature. As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw Moby standing in front of her with arms crossed. "Congrattions! You are now a demon! To be exact, you are now a demon necromancer. I will introduce myself to you once again. But this time¡­" Suddenly, a waterfall of tears started to run down Abby''s face. She started crying very loudly like a baby. At first, Moby thought that it was because of the intense pain of the transformation. But, when he checked her emotions using their mind link, he was surprised to see that the emotion she had was... ''Extremely Happy?'' Moby thought with a small hint of surprise. "TTTHHHHHAAANNNNKKKKKK YYYOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUU SOOOO MUUUUCCHHHH," She said slowly while still crying like crazy. "I had almost given up on myself, and my life¡­ You have quite literally brought me back from the dead. You have given me renewed hope and a new reason to live! You are my saviour!" "I had promised you that I would be willing to do anything for you if you got me past my bottleneck and that is not a lie." "But, please! Allow me to be your servant! You are the one that saved me! My life belongs to you! I would never have it if it weren''t for you! It would be an honour to work for my saviour! My only condition is that you help me take revenge on my family. I hope you can understand..." Abby said while still crying, sniffling through almost every word. Yet she somehow still sounded very serious at the same time. Moby just stood there listening to Abby''s words trying his best to hide his shocked expression behind his poker face. He thought that he was going to be the one telling her that she will be his servant for life. But, instead, she offered to be one herself. Jayden was standing behind him seemingly even more shocked than he was. Moby had told her about Abby''s past and her thirst for revenge through their mind link during his taxi drive to her house, but she never thought that she would be so... fanatic. Moby took a few seconds to regain hisposure before replying to what Abby just said, repeating his previous speech that was interrupted. *Ahem* "Congrattions! You are now a demon! To be exact, you are now a demon necromancer. I will introduce myself to you once again. But this time I will tell you the whole truth. I am Moby Kane, the future demon lord." "I''m a demon!! And you are the future demon lord!!" She eximed in surprise. "Yes, I have turned you into my demon servant. I have the ability to control you however I see fit with but a simplemand," "Jump!" Moby ordered. As soon she heard Moby''smand, she felt like her legs were moving all by themselves. She stood up and did a short jump like she was ordered to. "I promise to not abuse my power on you as long as you stay loyal. I have the ability to take away all your powers and cripple you, or even easier, I can just order you to take your own life." "I promise to help you get revenge on your sister and your family as long as you stay loyal to me." "Abby Ried, I wee you to my great demon household, The House of The Blissful Demon," Moby said with a smile. "Oh great demon lord! I pledge my undying loyalty to you! I would never in a million years even consider betraying you! You are my saviour! I am so grateful to you for epting my request of helping me with my revenge. You have no idea how much that means to me¡­ Thank you for considering my feelings when you said that you wish to not abuse your power on me. But, like I said, my life now belongs to you! Feel free to order me however you see fit!" Abby said with a firm resolve. "I promise it is fine¡­ I''m not that kind of person. As long as you behave and show no signs of betrayal then I won''t force you to do anything. The only exception is if there is an emergency," Moby said rubbing the back of his head. "Allow me to break both my arms right now as to prove myself to you! It is the least I could do to prove my undying loyalty! I promise I will never betray you! I will be your sword and shield to defeat anyone that you deem as an enemy my lord!" Abby lifted one of her arms and performed a chop aiming for her other arm with the intent of breaking it. However, her hands abruptly stopped before her time connected. Moby held her arm, holding her back from harming herself. "It is fine! You don''t need to do all that!" Moby said with a smile. "Oh! I am so sorry my lord! I didn''t know! I thank you so much for your mercy and benevolence!" She said kneeling so hard, visible cracks can be seen on the ground. ''Fuck me! I thought having a fanatic as a servant would be cool but it''s turning out to be more annoying than I thought! I need to teach her how to lighten up more!'' Moby thought. "Please raise your head¡­" Moby said, still smiling. "Yes, my lord! She said, instantly raising her head and looking straight at Moby. "Is everything you have told me today the truth, and do you have any ulterior motives for wishing to be my servant," Moby asked, making an order. At this point, Moby was 99% sure that she has been saying the truth the entire time. But, he still needed to ask the question. It''s better to be safe than sorry. "Yes, everything that I have told you today was theplete truth. I did not lie to you even once, I can assure you that my lord! I have no ulterior motives for wanting to be your servant. I just simply want to serve my saviour and future demon lord! As for proof of my previous torture, I can show you the big scar on my stomach and back for proof of my words. There are deep red burn scars all over my body, my face was the only thing that was not scared for reasons that I don''t know." Abby said with confidence. She lifted her shirt to expose her stomach to show Moby her scar. "See?" She said with a confident voice pointing at her stomach. "What are you pointing at?" Moby asked with augh. All that Moby and Jayden can see is Abby''s chiselled six-pack which made both of themugh. "You don''t have to worry about that anymore! Demons have better natural regeneration than humans! Scars and no longer scars! Scars like those can be easily healed with some time! When you transformed, your whole body changed. A demon''s body is far stronger than a human''s and has many other perks as well. That is what allowed you to ovee your bottleneck. Recing your old weak body with a new demon one." Moby said with a smile. Suddenly, tears started rolling down Abby''s face once again. "My loyalty and gratitude to my Lord have just gotten even deeper." She said, kneeling down. ''How is that even possible?? And is that even a good thing?'' Moby thought, in turmoil. "Those scars still burnt and hurt me to this day. I would always have trouble lying down or going to sleep because of the intense pain the scars inflicted me whenever anything touches them. But, now, thanks to you my lord, that problem is no more. I will be able to finally have my first good night''s sleep in many years. A feeling and an experience I have long forgotten or even hoped to ever have again. I''m so sorry, I can''t even put into proper words how much everything you have done really means to me." She said, still crying and kneeling on one knee. "I promise it was no big deal¡­" Moby said rubbing, the back of his head in embarrassment. Moby has never been praised to this extent for as long as he could remember. It was apletely new experience for him. He didn''t quite know how to handle it properly which annoyed him to no end. ''I need to make her loosen up at least a little and stop acting so seriously all the time. If she acts like this the whole time I''m around her, I''m going to lose my mind!'' Moby thought. "Demons really are an amazing species. I am so happy you turned me into one my lord! You mentioned that I am a demon necromancer. What is that exactly?" Abby asked, with eyes brimming with curiosity. "Well¡­ a demon necromancer is¡­" ''Quick! Avilia! Please tell me what a demon necromancer is and their skills and such.'' Moby asked Avilia with a slightly panicked voice. ''Sure thing!'' ''A demon necromancer is an evolved form of a lesser demon necromancer. They are a very rare type of demon being just as rare as a doppelganger.'' ''They specialize in necromancy which is death magic used to summon and raise undead creatures. Demon necromancers are able to summon spirit undead such as Ghosts, banshees and Wraiths while also being able to summon regr undead like Skeletons, Zombies, Ghouls, Vampires, Liches and much more! They don''t have to be humans but can be animals and magical beasts as well.'' ''Lower level undead such as Skeletons and Zombies have really low intelligence while the more powerful like Vampires, Liches, and Wraiths are much more intelligent. To summon an undead you must first need a body, or, toplete certain requirements such as when trying to summon higher-level undead spirits.'' ''A lesser demon necromancer is able to control a maximum of 10 spaces worth of undead at a time while a regr demon necromancer is able to summon up to at least 20 spaces worth of undead.'' ''The undead needs demon energy to be summoned. The higher level the undead you are trying to summon, the more demon energy will be required to summon it. Once summoned, the undead will not require any other demon energy and willst forever, or until their master lets them go.'' ''Demon necromancers themselves are usually weak, as they mostly utilize their minions to do the fighting as they try to hide or stay on the sidelines. Usually, when facing a necromancer, people try to ignore the minions and try to take out the master. Once the master is dead, then all the undead will simply disintegrate.'' ''However, this Abby girl is by no means weak at all! Her fire ability makes her a formidable foe even without any minions, which covers the major weakness necromancers usually have.'' ''She might be one of the only demon necromancers I''ve ever seen that will probably fight alongside their summons instead of spectating from the sidelines.'' ''Demon necromancers also know various other moves rted to death and many other details and tips that I will leave out for you to discover on your own!'' Avilia exined. After hearing Avilia''s exnation, Moby could not help but feel really happy and excited. He listened very carefully to everything Avilia told him and ryed it to Abby, putting it into his own words. "That is so overpowered! Thank you so much for blessing me with this amazing power! I promise that I will use my new power to help you achieve your goals! I will not let you down my lord!" Abby said, still on one knee staring at Moby with a smile. ******* Update: ------------------------------------- Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 21 XP to next level 0/10000 Power Level: 4400 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 110/110 Demon Energy regeneration: 55 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 121 Agility: 136 Endurance: 73 Intelligence: 110 Mind: 30 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ------------------------------------- If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 45: Welcome To The Family!

45 Wee To The Family!

************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 21 XP to next level 0/10000 Power Level: 4400 Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 110/110 Demon Energy regeneration: 55 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 121 Agility: 136 Endurance: 73 Intelligence: 110 Mind: 30 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** Out of curiosity, Moby used his inspect skill to see how far behind he truly was from both his servants. ************************** Name: Jayden Griffith Race: Lesser Demon (Doppelganger) Ability: Level 4 Shadow Level: 25 XP: 8500/15000 Power Level: 6770 Hp: 120/120 Mana: 180/180 Demon Energy: 180/180 Strength: 177 Agility: 212 Endurance: 108 Intelligence: 180 Mind: 25 ************************** ************************** Name: Abby Ried Race: Demon (Necromancer) Ability: Level 4 fire Level: 30 XP: 0/30000 Power Level: 9120 Hp: 150/150 Mana: 250/250 Demon Energy: 250/250 Strength: 301 Agility: 208 Endurance: 161 Intelligence: 250 Mind: 50 ************************** As Moby was inspecting his servants'' stats, one thing, in particr, caught his eye. ''Level 30? Is that the level when someone evolves? I''m not that far away from that! With my new XP ie, I could probably be able to reach level 30 before the exam!'' Moby thought in excitement ''I should be able to catch up to Jayden by the end of the month and I should be able to reach or even surpass Abby once I evolve. And, once I get my ability, I would far surpass both of them by a decent margin! I won''t be the weakest one here for long!'' Moby thought, inwardlyughing with joy. "My lord¡­" "My lord¡­" "My lord!" Suddenly, Moby snapped out of his thoughts and saw Abby shaking him with a worried expression on her face. "My lord are you alright! You''ve been standing there smiling for 2 minutes now!" Abby screamed with clear worry in her voice. *Ahem* "Yes, of course! sorry for worrying you, I was just deep in thought," Moby replied with a smile Moby saw the figure of Jayden in the back justughing at their exchange. She knows full well about Moby''s "Thinking moments" he always does it when hees up with his ways of torture or when he has a really good n. "I''m d that you are ok my lord! As I was asking you from before, I have tried to use my new necromancer ability but I have failed to do it every time. Can you please teach me how to use my power?" She asked, kneeling on one knee. "I will follow your instructions to the letter my lord!" She answered. After only 5 seconds of meditating, Abby was able to sense and use her demon energy. That was even faster than Jayden, although not by much. At this point, Moby wasn''t even surprised. ''It''s either regr demons are more in tune with their demon energy or she is just a better learner,'' Moby thought. ''It''s the former, regr demons are indeed more in tune with their demon energy, ''Avilia said. ''Good to know,'' Moby thought. Moby also taught Abby "Energy Sense" and "Nature''s stimtion" which would definitelye in handy in the future. "Thank you so much for teaching me, my lord! Your instructions were wless and easy to grasp. I feel a lot stronger now thanks to you!" Abby said, once again kneeling on one knee. "It was really nothing, now try to use your necromancer powers once again," Moby asked. "Yes, my lord! Like You said before, I need a body to summon a skeleton or a zombie and I need a ritual or certain conditions to be met to summon a high-level spirit so all that I am able to do now is summon a very low-level spirit." Abby said. "It seems like you are a very good listener," Moby nodded in approval. "I truly do not deserve such praise. It is only natural for a servant to take a mental note of every word spoken by her master," Abby said, still kneeling. 3 thoughts we''re going through Moby''s head right now. 1, ''Her knees must be hurting like hell from all the kneeling.'' 2, ''Just take the damnpliment!'' 3, ''What the fuck!? She is taking note of everything I say! I need to be more careful about what I say in the future, just in case she misinterprets my words,'' "I will try to cast a low-level spirit, I will be sure not to disappoint you, my lord!" She said as she lifted her arms up creating a purple ball of what looked like energy. The ball looked very unstable, twisting and shifting between various shapes before finally ending up as a star. The star was around the size of a fingernail. It was surrounded by a purple aura that gave off a slight glow. When it moved, it left a small purple trail from behind it. ''She just created a wisp! It is great for long-distance scouting! It''s one of the better low-level spirits!'' Avilia eximed. ''Long-distance scouting¡­ that seems really useful!'' Moby thought with a smile. When Moby checked Abby''s demon energy after she summoned the spirit by using his "inspect skill" it showed that she had 150/250 demon energy remaining. ''What the fuck! 100 demon energy just to summon a small wisp?! The better summons must cost in the thousands!'' Moby thought. "That''s really pretty!" Abby said in a happy tone. "Agreed!" Jayden replied, admiring its beauty. "I want to see if I can turn into that!" Jayden said jumping up and down in excitement. Suddenly, Jayden''s body shrunk down to the size of a fingernail before turning into the same star-shaped wisp. "Yay! I did it" She eximed with joy. ''Wait a doppelganger can turn into undead? Isn''t that an undead spirit?'' Moby asked Avilia. ''Yes, but no, Whenever a doppelganger changes forms, they are not changing race. She is still a demon. So, she only takes its appearance and powers and everything else about her will remain the same.'' Avilia replied. ''Also, how is she able to talk with no vocal cords?'' Moby asked Avilia. ''The same way other ghost and undead talk even with rotting or none existent vocal cords, with voice magic. From what I know voice magic is exclusive to the undead, I personally never tried it because I never had any use for it," Avilia replied. ''Good to know,'' Moby nodded. "Cool! So this is the power of a doppelganger!" Abby eximed in surprise. "I''m sorry if it is rude of me to ask, but, what kind of cool abilities does my lord have?" She asked excitedly with star-shaped eyes. "Well, I can do this!" Moby said as he picked her up using his "Devil''s hand". "This too," Moby said activating his "Eyes of Sin" Moby put Abby down on the ground before showing off the rest of his moves. "This as well, " Moby said, using his "Demon sh" to dash around the arena looking almost like a blur. "Also this!" Moby said, using hell''s fist. "I''m sorry my lord, but I am unable to see anything happen," Abby asked in confusion. "Use your energy sense," Moby replied. As soon as she did, she could see a purple aura surrounding Moby''s fists. "Incredible my lord!" She eximed. "I am also able to perform a simr attack using my sword," Moby said, performing a demon sh "And finally, I am able to use a paralysis technique like I used on you for the tournament and I am able to use slight mind control on people who are weaker than I am," Moby exined. "Your power is incredible my lord! You still don''t even have an ability and you are already this powerful! As expected from the future demon lord!" Abby said, looking at Moby with a smile. ''I can''t tell if she is making fun of me or actuallyplimenting me. But, either way, I will surpass her soon and gain a much cooler power anyways. So, it doesn''t bother me at all.'' Moby thought in a happy mood. "Thank you so much for the praise," Moby replied with a smile. "Since you are now a member of the household, I will tell you everything that has happened with me and Jayden so far." Moby said. ''It is better to tell her the truth now than for her to find outter. At least now I have full control of her just in the slight 0.000,000,001% chance that she does not agree with our methods'' Moby thought. ************************** 15 minutester¡­ "HAHAHAHHAHA!! YOU FED HIM HIS OWN DICK!! THAT''S HILARIOUS! HE REALLY DID DESERVE THAT! I NEED TO TRY THAT ONE OUT ON MY DAD!!! Abby said, rolling on the groundughing. "You and my lord are so creative with your torture methods. Personally, I have yet to torture anyone myself. But, I promise I am willing to try! I want to learn how to properly do it to get the maximum fear and pain. So, when ites time to try it on my family, I will be fully prepared!" "I have been taking a mental note of everything that you guys have done. Giving someone false happiness or hope sounds like so much fun! I can''t wait to see the look on my sister''s face when I do it to her!" Abby said with a sadisticugh. "Don''t worry! I''m sure we will eventually get a few test subjects that you can train with!" Moby said,ughing. "Thank you so much, my lord! It really means a lot to me!" Abby said with a smile. "Actually, we already have a target in mind. I''ll let you have a go at her! But, most of the fun will be reserved for Jayden! She is the one that wants her dead the most!" After Moby exined the situation to Abby. Her eyes turned into a firing slit, full of conviction. "An enemy of my lord is also an enemy of mine! I can''t forgive her for what she did to Jayden!" Abby said with a firm resolve. "Good to hear!" Moby said. "Also, Moby, I forgot to mention, today after school today, that bitch told me shit like:" "Today was only the beginning! I went easy on you! From now on I''ll make your life a living hell!" "I wanted to kill her so badly. But, I held myself back. Usually, when someone with a higher power level than me tries anything on me, I would always just report them to my dad and he would always take care of the rest." "But, recently, I found out that there is no fun in that, if I''m not doing it myself, then what''s the point?" "I will endure it all until the exam. It will make the satisfaction of her screams of agony and tears of blood just that much sweeter!" "I still have no idea what her motive is or why she is acting so aggressively towards me. But, I honestly don''t care. No one acts this way towards me without getting what''sing to them!" Jayden said with a devilish grin. "Don''t worry! I will support you all the way!" Abby said, putting her hand on Jayden''s shoulder. "Indeed!" Moby nodded in agreement. "Now, before we run out of time for today, I have a few experiments I want to test out with Abby''s new necromancer power¡­" Moby said with a smile. ************************** 4 hourster¡­ For the past 4 hours, Moby had been conducting many different experiments. The first was to test out if Abby''s wisp had a limited range of how far it can go. Abby was able topletely control the wisp with her mind and flew it outside of the mansion up into the sky. The wisp was fairly fast, being around 600kph (373mph). The wisp was only able to fly 2 minutes away from Jayden''s mansion at full speed meaning that its maximum range was around 20km. Moby was not sure if that is the maximum range that all her minions are allowed to be or if that is only for the wisp. When he tried to ask Avilia, she said that he should try to figure it out himself. When Jayden is transformed into a wisp, she is able to better camouge herself using her shadow ability which would be really useful for stealth rted things such as spying. Jayden as a wisp was 30% slower than Abby''s wisp as her top speed was only 420kph (261mph). However, she was able to move as far as she wanted without being stopped, unlike Abby''s wisp which only had a maximum range of 20km. Also, Abby was able to discover that she can see through the vision of her wisp by consuming a little bit of demon energy. Moby also discovered that both Jayden and Abby share a mind link and are able to telepathicallymunicate with each other as well. They can also have a 3-way conversation with each other as the link is not limited to 2 people at a time. Abby had also tried to summon other spirit undead but with no result. Moby thought that it is either that the wisp is the only spirit undead she is able to summon or if she just needed more practice. The time was 10:30 when the group finished with their experiments. They all headed to the dining room where Jayden''s head chef was serving them a gourmet dinner. "This is so delicious! Today has been by far the best day of my life! I feel so blessed!" Abby said, stuffing her mouth with food. "At first I found you a little weird, but, now that I got to know you better, I wish we can be good friends! We will be working with each other for a long time now since we are part of the same demon family so it''s better that we have a good rtionship with each other," Jayden said with a smile as she is cutting up her steak with a knife and fork. "Fr¡­ fr¡­ fr¡­ friends? I''m sorry, but, are you really sure you want to be friends with someone like me? I''ve never had any friends before in my life¡­" Abby said, now eating slower. "Don''t worry! I was in the same boat as you only a week ago! I had no friends at all to speak of, just like you. But, that''s when I met Moby! He was my first ever true friend! And, my life has gotten a million times better ever since!" Jayden said with slightly red cheeks. "You and my lord are friends!?" She eximed in shock. "Yes! Of course we are! Just because he is our leader, it doesn''t mean that we can''t be friends with him," She said with a chuckle. "That is true," Moby said with a smile. "Why don''t we all be friends? We need to try to get along if we wish to work with each other for the rest of our lives! Demons do live forever you know!" Moby said with a chuckle. "O...o...ok¡­ if my lord says so then I shall do it, " Abby said, finding it hard to believe how nice her lord actually was. "Don''t worry, I won''t treat all my subordinates as nice as you. Once I gain a good following. I will need a group of people where I can act like myself. I can''t be acting all serious and all-mighty all the time. That is not the type of person I am or want to be." Moby exined. "It¡­ it¡­ it is truly an honour to be thought of at such high regard by my lord," Abby said with tears flowing down her face. "It is only natural that I would be in that group!" Jayden said, turning away trying to hide her beet-red face. "We have done many good experiments today that helped us better understand Abby''s powers." "But, I still have many more things I want to test out," "We will be going on a field trip tomorrow!" Moby said excitedly. "A field trip! Sounds fun!" Jayden eximed. "Where to my lord?" Abby said in curiosity. "To the cemetery!" ******* If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 46: Plastic Surgery

46 stic Surgery

They both said goodbye to Jayden and left her mansion in the limousine with the butler, like usual. Every time Moby tried to strike up a conversation with Abby, she would always answer in a really polite way, always saying "My Lord", like she was some chivalrous knight talking to a king. "Either I teach her how to lighten up or I get used to all this praise. Well, since I will be the demon lord and have a big following in the future, I will need to get used to being praised like some deity. It''s good practice. Plus, I think that she will eventually loosen up to me a little after we''ve known each other for a bit longer¡­ eventually, '' ''I need to learn how to be a proper leader. Although I do like Jayden more than Abby as a person because I like her personality more, I can not show that when I speak to them in order to not cause any jealousy, malice, or bad blood in the family. That might be because I just met Abby and I''m not used to her fanatic personality I by no means hate her. In fact, I respect and can sympathize with her motivations and reason for revenge. Maybe my opinion changes when I get to know her better and spend more time with her.'' ''I was really surprised to see Jayden offering to be Abby''s friend. Honestly, that kind of relieved me. I was scared that those 2 might not get along but I''m happy to see that they want to be good friends. Maybe Jayden just wanted some girl friends to talk to and hang out with. At least I have 2 seemingly decent guy friends,'' Moby thought with a chuckle, thinking of Alex and Ray. ''Today ended better than I could have ever wished for. Everything went ording to n and even better.'' ''Now all I''ve got to worry about is the n for next month''s exam,'' Moby thought with a serious face. "My lord! We are going to arrive at school in only 5 minutes," Abby said, using their mind link. Moby had told her to onlymunicate with him using their mind link inside the limousine because the butler would find it weird and suspicious that a high level like Abby would be addressing a low level like Moby as, "My lord". "Great! Thanks for letting me know!" Moby replied with a smile. "By the way, since you live in a dorm, does that mean that you have dorm mates?" Moby asked with a curious tone. "No, I have a dorm all to myself. Since I''m from an important family, I get to have the option." "Don''t worry! That won''t happen! As long as you stick with me and Jayden! We will have your back!" Moby said with a smile. "Thank you my lord! I will serve you loyally till the day I die!" Abby said with a firm resolve. "By the way, what were those expensive clothes you were wearing when we first met at the skills exam?" Moby asked with interest. "Those "Expensive Clothes" are nothing more than rags for my family. Even the servants wore better clothing." Abby respectfully exined. "Hmmm, yes. I understand. Thank you for telling me," Moby responded, smiling brightly. ''I guess I was really poor at the time and anything looked really expensive in my eyes. I probably misjudged her when we first met. I thought that she was some rich noble that thought she was better than everyone else but I was dead wrong,'' Moby thought. When they were about to reach the school, Moby reminded Abby of important things they had discussed at Jayden''s house prior. "Remember, you need to conceal your sudden jump in power level at school tomorrow. Also, don''t approach me or talk to me at school to avoid unnecessary drama. If you want tomunicate with me, only use your mind link. Pretend like nothing happened between you and me and act like we are strangers. I understand it might be hard or frustrating but this is for the good of the family. It won''t be like that forever, I promise." Moby said with a smile, putting his hand on Abby''s shoulders. "Of course my lord! I understand! I promise I will try my best to not let you down! Even though it brings great pain to my heart to act cold and heartless towards my saviour, lord and friend, I will endure it all for your sake and for the sake of the family!" Abby replied with a firm resolve. "That''s good to hear," Moby said with a smile. When they reached the school, Moby and Abby immediately split up in hopes of not being caught together. It might cause more unwanted rumours to spread. When Moby reached his room, he was expecting Alex to be there waiting for him to get back to interrogate him like he was his mom. But, when he came in, he was surprised to find Alex and Ray both ying video games on the TV. "Hey! It looks like Moby''s back! Want to join us?" Alex said, holding a controller out to Moby. "Heh, why the fuck not?" Moby said, smiling and grabbing the controller out of Alex''s hand. ************************** The next day, Moby woke up early in the morning like usual and did his daily quest before taking a shower. He assigned his 3 stat points to intelligence raising it from 110 to 113. Then, he spent the rest of his time practicing his "Devil''s Hand" by spinning a book using the index finger of his "Devil''s Hand". He spun it less than one millimetre above his actual finger making it nearly impossible to see that the book was not actually touching his finger when spinning. Then, he left his dorm heading to ss, ignoring the usual death stares. When he entered the ss, he noticed Abby was already there. She looked at him with a cold gaze before looking away, pretending like she didn''t even notice him. ''Damn, she''s good!'' Moby thought, impressed by her acting. As soon as he entered the ss, he could hear a bunch of gossip that he expected to hear. "Yo! Is it just me, or does Abby Ried look a lot hotter today?" "Ya! Your right! What the fuck! She looks so sexy! It''s like all her proportions got even better and her skin looks so silky smooth!" "Did she get stic surgery?" "Didn''t the same thing happen to Jayden Griffith?" "Wait, didn''t she meet up with Jayden Griffeth''s pet yesterday?" "Wait a fucking minute¡­" The entire ss suddenly turned around and looked at Moby who was sitting at the back of the ss with greedy eyes. The Demon transformation has the side effect of making anyone who turns into a demon much more attractive. That is why Abby looked a lot more stunning than usual. ''FUCK! I didn''t want this to happen! I''m so fucking stupid! I should have predicted this!'' Moby thought in turmoil. "I promise you it''s not what you think it is! I don''t have an ability that allows me to do something like that and I''m not a stic surgeon" Moby said, trying his best to make things blow over. "Please do it for me! I''ll pay you $10000" an ugly girl with a big nose spouted from the front of the ss. "I''ll pay $15000!" "Shut up! I''ll pay you $20000 To use your ability on me!" "I bet the Griffiths and the Reids gave him at least 25 grand! So I''ll give 30 grand!" "35 grand!" "Don''t listen to them! I''ll give you 38 grand!" The entire ss erupted into a bidding war. The final bid ended up at $50000. Moby was just sitting in his seat, shocked. He tried his best to tell them that he doesn''t have a stic surgery or a beautification rted ability, but they didn''t listen. ''How did it alle to this?'' He groaned in annoyance. Suddenly, Abby exploded out of her seat in an angry manner. "Everyone just shut up! You know that I am standing right here? I had no such stic surgery or beautification ability done on me! All I did was wear makeup and tighter clothes and people start going wild and throwing assumptions for no reason. I can guarantee you that that weakling over there has no ability at all. Have you seen an ability user have a power level of only 800? No, I bet you haven''t! All I wanted to ask him about is what kind of moves and martial arts he used to defeat me in the tournament. That is all. If you have a problem then take it up with me! If you want to keep ndering my name, go right ahead, but be prepared for what''sing to you!" Abby said with a murderous gaze that sent shivers down everyone''s spine. She was still the strongest one in the ss by far so no one dared go against her word. Everyone in the ss immediately sat down without speaking a word. Most students thought that what Abby said was true, and they were overreacting. It does make sense for her to want to ask him how she was defeated and it made sense that Moby''s power level was way too low to have an ability. So they just dropped the matter. ''Abby¡­ you are my saviour now!'' Moby thought, feeling immense pride at his servant''s actions. Suddenly, Moby heard a screaming voice that seemed almost to the point of tears enter his ears. "I''m SOOO SORRY MY LORD! I PROMISE I DIDN''T MEAN ANY OF WHAT I SAID! I WAS JUST¡­" "Shhhh¡­ it''s ok¡­ of course, I understand. You don''t need to exin yourself. You acted perfectly! You truly saved me! I''m so very proud of you. Keep up the good work!" Moby told her with a soothing voice like a motherforting a crying child. "Th...th...th¡­ thank you for your kind words my lord¡­ I am truly undeserving of such a good¡­ friend¡­" Abby replied, stuttering on almost every word due to her sheer happiness. 1 minuteter, when Professor Leo entered the ss, he was expecting to find the usual loud and rowdy students of his turn quiet as soon as he enters the room. The same as every day. But, he was surprised to find that the ss was even more silent than a funeral. ''What the fuck happened here?'' Leo thought in surprise. ******* Expect itter in the day or at night! Keep your eyes peeled! If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 47: Last Surprise

47 Last Surprise

Leo just taught the ss about even more martial arts techniques which bored Moby to no end. ''When are we going to learn about something useful like magic crystals or magic equipment?'' Moby thought. Moby had just used the ss to train his "Eyes of Sin" under the alias of him taking a nap. Luckily, Jayden''s ss had gone to the arena that day, gaining him 1000 XP thanks to their household bonus. After ss, Moby headed to the roof to have his lunch with Jayden. However, this time, Abby is joining them. Moby and Abby had gone to the roof at different times, making sure that no one saw them. When they both got on to the roof, they started to make some small talk while they waited for Jayden to arrive. "I never knew you were so good at acting, "Moby said, referring to how Abby behaved in the morning before ss. "You tter me my lord¡­ I am only this good because I needed to for the sake of my own survival¡­ Ever since my bitch sister caught me exposing her actions to the shit heads known as my parents, leading me to be tortured by her and scarred for life, I had learned how to properly control my emotions and act in a way as to not anger anyone, trying my best to be as polite as possible. Doing so lessened my punishments because they had fewer excuses to hit me. But, they always somehow found a way to bullshit their way into giving me a beating." "I had been hiding my true emotions for so long that ites almost natural to me at this point," Abby said with an awkward chuckle. "Bring your head up! Think about the future! You speak about soon to be dead people! Think about the positives! You now have a new family that is far better than those shit bags! Plus, I''m sure your acting skills will be very useful for us in the future!" Moby said, trying his best to cheer her up. "My lord, you have been such a blessing to me, the only shining light of my otherwisepletely dark life. You don''t treat me as a servant at all and more as a true friend. A feeling I would have never even believed was possible for someone like me. I am truly grateful," Abby said with a deep bow. "It''s nothing, it''s all because I haveplete trust in you. You have more than proven your loyalty to me thus far," Moby replied with a smile. "I will try my best to live up to your expectations and prove my loyalty even further in the future," Abby replied, still bowing. "By the way, do you know where Jayden is? She is never thiste¡­ Something must have happened to her, " Moby said, in a concerned voice. "I am also quite worried¡­ My lord, I think we should contact her using our mind link, " Abby suggested. "Great idea! let''s contact her now," Moby replied "Yes, I can¡­" Jayden replied like she was trying to hide something. "Where are you now? Are you ok?" Abby asked with clear worry in her voice. "I''mmmm¡­ At the nurse''s office¡­" She replied slowly. "Really! What happened? Are you all alright? I woulde see you if I could but it might cause too much unwanted rumours to spread. I''m sorry for that." Abby added, feeling even more worried than before. "Tell us what happened¡­ is your injury bad?" Moby asked with a serious voice. "IT WAS THAT FUCKING NATALIA XANE! SHE BROKE BOTH MY ARMS, MY LEGS AND MY RIBS DURING PRACTICE WHILE TALKING SHIT THE ENTIRE TIME! I WANTED TO KILL HER SOOOO BADLY YOU ACTUALLY DON''T UNDERSTAND!" "SHE KEPT ON SPEWING A BUNCH OF NONSENSE ABOUT HOW DARE I STEAL HER MAN AND SHIT. LIKE BITCH PLEASE? YOUR MANS WAS PROBABLY ONE OF MY TOILET PAPERS I HAD USED TO WIPE MY ASS WITH, IN THE PAST!" "MY BONES WOULD HAVE ALREADY HEALED LONG AGO DUE TO MY DEMON REGENERATION BUT, THAT WOULD SEEM TOO SUSPICIOUS IF HEALED THAT FAST WITH NO TREATMENT. SO, I AM FORCED TO CONSTANTLY RE-BREAK MY BONES EVERY TIME THEY HEAL TO CAUSE FEWER SUSPICIONS!" "THIS FUCKING NURSE IS TAKING FOREVER TO GET TO ME! IM SO FUCKING ANGRY RIGHT NOW!" Jayden screamed into the mind link as loud as she could. As soon as Jayden finished her long rant, she started to pant really heavily into the mind link, either trying to calm down or catch her breath. Moby tried his best to listen to everything Jayden just let out. One thing she said did catch his attention. "Don''t worry! We will make her pay 1,000,000,000 times harder for what she has done to you! If you can endure for the rest of the month, the payout will be even better! Think of this as an investment to how much shock and suffering that you will cause her in the future!" Moby said, trying his best to look at the positives. "Ya, I guess you''re right¡­" Jayden replied, still in a depressed yet angry tone. "Well, at least we now know what her motivation was for going after you all of a sudden. You must have "used" the boy she liked at some point and she is to try taking revenge on you. It such a stupid and trivial reason for hurting you like that." Moby said in disgust. "That is true, I should have thought of that earlier. My thoughts were too clouded with anger to even realize that. This bitch is really mad at me for using her toilet paper¡­ It''s such a stupid reason. She didn''t even mention the guy''s name for some reason. She always referred to him as, "my man". Jayden said, feeling a bit annoyed at herself for not realizing such a thing sooner. "Well, anyway, I won''t be joining you 2 for lunch or break today so I''ll just stay in the mind link and talk with you guys until the end of break. Oh, and, Moby! After school, I have a surprise waiting for you once you get to my house! I promise you will like it!" Jayden said with a cute chuckle. At that Moment Moby''s head went wild with ideas. He had no idea what she meant by "something fun" but his lower half seemed like it had already made up its mind. Moby tried his best to disregard those thoughts due to him believing that Jayden does not think of him that way. But, he was not able topletely remove the thought from his system. It still lingered at the back of his mind, haunting him. "I''ll be looking forward to it!" Moby replied with a cheerful tone. Abby and Moby told Jayden about what happened with them this morning, how everyone in their ss thought that Moby was a stic surgeon. Jayden startedughing her ass off like crazy, seemingly forgetting about her previously angry state. The 3 talked about the incident for the rest of lunch and break, cracking jokes the whole way. ************************ After school, Moby and Jayden took Jayden''s limousine to her mansion while Abby took a taxi instead. It would be weird if all 3 of them went together. During the entire ride. Moby kept on trying to ask about what her surprise is in a subtle yet obvious way. But, every time he did, she would just reply with. "It''s a secret!" with a cute chuckle, making his previously lingering thoughts try and take a front seat in his brain. When they reached her mansion, Jayden immediately took him to her room. They were all alone. This was not the first time this happened. But, this time. It made Moby''s lustful thinking take the forefront as he became even more excited than before. He tried his best to bury his thoughts once again. But, this time, he was not having as much sess. "I''ll be right back! This will only take a second!" Jayden said as she went into what seemed like a closet. At this point, Moby had given up on resisting. ''Damn you teenage hormones!'' He thought as he felt his bottom half get more excited. Moby was just waiting outside her closet door with anticipation. ''Will this be my first time? Did she actually like me this whole time?'' Moby thought, waiting in anticipation. Suddenly, Jayden walked out of the closet, fully clothed, holding arge suitcase which greatly disappointed Moby. But, his disappointment would notst for long. "You had told me that you had a really good website where you can buy really strong magical equipment, so, I got you some money!" Jayden said, opening the suitcase revealing stacks on stacks of bills. ******* IMPORTANT NOTICE!! As requested, I have made a discord server for the novel! The invite code is: https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 The link can also be found at the bottom of my synopsis. I will try my best to be active there so feel free to join if you want to! Sorry in advance If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 48: Taking The First Step

Chapter 48 - Taking The First Step

Moby was a little sad that his assumption of what the surprise was going to be was wrong. This further proved to him that Jayden does indeed not see him as a sexual partner at all which further depressed Moby. However, Moby has yet to throw in the towel. ''I''ll get her to like me someday¡­'' He thought, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. What is in front of him right now was far more important than his weird fantasies because it is very much real. When Moby saw all the money, his eyeballs nearly popped out of his eye sockets from surprise. He was so excited that he can now finally buy equipment from the shop. It will greatly help them during the exam. "H...h...how much is in here!" Moby eximed. "I think around $100,000," Jayden replied with a smile. "How did you get all that money!? I thought you had already spent all your money on clothes!?" Moby asked. "Well¡­ why don''t you take a look!" Jayden said, pointing at the closet she had juste out of. Moby nodded and slowly approached the room. The room was pitch ck, but, due to Moby''s enhanced vision, he could see as clear as day. But, what he saw was so surprising that he had to turn on the lights just to be sure he wasn''t dreaming. "YOU SOLD ALL YOUR CLOTHES!!" Moby eximed. The room was huge, being almost the size of Jayden''s actual room. It was filled with empty clothes hangers and shelves that lined the entire room. "Wait, why didn''t you just store all your clothes in a storage ring? It would be much easier, " Moby asked. "I wish¡­ My parents only gave me a medium grade dimensional storage ring and it wouldn''t be able to fit even a fraction of my clothes, " She replied with slight annoyance. "Anyways. Did you really sell all your clothes just for me? I thought you loved your clothes and wouldn''t want to lose them for the world?" Moby said with a shocked expression. "I just wanted some of that cool magical equipment you promised! There is nothing more to it!" Jayden said, turning away trying not to show her face. "Also, it''s not even a big deal. None of my clothes give any advantages inbat. I had been experimenting more with my doppelganger powers and I had figured out I can do this." Jayden said, still facing the other direction. Suddenly, Jayden''s school uniform turned into a beautiful long red dress then turning into a casual crop top and jeans before turning back into her student uniform once again. "With this new power. I have no need for all my clothes! I can limit my doppelganger powers to copy and use clothes instead of both clothes and body. This works on any clothes that I have alreadyid eyes on." "It has the same conditions as when I transform into another person or creature. This ability doesn''t copy an equipment''s magical properties and only copies the appearance making it perfect for instantly wearing all my non-magic clothes with but a wave of my hand!" "The clothes cannot be duplicated as they will disappear as soon as they are taken off. This new ability also means I can go shopping without actually using any money! I can just look at something, save it to my memory, and then I can wear it whenever I want, free of charge!" Jayden exined with a smile. "That''s amazing! It''s like you and your demon powers were made for each other!" Moby eximed. ''That''s because they are¡­ a demon transformation answers to a person''s inner desires and personality at the time of their transformation,'' Avilia said. ''Wait¡­ Really!?" Moby replied. ''Yes, didn''t you think of how it was odd that a maniptor who liked to toy with people''s emotions turned into a doppelganger or how a girl who has been alone her whole life, wanted to take on the world all by herself and trusted no one turned into a necromancer, one of the best solo sses with minions to control?'' Avilia exined. ''Shit! That''s true! I should have figured that out long ago!'' Moby said, feeling stupid at himself. ''Wait! If what you said was true¡­ Why did I turn into a regr demon with no specialization? Does that mean I had no personality or desires? That''s impossible! I know my desire was only to get stronger! So why!?'' Moby''s brain went into turmoil. ''I wouldn''t worry too much about it if I were you! All your questions will be answered once you evolve! That''s all I can say without ruining the surprise!'' Avilia said with a cute chuckle. ''Avilia and her surprises¡­ it better be something good'' Moby thought with a sigh, trying his best not to worry about his future. "Sooooo¡­ what do you think of my surprise?" Jayden said, fiddling with her fingers, snapping Moby back into reality. "It''s amazing! The best present I could ask for! I promise to get you something cool!" Moby said, giving Jayden a hug. Moby was still aplete novice when it came to women and matters of love. So, he didn''t know if this is a good or a bad thing to do. He didn''t want to creep her out or overstep his boundaries in fear of ruining their friendship. But, he decided to take the risk anyway seeing that it is the perfect opportunity. He can do so, under giving the excuse that he got a little too excited because of her present. Jayden was very shocked when she saw Moby hugging her. She was not expecting it at all. Her face immediately became flushed red with metaphorical steaming out of each ear. The hug was not very tight and gave off a more gentle and tender feeling that made Jayden almost cry from joy. Moby was unable to see her face as his head was past her shoulder. He was happy to see that he was not immediately pushed away by her. He used his mind link to read her emotions to see how she is feeling, just in case. ''Extremely happy'' he thought. ''I guess that''s a good sign¡­'' Moby nervously thought. This was indeed one of the happiest moments of Jayden''s entire life, probably second to her turning into a demon and meeting Moby. As she was about to hug him back, a sudden knock came from the door. "Hey, Jayden, Lord?! Are you in there? Abby said, using her mind link tomunicate with both of them. Jayden and Moby immediately let go of each other looking away in embarrassment. "Sorry, I got too excited, your present was truly amazing," Moby said, trying his best at damage control. "No, don''t be¡­ it was... nice... I didn''t mind at all," Jayden said, ying with her long dark blue hair. They had both misunderstood each other. Jayden thought that she was overreacting as it was only a friendly hug. She still has many insecurities about her self, fearing that Moby still sees her as a slut or a whore and he would never want to be with her after she had tried to **** him in the past. Moby was still a little disappointed that she did not return his hug and that it did not show up as "aroused" or something along those lines instead of "happy". ''Luckily, she probably only saw that as a friendly hug and nothing more. It probably won''t ruin our rtionship, I''ll win her over... eventually... '' Moby thought, breathing a big sigh of relief. ''MY LORD! ANSWER ME! ARE YOU OK! DID SOMETHING HAPPEN!? ANSWER ME!!'' Abby said in a worried voice using their mind link once again. "I''M BUSTING IN!" "NO, NO, NO, NO! I promise you that I''m fine! I''ll open the door for you right now!" Moby said in a panic. "I''m so d that you''re okay my lord! For a second there I thought that something had happened to you!" Abby said, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. Moby immediately left the closet and opened the door letting Abby inside. When she entered the room and looked at both Jayden''s and Moby''s slightly red faces, she couldn''t help but wonder. "My lord, did I miss something important in my absence?" She asked with curiosity. ******* Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 DONT WORRY! THERE WILL NOT BE A HAREM! PITCH FORKS DOWN! Sorry for the uneventful chapter I promise we are near the start of the next arc I calcted only 4 more chapters until then! Also, im really bad at writing romance plotlines. This is the first time I ever attempt writing something like this. This chapter might seem a little chich¨¦. I''m really sorry and apologize in advance. If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 49: Shopping

49 Shopping

Also! I have made a few changes to the "Novice Demon Katana" and the full set bonus! I have also renamed the "Shop" tab to the "Crafting" tab as it makes more sense! Now, enough with my rambling... **************************************** "Oh ya! Look at this fat stack of loot! We will now be able to get good magical equipment for the exam!" Moby said, showing the suitcase full of money to Abby. "Oh! That is amazing my lord! I have always wanted to try out some magical equipment!" Abby said with excitement. "Don''t we need to deposit this money to the bank? I need to buy some things online with them," Moby asked Jayden. "You see that machine in the corner? It''s linked to my bank ount. All you need to do is ce the money on top of it and the money will be immediately transferred to my ount. I had just recently taken them out of my ount because I thought that physically showing you all the money would be a much cooler reveal to my surprise." Jayden replied. "That''s great! Let''s deposit them all now!" Moby said, holding the suitcase and walking towards the depositing machine. He picked up all the money and ced it on the t white surface of the machine. Then, suddenly, all the money disappeared. Then, a message screen hologram with a notification noise popped up in front of Moby. [ Transfer Complete! ] [ $100,239 has been transferred to your ount ] [ Your ount bnce is now $101,503 ] ''Damn! That''s a lot of money!'' Moby thought with a smile. "By the way, Jayden, how is the video doing?" Moby asked with anticipation. "Are you talking about¡­ "that" video my lord?" Abby said with a chuckle. "The very same!" Moby replied with a smile. Moby and Jayden had already shown the humiliating video to Abby while they were retelling their story to her the day prior, at the mansion. She found the video so hrious to the point of pausing the video every few seconds to roll on the floorughing and hyperventting before hitting y again only for the cycle to repeat. The cyclested for the rest of the video where she finally got the time to properly breathe. It was by far one of the funniest things she had ever witnessed. "It currently has 10 million views and growing!" "That''s great! That should be an extra $10,000. Right?" Moby asked. "That''s fine! 100 grand will be more than enough for what I''m doing!" Moby replied with a smile. "By the way, what is this secret website you speak of? I''m really interested. "Well¡­ I kinda lied¡­ it''s not really a website. I can instantly craft equipment by just having the materials. It''s part of my demon powers. I have a bunch of blueprints of weapons and armour alike in my head that I suddenly received. I am able to instantly craft the equipment in those blueprints when I have the materials in hand. I promise they will be good equipment that costs much cheaper than regr magic equipment of the same strength and quality." Moby exined. Moby still didn''t want to tell his servants about the existence of the system and this is the best excuse he cane up with. Technically, he wasn''t lying to them "That is amazing my lord!" Abby said with a smile. "Wait... if I am a doppelganger, and Abby is a necromancer¡­ Does that mean you are a craftsman!?" Jayden eximed with a chuckle. "Fuck No!" Moby immediately retorted, making herugh. "Anyways, where is yourputer. I need to buy a few materials," Moby asked, ignoring herughs. "It''s in the other corner of the room," Jayden replied, regaining her cool. "If you want to buy materials, go to Qbay.crom, there are always many good prices there. My ount is already logged in so feel free to buy whatever you want." Jayden exined. Moby nodded and went to the bigputer sitting in the corner of the room. He has never seen aputer this advanced in his entire life. As soon as Moby turned on theputer, he immediately went on Qbay and browsed for the best prices for all the materials he needed. To make one full set of novice demon gear including the katana, he needed 19 Naga Scales and 1 Ignuim jewel. The total cost for all those materials ording to the system should be $29,000. On the website, he found that the prices that were listed on the system were not entirely urate, some materials cost more than listed on the system while others cost less. The total ended up being $30,172 instead of the $29,000 he expected to pay. Moby then concluded that the prices listed on the system were all just an estimation of their true value. He needed to notpletely rely on the system''s prices as the market value of certain materials always fluctuated. All items we''re currently in Moby''s cart. He has never done any online shopping so he asked Jayden some things he needed rification on. "So, After I do ce order, how long will it take for the materials to arrive? Moby asked. "It shouldn''t take any more than a few seconds," Jayden replied. "Wait really? How?" Moby asked with a slightly shocked expression. "You see that huge white pad beside theputer? That''s a teleport pad. All the things that you ordered will immediately be transferred there. Normally, your order would be teleported to a delivery service in your area and the package would then arrive in 1 day at most. But! If you''re cool like me and have a teleport pad like this one in your house, your order will be immediately sent straight to the teleport pad instead of the delivery service!" Jayden enthusiastically exined. "Wait? So can people buy personal teleporters in their houses?" Moby asked. "This type of teleporter does not work on living things and ispletely different from the teleporters you can find at teleport stations that teleport humans. Those ones are a lot more expensive than this one and can only be owned by the military, government, and people with special permissions." Jayden replied. "Good to know¡­" Moby said, taking a mental note of what she had told him. When Moby clicked on the "ce Order" button, the teleporter instantly shined a bright light and a huge cardboard box appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The box was fairly lightpared to its huge size. It was fairly easy for Moby to pick up the huge box and ce it in the middle of the room. The box was filled with ck scales that had a hint of purple, and 1 small ck rock. ''The scales must be the Naga Scales and the rock must be the Ignuim jewel. The scales are much bigger and lighter than I expected, '' Moby thought. Naga Scales cane in many different colours. Moby decided to buy purple and ck Naga Scales for his set of equipment toplement his purple "Eyes of Sin". "My lord, don''t take this the wrong way, but, Naga Scales are considered just scraps, they are way too light and weak to be made into any good armour. They are mostly used for decorations instead of armour creation. That''s why they are so cheap, " Abby said, slightly concerned about her master''s decision "It''s ok! When I infuse my demon energy into the armour, it will be much stronger!" Moby replied with a smile. Moby went to the crafting tab of his menu screen and went over to buy the "Novice Demon Shirt". [ Do You Want to Craft a " Novice Demon Shirt"? ] [ Yes ] [ No ] ''Yes,'' Moby thought. [ Please Customize The Appearance Of Your Item ] ''Wait¡­ what the fuck! I can customize how my equipment looks!'' Moby thought in surprise. ''Yes, you can, since you are crafting this, it is only natural that you can pick its appearance. However, the appearance has to look somewhat reasonable to be crafted with the materials you provided. Don''t worry, changing the appearance won''t have any effects on the stats provided.'' Avilia exined. Moby inwardly nodded, understanding everything Avilia had just told him. Moby decided to go with something in-looking as to not make it seem like magic equipment and as to not attract unwanted attention to himself. When Moby finished customizing his " Novice Demon Shirt", 3 Naga Scales suddenly disappeared. Then, a slight purple glow appeared in front of his hands before a ck and purple leather jacket appeared in hands that looked the same as the one he customized. Both Abby and Jayden looked at Moby in surprise, shocked at what they just witnessed. "Thats amazing my lord!" Abby said while enthusiastically pping. "Damn, thats impressive!" Jayden said with her mouth wide open in shock. Moby nodded and smiled back at both Abby and Jayden before saying "There is more toe!" Moby then crafted every single piece of the equipment in quick session, this also included the katana. Naga scales are a very special kind of scales as they can be ground down into a leather or silk-like material. As soon as Moby received all his equipment, he immediately put the armour in his inventory and equipped it on his body in one swift motion. Moby''s new equipment consisted of a tattered deep purple silk-like scarf that wrapped around his neck reaching down to the middle of his back, a ck hooded leather jacket with hits of purple lines and a purple pattern, ck leather gloves that opened up at the fingers, ck leather pants with a deep purple colour that lined the stitching, and finally, ck leather boots that followed the same design as the pants. The boots had apletely ck sole and the top of the boot connected up to his pants, making them seem uniform. (Think of the novel cover but with a little more purple,) The sword was a normal looking ck katana with a purple tip and purple hilt along with a pitch-ck scabbard that wrapped around his waist. He also wore a dull-looking ck ring that wrapped around his right index finger. His armour looked very generic and nd which is exactly what he was going for. The armour''s stats are the following: ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Katana +30 strength +10 Mind Special Effect: +5% attack power per every consecutive hit. (blocked hits also count as long as the attacks are consecutively chained) Cost: 4 Naga Scales (4000 dors) ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Scarf +10 strength +10 endurance Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Shirt +10 endurance +5 strength +5 Agility Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Gloves +10 strength +10 endurance Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Pants +10 endurance +10 agility Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Shoes +10 endurance +10 agility Cost: 3 Naga Scales (3000 dors) ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Ring +30 mind +30 intelligence Cost: 1 Ignuim jewel (10000 dors) ------------------------------------- Full set bonus: Demon based skills and abilities are 5% more potent. ------------------------------------- In total he gained: ------------------------------------- +55 Strength +25 Agility +50 Endurance +30 Intelligence +40 Mind ------------------------------------- This totals to 200 stat points and a +1600 increase in power level since the mind stat does not count towards increasing one''s power level. The equipment also gave a 5% potency bonus to all demon rted skills and abilities which is really useful. After wearing the armour, Moby''s new stats were: ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 21 XP to next level 1,000/10,000 Power Level: 6,080 (4,480 + 1,600) Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 143/143 Demon Energy regeneration: 77 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 176 (121 + 55) Agility: 161 (136 + 25) Endurance: 123 (73 + 50) Intelligence: 143 (113 + 30) Mind: 70 (30 + 40) Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** As soon as Moby wore the armour, he felt like his entire body got lighter. A sudden surge of energy rushed into his body. He felt much stronger than before. Just like he expected. ''I thought that I might gain a new skill in mind or in another stat just like how I gained my "Lesser Mind Control" from getting 30 in mind. Does this mean that I can only gain new skills when my base stats reach the requirement and it does not include my stats with the armour?'' Moby asked Avilia. ''A brilliant deduction! You are indeed correct! I wasn''t nning on telling you about this one but it seems like you figured it out by yourself!'' Avilia said in a proud tone. ''So, my extra points in mind only serve to increase the chances that "Nightmare" is sessful while also increasing the time my enemy is paralyzed. I guess it''s not that bad,'' Moby thought. "So, How do I look?" Moby asked for his friends'' opinions on his new equipment. "It looks really nd. The only thing that kinda looks cool is the ck sword. However, knowing you, I have a feeling like you did this on purpose," Jayden replied. "I would have to agree with Jayden my lord, I know you would want me to be honest and hold nothing back in my criticisms," Abby added. "Perfect! That''s what I was going for!" Moby said with a smile. "Hmmm¡­ That''s pretty smart," Jayden nodded, now understanding Moby''s intentions "Ohhhhh!!! I see!! My lord made his equipment nd on purpose as to not attract too many suspicions! As expected of my lord!" Abby said with a smile. "Your power level increased by 1600! Thats as good as low tier magical equipment!" Jayden eximed as soon as she noticed Moby''s new powerlevel. ''Low tier equipment? Is that supposed to be good?'' Moby thought. "Ummm¡­ is that supposed to be a good thing?" Moby asked with a confused look "YES! Even the lowest quality of low tier equipment usually goes for at least $100,000! If we are able to sell and mass produce this armour, we will be swimming in cash!" Jayden exined. After Moby heard what Jayden said, he could not help but have a greedy look on his face and a big grin from ear to ear. But his ns came to an abrupt halt. ''Sorry to rain on your parade. But, the equipment that you can craft in the crafting tab is demon exclusive armour. They would give no benefits at all to humans making them worthless to sell.'' Avilia exined. As soon as he heard that, Moby''s greed filled thoughts immediately disappeared being reced by immense disappointment. When he told both Abby and Jayden about what Avilia just told him, they both had the same look of disappointment on their face. "Jayden, can you please exin to me all the tiers of magic equipment?" Moby asked. "Sure thing!" She replied enthusiastically. "The tiers go as follows, from weakest to strongest, no tier: 0 - 1,500 power level increase, low tier: 1500-5,000, medium-tier: 5,000-10,000, high tier: 10,000-15,000, god-tier: 15,000+." "medium-tier equipment is the highest level equipment avable that is permitted to be sold to the public while the high and god-tier equipment is reserved for high ranking military personnel, important members of the governments and powerful guilds. High-level medium-tier equipment could be worth billions of dors." Jayden exined. "Wait? What are guilds? This is the first time I heard of such a thing," Moby asked in confusion. "Guilds are a group of people that explore others and hunt magical beasts to sell and make money. Some of the really important guilds even rival the military''s influence in some cases. Most people that graduate with a high power level usually either continue working in the military, work in the government, join a good guild, or create a guild of their own. The low power levels get stuck with the lower end jobs like restaurant workers, taxi drivers, and jobs along those lines," ''Damn! Why did we not learn any of this at school yet? Leo has been teaching martial arts for over a week now. This guild thing sounds really interesting. I might consider creating one once I graduate.'' Moby thought. "Anyways¡­ can you make me a set of gear now! Make it something really cool! Also, instead of a sword, give me 2 daggers!" "My parents were going to send me a pair of low tier equipment for the exam but, I think I''d much rather use yours!" Jayden said, excitedly. "Say less! It shall be done!" Moby replied with a smile. This time, Moby decided to buy ck and deep blue Naga Scales, the same colour as Jayden''s hair instead of purple and ck. He decided to do this in order topliment her blue hair. Moby checked the crafting tab once again, searching for daggers that were within his budget. After a few seconds of searching he finally found this: ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Daggers +30 strength +10 Agility Special Effect: Daggers that are thrown can be immediately teleported back to their owner''s hands. Cost: 4 Naga Scales (4000 dors) ------------------------------------- ''Perfect! Moby thought'' He then created the full set of novice demon equipment including the daggers and gave them straight to Jayden. Jayden immediately put the equipment on by putting them in her storage ring before equipping them onto herself. "WOW! This looks so good! I love this! Thank you so much!" She said, admiring her outfit then smiling at Moby. Jayden wore an elegant deep blue silk scarf that reached down to her knees. She wore a tight blue and ck sleeveless leather that felt really flexible which had an elegant design to it. On her hands, she wore a pair of scaly blue and ck gauntlets that covered her arms up to her elbow. She wore a very short silk dress instead of pants revealing a lot of skin. For footwear, she wore a pair of scaly boots that covered her legs up to her knees. Instead of a in ck ring-like Moby''s, the ring''s jewel is instead imbedded into her right gauntlet giving off the same effect as if she was regrly wearing it. Her weapons were ck daggers with ancient-looking blue runic writing inscribed on each one. The daggers hung around her waist in an elegant looking ck sheath, one on each side. She looked like a true assassin. "I have a surprise for you! Try throwing your daggers!" Moby said with a smile. "Why?" Jayden asked in confusion. "Just trust me!" Moby replied, still smiling. "Fine then!" Jayden said, throwing both daggers at a wall. The daggers just bounced off the wall, leaving a small crack, and then fell on the ground. "Nothing happened?" She said in confusion "Try imagining them teleporting back in your hand," Moby said, still smiling. "Like this?" Jayden said, as both daggers suddenly appeared back in her hands. "WOOOOWWWW!!! That''s crazy! I''ve never seen a weapon that could do this! Is there a limit to this?" Jayden asked with evident surprise in both her face and voice. "Nope, as long as the dagger is out of your hand, you are able to instantly call it back whenever you want without a cost!" Moby replied. "Thank you so much! I''m sure this will be very helpful during the exam!" She said with a cute chuckle. Moby used his inspect skill on Jayden to check her new power level while wearing the armour, ************************** Name: Jayden Griffith Race: Lesser Demon (Doppelganger) Ability: Level 4 Shadow Level: 25 XP: 10,500/15,000 Power Level: 8,470 (6770 + 1700) Hp: 120/120 Mana: 210/210 Demon Energy: 200/210 Strength: 232 (177 + 55) Agility: 247(212 + 35) Endurance: 158 (108 + 50) Intelligence: 210 (180 + 30) Mind: 55 (25 + 30) ************************** "Jayden, I have an important question to ask you, if you were to use your doppelganger powers to change your clothes while you keep the equipment on, will the effects of the armour remain?" Moby asked with immense curiosity. "I have no idea, I''ve never thought of that¡­ let me give it a shot!" Moby thought that the change of clothes is just an appearance change as it will maintain the properties of what she is actually wearing. He is now trying to put his theory to the test. Normally, magic equipment is not allowed at school because it brought with it many uncertainties. That is why all students are forced to wear their student uniform when they are at school or on school premises. The only exception to this rule is during practical exams. The use of storage rings is also forbidden on school premises except for people with explicit permission. The school has a magic crystal that blocks the use of them except for the ones that are authorized. This is to avoid people bringing in things such as bombs or anything dangerous or illegal to school. However, Moby''s inventory still works, despite the crystal being active at all times. If what Moby thinks is true, then Jayden would be able to wear her demon equipment even at school without being noticed or caught. This will give her a huge advantage over others without even being discovered. Even if they examine her equipment, they would only find it to be normal clothes as they do not work on non-demons. "There!" Jayden said, now wearing her student uniform. Moby used his inspect skill on Jayden only to find out that her power level stayed the same as when she was still wearing the demon equipment. ''Da fuck! That''s broken! I wish I could do something like that!'' Moby thought with a hint of jealousy. After he said that, he could hear a small chuckle in his head. probably Aviliaughing at him. Moby exined to Jayden about his strategy of always having her demon equipment on, even at school by using her doppelganger powers. "That''s crazy! How did I not think of that! I''ll be sure to do it! Thanks for the advice leader!" Jayden said with a smile. "Anytime!" He replied. "Ummm¡­ My Lord. Will you be making an equipment set for me as well?" Abby asked nervously. " Of course! I would never leave you out!" Moby said with a smile, trying his best tofort her. "I am very thankful my lord. If possible, make it how you want. It would be an honour to wear something you had made personally for me," She said with a deep bow, "By the way, what kind of weapon are you mostfortable with?" Moby asked. "I have no experience with any kind of weapon my lord, I would love it if you were the one to choose a fitting weapon for me" She replied with an even deeper bow. "Sure thing!" He said, opening his crafting tab once again. He started browsing through the many different weapons he could craft before he stopped on one that really caught his eye. ------------------------------------- Novice Demon Scythe +40 strength Special Effect: 10% of total damage per hit dealt to an enemy will be healed back to the user (10% life steal). Cost: 4 Naga Scales (4000 dors) ------------------------------------- ''What better weapon than a scythe for a necromancer?'' Moby thought with a smile. ''If this ability also works on her minions, she would be able to heal by just killing her own summons! I need to test this outter today when we go to the cemetery,'' Moby thought. Moby bought all the required materials, to craft Abby''s equipment. But, this time, he bought ck and red Naga Scales. Moby thought that the colour red would look good on her, that is why he went with that. Moby created Abby''s new equipment and handed it over to her. She sucked the equipment into her storage ring and immediately equipped it. She only had a low-grade storage ring which can only hold up to 2 meters cubed of storage. She now wore a long hooded, long sleeve ck jacket that went all the way down past her knees. Under it, she wore a small red crop-top along with a small tattered skirt. She wore ck leather gauntlets that connected to her long sleeve jacket. Around her neck, was a short red scarf that went down to her elbow. She wore long ck leggings that reached all the way up to the top of her thighs still leaving a little ce where some skin was exposed. For footwear, she wore ck boots with a subtle firey red pattern on it. The ck novice demon ring looked like an actually fancy ring this time rather than it being in looking like Moby''s. Her scythe was huge, standing at over 6''8 making it a full foot taller than Abby who stood at a respectable 5''8 and over 1 footpared to Jayden who was a full 2 inches shorter than Abby standing at 5''6. The scythe''s handle was super thin but still allowed her to have a sturdy tight grip on it. On therge thick ck de, a few subtle red fiery ents can be found unlike the runic writing found on Jayden''s daggers. She looked like a true personification of death. Her new stats are: ************************** Name: Abby Ried Race: Demon (Necromancer) Ability: Level 4 fire Level: 30 XP: 0/30000 Power Level: 11,000 (9300 + 1700) Hp: 150/150 Mana: 280/280 Demon Energy: 280/280 Strength: 366 (301 + 65) Agility: 233 (208 + 25) Endurance: 211 (161 + 50) Intelligence: 280 (250 + 30) Mind: 80 (50 + 30) ************************** "Ummmm¡­ my lord, I don''t mean to be ungrateful, but¡­ why did you choose the colour red?" She asked nervously like she was slightly ufortable. Due to her experiences with her parents, she started to hate the colour red. The colour that symbolized her family. She was forced to wear her normal red clothes when she was outside because she did not want to rm anyone about anything and it would be weird to see a Ried not wearing red. So, she forced herself to wear it to avoid unnecessary troubles and questions. She had also thought of dying her hair to a colour other than her natural red. But, she would not be able to do it as it would be seen as a clear sign of rebellion towards her family which would not end well for her. "Well¡­ I just thought the colour red looked good on you and fit you well," He replied with a chuckle. "Thank you¡­ my lord¡­ I will take those words to heart," She said with a smile as a single tear was seen flowing down her right eye. ******* Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 50: Field Trip Part 1

50 Field Trip Part 1

"Of course it does! I will tell you what it is when we go on our field tripter today, " Moby replied with a smile. "By the way, I forgot to mention the bonus that this armour set gives. All demon rted abilities and skills are 5% more potent!" ''5% of 70 is 3.5 meaning Jayden can now transform into people while retaining 73.5% strength which is the same as a 26.5% debuff,'' Moby thought, doing quick maths in his head. "This means that your doppelganger power''s debuff is now 26.5% instead of 30%, as the 5 percent potency bonus suggests," "This bonus is not only limited to your transformations. Any demon rted technique will be 5% stronger. This means that even Abby''s summons and minions will be 5% stronger as well," Moby exined. "Really! That''s amazing!"Jayden said, jumping up and down in joy. "As expected of the equipment made by my Lord and future king of all demons," Abby said with a bow. Moby had already used $100,297 out of the original $101,503 leaving him with only $1,206, making him nearly broke once again. However, moby was not at all disappointed, the equipment he had created was all worth it. "Anyways, we should head to the cemetery right away! It''s already 6 pm. It takes over an hour''s drive to get there and we need to make it back before curfew." Moby said. "Sure thing! I''ll call the butler right away! He can drive us there!" Jayden said with a joyful smile. "Are you sure we can trust your butler to do this? We could all just take separate taxis to get there, "? Moby asked Jayden. "Don''t worry! I''ve known my butler for a very long time and I can guarantee you he will not pry into our business. I made him swear that he won''t expose what I do to my parents and I have yet to see him do it. Plus, my limousine is much faster than a taxi. Taxies are slow as fuck being 800kph(500mph) while my limo can go up to 1200kph(750mph)," Jayden exined. "Ok, I will trust your judgement on this one," Moby replied. Jayden pressed a button on the wall of her room. Then, in only a few seconds, the butler came speeding in the room in the blink of an eye. "You called mydy?" The butler asked with a gentlemanly bow. Moby was just looking at the butler in shock. He never thought too much of him before as he thought he was just a weak, regr butler. But, after that disy, Moby was curious to see how strong Jayden''s butler truly was. Moby used his "inspect" skill on the butler only to be shocked even more than he was before. ************ Name: ?? Race: ?? Ability: ?? Power Level: ?? Hp: ?? Mana: ?? Strength: ?? Agility: ?? Endurance: ?? Intelligence: ?? Mind: ?? ''What the fuck! That old man is that strong??'' Moby thought in shock. This has only happened to Moby when he tried to use his "inspect" skill on any of the teachers at school. This also included professor Leo. Moby concluded that all the teachers were probably really high ranking officers in the military, making them extremely strong. And, he concluded that his "inspect" skill that was only at level 2 was too low-level to sense people that are much stronger than him. But, he did not expect the butler to be on the same level of strength as the school professors. While Moby and Abby looked at the butler, both in shock, Jayden looked normal as if nothing special happened. ''I need to ask her more about him in the future,'' Moby thought. The butler escorted the 3 to the limousine and drove them to the country Z cemetery. The country Z cemetery was the biggest cemetery out of all the 26 countries since that is the city the Shalkers first attacked. The graveyard consisted of a field filled with the graves of over 100 million dead soldiers and civilians who were conscripted or died during the war. The graveyard was in a field spanned multiple kilometres and it had white neatly rowed graves farther than the eyes can see. It was literally an ocean of graves. The big size of the cemetery was a huge advantage for them, making it nearly impossible for them to be caught if they were cautious. They just needed to find a ce away from the drivingnes of cars and away from anyone else who is visiting the cemetery. Additionally, Moby and his servants are demons allowing them to have enhanced senses, which also included night vision. So, they will also be masked by the darkness of the night, where they can see everything and everyone whoes near while others could not say the same. The government did not allow people to bury expensive things along with the deceased in order to remove cases of grave robbing as the government and military do not guard the cemetery due to its sheer size and, unimportance in the grand scheme of things. The only people who would dig up graves are those into necrophilia or for some petty revenge which are very rare cases that have likely never happened. People had no reason to go to the cemetery other than to visit their dead friends and rtives. Except for Moby... It was Exactly 7 pm when they reached the huge cemetery. The night has started to set giving them the perfect cover, just like Moby wanted. Jayden ordered her butler to remain on standby until they came back. She had told her butler that they were going to visit the graves of Moby''s parents as a cover story of what they were actually doing. Of course, it was a lie. Moby''s parents did not have a grave. They were officially listed as "missing in action". Their bodies were never found and they were never given a proper grave or funeral as no one cared about them enough to hold one. Not even the Dojo disciples. Moby was the only one that grieved for their deaths. The group went into the cemetery and ran towards the farther edge where no cars could be found and was the farthest to reach on foot. It was most likely the most secluded area in the cemetery. They ran at a decently good speed that still allowed them to be as quiet as a mouse. On their way there, they saw many people grieving and crying on graves of those who were most likely their loved ones. Seeing them reminded Moby of his dead parents. The feeling onlysted for a few seconds before he shook his head and told himself to focus on the task at hand. It took them roughly 15 minutes of running to reach the edge of the cemetery like they wanted. When they arrived, Moby used his enhanced vision to scout around them, looking to see if there is anyone in the area. He even used his " Eyes of Sin" which even further enhanced his eyesight, just to be sure. Luckily, there was no one in the region for many kilometres making it safe for them to proceed with their experiments. Moby went over to a random grave and told Abby to summon a zombie from it. The name on the grave was "Tray Louis" "Try summoning a zombie using this grave," Moby told Abby, using their mind link. "As you wish my lord," Abby said, walking towards the grave. She lifted her hands out, as a purple glow enveloped them that could only be seen when using "energy sense". A small rustling sound could be heard from the grave as a green rotted hand erupted out of the dirt before apletely rotted, hairless, naked body burst from the ground. The face looked unrecognizable and their private parts were non-existent. To normal people, this would be a very disturbing sight, more than worthy enough for them to be traumatized for the rest of their lives. Luckily, Moby, Jayden, and Abby were not normal people, so they were not disturbed in the slightest. The zombie was just standing there motionless giving out a small " uhhhhhhhhggg" sound that can be barely heard if not for their advanced hearing. After Abby finished, she looked really tired and out of breath, falling on one knee and heavily panting. "Wow! That''s pretty cool!" Jayden eximed, nodding with approval. "I agree, you did well," Moby said with a smile, putting his hand on her shoulder. ''Now, I want to test this theory that has been killing me ever since yesterday, '' Moby thought. Suddenly, the zombie that was standing in front of them disappeared in thin air seemingly out of nowhere. "What the hell! Where did the zombie go! It just disappeared!" Jayden cried out in shock, as she looked around to see if they were being watched, only to find out that they werepletely alone. "I''m so sorry my lord¡­ it seems like it was a failure¡­" Abby said in a sad tone. Moby had arge devilish grin that covered his face from ear to ear. ''Sess!!'' ************ Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 +1,000,000,000 points to the first person who correctly guesses what just happened! If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 51: Field Trip Part 2

Chapter 51 - Field Trip Part 2

Moby''s theory was simple. If his inventory was able to store anything as long as it is not living, then the same should apply to the undead as well. Luckily, his n worked out sessfully, the undead was safely transported into his inventory. ''I''m impressed that you found that out all by yourself. Ever since dimensional magic was discovered, even before my reign as the first demon lord, Necromancers have exploited that loophole to their advantage. ''Before dimensional magic, Necromancers were always forced to drag their undead army with them wherever they go, as they were not able to store them at home due to the maximum range that they were allowed to be from their undead and, they would bepletely defenceless and an easy target without their undead''s protection. Also, dragging around an army of undead where ever you go does attract a lot of attention and makes you really stand out no matter where you go. That is why necromancers were seen as very weak and impractical as they were looked down upon for a very long time by most of the other sses.'' ''Then, when my young self wayyyy before my reign as demon lord and uniting all the demon tribes under one kingdom, discovered dimensional magic, allowing me to store anything I want in a separate pocket dimension. That is what your inventory really is. By doing this, I indirectly allowed necromancers to have a convenient way to effortlessly store all their undead, removing one of their biggest weaknesses. This elevated the status of necromancers as one of the strongest sses among demons.'' Avilia exined. ''Your story sounds really interesting... I''m now really curious about your life and adventures leading up to you uniting the demon tribes into one kingdom and bing the first demon lord. Also, I need to know more about theher realm as I will be most likely going there sometime in the future.'' Moby said. ''I''ll tell you once you pass your exam. Consider it as a celebration present and a motivation to do well!'' Avilia replied with a mental smile. ''I''ll take you up on that offer!'' Moby replied, returning a smile back to her. ''Now, I just need to test out a few things before I can truly celebrate my discovery,'' Moby thought The first, and most important thing Moby needed to test is if the undead will still exist when he lets them out of his inventory. He immediately took the zombie out of his inventory. The zombie instantly appeared out of nowhere in front of Moby, shocking both Jayden and Abby. ''Test 1 is a sess!'' Moby thought as he could hear the zombies low volume "uurrgghhh". "What the hell! It''s back!" They both eximed in shock. Before their surprised faces turned into panic, Moby exined to them what he had done. "So, you used your dimensional magic that can store things as long as they are not living to store the zombie allowing you to be safely transported anywhere you want with no hassle?" Jayden said. "Yeah, pretty much," Moby replied with a nod. "Soooo¡­ I didn''t fail in my summoning?" Abby muttered. "Of course not! You did it perfectly," Moby replied, trying tofort her. "Thank you for your kind words, my lord," Abby said, lifting her head. "Now, let me try this out¡­" Moby said, now trying to use his dimensional storage ring to store the zombie. The zombie immediately disappeared, now being sucked into his ring. ''Sess!'' Moby thought once again. Moby was ecstatic. If he is able to store an army of undead in a ring and send it to someone like the trojan horse strategy, he would be able to effortlessly sneak attack an unsuspecting enemy. Also, Abby would be able to dispel all her undead once the deed is over, leaving behind no evidence as long as there are no witnesses or cameras. And, the best part is, they would not be able to connect the murder back to them in any way! The n is almost full proof if done properly! There are only a few downsides. First, Abby must be within 20km of the attack since her undead are not able to function or exist beyond that range. Second, If the attack was unsessful, either the target escapes or finds out the contents of the ring, or if there is a witness that escapes, or if it was caught on camera, it would cause a huge uproar all over the nation. Third, andst is that the dimensional rings cost a small fortune and it would cost a lot of money to do. If Moby were to try this, he would need to find a way for the target to not immediately be able to check the contents of the ring. And, make sure that there is no chance of them escaping or surviving, with no witnesses or camera''s in the area. This makes the strategy very situational. ''It would be funny if someone stole my dimensional ring on for an army of undead to spawn on him, eating him alive,'' Moby thought with a chuckle. However, being able to store undead in the storage rings was not entirely a good thing, a double edge sword. If other people are able to suck the zombies into their rings as well, then it would make Abby''s ability pretty much useless. Moby needed to know if just anyone was able to store Abby''s undead in their dimensional storage or if he was only allowed to do it because he is her master. Moby released the zombie back out of the ring and told Jayden to try to store it in her''s. "Jayden, try to store this undead in your ring. And, Abby, for now, think that Jayden does not have permission to store your undead." Moby told both of them. They both nodded as they did as they were told. In the end, it turned out that Jayden was not able to store Jayden''s undead in her ring. But, after Moby told Abby to allow Jayden to store her undead, the storage ring worked once again. ''Perfect!'' Moby thought. Jayden released the zombie from the storage ring back out in front of them. Moby used his inspect skill on the zombie to examine its strength. ************************** Basic Zombie Warrior Space Worth: 1 Power Level: 1800 Hp: 100/100 (regeneration 0.5hp/second) Strength: 70 Agility: 35 Endurance: 75 Intelligence: 10 Mind: 0 ************************** ''That''s pretty decent¡­ Avilia said that Abby is currently able to summon 20 spaces worth of undead, since a zombie is worth 1 space, allowing her to summon a maximum of 20, this means that the stronger summons must be worth more spaces.'' Moby thought. ''Time to test out her weapon¡­'' "Abby, can you please make a cut on your hand for me?" At first, Abby was a little confused about why Moby would ask such a thing. He has never told her to harm herself in the past even when she offered to break her own arm. It seemed a little out of character. But, she shook off her suspicions knowing that her lord must have a good reason, and even if he didn''t she should justply anyways. She had just gotten so used to Moby treating her like a friend that those thoughts popped into her mind without even thinking, almost like it was a natural reaction. ''I will not falter ever again!'' She swore to herself once again. ''I know my lord definitely has a theory or n in mind he wants to test out!'' Abby thought. "At yourmand my lord!" She said with a deep bow and a firm resolve. Abby pulled her huge scythe out of her storage ring and made a decentlyrge cut on her right palm. "Now, attack your zombie using your scythe. Make sure to not use your full power, as to not kill it," Moby added. "As youmand my lord!" Abby said, swinging herrge scythe towards her zombie, leaving arge hole in his stomach. Suddenly, she noticed that therge cut she had caused herself had already been healed. ''Sess again!'' Moby thought in celebration. After Abby noticed her healed hand, she understood the reason why her lord ordered her to do what she did and what the ability of her scythe was. ''I knew it! My lord is indeed the kindest and smartest! My scythe most likely has a life-stealing ability and my lord was testing my loyalty to see if I will falter!'' She mused. Suddenly Jayden noticed that the hole that was previously in the zombie''s stomach was filling back up at a speed visible to the naked eye. "What the fuck! That zombie has super healing!" she eximed. ''It looks like zombies can regenerate back to full hp, even after being dealt a fatal blow. As long as they have at least 1 hp remaining, they can still regenerate," Moby thought, taking a mental note. After Moby exined to Abby why he did what he did, he asked her to try and summon a skeleton now instead of a zombie. "Can you try to summon a skeleton now?" Moby asked Abby. "I''m sorry my lord, I don''t think I have enough demon energy to do that¡­" She replied. Moby used his inspect skill on Abby to check how much demon energy she had left. [ Demon Energy: 102/280 ] ''It seems like a zombie costs around 200 demon energy and the extra 22 she gained from her natural regeneration,'' Moby concluded. "Use nature''s stimtion to regain your demon energy then try again," Moby said to Abby. "Right away, my lord!" She said, closing her eyes and performing nature''s stimtion. After 5 minutes, She had finally finished and is now ready to summon another undead. She went over to a random grave as she lifted her hands out as a purple glow covered them. Then, like before, a rustling sound came out of the grave before a hand sprouted out of the dirt. But, unlike the rotted hand they sawst time, it was now a skeletal one instead. Then, before long, an entire perfect human skeleton erupted out of the ground. The skeleton waspletely white with some scratches and dirt covering its body. It stood at 5''10 probably the same size as the human of the grave this undead belonged to. "Cool!" Jayden said, nodding in approval. "Perfect! Great work!" Moby said, putting his hand on the exhausted Abby''s right shoulder. Moby used his inspect skill to check the skeleton''s stats,paring it to the zombie to see who is the superior summon. ************************** Basic Skeleton Warrior Space Worth: 1 Power Level: 2000 Hp: 75/75 (regeneration 0.1hp/second) Strength: 75 Agility: 85 Endurance: 30 Intelligence: 10 Mind: 0 ************************** At first nce, Moby noticed many differences. skeleton''s had a higher power level but they lost out on 0.4hp/seconds of regeneration and on 25 total hp, giving them a maximum hp of 75 instead of the zombie''s 100. Zombies were used more as slow defensive tanks that could still deal a lot of damage due to their low agility, high regeneration, hp, attack, and endurance while skeletons are more of an offensive ss cannon due to their high strength and agility and their low hp and hp regeneration. Both of them were worth 1 space as they each had their own advantages. An undead hybrid army consisting of both skeletons and zombies would most likely be the best army build-up but Moby is still not yet 100% sure. "Hey, Moby. the time is already 9:30, I suggest we head back and continue another time," Jayden suggested. Moby nodded and stored both undead creatures into his inventory. He could not risk them being in a ring because if the ring had to be checked or examined for some reason, they would be in massive trouble. Moby exined to both his servants why he is keeping the undead in his inventory and promised to teach them how to use dimensional magic in the future. It would most likely not be unlimited storage like his but, it would still be very helpful. It would allow them to use the dimensional storage on school property and in restricted zones while also removing the risk that their ring might be searched or examined. Moby, Jayden and Abby cleaned the graves and fixed the dirt, taking their time to do a good job. It was almost like they were never even there. Then they left the cemetery as quickly and stealthily as they arrived, making sure they were not seen or followed. They met up with the butler who drove them back to Jayden''s mansion. The group just made small talk and cracked jokes their whole way home. In the eyes of the butler, they looked very weird because none of them were talking but he could see slight chuckles and changes in facial expressions every now and then. They reached Jayden''s mansion at around 11:20 pm. Moby and Abby said goodbye to Jayden as they both headed back to school in the limousine with the butler. It was 11:55 pm when Moby finally arrived at his dorm. He opened the door to find the familiar sight of both Alex and Ray ying video games. "I''ve been ying a lottely! I''ve pretty much mastered every track! Think you can still beat me?" Alex said, handing a controller to Moby with apetitive look in his eyes. "I''m still better than both of you," Ray added, trying his best to smile. "You''re on!" Moby replied with a smile, grabbing the controller. ******************** I think this will be the end of the first volume! The next chapter will be a new volume and a new arc! There will be a 1 month time skip all the way to the exam! I won''t bore you with useless filler! I hope you are as hyped as I am! <3 I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter! Join the discord! (sorry, the link expired because I forgot to put it on unlimited but this one should work!) https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 50: Field Trip Part 1

50 Field Trip Part 1

"Of course it does! I will tell you what it is when we go on our field tripter today, " Moby replied with a smile. "By the way, I forgot to mention the bonus that this armour set gives. All demon rted abilities and skills are 5% more potent!" ''5% of 70 is 3.5 meaning Jayden can now transform into people while retaining 73.5% strength which is the same as a 26.5% debuff,'' Moby thought, doing quick maths in his head. "This means that your doppelganger power''s debuff is now 26.5% instead of 30%, as the 5 percent potency bonus suggests," "This bonus is not only limited to your transformations. Any demon rted technique will be 5% stronger. This means that even Abby''s summons and minions will be 5% stronger as well," Moby exined. "Really! That''s amazing!"Jayden said, jumping up and down in joy. "As expected of the equipment made by my Lord and future king of all demons," Abby said with a bow. Moby had already used $100,297 out of the original $101,503 leaving him with only $1,206, making him nearly broke once again. However, moby was not at all disappointed, the equipment he had created was all worth it. "Anyways, we should head to the cemetery right away! It''s already 6 pm. It takes over an hour''s drive to get there and we need to make it back before curfew." Moby said. "Sure thing! I''ll call the butler right away! He can drive us there!" Jayden said with a joyful smile. "Are you sure we can trust your butler to do this? We could all just take separate taxis to get there, "? Moby asked Jayden. "Don''t worry! I''ve known my butler for a very long time and I can guarantee you he will not pry into our business. I made him swear that he won''t expose what I do to my parents and I have yet to see him do it. Plus, my limousine is much faster than a taxi. Taxies are slow as fuck being 800kph(500mph) while my limo can go up to 1200kph(750mph)," Jayden exined. "Ok, I will trust your judgement on this one," Moby replied. Jayden pressed a button on the wall of her room. Then, in only a few seconds, the butler came speeding in the room in the blink of an eye. "You called mydy?" The butler asked with a gentlemanly bow. Moby was just looking at the butler in shock. He never thought too much of him before as he thought he was just a weak, regr butler. But, after that disy, Moby was curious to see how strong Jayden''s butler truly was. Moby used his "inspect" skill on the butler only to be shocked even more than he was before. ************ Name: ?? Race: ?? Ability: ?? Power Level: ?? Hp: ?? Mana: ?? Strength: ?? Agility: ?? Endurance: ?? Intelligence: ?? Mind: ?? ''What the fuck! That old man is that strong??'' Moby thought in shock. This has only happened to Moby when he tried to use his "inspect" skill on any of the teachers at school. This also included professor Leo. Moby concluded that all the teachers were probably really high ranking officers in the military, making them extremely strong. And, he concluded that his "inspect" skill that was only at level 2 was too low-level to sense people that are much stronger than him. But, he did not expect the butler to be on the same level of strength as the school professors. While Moby and Abby looked at the butler, both in shock, Jayden looked normal as if nothing special happened. ''I need to ask her more about him in the future,'' Moby thought. The butler escorted the 3 to the limousine and drove them to the country Z cemetery. The country Z cemetery was the biggest cemetery out of all the 26 countries since that is the city the Shalkers first attacked. The graveyard consisted of a field filled with the graves of over 100 million dead soldiers and civilians who were conscripted or died during the war. The graveyard was in a field spanned multiple kilometres and it had white neatly rowed graves farther than the eyes can see. It was literally an ocean of graves. The big size of the cemetery was a huge advantage for them, making it nearly impossible for them to be caught if they were cautious. They just needed to find a ce away from the drivingnes of cars and away from anyone else who is visiting the cemetery. Additionally, Moby and his servants are demons allowing them to have enhanced senses, which also included night vision. So, they will also be masked by the darkness of the night, where they can see everything and everyone whoes near while others could not say the same. The government did not allow people to bury expensive things along with the deceased in order to remove cases of grave robbing as the government and military do not guard the cemetery due to its sheer size and, unimportance in the grand scheme of things. The only people who would dig up graves are those into necrophilia or for some petty revenge which are very rare cases that have likely never happened. People had no reason to go to the cemetery other than to visit their dead friends and rtives. Except for Moby... It was Exactly 7 pm when they reached the huge cemetery. The night has started to set giving them the perfect cover, just like Moby wanted. Jayden ordered her butler to remain on standby until they came back. She had told her butler that they were going to visit the graves of Moby''s parents as a cover story of what they were actually doing. Of course, it was a lie. Moby''s parents did not have a grave. They were officially listed as "missing in action". Their bodies were never found and they were never given a proper grave or funeral as no one cared about them enough to hold one. Not even the Dojo disciples. Moby was the only one that grieved for their deaths. The group went into the cemetery and ran towards the farther edge where no cars could be found and was the farthest to reach on foot. It was most likely the most secluded area in the cemetery. They ran at a decently good speed that still allowed them to be as quiet as a mouse. On their way there, they saw many people grieving and crying on graves of those who were most likely their loved ones. Seeing them reminded Moby of his dead parents. The feeling onlysted for a few seconds before he shook his head and told himself to focus on the task at hand. It took them roughly 15 minutes of running to reach the edge of the cemetery like they wanted. When they arrived, Moby used his enhanced vision to scout around them, looking to see if there is anyone in the area. He even used his " Eyes of Sin" which even further enhanced his eyesight, just to be sure. Luckily, there was no one in the region for many kilometres making it safe for them to proceed with their experiments. Moby went over to a random grave and told Abby to summon a zombie from it. The name on the grave was "Tray Louis" "Try summoning a zombie using this grave," Moby told Abby, using their mind link. "As you wish my lord," Abby said, walking towards the grave. She lifted her hands out, as a purple glow enveloped them that could only be seen when using "energy sense". A small rustling sound could be heard from the grave as a green rotted hand erupted out of the dirt before apletely rotted, hairless, naked body burst from the ground. The face looked unrecognizable and their private parts were non-existent. To normal people, this would be a very disturbing sight, more than worthy enough for them to be traumatized for the rest of their lives. Luckily, Moby, Jayden, and Abby were not normal people, so they were not disturbed in the slightest. The zombie was just standing there motionless giving out a small " uhhhhhhhhggg" sound that can be barely heard if not for their advanced hearing. After Abby finished, she looked really tired and out of breath, falling on one knee and heavily panting. "Wow! That''s pretty cool!" Jayden eximed, nodding with approval. "I agree, you did well," Moby said with a smile, putting his hand on her shoulder. ''Now, I want to test this theory that has been killing me ever since yesterday, '' Moby thought. Suddenly, the zombie that was standing in front of them disappeared in thin air seemingly out of nowhere. "What the hell! Where did the zombie go! It just disappeared!" Jayden cried out in shock, as she looked around to see if they were being watched, only to find out that they werepletely alone. "I''m so sorry my lord¡­ it seems like it was a failure¡­" Abby said in a sad tone. Moby had arge devilish grin that covered his face from ear to ear. ''Sess!!'' ************ Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 +1,000,000,000 points to the first person who correctly guesses what just happened! If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 51: Field Trip Part 2

Chapter 51 - Field Trip Part 2

Moby''s theory was simple. If his inventory was able to store anything as long as it is not living, then the same should apply to the undead as well. Luckily, his n worked out sessfully, the undead was safely transported into his inventory. ''I''m impressed that you found that out all by yourself. Ever since dimensional magic was discovered, even before my reign as the first demon lord, Necromancers have exploited that loophole to their advantage. ''Before dimensional magic, Necromancers were always forced to drag their undead army with them wherever they go, as they were not able to store them at home due to the maximum range that they were allowed to be from their undead and, they would bepletely defenceless and an easy target without their undead''s protection. Also, dragging around an army of undead where ever you go does attract a lot of attention and makes you really stand out no matter where you go. That is why necromancers were seen as very weak and impractical as they were looked down upon for a very long time by most of the other sses.'' ''Then, when my young self wayyyy before my reign as demon lord and uniting all the demon tribes under one kingdom, discovered dimensional magic, allowing me to store anything I want in a separate pocket dimension. That is what your inventory really is. By doing this, I indirectly allowed necromancers to have a convenient way to effortlessly store all their undead, removing one of their biggest weaknesses. This elevated the status of necromancers as one of the strongest sses among demons.'' Avilia exined. ''Your story sounds really interesting... I''m now really curious about your life and adventures leading up to you uniting the demon tribes into one kingdom and bing the first demon lord. Also, I need to know more about theher realm as I will be most likely going there sometime in the future.'' Moby said. ''I''ll tell you once you pass your exam. Consider it as a celebration present and a motivation to do well!'' Avilia replied with a mental smile. ''I''ll take you up on that offer!'' Moby replied, returning a smile back to her. ''Now, I just need to test out a few things before I can truly celebrate my discovery,'' Moby thought The first, and most important thing Moby needed to test is if the undead will still exist when he lets them out of his inventory. He immediately took the zombie out of his inventory. The zombie instantly appeared out of nowhere in front of Moby, shocking both Jayden and Abby. ''Test 1 is a sess!'' Moby thought as he could hear the zombies low volume "uurrgghhh". "What the hell! It''s back!" They both eximed in shock. Before their surprised faces turned into panic, Moby exined to them what he had done. "So, you used your dimensional magic that can store things as long as they are not living to store the zombie allowing you to be safely transported anywhere you want with no hassle?" Jayden said. "Yeah, pretty much," Moby replied with a nod. "Soooo¡­ I didn''t fail in my summoning?" Abby muttered. "Of course not! You did it perfectly," Moby replied, trying tofort her. "Thank you for your kind words, my lord," Abby said, lifting her head. "Now, let me try this out¡­" Moby said, now trying to use his dimensional storage ring to store the zombie. The zombie immediately disappeared, now being sucked into his ring. ''Sess!'' Moby thought once again. Moby was ecstatic. If he is able to store an army of undead in a ring and send it to someone like the trojan horse strategy, he would be able to effortlessly sneak attack an unsuspecting enemy. Also, Abby would be able to dispel all her undead once the deed is over, leaving behind no evidence as long as there are no witnesses or cameras. And, the best part is, they would not be able to connect the murder back to them in any way! The n is almost full proof if done properly! There are only a few downsides. First, Abby must be within 20km of the attack since her undead are not able to function or exist beyond that range. Second, If the attack was unsessful, either the target escapes or finds out the contents of the ring, or if there is a witness that escapes, or if it was caught on camera, it would cause a huge uproar all over the nation. Third, andst is that the dimensional rings cost a small fortune and it would cost a lot of money to do. If Moby were to try this, he would need to find a way for the target to not immediately be able to check the contents of the ring. And, make sure that there is no chance of them escaping or surviving, with no witnesses or camera''s in the area. This makes the strategy very situational. ''It would be funny if someone stole my dimensional ring on for an army of undead to spawn on him, eating him alive,'' Moby thought with a chuckle. However, being able to store undead in the storage rings was not entirely a good thing, a double edge sword. If other people are able to suck the zombies into their rings as well, then it would make Abby''s ability pretty much useless. Moby needed to know if just anyone was able to store Abby''s undead in their dimensional storage or if he was only allowed to do it because he is her master. Moby released the zombie back out of the ring and told Jayden to try to store it in her''s. "Jayden, try to store this undead in your ring. And, Abby, for now, think that Jayden does not have permission to store your undead." Moby told both of them. They both nodded as they did as they were told. In the end, it turned out that Jayden was not able to store Jayden''s undead in her ring. But, after Moby told Abby to allow Jayden to store her undead, the storage ring worked once again. ''Perfect!'' Moby thought. Jayden released the zombie from the storage ring back out in front of them. Moby used his inspect skill on the zombie to examine its strength. ************************** Basic Zombie Warrior Space Worth: 1 Power Level: 1800 Hp: 100/100 (regeneration 0.5hp/second) Strength: 70 Agility: 35 Endurance: 75 Intelligence: 10 Mind: 0 ************************** ''That''s pretty decent¡­ Avilia said that Abby is currently able to summon 20 spaces worth of undead, since a zombie is worth 1 space, allowing her to summon a maximum of 20, this means that the stronger summons must be worth more spaces.'' Moby thought. ''Time to test out her weapon¡­'' "Abby, can you please make a cut on your hand for me?" At first, Abby was a little confused about why Moby would ask such a thing. He has never told her to harm herself in the past even when she offered to break her own arm. It seemed a little out of character. But, she shook off her suspicions knowing that her lord must have a good reason, and even if he didn''t she should justply anyways. She had just gotten so used to Moby treating her like a friend that those thoughts popped into her mind without even thinking, almost like it was a natural reaction. ''I will not falter ever again!'' She swore to herself once again. ''I know my lord definitely has a theory or n in mind he wants to test out!'' Abby thought. "At yourmand my lord!" She said with a deep bow and a firm resolve. Abby pulled her huge scythe out of her storage ring and made a decentlyrge cut on her right palm. "Now, attack your zombie using your scythe. Make sure to not use your full power, as to not kill it," Moby added. "As youmand my lord!" Abby said, swinging herrge scythe towards her zombie, leaving arge hole in his stomach. Suddenly, she noticed that therge cut she had caused herself had already been healed. ''Sess again!'' Moby thought in celebration. After Abby noticed her healed hand, she understood the reason why her lord ordered her to do what she did and what the ability of her scythe was. ''I knew it! My lord is indeed the kindest and smartest! My scythe most likely has a life-stealing ability and my lord was testing my loyalty to see if I will falter!'' She mused. Suddenly Jayden noticed that the hole that was previously in the zombie''s stomach was filling back up at a speed visible to the naked eye. "What the fuck! That zombie has super healing!" she eximed. ''It looks like zombies can regenerate back to full hp, even after being dealt a fatal blow. As long as they have at least 1 hp remaining, they can still regenerate," Moby thought, taking a mental note. After Moby exined to Abby why he did what he did, he asked her to try and summon a skeleton now instead of a zombie. "Can you try to summon a skeleton now?" Moby asked Abby. "I''m sorry my lord, I don''t think I have enough demon energy to do that¡­" She replied. Moby used his inspect skill on Abby to check how much demon energy she had left. [ Demon Energy: 102/280 ] ''It seems like a zombie costs around 200 demon energy and the extra 22 she gained from her natural regeneration,'' Moby concluded. "Use nature''s stimtion to regain your demon energy then try again," Moby said to Abby. "Right away, my lord!" She said, closing her eyes and performing nature''s stimtion. After 5 minutes, She had finally finished and is now ready to summon another undead. She went over to a random grave as she lifted her hands out as a purple glow covered them. Then, like before, a rustling sound came out of the grave before a hand sprouted out of the dirt. But, unlike the rotted hand they sawst time, it was now a skeletal one instead. Then, before long, an entire perfect human skeleton erupted out of the ground. The skeleton waspletely white with some scratches and dirt covering its body. It stood at 5''10 probably the same size as the human of the grave this undead belonged to. "Cool!" Jayden said, nodding in approval. "Perfect! Great work!" Moby said, putting his hand on the exhausted Abby''s right shoulder. Moby used his inspect skill to check the skeleton''s stats,paring it to the zombie to see who is the superior summon. ************************** Basic Skeleton Warrior Space Worth: 1 Power Level: 2000 Hp: 75/75 (regeneration 0.1hp/second) Strength: 75 Agility: 85 Endurance: 30 Intelligence: 10 Mind: 0 ************************** At first nce, Moby noticed many differences. skeleton''s had a higher power level but they lost out on 0.4hp/seconds of regeneration and on 25 total hp, giving them a maximum hp of 75 instead of the zombie''s 100. Zombies were used more as slow defensive tanks that could still deal a lot of damage due to their low agility, high regeneration, hp, attack, and endurance while skeletons are more of an offensive ss cannon due to their high strength and agility and their low hp and hp regeneration. Both of them were worth 1 space as they each had their own advantages. An undead hybrid army consisting of both skeletons and zombies would most likely be the best army build-up but Moby is still not yet 100% sure. "Hey, Moby. the time is already 9:30, I suggest we head back and continue another time," Jayden suggested. Moby nodded and stored both undead creatures into his inventory. He could not risk them being in a ring because if the ring had to be checked or examined for some reason, they would be in massive trouble. Moby exined to both his servants why he is keeping the undead in his inventory and promised to teach them how to use dimensional magic in the future. It would most likely not be unlimited storage like his but, it would still be very helpful. It would allow them to use the dimensional storage on school property and in restricted zones while also removing the risk that their ring might be searched or examined. Moby, Jayden and Abby cleaned the graves and fixed the dirt, taking their time to do a good job. It was almost like they were never even there. Then they left the cemetery as quickly and stealthily as they arrived, making sure they were not seen or followed. They met up with the butler who drove them back to Jayden''s mansion. The group just made small talk and cracked jokes their whole way home. In the eyes of the butler, they looked very weird because none of them were talking but he could see slight chuckles and changes in facial expressions every now and then. They reached Jayden''s mansion at around 11:20 pm. Moby and Abby said goodbye to Jayden as they both headed back to school in the limousine with the butler. It was 11:55 pm when Moby finally arrived at his dorm. He opened the door to find the familiar sight of both Alex and Ray ying video games. "I''ve been ying a lottely! I''ve pretty much mastered every track! Think you can still beat me?" Alex said, handing a controller to Moby with apetitive look in his eyes. "I''m still better than both of you," Ray added, trying his best to smile. "You''re on!" Moby replied with a smile, grabbing the controller. ******************** I think this will be the end of the first volume! The next chapter will be a new volume and a new arc! There will be a 1 month time skip all the way to the exam! I won''t bore you with useless filler! I hope you are as hyped as I am! <3 I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter! Join the discord! (sorry, the link expired because I forgot to put it on unlimited but this one should work!) https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 52: Time Skip

52 Time Skip

33 days, over 1 month has passed since Moby and his servants first visited the country Z cemetery. Students had no school on Saturdays and Sundays allowing them to have the day off. It was the day before the first exam for the first-year students. Moby had been impatiently waiting and preparing for that day for a very long time. Due to all the practice matches that he had in professor Leo''s ss, he had levelled up 7 times to level 28. The ss had finally started weapon training which allowed Abby to greatly improve her skills with the scythe. Of course, Moby was still at the top of the ss in terms of abilitylessbat. Thanks to Moby''s enhanced senses, he always heard his ssmates talk about how they will beat the shit out of him when the ability practice starts, which made Moby inwardly chuckle while thinking, ''Well¡­ they can try!'' Moby had wanted to get to level 30 in order to achieve his evolution before the exam. But sadly, he was not able to. His current stats(including his armour) are: ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Lesser Demon Level: 28 XP to next level 7,000/18,000 Power Level: 7,770 (6,170 + 1,600) Hp: 120/120 Demon Energy: 183 /183 Demon Energy regeneration: 92 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 216 (161 + 55) Agility: 231 (206 + 25) Endurance: 142 (92 + 50) Intelligence: 183 (153 + 30) Mind: 70 (30 + 40) Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** Moby had increased his power level by 1690 over the past month. He had gained a total of 169 stat points,?70 from levelling up, and 99 from doing his daily quest. He assigned his stat points as follows: Strength - 40 Agility - 70 Endurance - 19 Intelligence - 40 He has finally caught up to Jayden in terms of level. But, her power level was still higher than his, most likely due to her ability. Jayden''s current stats are: ************************** Name: Jayden Griffith Race: Lesser Demon (Doppelganger) Ability: Level 4 Shadow Level: 28 XP: 11,500/18,000 Power Level: 9,110 (7410 + 1700) Hp: 120/120 Mana: 226 /226 Demon Energy: 226/226 Strength: 244 (189 + 55) Agility: 268(233 + 35) Endurance: 163 (113 + 50) Intelligence: 226 (190 + 30) Mind: 55 (25 + 30) ************************** Abby had only levelled up once due to her having a much higher requirement to level up of 30,000 XP. She still acted very knight-like and chivalrous when she talked to Moby, even when he suggested that she should maybe loosen up. ************************** Name: Abby Ried Race: Demon (Necromancer) Ability: Level 4 fire Level: 31 XP: 12100/31000 Power Level: 11,220 (9520 + 1700) Hp: 150/150 Mana: 282 /282 Demon Energy: 282 /282 Strength: 377 (312 + 65) Agility: 246 (221 + 25) Endurance: 217 (167+ 50) Intelligence: 282 (252 + 30) Mind: 80 (50 + 30) ************************** Moby had been training his skills every day whenever he got the chance. Moby trained all of his skills but he mostly focused on his "Eyes of Sin", "Demon sh", and "Devil''s Hand" skills. He managed to level up his "Demon sh" and?"Eyes of Sin" one time while also levelling up "Nature''s stimtion" In the process of training. Sadly, "Devil''s hand" and the rest of his skills have yet to level up. But, he feels like he is getting close. The descriptions of his upgraded skills go as follows: ************************** Eyes of Sin [Level 2] Special eyes only possessed by those of the demon race. All senses are greatly increased, especially vision and perception. Allows the user to see 0.1 seconds in the future. Increases all stats by 12% Cost: 2 Demon Energy/Second ************************** Demon sh [Level 2] Focuses Demon Energy into the user''s leg and does a short dash at immense speed. Effect: increases speed by 2x Range: 1.5 meters Cost: 12 Demon Energy ************************** Skill name: Nature''s Stimtion [ Level 2 ] By gathering the energy in the air and directing it in his body, the user can replenish his demon energy and mana back to full. The user must be standingpletely still and requiresplete focus. The process can not be interrupted or else the skill will be cancelled. Time to activate: 4 minutes ************************** Many things have changed after his skills levelled up. For his "Eyes of Sin" Instead of only improving his vision and perception, it now also increases the rest of his senses. Also, the 10% stat increase has now improved to 12% instead. The cost of the skill remained the same at 2 demon energy/second, allowing him to use it for 91.5 seconds when his demon energy is full and he does not use any other demon energy-consuming skill. His demon sh had a more and straight forward increase. The speed went up from 1.5x to 2x speed and the range increased from 1 metre to 1.5 meters. The only downside is that the skill now costs 12 demon energy instead of 8. This made sense to Moby as more powerful skills should cost more energy to use. This gave him more of an incentive to increase his intelligence as he will need a lot of demon energy if he ns to level up his skills further. Thest skill to level up was his "Nature''s Stimtion" which lowered his time to activate from 5 minutes to 4 minutes. This change is very important and made Moby really excited as he can now more quickly and efficiently level up his skills. Also, there is a chance that he might have to use this skill as a way to replenish his energy after a retreat or battle. While using the skill, Moby is leftpletely defenceless making it a huge risk. So the lower the activation time, the more viable the skill will be in that type of situation. Jayden had been giving the weekly $4000 she received from her parents all to Moby giving him a total of $16,000 over the past month. He still did not have enough money for any better equipment so he decided to save it up until he needs it. Moby, Jayden, and Abby have made many trips to the cemetery in order to create an army of undead. In total, Abby created 9 zombies, 9 skeletons, and 2 wisps, that will be used for scouting. They had also discovered that wisps were not able to fly in the rain, making them useless in that type of environment and weather. Also, after some more experiments with Abby''s undead, Moby found out that it costs demon energy every time her minions regenerate. The cost was 1 demon energy for 5 hp of regeneration. This made a lot of sense to him as he was really confused when he previously thought that her undead were able to regenerate an unlimited about of times which was too good to be true and most likely broke many fundamentalws of the world. Moby had also taught both Abby and Jayden the use of dimensional magic, allowing them to use a dimensional pocket space equivalent to a medium-grade dimensional ring (5m^3). The situation between Natalia and Jayden had gotten even worse during the past month. Jayden had almost died multiple times during practice, only living due to her demon regeneration and the demon equipment that she disguised under her normal clothes. She seemedpletely crazy and obsessed about the boy that Jayden stole from her to the point that itpletely distorted her, or so it seemed from her actions. Jayden had almost snapped and attempted to kill her on multiple asions. But, she somehow always kept her emotions bottled up for the sake of Moby, the demon family and for the sake of her revenge. Every time Moby and Abby heard Jayden''s stories of what Natalia had done to her, they would somehow get even angrier every time, vowing to make her regret the day she was born. For some reason, over the past month, Alex had stopped acting like a mom, always asking about what Jayden did to him. Instead, he acted as a kind-hearted person that has yet to show him any signs of hostility. Ray had started to develop a little more emotion and he became slightly less socially awkward. Only a little. He had proven himself to Alex and Moby as a smart inventor and a seemingly trustworthy guy. Moby had found himself spending more time than usual ying video games with Alex and Ray, even sometimes going to the movies. At first, Moby was really reluctant to spend time with them, as he has yet topletely trust them, always finding excuses on why he couldn''t go. But, they always insisted that he shoulde, and one day, he ran out of excuses. Moby had his guard up at all times when he was around Alex and Ray. Even if they had done nothing to suggest they might turn on him. His past experiences with people always crawled into his mind, increasing his paranoia, not allowing him to let his guard down. He eventually loosened up a little, allowing himself to let go of a bit of his paranoia, in turns, allowing himself to enjoy his time with them. He honestly liked to spend time with them and hoped deep down that they are trustworthy and genuine. Moby woke up 10 am in the morning, muchter than he usually does. He had no school today and he had been training non-stop for a month straight. So, Moby decided to give himself a few extra hours of sleep to feel more refreshed. When he woke up in the morning, he saw the unfamiliar sight of both Alex and Ray already awake. Moby would always wake up a few hours before them to train and do his daily quest so seeing them awake before him was a first for him. It seemed like they were both wearing their casual clothes like they were ready to go somewhere. "Moby! You''re finally awake! We were just going to the amusement park that was newly built yesterday! Do you want to join us! We have all been training very hard for tomorrow''s exam and I think it would be healthy to have a break from it all and have some fun! So? You in?" Alex asked with a smile. Moby had no ns of meeting up with Jayden or Abby today as they have already discussed their ns for the exam. ''I had nned to spend the entire day training but a break doesn''t sound too bad. It''s not like I''m gonna level up or lose a level on one of my skills,'' Moby thought. "I''m in! I''ll be ready in a sec!" Moby said with a smile, jumping out of his top bunk bed. ******* Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 53: Amusement Park Part 1

53 Amusement Park Part 1

"Wo! This ce is huge!" Ray said with a monotone voice, his mouth open in shock. "Where should we go first? The huge roller coaster to space? Or Maybe the drop to the core of the earth!" Alex said in excitement. "I think we should get our tickets first instead," Moby said with a chuckle. "Hehehe¡­ of course!" Alex said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. The 3 boys stood in line for over 30 minutes to finally buy their tickets. Each ticket costs $50, the exact amount that the school gave to students every day. "The line in front of the Astral Coaster and the Molten Drop are really long¡­ are you sure you guys still wanna go¡­" Ray nervously asked. "Let''s save those ones forst! I think we should go to explore the rest of the park and wait for the line to shorten a little," Moby replied. "Good call! Let''s go to the haunted house! There is barely a line over there!" Alex suggested. "Ummmm¡­ let''s not¡­" Moby said with an awkward smile. "I''m in," Ray said with a monotone voice. "What? Are you scared?" Alex teased. "No, it''s not that it''s just¡­" "Stop being such a party pooper ande!" Alex interrupted Moby, dragging him into one of the seats. The entire ride was really impressive. It waspletely dark and used realistic 3d holograms to project jump scares, ugly scenes and monsters and demons seen only in fiction. Of course, the reason that Moby did not want to go on the ride wasn''t that he was scared, It was because he had night vision, allowing him to see everything clear as day, including all the uing jump-scares. And, even if that was not the case, Moby doubted that there would be anything in the amusement park that would be able to scare him even in the slightest. For the entire ride, Moby just sat down admiring the technology and design of the ride, Ray was sitting down with an emotionless face, seemingly unfazed by all the jump scares, while Alex screamed a bit after every jump scare, followed up by an awkward chuckle. Sometimes, Using his enhanced hearing, Moby heard Alex mumble under his breath, "There are no demons in country Z¡­ There are no demons in country Z¡­ There are no demons in country Z..." Almost like he was trying to hypnotize himself, which made Moby inwardly chuckle. After the ride, Moby stretched out his stiff shoulders as he left through the back exit of the ride. "That was so boring. Why did you even suggest that?" Ray said with a yawn. "Fax, that was a waste of time, at least the technology was pretty cool to look at," Moby replied in a tired voice. "Ya! Pffffff!! That was for babies!" Alex said in a confident tone. This then led to both Moby and Ray staring daggers into Alex''s eyes with an implied and underlying, "Bruh, you for real?" The time was 3:52 pm when they had finished. They did not find any other rides that interesting other than the Astral Coaster and the Molten Drop. So, they decided to go to a restaurant to eat dinner before they lined up behind one of the seemingly never-ending lines of both rides. They needed the energy if they wanted to stand for hours just for one ride, especially since Alex and Ray''s stomachs were both empty from their earlier ride. They chose to take a seat on the many tables outside the restaurant as it provided a much better atmosphere than the inside. "I need to go take a dump! I''ll be back in a sec! Our food should be here shortly!" Alex said running towards the bathroom. "What a goof am I right!" Moby said with a chuckle. "Yes, indeed," Ray said with a genuine-lookingugh which stunned Moby for a bit. ''This is the first sign of real emotions I have seen from him. That''s good to see,'' Moby thought. "Ray, you''re a smart techy guy, right? Don''t you find all the technologies and how they are used to make the rides in this amusement park fascinating," Moby asked, trying to start up a conversation. "Ya, I guess¡­" He replied, ying with one of the cutting knives like it was a pencil. "Why are you so unenthusiastic? I thought you loved science?" Moby asked in confusion. "To tell you the truth, I was the one who invented all those gravity and impact resistant technologies and many other inventions that helped create this amusement park back when I was in the 5th grade¡­" Ray casually responded. "Wait! What the hell! You invented most of this? Why aren''t you famous or anything?" Moby asked. "The thing is, I never got any credit for any of this¡­ Back in the fifth grade, like any naive child that discovered something new, I showed my discovery to my science teacher. He seemed really excited and proud of me at the time. However, now I know that he was just faking it. Spoiler alert, my teacher quit his job only a few dayster and proposed my discoveries to the media and became rich and famous. I was heartbroken¡­ even if I had proof that I was the inventor, nobody would believe a child like me invented such things¡­So, instead of losing hope and be depressed, I tried to prove myself to the world once again! I knew I coulde up with something just as good or even better. I spent all my time researching and studying in the pursuit of a greater and more revolutionary invention. I shut myself away from the world. I was too focused on proving myself to focus on anything else" "In the end¡­ I WAS AN ABSOLUTE FAILURE! NOTHING I DID WORKED!! I WORKED DAY AND NIGHT FOR YEARS ONLY TO ONCE AGAIN PROVE MY FAILURE! I KEPT ON SEEING THAT FUCKING TEACHER OF MINE ON THOSE DAMN INTERVIEWS BRAGGING ABOUT HIS "GENIUS". IT MADE MY BLOOD BOIL EVERY FUCKING TIME!!!" "I became that weird kid at school that no one wanted to associate with. Even when I tried to make friends, they always stayed away from me. I was never bullied or hurt in any way. But, people would not even acknowledge my existence. Eventually, I ended up locking away my emotions, spending most of my time inside ying video games. I lied to you on the first day we met telling you that I just got bored because I was too smart¡­ What fucking bullshit was I spouting? I was so excited to have roommates that might actually acknowledge my existence that I was scared to ruin our rtionship with my selfish problems," "The past month that I spent with you and Alex have been no exaggeration the best time of my life. I''m so happy I met you guys¡­ You guys are the best friends I could have ever wished for¡­ I''m so sorry I lied to you¡­ I hope that you can forgive me¡­ I''m sorry for dropping all this on you all of a sudden, I just needed to get it off my chest and tell you the truth¡­ It''s the least I could do..." Ray said, tears filling his eyes and more emotional than Moby had ever seen him. After hearing Ray''s story, Moby''s brain was spinning in high gear trying toprehend what Ray just told him. "You don''t have to apologize about anything¡­ I can''t say I understand exactly how you feel. But, believe me when I tell you I have felt immense pain and suffering in my past. I will stay with you as long as you want. Not because I feel bad for you or pity you¡­ it''s because you''re a genuinely good guy to be around and a great friend," Moby said with a? bright smile. This is one of the few times that Moby was not pretending or hiding his true emotions. He has known Ray long enough to know that what he said was sincere. He empathized with Ray and he genuinely did like him as a person. Suddenly Alex came back from the washroom and sat back down in his seat, startling both Ray and Moby. "Woooo boy!! That was hrious! When I was taking a shit, there was someone moaning like a weirdo in the next stall can you believe it! He kept on saying shit like "Please go down I''m begging you" while moaning every, like 10 seconds! I couldn''t stopughing!" Alex said with a heartyugh. "Hmmm?? Did I miss something important?" Alex said, looking at both Moby and Ray in confusion. ******* IMPORTANT NOTICE!! (Shout out to Horny_Donald for letting me know!) Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 54: Amusement Park Part 2 Chapter 54 - Amusement Park Part 2 After Alex came, Ray chose to share his story with him as well, making him outraged. "What the hell! That''s bullshit!" Alex blurted, drawing the attention of everyone in the tables near them. "Two reasons, for that asshole teacher of yours that stole your hard work," "And for thinking that Moby and I will stop being friends with you if we found out the truth!" "Of course we will still be your friends!" "We are friends and nothing will change that!" "Ray. Being in yourpany is always really fun and exciting!" "You can tell me absolutely anything at any time and I would be more than willing to listen!" "I''m sure Moby thinks the same!" Moby nodded at Alex, agreeing with his statement. "Ray. I know you''re a really smart guy! I have no doubt in my mind that you will discover a new and revolutionary invention and get back at that asshole teacher of yours! It hurts my brain and my very being that a guy like him is still roaming on this earth without a care in the world!" "If you need any help! Just let us know and we would be more than willing!" Alex said, wrapping his arm around Moby''s shoulders. "Thanks you guys¡­ I promise I will not disappoint... You guys are truly a blessing... " Ray said, wiping the tears off his face. "I''m d to hear that," Alex said with a radiant smile. Moby thought that Alex''s words were a bit too over the top and sappy. But, he would be lying if he said that he didn''t agree with every word. "Your food is here sirs! So, which one of you ordered the BigKrip burger, chicken nuggets, medium fries and c?" said the waiter, holding 3 tes of food. "Oooo! That''s me!" Alex said, taking the food. "Who ordered thesagna andva cake for dessert?" "Me sir!" Ray answered with a smile, that made both Moby and Alex inwardly cheer and nod in approval. "Lastly, who ordered the 2rge shawarma, yogurt drink and tabouleh sd?" "That would be me!" Moby said raising his hand. "I hope you guys enjoy your meal," the waiter said with a bow, then quickly walked away. "Dang! The food looks blessed! Let''s dig in!" Alex said, taking a big bite of his burger. "Mmmm¡­ your right. This food really is blessed," Ray said, taking a bite of hissagna ''If the food was actually blessed, I wouldn''t be able to eat it," Moby thought with a chuckle. ********************************* 30 minutester¡­ "Shiiiitttttt!! I''m full!" Alex said, tapping his stomach. "That was delicious," Ray said with an awkward smile. ''It seems like he''s still notpletely used to smiling and using a lot of emotions. But, I''m sure he''ll get there very soon," Moby thought with a smile. "Guys! Look! I think the line in front of the Astral Coaster got a bit shorter!" "We should now only wait for a little over an hour in line instead of a few hours," Moby said with an awkward chuckle. "Good enough for me," Ray answered with a small chuckle, "Ya! We should get there before the line gets longer again! I''ll save a spot for us in the line!" Alex said, bolting out of his seat with lightning speed as he appeared at the back of the line only a split secondter. Both Ray and Moby looked at the small figure of Alex in the distance with eyes of amazement. However, they were both shocked (pun intended) for different reasons. Ray was not able to keep up with what happened at all, being stunned by Alex''s speed. However, using his enhanced vision, Moby was able to catch everything that Alex did. ''What the fuck! He surrounded himself by an aura of lightning before dashing towards the line! Then, he used quick short steps and dashes to meticulously dodge the crowded streets like he was speedrunning an obstacle course! He must have done some insane training to get to this point!'' Moby thought in surprise. After a few minutes of walking, Moby and Ray found that there were a lot of people that lined up behind Alex. If it weren''t for him saving a spot for them in line, they would have no doubt had to wait for at least a few more hours for a turn on the ride. When Moby and Ray were heading towards Alex to line up next to him, a big harry hand came onto Ray''s shoulder, stopping him. "Hey, kid! No cutting in line! Take another step and I''ll shove my fist up your ass!" A big burly man said. The man was extremely fat, pale-faced, and tall, standing a staggering 6''7 tall (and most likely wide as well), nearly a foot taller than Ray. He looked like the human equivalent of a chode. He had long messy brown hair that looked flea-infested alongside an unkempt neckbeard that had what looked like an ocean of frosted kes. He had tattoos covering most of his arms with edgy things like skulls, knives and guns. He wore a white shirt that looked very wet around his chest and armpit, Most likely due to a mixture of excessive sweat and ack of deodorant. ''Fuck! Ray''s sleeve slipt and he is now showing his watch!'' Moby thought. The school required all students to be wearing the watch they provided at all times, never allowing them to take it off on any circumstances, this also included weekends. Moby and Ray always hid their power level under their sleeves to avoid unnecessary trouble. Most people don''t provoke others in public because they are unsure who they are messing with as that person might be stronger than them. However, when you have a watch that disys your power level, it removes that risk entirely, giving stronger people the green light to do whatever they wanted to them. "Ummm¡­ I''m sorry¡­ but my friend is saving me a spot right over there," Ray said with an expressionless face pointing towards where Alex is, before putting his hands in his pockets. "Seems like you got some attitude kid! Talking to me like that! I guess I''ll have to teach you some manners!" The man said, throwing a punch towards the seemingly defenceless Ray. Moby didn''t know what to do. He wanted to protect Ray. But, at the same time, he didn''t want to expose his real power. "Lesser Mind Control" would take too long to cast and "Nightmare" will make it too obvious that he did something. Then, a genius idea came into his head. Suddenly, The man''s pants and underwear fell down in one swift motion, exposing his putrid chode to the hundreds of passersby. Moby had used his "Devils Hand" to make it seem like his pants slipped in a way that looked as natural as possible. He would not be able to punch him using it as that would also risk exposing his power. This is the safest bet for him. ''Damn... He looks like a chode and he has a chode! Double Trouble! Hopefully, he just gets really embarrassed and walks off in shame'' Moby thought with a chuckle. The man''s face becamepletely red. Everyone around him wasughing their ass off like crazy, some even got the chance to sh a picture. The immediately pulled up his pants. But, instead of walking away in embarrassment like Moby nned, he immediately went for another attack on Ray. "YOU FUCKER!! YOU MUST HAVE USED YOUR ABILITY TO DO THAT ON ME!! I''LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!" The man said, hurling an even more powerful punch towards Ray''s face. ''FUCK!! I miscalcted! This man is aplete psycho!!'' Moby inwardly cursed. Suddenly, a vast, suffocating killing intent enveloped the entire area, startling everyone around. Then, a massive zap of lightning erupted from behind the man. Then an arm was seen holding him from the shoulder, making him stop his punch towards Ray. "I fucking dare you to say that again," Alex said in an ominous tone, staring piercing daggers into the man''s eyes while also tightening his grip on his shoulder. All the people who were previouslyughing suddenly became silent due to all of Alex''s killing intent, some even found it harder to breathe. "Heh, you heard me! I said I''m going to kill that cunt over there!" The man replied without hesitation. ''This confirms it, that man really is crazy¡­ I''ve never seen Alex so mad before about anything. It almost reminds me of that day with professor Leo, but this time, it''s on a much smaller scale,'' Moby thought. ''Heh, this kid doesn''t understand that I have a strength-enhancing ability! I''ll break his arm like a twig! Then I will watch as he falls on the ground and begs for mercy, only for me to beat the shit out of him in front of all these people!'' The man thought with a chuckle. However, when he tried to move Alex''s hand, it would not even budge in the slightest. ''WHAT THE FUCK!! HOW STRONG IS THIS KID!!" The man thought in turmoil. "You asked for it¡­" Alex said, putting even more pressure on the man''s shoulder making the giant bend down on one knee. "FUCK!!! YOU BROKE MY SHOULDER!!" The man screamed out in pain. "I''m sorry! I was wrong! Please have mercy! I promise it was just a joke! If you let me go¡­ I''ll pay you goo¡­" Suddenly, the man was punched in the face with the force of a bullet train sending him crashing towards a wall that regenerated only a few secondster. "Disgusting¡­" Alex said, spitting on the ground, clearing his mouth. ************ Guys, I''m so sorry for making this amusement park mini-arc so long... I only nned for it to be 2 chapters but it looks like It''s now going into a third. I Just hope you guys are enjoying them and don''t mind the wait for the exam. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! <3 Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 55: Amusement Park Part 3

55 Amusement Park Part 3

"Ya¡­ but, you know you didn''t have to do that¡­" Ray said, bringing his hand out of his pocket revealing a ck metallic glove on his right hand. "I had it all under control," Ray said as 5 strings extended from each finger. "It''s my newest invention. It''s a really strong, thin metallic string that extends from each finger of my glove. If you look really closely, you can see that each string is rapidly vibrating. I made them vibrate in order to add more power and make it more durable. I''ve been practicing quite a lot with this in my free time. I can control the strings using my weak telekinesis allowing me to do some really cool things. I was nning on wrapping my string around his arm, breaking it before he got the chance to hit me. But, I guess you beat me to it," Ray said with a chuckle, moving the threads of string in the air using his telekinesis. Suddenly, after Ray finished his exnation, Alex could not help but startughing out loud. "Hahahahhaaha! Bro! That''s awesome! If I knew that, I would have just spectated and watched you do your thing! It just makes my blood boil every time I see someone getting bullied or oppressed for no reason at all. I guess I acted a little too hasty, " Alex said, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah ah. You don''t need to apologize" Ray said, shaking his head. "I appreciate your help. It''sforting to know that you have my back, " Ray said with a smile. Moby''s head was spinning in confusion trying to take in everything that just happened. "Oh, and Moby. I know you were trying your best to help. But, with your level of power, it would be impossible. So, don''t even worry about it," Ray said with a smile. Moby nodded at Ray with a smile trying to hide his inner turmoil. He understood that Ray had good intentions with his words. ''What the fuck! I''ve never seen Alex so mad about anything in my life! And, I never knew Ray was such a savage. He just casually talked about breaking that man''s arm! Maybe they are not as pure and innocent as I thought,''Moby thought. "By, the way. Is that man still alive? Don''t get me wrong, I don''t really care much for him at all. I just don''t want you to get into any unnecessary trouble," Ray asked. "Don''t worry. He''s still alive..." "Barely," Alex added with a chuckle. "Anyways, we should get back into the line, I asked the girl that was behind me to save me my spot," Alex said. "Nice thinking!" Moby replied. After a few seconds of walking, they finally reached where Alex once was. "Hey, Thank you for saving a spot for me and my friends! I really appreciate it!" Alex said. "No problem! No problem at all!" The girl replied with a smile. The 3 boys were still really far back at the end of the line, It would still take at least an hour to an hour and a half for them to finally get a turn on the ride. After 20 minutes of waiting, Moby noticed a pattern. The line would move every 10 minutes. Moby used this opportunity toplete his daily quest and train his "Eyes of Sin" while he waited as it was the only skill that he could train without drawing too much attention. He told Alex and Ray that he was really tired and needed a little nap as an excuse for why he''s doing what he''s doing. ''Even at moments like this you still think about training. Imend you. Maybe you really are the biggest training junkie,'' Avilia thought with a chuckle. ****************************** 1 hourter¡­ Suddenly, while Moby was recovering his energy using "Nature''s Stimtion" he felt a little nudge tug onto his right hand, throwing off his focus, as a result, cancelling his skill. ''FUCK! 5 more damn seconds and I would have finished! This is the second time something like this happened to me! Who the fuck did that!'' Moby inwardly cursed. Then, Moby turned around only to find the brown-haired girl tugging on his right sleeve. "Ummm¡­ Hey¡­ I''m so sorry for bothering you¡­ But, I just wanted to tell you that¡­" "I really like you and think your amazing!" She said, holding tightly onto Moby''s arm. Moby inwardly cringed at what he just heard, pulling his arm away from her grasp. "Ummm¡­ I''m sorry¡­ Do I know you? Have we ever met before?" Moby said with a poker face, trying to hide his disgust. "Ummm, ya. I go to the same school as you," She said, showing the back of her watch which didn''t allow Moby to see her power level. "We have never met or talked before, but I really admire and like you. I heard about all your achievements, how you are a really kind and hardworking person. How you managed to be the strongest person in your ss in terms of abilitylessbat despite yourck of ability." She said with a flushed red face. Moby looked behind him to notice if Alex and Ray were listening in on their conversation. They were definitely not paying attention to their conversation. Sadly, both of them looked really bored, tapping away at their phone with earbuds in. ''Shit, it would have been nice if they saved me here, I have no demon energy, even if I wanted to do something, I can''t.'' Moby thought. "I heard that that bitch Jayden Griffith forced you into being her pet. I heard that she abuses and rapes you on the daily. It''s disgusting, " The girl said in an angry tone. "Wouldn''t it be better¡­" "If she was" "Dead," The girl asked in an ominous tone. "You got it all wrong, it''s honestly not as bad as you think, and of course it would not be better if she were dead, " Moby said in a serious tone hiding his inner rage and disgust. Moby wouldn''t even dream about killing Jayden. Even if it was a joke. When he heard her talk about killing her, it was like a blood vessel burst from his head. Every fibre of his being was telling him to kill the girl right in front of him. But, somehow, he managed to control himself. Hismon sense would not allow him too. Moby could not expose his true power in this situation. And, even if he could, he had no demon energy to do so. All he could do now is find out more information about the girl in front of him and keep an eye on her to see if she does anything shady or attempts anything on Jayden. Moby didn''t want to kill her with no evidence on what she did or ns to do. He did not want to kill or torture people that have not fucked with him in any way, which at this point was very few. If he did, he would be no better than all those bullies and assholes that tortured him in the past. Like, Nathan... First, he tried to identify her by using his inspect skill only to find that it would give him only question marks. ''What the fuck! Either she has an item that allows her to conceal her identity, or she is just really strong!'' Moby thought in turmoil. ''So, if the cheating way won''t get it done, then I will have to try the old fashioned approach," he thought. "Ummmm¡­ what''s your name? It seems like you already know mine, it''s only fair you tell me yours," Moby asked with a smile. "Sorry¡­ I can''t really give you my name right now¡­ But, we are in the same year and we are both in thebat division. I''m sure we will meet soon enough. Then, I will tell you my name, " The girl said, putting both her hands on her cheeks, trying to hide their beet red colour. "But¡­ If you agree to go home with me today and spend time with me¡­ Then I''ll tell you everything you want¡­" She said with a smile, holding tightly to Moby''s right arm. "I promise it''s not what you think¡­ I''m not that kind of girl¡­ I just want to get to know you better¡­" She nervously said, her face still as red as a tomato. "Hey! Back off! Stop touching me! I don''t want to go with you!" Moby said, trying to move her hand. But, he was too weak to do so while not using his full power. ''Fuck! This bitch is crazy!'' Moby inwardly cursed. Suddenly, Alex came up behind Moby, ripping the girl''s arms away from him. "He said stop, didn''t he?" Alex said in a serious tone. "Hey! Stop butting in! This has nothing to do with you!" She screamed. "Like hell it does, you''re sexually harassing and trying to forcefully seduce my friend," Alex replied. "CAN YOU EVEN CALL YOUR SELF HIS FRIEND! HE''S BEING RAPED AND ABUSED BY A PSYCHO EVERYDAY AND YOU ARE DOING NOTHING TO STOP IT!" She screamed like a lunatic. Alex bit his lower lip after hearing what she said. "I have learned to trust in my friend''s words and judgement! I''m not aplete lunatic like you!" Alex retorted. Suddenly, a distortion in the fabric of time and space could be seen around the girl. It was almost like she was ready to fight right now. "If you want to fight, I''m notpletely against it. But, if we were, I would like a more secluded ce. If we were to fight here, we would both be in big trouble. Plus, I don''t want to hurt any civilians in the crossfire." Alex said, activating his lightning aura. "Agreed, " Ray said, now with 2 ck metal gloves with floating strings, one on each hand. "FINE! I''ll let you have your victory for now¡­" She said in an angry tone. "Can the next people pleasee on the ride! We are epting 100 people!" A ride operator said from the front of the line. For the next few seconds, as the ride was letting in new people. The girl looked really angry yet really sad at the same time. Her face waspletely red and drops of tears could be seen falling underneath her sses every now and then. Of course, Moby felt absolutely no sympathy for her at all. "96" "97" "98" "99" "100," The ride operator said, pointing at Moby letting him in the ride. "Sorry about that, you will have to wait for the next ride, " He said to the girl that was standing behind Moby. ''I promise that I will save you from that bitch whore Jayden Griffith''s evil clutches my love! Wait for me!'' She thought with a red face and a firm resolve. ''Thank Satan! If I was forced to be stuck with that bitch for any longer than I had to, I would have lost my fucking mind,'' Moby thought in relief. "Thanks for the assist back there, I really appreciate it, " Moby thanked both Alex and Ray. "No problem! Anytime bro!" Alex responded with a smile. "Same," Ray nodded. As they went up the stairs to finally be on the ride, they were amazed at how big it was when they got up close. It was at least 100 metres in length. The roller coaster floated on the air just like all the cars. Around it was a tube made out of air that was used to elerate its movements allowing it to reach all the way to space in only a few minutes. The tube also served as a protective barrier to safeguard the riders from the immense speed and possible debris while also providing a steady source of oxygen. The 3 boys sat in thest row of the coaster and put on their safety gear and seat belt. Luckily, each row consisted of 3 seats except for the first one which had only 1 seat that was reserved for VIP. "Liftoff willmence in," "T -3" "2" "1!" "Liftoff!" The operator said on the overhead mic. Suddenly, the ride started moving¡­ slowly¡­ very slowly¡­ "What the fuck! I waited 2 hours in line for this shit! It''s been over 30 seconds! When will this damn thing moooooowowowoAHHHHHH!" A boy said standing up from the front of the ride only to be interrupted by the instant take-off of the coaster. As the roller coaster started speeding, Moby started to feel the wind pressure hit his face. Although it was only a little. The ride felt super extreme but found a nice bnce with safety. As he looked behind him, he could notice that the ground was bing smaller at an extremely fast rate. Only for it to beter covered up by the clouds. ''Damn, this is actually really fun!'' Moby thought with a smile. Then he noticed Alex beside him screaming, "AHHHHHHHHHH!!" While Ray was sitting there with an emotionless face. ''I guess things never change,'' Moby thought with a chuckle. After a few minutes, the ride suddenly stopped, it''s nose now dipping at a 90-degree angle towards the earth. The earth''s roundness and blue colour were onplete disy to everyone. Also, If one looks closely, they can notice the green defensive barriers protecting every country alongside the green beams of light at their centre. The ride had stopped in the same position for over 30 seconds now, only making Moby more anxious and excited for the drop. On the other hand, Alex looked like he was saying some gibberish to help calm himself down while Ray still sat there, with a small smile that was barely visible. Suddenly, the ride started moving again, going back to its top speed in only a few seconds. Screams filled the ride as it sped down towards earth faster than before. Alex who sat beside him screamed like a little girl while the smile on Ray''s face became slightlyrger. Moby noticed rainbow sparks that came out of the tube made of air around them which made him really fascinated. The roller coaster was diving towards earth at a nearly 90-degree angle. The only thing stopping each rider from falling off the ride is a mixture of the seatbelts and gravity magic. In only half the time that it took them to reach the top, they had already reached the bottom. As soon as the ground became once again visible, the coaster started to steadily slow down as it becamepletely motionless exactly where they first left off. ''Well, that was a unique experience. It was pretty fun, " Moby thought. "Thank you for riding the Astral Coaster! I hope you enjoyed! Come again next time!" The operator said. "Shittt¡­ I''m surprised I didn''t barf out everything we just ate, " Alex said, holding his stomach which made both Moby and Ray chuckle. ****************** 7:30 pm, front gate of country Z military school. Moby, Ray, and Alex were now heading back to their dorm room. They decided to head back after the astral coaster as the line for the core drop had exponentially increased and there would be no way that they would wait over 3 hours for a single ride. They were all really tired and wanted to sleep early for the day to get ready for tomorrow''s exam. Ray had apletely different exam from Alex and Moby as he is in the research division and the magical beast hunting exam was for thebat and the support divisions. Moby was still bothered by the words of that random girl. It kept tugging at the back of his mind. How she said it would be better for Jayden to be dead. It pissed him off every time he thought of it. "Hey¡­ Moby, I need to ask you something important. Ray, you can listen in as well, " Alex said in a serious tone. "I have asked you this question many times before in the past. But, I do want an honest answer¡­" "I''m not trying to annoy you or act like your mother or something. But, I just need to know this because I care about you, as your friend, " "Is Jayden Griffith doing anything bad to you?" Alex asked in a serious tone. If it were to be any other time. Moby would have been annoyed at Alex for asking such a question. But, now, he just wanted to put an end to this just in case they have a future misunderstanding. "No, Jayden has done nothing bad to me at all. Actually, she and I are really good friends. I know that it might be hard to believe for you due to all your past experiences with her. But, she''s changed. It would be nice if you guys made up sometime soon. I''m sure that it would benefit both of you. Also, don''t expose this to other people at school. I am only her pet for protection and as a cover story to help protect me from all the people who are after me. I''m not actually her pet," Moby replied with a serious tone. "What you say is indeed pretty hard to believe. But, I can feel like you''re being sincere with me. So, I will trust you on this. If anything goes wrong or you need me for anything at all, just let me know. Also, don''t worry about your secret, It''s safe with me. I promise I will not tell anyone. " Alex said with a smile. "Same here, " Ray added with a smile. "Thank you, " Moby said, returning a smile back to them. "Anyways, we need to get back to the dorm! I''m tired and need to sleep really early for tomorrow''s exam. Oh, and good luck to you on your exam Ray, " Alex said. "Same to you," he replied. ''Today was actually really fun and educational at the same time. Alex and Ray would be really good servants considering their abilities and what they can offer. But, I feel like their morals and sense of justice might sh with mine if they found out the truth. I just hope that I''m wrong about thatst part,'' Moby thought, entering his dorm and going to sleep. ********** Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 56: Team Selection

56 Team Selection

********************** Monday, October 19th, 2130, 6:30 am, Moby woke up early in the morning just like he usually did. Both his roommates were still fast asleep. He did his daily quest gaining him another 3 stat points. He now had a total of 6 stat points to assign as he did not assign the points that he got from the day before. He decided to assign all of them into agility, now bringing it up to 239 (274 with his equipment on). Instead of practicing his skills like he ordinarily does, he decided to contact Jayden to let her know everything that transpired yesterday. He didn''t want to interrupt her yesterday as she said that she was doing some special training before the exam. So, he thought now would be a perfect time. Every time he thought about that unknown girl it would always give him the creeps. The worst part is that even his inspect skill did not work on her. It reminded him of when he lost his mind link with Jayden when she entered the general''s room. It made him remember that his powers are not aplete cheat and they do have their limits. "Hey, Jayden. We need to talk¡­" Moby said activating his mind link with her. "Mwaahhhh! Ya, I''m all ears¡­" She said, yawning in a tired tone. "Oh, I''m sorry, did I wake you up?" Moby asked. "Ya, you did. But, don''t worry about it. My rm was going to wake me up in a few minutes anyway. So, what''s on your mind?" She asked, still in a tired voice. For the next few minutes, Moby exined the situation to Jayden, describing that mysterious girl''s appearance exactly how he saw it. "So, do you recognize that girl? By any chance, is that Natalia Xane?" Moby asked. "Maybe, but, I''m kinda doubtful¡­ Natalia has white hair, not brown. But, I guess it is possible that she dyed her hair¡­ Her height and chest size match Natalia''s. But, without seeing her face, it would be hard to say for certain ore up with a definite conclusion," Jayden replied. "Also, I don''t believe I had beef with anyone that fit your exact description¡­ It might be one of your secret admirers. It''s pretty usible. Looks-wise, you''re objectively one of the hottest guys in school. It would make sense that at least someone has a crush on you," Jayden exined. ''Ha! She said that I''m objectively one of the hottest guys in school!'' Moby cheered. ''I''m not sure that''s even apliment,'' Avilia said with a chuckle. "Same to you!" Moby said with a smile, closing their mind link. The time was already 7:30 am, 30 minutes before ss. Moby grabbed his equipment out of his inventory and put them in his ring. He did this as a precaution just in case the school searches his ring only to find out that there is nothing there, making it extremely suspicious. Moby still kept his other tool and utilities in his inventory and only chose to store his weapon and armour in his ring. Before he left. He decided to wake up the sleeping Alex and Ray telling them they are going to bete, before smiling and going out the door as he watched them frantically try to get ready. Moby met up with Jayden at the school gates just like they nned and headed straight to the school''s fighting arena. That is where the school will exin everything that will go on during the exam. Moby pretended to act like he was beneath Jayden in status while she looked really confident and walked with elegance. They could not walk like equals because it would raise too many suspicious and red gs. Moby ignored the usual stares on his way to the main arena. When he got there he noticed a huge crowd of people that covered almost a quarter of the whole arena. The time was 7:45, meaning that there were 15 minutes until ss started. Moby and Jayden chose to wait at a corner of the main,rge arena in order to not be interrupted and away from the loud crowds of what seemed like thousands of students. Moby spent this time to revise his n with Jayden and Abby using their mind link. 12 minutester. A tall white hair girl along with what looked like her 2 followers came and approached them. "Jayden Griffith. Didn''t I tell you that if you value your life that you would not show up for today''s exam?" The white hair girl said with a high and mighty attitude. "We''ll see¡­Natalia..." Jayden replied with a chuckle. "Do you want me to humiliate you in front of the entire school? If so, then keep running your mouth," She said in an angry tone. Jayden did not respond, she only smirked back at Natalia making her even angrier. Moby decided to stay quiet as he could do nothing in this situation. If he were to voice his opinions, it would only make the situation even worse. He noticed that she always kept giving him nces every few seconds which looked super suspicious. He noticed her face be slightly redder every time she did so. ''Is she the girl from yesterday?'' Moby questioned. ''I guess there is only one way to find out,'' Moby said, using his inspect skill on Natalia. ************************** Name: Natalia Xane Race: Human Ability: Level 4 Blink Power Level: 7380 Hp: 100/100 Mana: 204/204 Strength: 150 Agility: 242 Endurance: 142 Intelligence: 204 Mind: 0 ************************** ''I can clearly see her stats unlike that girl at the amusement park. Either she doesn''t have the item that hides her stats and information from me on her right now, or she is not the same person,'' Moby thought. "Fine! Just you wait! I will put an end to your abuse and reign of terror that has gued this school during this exam. Just you wait!" She said with a distorted smile that faded away into a cute chuckle when she looked at Moby. "Let''s leave!" She said, turning around and signally the 2 girls behind her to follow. ''You have to deal with that bitch every single day?! How??'' Moby asked Jayden. ''She was acting awfully soft right now. Usually, she is like 1000 times crazier,'' Jayden replied, very intrigued by Natalia''s actions. Suddenly, The school bell rang. Then, a few secondster, an announcement came on, filling the entire arena with the voice of one of the teachers who stood on one of the ledges of the stands. He looked like a short cranky old teacher with a severely hunched back. "Attention all students! My name is Professeur Ruddell! I will be exining to you everything you need to know about today''s exam!" "Like you have been most likely told by your teachers, Today''s exam will be a magical beast hunt!" "For proof of your kills, you will use this," The teacher said, showing a wand-like rod. "This is a teleporter rod that is able to transport anything as long as it is dead. The bodies of the dead magical beasts will be transported into your team storage which will be found in the basement of the school" "These rods are really expensive and the team leader will be held fully responsible for any damages or if they get lost or stolen," "The school will take half the materials you get from them the beasts while you can split the other half amongst yourselves," "The point system for each beast killed will be as follows!" "F rank = 1" "E rank =5" "D rank = 25" "C rank = 125" "B rank = 625" "A rank = 3,125" "Each rank increases by a multiple of 5" "Your team leaders will also be given a book listing all thes known species and what rank they fall under, " "Once the exam starts, you can navigate your watch to look at the current leader board which will update in real-time," "You and your group of 6 which will consist of 3 people from thebat division and 3 people from the support division will be teleported onto a for 1 week. Your objective is to survive and kill as many magical beasts as possible!" "Don''t worry, each group will be equally chosen ording to power level meaning that every team''s total power levels will be nearly identical." "This means the only edge you will have on any other teams will be in your thinking and teamwork. In real life, you will need to work with random people all the time in order toplete a task, not always with your friends," "Thest item that each team leader will be given is an emergency button. Only use this button when you are in extremely dire peril and need saving or you caught someone breaking the rules. If you press the button for any other reasons or if the people you reported were not cheating, you will be disqualified. If you press the button, a group of teachers will be sent out to save you and bring you all back home. They should arrive in only a few minutes so please be patient," "If any member of your team dies it will be a deduction of 1000 points. And, if you were to be exposed for killing another student, you will be expelled and sent to prison," "Don''t think you can get away with it! If a student dies, we will question every student with a lie detector test until we find the killer. Letting another student die while you just stand there and do nothing knowing you have the power to save them will also be counted as murder, " "The you will be sent to has already been explored before and has been deemed safe enough for the exam, " "A rank magical beasts have yet to be found on this. But, if you somehow manage to find one, I strongly advise you to run away and hide and press the emergency button," Xibillvia," "It is located towards the edge of the milky way gxy, " "It is around half the size of earth," "It is a that has many swamps and forests, " "The has 3 moons and the day and night cycle goes as follows: The day consists of 96 hours, 75% of the will be night time meaning that it is a predominantly night time. The has a good amount of oxygen and the gravity is around the same as earth so don''t worry about that, " "You will be teleported onto the in random areas, " "Any team caught allying with another team will be disqualified, " "Sabotaging another team in anyways will also lead to disqualification, " "Are there any questions!?" The teacher asked, looking at the students who just stared back at him in silence. "Good! Now that all the exnations are out of the way, I will now be telling you your teams!" "Team leader, Gray Williams. Other members, Spence White¡­" After a few seconds of the names of the other teams, a recognizable name finally showed up. "Team leader, Alex Hart. Other members, Jason Stevens, Lockhart Emiloit, Anna Spencer, Mavis Wane, and Jayden Griffith, " ''What the fuck! Jayden and Alex are on the same team! I had not nned for this! This might fuck everything up! The only upside to this is that they might make up about their past but that is highly doubtful. I hope Alex actually believed what I told him yesterday¡­'' Moby thought. ''What the hell! I''m on Alex''s team! This is going to be very bad. I know he hates my guts right now! This will make things difficult¡­'' Jayden said using their mind link. ''It''s fine. I hope. I already told Alex the truth that you are not abusing me. Also, I bet if you show him that you''re a changed person, you guys might be able to settle your differences and be friends again or at least not hate each other, '' Moby replied. ''I kinda doubt that it would be as easy as you make it out to be. But, I''ll try my best!'' Jayden replied with a smile. The next few teams were all a bunch of randoms. Until once again, a recognizable name was heard. "Team leader, Abby Ried. Other members, y Pret, Darius Finx, Katerina Trovan, Maxwell Favours, and Payton Holmes, " ''It seems like Abby got into a team by herself just as predicted,'' Moby thought. ''I can''t tell you good luck in person but the least I can do is tell you through our mind link. Remember the n. I''ll contact you through our mind link when I need you, ok?'' Moby told Abby. ''Thank you for your kind words my lord. I will try my best not to disappoint you. I will be awaiting your orders. Oh, and, good luck to you as well!'' Abby replied, closing the mind link. A few minutes passed and Moby has yet to see his name pop up in any of the teams. The same goes for Natalia. ''There can only be so many teams left. When is my name or that skank''s name gonna show up?'' Moby thought. Then, words were uttered from the teacher''s mouth that he did not want to hear. "The final team will be¡­" Moby knew the oue of this team. He did not even need to hear the Professeur say it. There can be one option left. "The final team will be! Team leader, Natalia Xane. Other members, Travis Ligmus, Jay Truce, Haley Morine, Neia Spud, and Moby Kane," ********** Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 57: New Team Part 1

57 New Team Part 1

''Fuck! I did not n for this! I will have toe up with a new n!'' Moby inwardly cursed. ''Damn¡­ That was unexpected¡­ There are tens of teams. We assumed that we would all be in different teams due to the high probability but I guess that is now flushed down the drain,'' Jayden said. ''Maybe it''s notpletely a bad thing. I could maybe lure her into a secluded area and take her out there. Oh and don''t worry about all that interrogation shit they were talking about. I got it all under control! I''ll tell you about itter,'' Moby replied. ''Good to hear it''s not all bad,'' Jayden said with a chuckle. ''Abby, Stick to the n. I will tell you when we move on to our next step or if anything changes,'' Moby said to Abby. ''As youmand my lord!'' She replied. "The exam will officially start in 20 minutes," "Once your team is finished preparing, head towards the huge teleport pad at the centre of the arena," "There, your team leader will be given all the necessary items and you will be immediately sent to Xibillvia in a random area," "Once you are there, you will not be allowed to start until you get a message on your watches notifying you that has exam started," "On thest day of the exam, a team of teacher wille and teleport you back home," "Are there any questions?" "I rmend that you all go to meet your teams right now and wear your magical equipment. We will disable your restrictions for your storage rings for the next 20 minutes," "Good luck!" The teacher said with a smile that looked almost cynical. ''Well, this is goodbye for now Moby! I''m sure everything will work out just fine! Good luck!'' Jayden said with a cheerful smile that gave Moby butterflies in his stomach. ''Ya, Good luck to you too! I hope everything works out fine with you and Alex,'' Moby replied, returning a smile back to her ''Good luck to you too, team leader Abby,'' Moby added. ''Thank you for your kind words, my lord! I promise that I will not let you down! And good luck to you as well my lord!'' Abby replied. Moby now began walking around the arena looking for his team. The only names that he recognized were Natalia''s and Jay''s who was that boxer earth ability user from his ss. After a few seconds of walking, he finally found Natalia and the other members of his team waiting for him. "You''rete! We are going to be the ones carrying you! The least you could do is not make us wait!" a really short green-haired girl eximed at Moby with a sassy attitude. "True! You might be the best fighter in our ss when ites to abilitylessbat. But here, you''re just dead weight!" Jay said with a chuckle. "Maybe he can be our porter! I can''t afford a storage ring so I have to carry bags. It would be hard to fight with a bag on. So, this weak fe here can make himself useful and carry our luggage!" Said a tall ck-haired boy, smacking Moby on his back in a seemingly friendly way. "Good idea! I have some bags too! Sorry¡­ But he is right¡­ That is the only way I see you be useful," Said a short shy looking blonde hair girl. Moby had many things he wanted to tell those so-called "teammates" of his. But, he decided to not respond and go along with their suggestions. Even if he did say something, they probably wouldn''t care. If he responded, It would only make the situation worse for him. He''s not stupid enough to fan the mes. "EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Natalia screamed. "We just met and you''re already causing trouble! We need to try and get along with each other! If this keeps up, there would definitely be no way that we survive for a week!" "Moby, you will carry the luggage. I''m sorry to make you do this but it would be too dangerous for you to fight and you would greatly hinder the rest of the team. I hope you understand," Natalia said, twirling her long white hair and with her eyes closed. Moby did the only eptable thing to do in this situation. He nodded back in agreement. "Thank you, team leader! I understand your judgement and your reasoning for this. I will try my best to make myself useful to you and the team in any way that I can. I''ll be counting on you, team leader!" Moby said with a deep bow. "O...o...of course! You can count on me!" She said with a smile. ''I will let her act all high and mighty for now¡­ I will make her death very slow¡­'' ''And painful¡­'' ''Especially psychologically¡­'' Moby thought, hiding the distorted, devilish, cynical smile on his face. "Anyways, let''s introduce ourselves and say each of our abilities. We will need that in order to form a good battle n," "I''ll start! My name is Natalia Xane. Your team leader. I don''t like injustice at all and would like our group to have a wholesome rtionship. I am a low C rank and I''m part of thebat division, my ability is blink. I hope we can all get along well!" Natalia said with a smile. ''Such a fake bitch! Don''t act all nice and caring! I know your true colours! Freak!'' Moby thought in disgust. "Oh, I''ll go second! My name is Jay Truce. I am a medium D rank. I''m in thebat division and my ability is earth," He said with a serious tone. Jay is the only person in the group that was a part of? Moby''s ss. He looked the same as usual. He had a lean, muscr build, short blonde hair and lotus green eyes standing at 5''11, one inch shorter than Moby. "Fine, I''ll just get it over with! My name is Haley Morine, My family is pretty important if you didn''t know that. I am a low C rank. I am in the support division and my ability is healing," Said the sassy green hair girl. She had long light green hair that was tied into pigtails that fell down past her knees. She has olive-green eyes along with a few freckles on each cheek. Her chest was really small and she stood at only around 5 feet tall making her look like a real-life goblin loli. ''Wait, I recognize this girl. She was the one that Jayden transformed into to heal Nathan''s injuries and limbs. Her healing ability must be pretty good,'' Moby thought, taking a mental note. "Oo Oo! Me next! My name is Travis Ligmus! I try my best to find fun in everything I do! I am a high D rank! I am in the support division and my ability is an Astral Bow. I use it for long-range support! I hope this trip will be a golden experience!" The ck hair boy said with a wide smile, brimming with excitement. The boy had a skinny build, short ck hair and big red eyes standing at 6 feet tall, the same height as Moby. ''This guy looks dumber than a goldfish. So carefree. I bet My old pet goldfish, Meep could beat this guy in anything that requires a shred of intelligence,'' Moby thought with a chuckle. "I...I...I''ll go next¡­ My name is Neia Spud. I am a high E rank. I am part of the support division and my ability is enhancement. I can slightly buff and enhance up to 3 people at a time. This includes strength, defence, and speed. It''s nice to meet you all," said the short shy blonde girl. She had short golden blonde hair that was really straightened out which went down to her waist. She has sky blue eyes along with very pale skin. She had an impressive set of knockers on her chest, which were made look even bigger due to her small stature of 5''3. ''Her ability seems really useful and she seems like a nice person. So far.'' Moby thought. It was now finally Moby''s turn to introduce himself. "It seems like I''m thest person to introduce themselves. My name is Moby Kane. I am a high F rank, and I have no ability. I know I''m very weak but I will try to make myself useful to you all. I hope we can all get along well!" Moby said with a bow, holding in a chuckle under his wide grin. ********** Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 58: New Team Part 2

58 New Team Part 2

"I don''t have a storage ring so I will be changing in the change rooms. I''ll be back in a sec!" Travis said, holding his bags and heading towards the boy''s change room. "Same here!" Jay said, following straight behind Travis. "I''ll be going as well¡­" Neia said with a bow and an awkward waddle towards the girl''s change room. "Heh, peasants," Haley scoffed as she equipped all her equipment using her ring with an elegant wave of the hand. ''Overdramatic much,'' Moby inwardly cringed. Haley''s equipment was fancy looking green and white leather armour along with a few areas of white metal that covered her chest along with every joint. For her weapon, she used a long wooden staff with what looked like some writing inscribed on it. ''All in all, she looks like the goblin queen,'' Moby thought with a chuckle. Moby decided to hold off on wearing his equipment. He first wanted to wait and see the equipment of his other teammates before he wore his. Although his equipment looked like ragspared to Haley''s, he wanted to see how it wouldpare looks-wise to his other teammates. After only a few minutes of waiting, the rest of his teammates had came back, now wearing their magical equipment. The wait was pretty awkward. Natalia kept taking nces at Moby then immediately looking away pretending like she didn''t notice. She seemed pretty proficient at it. If it weren''t for Moby''s enhanced senses, he would have definitely not noticed. ''Does she like me? I can''t tell if she is looking at me as her crush or as her tasty steak dinner,'' Moby thought. Haley just stood in ce, tapping her feet with impatience with an ugly scowl on her face. "Wooo Hooo! We''re finally back! Sorry if we''re a littlete. You won''t believe how cramped it was in there! It was insane!" Travis said, with exaggerated hand movements and facial expressions. "I can second that, "Jay said, nodding in agreement. "Oh ya! Neia! Was the girl''s change room just as crowded?" Travis asked. "Ummm¡­ Yea¡­ I guess they were, "Neia replied in a shy voice. "You guys probably won''t believe this story but I''ll tell you anyway! So, when I was in there I saw a?HUUUGGEEE D¡­" While the rest of his group was making small talk, Moby decided to use his inspect skill on every one of them to see how good their armour is, their exact stats and, if they lied about their abilities. First, he chose to inspect Haley. ************************** Name: Haley Morine Race: Human Ability: Level 4 Healing Power Level: 7,050 (6090 + 1010) Hp: 100/100 Mana: 311 /311 Strength: 70 (65 + 5) Agility: 121 (116 + 5) Intelligence: 311 (261 + 50) Mind: 0(0 + 0) ************************** ''A lot of intelligence and a decent amount of endurance. It makes sense since healer requires arge reserve of energy and are not required to have a lot of speed and power,'' Moby thought. Next was Jay, For his equipment, he wore standard steel and leather armour. Around his arms were a bunch of boxer wrappings around a leather glove with spikesing out of every knuckle. ************************** Name: Jay Truce Race: Human Ability: Level 3 Earth Power Level: 4200 (3540 + 660) Hp: 100/100 Mana: 88 /88 Strength: 130 ( 93+ 38) Agility: 69 (74-5) Endurance: 133 ( 100 + 33) Intelligence: 88 (88+0) Mind: 0 (0 + 0) ************************** ''He seems like a slow tank build that can also dish out a lot of damage at the same time, His magical equipment actually lowers one of his stats (agility), Interesting¡­ I never knew that was even possible.'' Moby thought, taking a mental note. The next person Moby decided to inspect was Travis. He wore a set of ck cloth-like armour. He had a long cloak that fell down past his knees. Around his arms were big metal gloves that covered up to his elbow. All, in all, his armour looked very simr to Moby except that his armour looked a lot fancier and waspletely pitch ck instead of the ck with purple ents on Moby''s armour. ************************** Name: Travis Ligmus Race: Human Ability: Level 4 Astral Bow Power Level: 6,130 (5420 + 710) Hp: 100/100 Mana: 120 /120 Strength: 212(190+ 22) Agility: 198 (162 + 36) Endurance: 83 ( 78 + 5) Intelligence: 120 (112+ 8) Mind: 0 (0 + 0) ************************** ''A ss canon long-range sniper who is able to relocate quickly due to his high agility. His low intelligence means that he will have a very limited amount of shots before he runs out. And his low endurance means that he can most likely be taken out with one or 2 hits,'' Moby thought. Next, is Neia, the shy girl. For, her armour, she wore a fairly long white and blue dress that left a lot to the imagination. For her weapon, she had a long staff with what looked like a blue gemstone at the tip. ************************** Name: Neia Spud Race: Human Ability: Level 3 Enhancement Power Level: 3,010 (2470 +570) Hp: 100/100 Mana: 183 /183 Strength: 21 (21+0) Agility: 33 (33 + 0) Endurance: 68 ( 41+ 27) Intelligence: 183 (153+ 30) Mind: 0 (0 + 0) ************************** ''Damn, That''s a lot of intelligence for someone with such a low power level. Her endurance is decent. However, her strength and agility are abysmal. It is a good thing since she will only be buffing the team so she won''t be needing those stats. Her build is overall pretty decent for support,'' Moby thought. Moby had now inspected everyone on his team except for Natalia who has yet to put on her equipment. He noticed that all of his teammate''s equipment looks much better than his, Giving himself the green light to put on his own. In one swift motion, Moby took off his school uniform and reced it with his demon crafted equipment. As soon as he did, he noticed the stares of his teammates. They were either looking at him in disgust or ready to burst out inughter. The only people that didn''t were Natalia and Niea. "Hah! That''s your equipment?? Your power level did not even raise by a single point! You look like a hobo! You don''t deserve that storage ring you got! You just got lucky! People like you honestly disgust me. Both weak and poor!" Haley eximed with a loudugh. Compared to Haley''s armour, Moby''s looked like no more than tattered cloth. Luckily, that was exactly what he was going for so he didn''t mind the insult. It just further reassured him. Suddenly, Natalia put on her magical armour as a dark, menacing aura came from her direction. Then, a distortion in the fabric of time and space could be seen around her. Her equipment was a white and gold metallic suit of armour that tightly covered her body that gave off a magnificent aura. It was mostly white with few golden ents, a feathery pattern could be seen on the armour along with a lot of protruding spikes and feathers that came off her helmet, elbow, gauntlets, knee caps, and waist. A familiar-looking golden ring could be seen on her middle finger as well. Everyone within a 50-metre radius of her stopped everything they did and starred at Natalia, mouths wide open in awe. She looked almost like a real angel. "I dare you to say that again bitch¡­ Didn''t I say that we were all going to get along," She said with a disturbingly wide grin. "Umm¡­ Ok¡­ Whatever you say, team leader¡­" Haley said, trying to hide her inner fright with visible sweat running down her face. "Good!" She said in a cheerful tone, looking at Moby with a visible blush, almost like nothing happened. After seeing what just unfolded, Moby was in shock at a sudden realization. On the outside, Moby seemed fine. But, on the inside. He was having the biggest internal crisis imaginable. When he tried to use his inspect skill on Natalia, all that would appear is¡­ ************ Name: ?? Race: ?? Ability: ?? Power Level: ?? Hp: ?? Mana: ?? Strength: ?? Agility: ?? Endurance: ?? Intelligence: ?? Mind: ?? ************ He then looked at her watch which disyed, [ 15,220] ''Wait¡­ No fucking way¡­ I''ve seen this scene before¡­ Natalia Xane and that girl at the amusement park must be the same person. They have to be! That distortion in time and space, that familiar-looking golden ring was also the same one that was worn by that girl as well. And how she always looks at me trying to hide her blushes. It must be her!'' ''Also! How the fuck is she so strong! She must have medium grade armour! Her power level went up from 7,380 to 15,220. That''s an increase of 7840! That''s medium grade armour! That must have cost a fortune! It is most likely her family treasure or something. Why would she wear it for a simple exam?!'' ''Also, that ring... It was worn by that girl at the amusement park. That must be what is not allowing me to inspect her stats!'' ''Wait a sec¡­ I know that Natalia likes me. That must mean that be that I was the boy that she imed was her "man" and her "true love". She actually stalked me for who knows how long and even went as far as to disguise herself using an expensive magical ring as well as dye her hair.'' ''That''s¡­ really disturbing¡­ and creepy¡­'' ''A crazy Yandere¡­'' ''If that''s the case. Does that mean that she has been abusing and tormenting Jayden every day for my sake? In an attempt to make her stop "torturing me¡­"'' ''Has this all just been one big misunderstanding¡­'' ''FUCK! IT''S ALL MY FAULT!'' Moby thought. He felt like his brain is melting from the sudden realization of the truth. ''If I had told the truth and said that Jayden and I were friends, nothing like this would have happened. Jayden would not have had to suffer and endure Natalia''s torment for so long.'' ''But if I did that, I''m sure it would have attracted more trouble from even stronger students¡­'' ''Is it really ok if I kill and torture her for just a simple misunderstanding?'' ''Natalia did take it way too far, even nearly killing Jayden on some days. If it weren''t for Jayden''s demon regeneration, she would have been dead!'' ''Why did Natalia even keep me being her crush a secret!'' ''If she had told Jayden, none of this would have happened!'' ''How will Jayden feel when she finds out the truth?'' ''To find out that she endured over a month of constant pain and humiliation just for a simple misunderstanding¡­'' ''Will she abandon me¡­'' ''Should I tell her now¡­'' ''I have to...'' ''If I hold off on telling her or reserve the truth to myself, It will only make things even worse¡­'' ''I might have messed up hard here. But, I''ll be damned if I let this ruin my rtionship with Jayden,'' Moby thought, making up his mind and regaining some of hisposure. Moby took in a deep breath before he confronted her about what he just found out. ''Hey¡­ Jayden¡­ Sorry for the sudden interruption. But, I need to tell you something very important¡­'' Moby said with a confident tone, opening a mind link between him and her. *************** Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 59: A Cool Reality

59 A Cool Reality

''No, this cannot wait. I need to talk to you now. This is very important,'' ''I will call you on your watch. Tell Alex that it is me who is calling,'' ''If he asks if he could hear our conversation, then let me talk to him and I''ll clear things up. Trust me!'' Moby said with resolve ''Ok¡­Of course I trust you¡­ It''s just hard to have 2 conversations at the same time¡­'' She awkwardly replied. Moby''s group had already gone back to normal and regained theirposure. However, all of them are now much more wary and fearful of Natalia. Travis had restarted his conversation about what happened inside the boy''s change room. Everyone in the group was listening intently to his story, this included Moby. However, he was only pretending. "Ummm¡­ guys, I have to make a call real quick. I promise it won''t take too long!" Moby said with a smile, walking away from his group. "Stop right there!" Moby heard Natalia''s voice from behind him, making him look back. "Is this person you will call Jayden Griffith?" She said with a smile, staring daggers into his soul. "Heh heh, no. Of course not! I''m just calling my martial arts master for some advice on some new techniques I recently learned," Moby replied, seemingly unphased by her clear provocation towards him. "Hmmm¡­ very interesting¡­ Can I listen in on this conversation? I have always been really interested in martial arts!" She said, pping her hands together in excitement, putting on an innocent smile. "No, I''m sorry. These techniques are a secret. They are not to be shared with any outsiders," Moby confidently replied. "That''s sad to hear¡­ Well, you have fun! Don''t take too long!" She said with an ominous giggle that gave Moby small shivers. ''Bullshit! I have looked over all your files and all information pertaining to you many, many, many, many, many times. You don''t have a martial arts master¡­ You have been self-taught ever since your parents died! I know you are talking to Jayden Griffith. I don''t know what she is forcing you to do. But, don''t worry my love! I will save you! You will be mine! AND MINE ALONE!'' Natalia thought with a devilish smile,pletely contrasting her angel-like equipment. ''Fuck! That was the best excuse I coulde up with! If I said that I wanted to call my parents or any rtive she would immediately know my lie. It is pretty much open information that I am an orphan and have no family left. It is also well known that I have no friends at school. Only a few people have ever caught me, Alex, and Ray, together and I have no intention of exposing that. Luckily, it is a lot less well known that I am self-taught in martial arts. I hope she didn''t dig that far into me¡­'' Moby thought. Moby went into apletely secluded part of the arena. Then put on his earbuds to ensure no one can hear the watch''s audio. Then, he called Jayden. But, before he did, he decided to survey the area around him to see if? Natalia was spying on him, even using his energy sense. ''Fuck! I can''t see her! But I can guarantee that she is 100% spying and listening in on me! I need to be extra careful!'' Moby thought. Moby called Jayden using his watch and waited for her to answer which only took a few seconds. ''Sorry if I am talking weird right now. I am currently being spied on by Natalia. I told her that I am calling my martial arts master as an excuse. But, I think she caught my lie. I''m currently trying my best to lead her on,'' Moby said to Jayden using their mind link. ''Got it!'' She quickly replied. "Hey! Can you hear me!" Moby said into the watch. "Oh sorry! Can I just take this call? It''s Moby. Like he told you before. Our rtionship is not what you think it is! I promise!" Jayden said from the other side. "I believe that he is telling me the truth. But, I still feel like you might be manipting him. You were never the type to make friends. Especially with a low rank like Moby. So why should he be any different? I will need to observe you more during this exam to see if you have truly changed. But, for now, I have 0 trust in you! If you will have a call with Moby, then let me hear as well!" Alex said. "Lemme speak!" Moby said in a confident manner. "I think he wants to talk to you¡­" She said, putting her wrist out towards Alex''s face. "Moby¡­ I know you must have heard everything. But, trust me when I tell you I''m doing this for your own good! I''ve known Jayden for many years and not once has she been anything but deceitful. If she is acting nice to you. I''m sure it''s for an ulterior motive¡­" "Please¡­ believe me just this once¡­ I''ve never been so sure about something like this my whole life¡­ What I told you the other day was 100% the truth! I understand that you might have many doubts. You can discover that those doubts are no longer true with your own eyes! I trust you! I can''t exin everything to you right now. But, when this exam ends, I promise to tell you everything," Moby said into his watch. "I promise I will be okay during this exam, master¡­ You don''t have to worry about me so much" Moby added with his microphone muted. "I am happy to see that you have so much trust in me. I will respect your privacy and let you 2 have your conversation in private. I will keep an eye on her myself. I hope she really has changed as you said¡­" Alex said before walking away. "Thank you very much¡­" Moby said with a smile. As soon as Moby noticed that Alex had walked away, he muted his mic and tried his best to simte a conversation between him and his "Master". "Sooo¡­ About that devil devouring fist technique¡­ I have nearly mastered it! I am stuck on a few steps though¡­ Can you help me out! I am stuck on the part where¡­" ''Ok, we are now safe¡­ I will be pretending to talk to my non-existent master while at the same time talking to you. So, it might be a little harder for me to think,'' Moby said. ''So, what''s so important? Knowing you, it must be something pretty big¡­'' Jayden replied. ''You know that Yandere chick I told you about this morning?'' ''Well¡­? I just confirmed it myself. There is no doubt in my mind that the girl I saw yesterday and Natalia Xane are the same person!'' ''I am her crush! I was that "man" and "true love" that she told you about every day!'' ''You were nearly killed and abused every single day because of me!'' ''But, now that I know that Natalia is doing everything for my sake. I think it would be wrong if I killed and tortured her.'' ''It would feel wrong¡­ I don''t want to do that¡­'' ''If we can convince her into being my servant either with words or by force, I would haveplete control over her. Then, if she stays hostile, we can kill and torture her. But, if she agrees to join us, she would be a great asset,'' ''I understand that you most likely hate her to death with a burning passion¡­'' ''She abused, humiliated you, and nearly killed you everyday¡­'' ''If I kill and torture her just like that, I would be no better than Nathan and all those people I despise¡­'' ''I am extremely sorry¡­ I hope you understand my situation¡­'' Moby said with clear sincerity in his voice. ''WHAT THE FUCK!! I ENDURED ALL THAT FUCKING PAIN AND HUMILIATION FOR JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING!! I DON''T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!! THAT BITCH WILL DIE BY MY HANDS IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAY IMAGINABLE!! IF YOU STOP ME CONSIDER OUR FRIENDSHIP OVER!!'' After hearing that, Moby was visibly sweating, his skinpletely pale. ''FUCK!! I screwed everything up due to stupidity! What the fuck am I supposed to do now! Did I just ruin everything!'' Moby thought. ''Is what you expected me to say...right!?'' Jayden snarkily added with a chuckle. ''Your next line is "What the fuck Jayden! You almost gave me a heart attack!",'' ''What the fuck Jayden! You almost gave me a heart attack!'' Moby said, just as he noticed that he fell for Jayden''s act. ''Ok, jokes aside. I am pretty angry. I just like to joke around to lighten the mood at times like these,'' Jayden said with a chuckle. ''I understand your situation and what must be going through your head. Personally, after what she did to me, I would kill and torture her without a second thought.'' ''BUT, I respect your decision. It is hard to kill someone who devoted themselves to helping you. It would be better for the family in the long run if we gain a strong and possibly loyal member like her.'' ''For your sake, I would endure the abuse and humiliation many times over without a second thought!'' ''Sacrificing our friendship for such a petty reason would be childish!'' ''However, I will make one request. If she is to be the next member of the family, I request that she is to be my personal maid and servant for half a year as punishment for what she did!'' ''Don''t worry, I won''t be physically abusing her as she did to me. I will just make her do all the house chores instead of my butler and grovel and kiss my feet every day. Things like that!'' ''And, she will make a formal apology to me in front of the entire school!'' ''She abused and humiliated me for a month. So, I think it would be fair if I humiliated her for 6!'' ''That is if she joins our household and has no motives of betrayal!'' ''If that is not the case, then, I will have fun torturing the fuck out of her with you and Abby!'' Jayden said in a yful manner. After Moby heard Jayden speak. He felt so extremely happy and relieved. He felt so lucky to have found someone like Jayden in his life. So much to the point that he almost blurted, "Just fucking marry me already" Before suppressing the urge to say it at thest second. ''Yes of course! I agree to your request!'' ''And... thank you very much for having so much trust and respect in me and my decisions. It really means the world to me,'' ''I don''t know what I would have if my fears came true and your joke was actually the real deal,'' Moby added with a chuckle. ''Ya, sorry about that one¡­'' Jayden said with a cute giggle. ''And, don''t worry about this kind of thing anymore. No matter what you do, I will follow you to the depths of hell if I had to! I''m certain Abby also feels the same way!'' ''I will try to get along with Alex and prove to him I''m not like before. Don''t worry, I will try my best to not alert my other teammates about anything important.'' ''I will also be informing Abby about our conversation and our change of ns!'' Jayden said in a cheerful tone. ''Yes, that would be great! Keep up the good work! I will contact you and Abby if anything else important happens,'' ''Also, don''t hesitate to contact me at any time if you need to report anything of significance or if you just want to talk,'' ''I will try and contact both you and Abby at the end of every day to know your situations and to make sure that we are all on the same page, '' ''That will be all!'' Moby said in a serious tone. ''Got it!'' Jayden replied with vigour. ''And, thanks a lot once again!'' Moby said with a smile. ''Your wee! And, good luck with Natalia!'' Jayden said with a cute chuckle. *************** Also, I had just received my webnovel contract! It took a while but it''s finally here! Join the discord! https://discord.gg/8UbWP27 If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 60: Finally Arrived!

60 Finally Arrived!

"Ya, and! What else did he say!" Natalia eagerly said. "Ummmm¡­ I think the call is now over¡­" Her friend replied. "What the fuck! This is bullshit! I refuse to believe that he was actually calling his non-existent master! I know my findings are not wrong! They can''t be! He must be hiding something! That''s the only exnation!" "I should have asked you to send your scouting spirit bug to spy on Jayden Griffith instead! Fuck! If only you can use your ability to summon 2 spirit bugs then there would have not been a problem!" Natalia Cursed. "Ummmm¡­ I''m sorry, Natalia¡­Are you ok¡­ I''ve never seen you so mad about anything before¡­ Are you sure you''re ok?" Natalia''s friend nervously asked. "Oh yes! Of course, I''m fine! Thank you so much for worrying about me!" Natalia replied in a cheerful tone. "Ha ha ha, ya! d to see that you''re back to normal now!" Natalia''s friend said, feeling now calmer. "Anyways, I''ll contact you again if I need your help! Good luck on the exam! And watch out for ***** ******** keep me updated on them," Natalia said in a serious tone. "And don''t worry! I''ll keep an eye out for them! I will keep you informed about everything! Good luck to you on the exam as well!" Natalia''s friend said, in a yful voice, ending the call. After Moby ended the call with Jayden, he immediately went back to his team only to find out that Natalia was not there. "Hey, where is the team leader at?" He asked the rest of the group. "Oh her, she said she was going to take a leek. She should be back any second now. We only have 5 minutes left until the exam starts. Why now of all times does her dder have to be full. I really wanted to get there early! I''ve never been off the before! I bet it will be so fun!" Travis replied to Moby in his usual enthusiastic tone. Just as Travis finished hisst sentence, Natalia finally arrived. "Ok, guys I''m back!" She said with a bright smile. "Took you long enough! Does it really take that long to take a piss? Are all women like this or is it just you?" Travis replied with a chuckle. As soon as he said that, the rest of the group looked at him like he was crazy. After seeing Natalia''s power level, everyone in the group became extra weary and afraid of her. Everyone except for Travis. ''What the fuck is this idiot thinking! Does he have a death wish or something?'' Everyone thought in unison. ''This guy kinda reminds me of myself before I got the system. Completelyckingmon sense. Does he have a demon artifact as well?'' Moby asked Avilia. ''I also came to the same conclusion,'' Moby inwardly nodded. However, instead of getting angry as everyone expected, Natalia just calmly replied. "Well, it was pretty crowded in there. It took me forever to get in,'' Natalia replied, scratching the back of her head. ''I smell bullshit. No way that it''s a coincidence that me and her left at the same time. She was definitely spying on me just like I assumed. I hope she bought my bluff. I can''t let her find out the truth just yet. I need to confirm a few things with my own eyes first,'' Moby thought. "Ya, I feel ya¡­ Bathrooms can be pretty shitty at times! Get it! Shitty! Does anyone get it! Umm¡­ Anyone?" Travis said, trying his best at attempting a joke only for audible cricket noises to be heard instead ofughter. "Ya, we get the joke¡­ It''s just not funny," Haley said, feeling the cringe. "Anyways¡­" "We need to head to the teleporter to start the exam. We only have a few minutes left. I think we are probably thest team," Natalia said, walking towards the teleporter at the centre of the arena. "Hey, bud! Hold my stuff! Don''t lose any of it Mr. porter! It''s pretty important! Thanks a lot!" Travis said, dumping his huge bag on Moby before walking away in a joyful mood as if nothing happened. ''This guy¡­'' Moby thought with a really long sigh. "Here! Take my stuff too! Don''t you dare touch anything! If anything goes missing it''s your fault! This is the only thing you''re good for. "Mr. Porter!" Jay said with a smirk followed by augh, dumping his bag onto Moby as well. ''This shit bag must be feeling so high and mighty right now. He must have gotten tired of me destroying him in practice every day. He''s way too arrogant. I''ll remember to put him in his ce after this is over,'' Moby thought. ''So are you gonna kill him!'' Avilia asked in excitement!. ''Ummm no¡­ I wouldn''t kill someone over just trash talk. I was just going to humiliate him in front of the entire ss or maybe school,'' Moby replied. ''A¡­ Well, humiliation is still fun. I guess it''s not that bad, ''Avilia replied. ''Does she think she is watching a damn movie?'' Moby thought. ''You know I heard that, ''Avilia replied with a chuckle making Moby a little embarrassed. ''It does get boring monitoring you and testing your worth as the future demon lord. I need a little entertainment to keep me going you know!'' Avilia said with a chuckle. "Ummm. Mr. Moby Kane¡­ I was wondering if it would be okay with you if you held my stuff as well¡­" Neia said, handing Moby a small white bag. ''At least she called me by my actual name. She doesn''t seem like a bad person. At least there is one decent person in my entire group,'' Moby thought. "Of course! It''s ok! Don''t worry, this stuff is not that heavy!" Moby replied with a smile, taking Neia''s bag away from her hand. "Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! I kinda feel bad for you, the way you are so badly treated by the rest of the team. I hope everything goes well for you!" Neia said with a bright smile. "Don''t worry about it! I''ll be just fine!" Moby replied with a smile. After a minute or so, Moby''s team finally checked in with the teacher at the teleporter. She gave Natalia all the required equipment. 1 teleporter rod, an emergency button, and a monster rank guide. They were indeed thest team to arrive. Moby''s team all stepped on the teleport pad and awaited their teleportation. Suddenly, a white lighted shined from under them. The teacher said, "Good luck on the exam guys!" Before a white lightpletely engulfed them. When Moby opened his eyes once again. He was in what seemed like a desert with orange sand. The sky shined a bright red instead of its usual blue with no clouds in sight. 2 moons could be seen in the sky. The temperature was very warm but not to the point where it was ufortable. ''This looks pretty cool,'' Moby thought, inspecting his surroundings. "What the fuck! I thought this was supposed to be rainy with forests and shit!" Jay eximed. "Ya, it is. Look in front of you! There is a forest 2 km straight ahead of us you big oaf. Just because a is predominantly forested and grassy doesn''t mean that other areas don''t exist, " Hayley responded with a sigh. "Wow! It''s morning! Isn''t it supposed to be like night time on 75% of the?! I guess we got lucky and ended up in a sunny part of the! That''s pretty cool!" Travis said, looking around in amazement. ''Ya, that''s true! Imagine if instead of a demon system, I had a vampire system instead! I would now be either dead or severely weakened just for being unlucky enough to be teleported in a sunny area¡­ on a predominantly dark. It would be so annoyingly retarded!'' Moby thought with a chuckle. ''Don''t evenpare the two! We demons are so much better! Vampires are just our summons! Nothing more,'' Avilia replied. "I hope there aren''t any strong sand monsters on this¡­" Neia said nervously. Suddenly, an announcement yed on everyone''s watches all at once. "Attention all students! The exam willmence in 30 seconds! Any monsters killed before the timer ends will not be counted! So, be patient!" "Happy hunting and see you in a week!" The voice of the professor said through the watches. *************** Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 61: Jinxed

61 Jinxed

"ording to this bestiary, the strongest monster is the Brown Terram Sand Worm which is one of the few B ranks found on this. They are Giant worms that are always found under the ground, they jump up onto unsuspecting pray right from beneath them. Their power levels range from 14,000 to 21,000. But, Don''t worry they are extremely rare. It would probably be more likely to find an actual unicorn!" Natalia said with a chuckle. "I hope you didn''t jinx it¡­" Jay replied. "OOO Boy! I hope you did jinx it! Giant sounds like a lot of fun! Plus, if we beat it, we would definitely be in first ce for at least a while!" Travis said enthusiastically. "Hey! Do you have a screw loose or something? You know this is the real deal right? This is no joke. We can all easily die if we go against something that strong. So, I''d rather not fight it. We can easily get the same amount of points by just killing weaker monsters," Haley said, disgusted and annoyed by Travis''s words ''He can''t be that stupid, no one is that stupid¡­ He must have an ulterior motive,'' Moby thought. Then, a sudden realization hit him. ''Wait a sec¡­ He is supposed to be our long-range sniper. He doesn''t even have to be in the attack range of the monster. He will be able to attack it while it''s distracted by us on the front lines. He must not give a shit because he would have the highest survival rate out of all of us! Also, we will all equally split the loot we get from the magical beasts once we all finish. If there are fewer of us means everyone will receive a bigger slice of pie. Also, he wouldn''t even get in trouble as he was just doing his job. I bet he can put himself in danger without any repercussions. Then flee to the back lines letting us attack it close range while he stays safely in the back.'' ''I think Travis and his motives are a lot darker than he makes them out to be... has to be.'' ''This world is too cold and cruel for people like him tost long¡­'' ''At least that''s the best theory I coulde up with,'' Moby thought. ''That''s one crazy theory you got there but it might actually be possible¡­'' Avilia said, agreeing with Moby. "Well, anyway, we should probably get out of the desert and head into the forest. Other than the worm, there are just weak monsters found scarcely around the desert. Usually, there is nothing else to see here but¡­ you know...sand," Natalia said with a chuckle. Suddenly, a loud ringing noise came out of everyone''s watch before the professor''s voice could once again be heard as he said in an overly enthusiastic tone. "Attention all examinees! Your exam has officially started! Good luck! I hope you all make it back safely! See you all in a week!" "Alright! We can''t waste our time here! Let''s go get some points!" Everyone else nodded and immediately followed right behind her. "Oh! By the way guys, I''ll keep the leader boards visible on my watch. If anyone needs to know the rankings just let me know!" Moby said with a smile. "Sure¡­ you can do that¡­ No one really cares one way or another. I guess I''ll just ask you whenever I need to see the leader board," Haley replied to Moby. "Ya! Moby that would be lovely! You will be in charge of letting us know the rankings when its important or when we ask," Natalia turned around facing Moby with a radiant smile. ''Exactly as nned!'' ''Now I can use my full power without anyone noticing!'' ''Ahhh! I see what you''re doing! That''s pretty resourceful of you,'' Avilia said. ''I have already Informed Jayden and Abby meaning that they can also use their full powers without anyone noticing as well!'' ''If I leave the leaderboards open on my watch, it means that my power level won''t be disyed. This means people won''t notice the spike in power level that happens when I let out my full power. If I were to do this without letting everyone know, it would look extremely suspicious. But now, It wouldn''t be odd in the slightest!'' ''Let''s just hope everything keeps going like this,'' Moby inwardly hoped. 5 minutester... "AAAHHH!! WHAT THE FUCK!! Can we not go any faster!" Jayined. "I share that sentiment! I want some action! I bet we are already far behind in the rankings" Travis nodded in agreement. "Well sorry! I can''t go any faster than this! Especially with all your shit slowing me down!" Moby snarkily replied. "Hey! Porter boy. How many points does first ce have? and who is in first ce?" Haley asked Moby. "First ce is team Abby Ried followed by team Alex Hart in close second. Third ce is Team Nags Axel who are pretty far behind first and second. First ce has 28 points and second ce has 24 points while third ce only has 17," Moby replied in a monotone voice. As soon as Moby finished reciting the rankings, He Natalia biting her lips along with arge, ugly visible scowl, that appeared on her face. However, It was only visible for a split second before going back to her regr smile not allowing anyone else to notice. "Let''s pick up the pace just a bit! We can''t fall too far behind the other groups now can we!" Natalia said with a smile, now going a little faster than before. "I''m sorry about this Moby, I know that it will be tough to keep up. But, I know you can do it! I believe in you!" Natalia added with a small blush on her face. ''What the hell! She''s crazy! No way I was the only one that saw that! I''m having second thoughts on making her into a servant. Hopefully, she is the fanatically loyal type like Abby and not the crazy, controlling, overprotective type.'' ''That would be a nightmare,'' Moby inwardly shuddered just thinking about it. Moby just nodded back While they were running, Moby was happy to notice a flurry of notifications that appeared telling him that his servants killed a beast. He noticed that the amount of XP he gained was lower than when he killed humans of the same power level. Also, every monster gave a different amount of XP even when they fall under the same rank. Moby thought was either that it was due to the intelligence of humans or demons somehow steal a person''s soul when they die and that is what the XP gain from killing someone represents. Moby only gained a total of 1000 XP from all those kills. ''There must be a reason why demons get stronger after killing or defeating someone. This is real life. Not a game.'' was Moby''s thought process. ording to his theory, this means that monster/magical beast souls are a lot weaker than that of humans resulting in a lower amount of XP gained. When Moby tried to ask Avilia in order to confirm his theory, she always replied with very vague and sarcastic answers. Moby felt like she would be lowkey sweating if she had a physical body. This led to Moby believing his own theory for now. However, he was still not 100% certain. Suddenly a huge earthquake along with arge rumbling sound came from the sand under them. The sand began to sink everyone inside like it was quicksand. All the sand was being sucked into a huge hole in the middle. "FUCK!! IT''S THE WORM!! IT''S RIGHT UNDER US!! EVERYONE GET OUT!!!" Natalia frantically screamed. "Fuck! You really did jinx it!" Jay cursed, using a pir of earth to boost him away from the sandpit. "Yay! Fun! Finally!" Travis said, jumping out of the sandpit using his high agility. "Fuck! I can''t get out! I can''t die here! I am too young and beautiful to die! This would bring great dishonour to my family! SOMEONE SAVE ME!! Haley screamed a high pitch screech like a steaming kettle. ''Shit! I can easily get out of this. But, if I did, It would raise a lot of questions. I''ll just try my best to demon sh out when no one is paying attention. Then I''ll¡­'' Moby thought before being expectedly unexpectedly interrupted. Natalia had blinked towards him, carrying him in one hand. Then, she immediately blinked towards Haley, picking her up with her other hand. ''I should have expected this¡­ No way Natalia would let me die. Also, that blink ability is really something¡­ She can cover many meters of distance in an instant. I''m not sure how it fully works, But, I''m sure I''ll find out eventually,'' Moby thought. "Thank you so much team leader Natalia! I am now greatly indebted to you!" Haley said with tear-filled eyes. "Ya, thanks a lot!" Moby said with an awkward smile, trying his best to pretend like he was scared. "Your wee guys! Natalia said with a bright smile, taking them back ontond and away from the worm''s quicksand. "Hey! Why did you save him instead of the enhancer girl! At least she could be useful!" Jayined. "Moby has all our equipment! Would you be okay with losing all your belongings to the worm?" Natalia replied in a cold tone. "Ummm¡­ No I guess not¡­" Jay said, cursing his big mouth. Moby looked over at the quicksand area and noticed the crying Neia. Her Body was already over halfway under the sand. "Please¡­ Someone¡­ Save me¡­Don''t leave me¡­ Please¡­." Moby heard Neia mutter. "Hey, Natalia, can''t you use your blink ability to save her?" Moby asked. ''Fuck! I can''t let her die! She is the only decent person in this team! Her ability is also really good and would definitely be useful in the future!'' Moby thought. "HELP PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!" Neia screamed in horror, a waterfall of tears falling down her face. After hearing Niea''s horror-filled screams, a small malevolent smirk became visible on Natalia''s face. ********************************************** Update on the new cover! I hired an actual artist to draw it! proggress pictures and updates can be found on the discord! Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 62: Blessed By The Ligh

62 Blessed By The Ligh

''ALL HE NEEDS IS ME!'' ''I nned to kill herter on in the exam but, this works out better than I thought! If I killed her like this, it would seem like an ident. And if everyone vouches that it was an ident and that no one could do anything about it, there would be no need for a lie detector test! Especially since I''m from an important family!'' ''They would definitely let it slide for me! That''s how the academy always functioned!'' ''We don''t need that bitch anyways. All that the team needs to win is me!'' ''And of course, Moby who is my love and my motivation for all of this to keep mepany,'' Natalia thought with a chuckle. ''Next on the hit list is Jayden Griffith. She needs to die! She has been abusing and raping my love for so long. And even if she wasn''t, she still needs to die as she has been too close to him for far too long. she must be luring him in with her curvaceous body and fat melons, '' ''Just thinking of her makes my blood boil!'' ''I don''t really care about Haley. Moby would never ever find interest in her type and personality!'' She thought, inwardly chuckling. ''I''ve also known that my love has been spending some time with Abby Ried as well recently'' ''She has beentely joining Moby and Jayden on the roof to eat lunch.'' ''I''ve spied on them for so long just so I can listen in on their conversations.'' ''But, every time I did, I always heard nothing! Every time, it was just dead quiet!'' ''It was so weird! The only theory I coulde up with is that theymunicated by text messages. But even then it would just mean that they have a lot of things to hide.'' ''Abby Ried must also be abusing and manipting my love alongside Jayden Griffith!'' ''So, she will be next after I''m done with Jayden!'' ''Don''t worry my love! I will save you!'' ''These thots don''t deserve you!'' ''I''ve never had this feeling before in my entire life. But, after seeing how beautiful, pure, kind, and innocent Moby looked, something inside me just snapped. ''He is just so perfect!'' ''I''ve never been interested in a man other than him. I need to make sure he bes mine!'' ''THE ONLY GIRL HE WILL EVER NEED IN HIS LIFE IS ME!'' Natalia inwardly thought. Moby did not notice Natalia''s twisted facial expression as he was too focused and concerned about the sinking Neia in the distance. "I''m so sorry¡­ But I''m not able to blink there at the moment. The worm created a distortion in time and space that doesn''t allow me to blink there. I''m sorry to say but she is a goner." Natalia said with a sad expression, lying through her teeth. When Natalia heard Moby speak to her like that, it was like she lost a piece of her soul. ''Why does he care for that skank so much! This is more reason why she needs to die! She is corrupting his mind and his way of thinking!'' ''I''ve been acting perfectly around him! I made sure not to slip up a single time!'' ''I''m sure I''ll grow onto him by the end of the exam.'' ''It''s for his own good!'' Natalia thought, trying to cheer herself up. "No, sadly, I couldn''t do that, " Natalia said, shaking her head. "Blink has a few limitations. Like for instance, I can only carry a certain amount of weight on me when blinking. If I carry too much weight then my blink would fail." she replied. Technically, Natalia was not lying. She can not blink holding an immense weight like that of a huge boulder. However, adding Neia''s weight onto Moby''s and Haley''s would have been no problem for her. ''That''s such fat cap! There''s no way she has such a limitation! I refuse to believe it! Especially with such a high power level! Even with all our 3 weightsbined, we would only amount to a basketball''s weight in terms of a normal person''s strength.'' ''I think she just wants Neia dead!'' ''Was she jealous of her or something? Or did they have prior beef from before?'' ''Or maybe, she doesn''t like how close me and her have gotten¡­'' ''SHIT! SO SHE IS THAT CRAZY OVER PROTECTIVE YANDERE TYPE I FEARED SHE WAS! PEOPLE LIKE HER ARE BAD NEWS AND CANNOT BE TRUSTED! NO WAY IN HELL I''M LETTING HER INTO MY DEMON FAMILY!'' ''She was really good at acting! Anyone else would have fallen for her nice and innocent act.'' ''Anyone else but me!'' ''Those few slip-ups that could only be picked up by my enhanced senses are what sealed the deal'' ''Change of ns, this bitch is definitely dead. I now have more than enough reasons why to kill her.'' Wait a second! If she just stands there and allows Neia to die it would be the same as killing her! She has the power to save her and she chooses not to, letting her die in the process, '' ''Didn''t the professor say such a thing would be considered the same as murder?'' ''No way she would just let herself get caught like that! She must know a way to exploit the system!'' ''Wait a fucking minute! I have the power to save her as well! I can use my devil''s hand and pull her out if I really wanted to, '' ''But, if I did that, I would definitely expose my power¡­'' ''She is not worth the risk.'' ''I won''t endanger myself to such an extent just for a girl I barely met an hour ago,'' ''Luckily, I already found a way to get past the school''s lie detector test so that won''t be a problem,'' ''However, I need to still try my best to save her. She is the only decent person in this entire group and I don''t want her to die just because of me,'' Moby inwardly thought. "Hey! Jay! You have an earth ability right? Sand is part of the earth right? Can''t you just pull her out?* Moby asked Jay. "Trust me, if I could I would. My earth ability''s range is only 3 meters. She is at least 8 meters deep from the start of the hole. No way in hell I could save her." Jay replied with slight anger, most likely directed at himself. ''Shit! All my cards are up!'' ''Even if by some miracle I managed to save her, it would just anger Natalia more and would only dy the inevitable. She would just find another way to kill herter on in the exam.'' ''FUCK! SHE''S DONE FOR!'' Moby inwardly cursed. "ANYONE! PLEASE HELP! NATALIA! I KNOW YOU CAN BLINK REAL QUICK AND SAVE ME! PLEASE! I CAN''T DIE HERE! MY FAMILY NEEDS ME! I HAVE A LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER AT HOME WAITING FOR ME TO COME BACK! THEY HAVE NO ONE ELSE BUT ME! I NEED TO COME BACK TO THEM NO MATTER WHAT! PLEASE I BEG OF YOU!" Neia screamed at the top of her voice, tears filling her eyes. As a response, she received a terrifyingly devilish grin from Natalia,pletely conveying her intentions of wanting her dead. "W...W...W...Why¡­" Neia said, with a red face and tear-filled eyes, now giving up all hope. She realized that her death was inevitable and there was nothing stopping it. Her body was now almostpletely sunk into the sand. Natalia was standing at the front of the group which didn''t allow anyone else to see her face. That is why she allowed herself to do what she did. She just liked the satisfaction of seeing her victims suffer by her hands. Suddenly, an evenrger rumbling sound was heard from underneath Neia. The sand started to sink in even more leaving only Neia''s head exposed to the outside. "Curse you Natalia Xane! I hope that you die a disgusting and brutal death! Brother, sister, I''m sorry I let you down! I hope that you will be ok without me. Please forgive me!" Neia managed to mutter before her head becamepletely engulfed by the sand. Then suddenly, a huge, brown, scaly worm erupted from the ground like a volcano,pletely swallowing Neia whole. Her arm got severed and flew offnding right in front of the group. Loud crunching sounds could be heard from the worm''s huge mouth, most likely the sound of Neia''s bones cracking. The group just stared at the huge worm with a mixture of immense fear and disgust. Their teammate was just eaten alive right in front of them. Neia Spud was now officially dead. This made Natalia inwardly celebrate with joy which was hidden under her fake expression of sadness and shock. Moby was the only person that was able to hear Neia''s final words. ''If you truly do have a brother and sister waiting for you. I promise to help them out once I graduate. It''s the least I could do.'' ''You were one of the first-ever person to show me such kindness even with no knowledge of my true identity. For that, I am truly thankful, '' ''I''m sure we would have be good friends if things ended differently, '' ''And don''t worry! Natalia Xane will die in the most cruel, brutal, inhumane way possible!'' Moby thought with great resolve. Suddenly, a bright light in the shape of Neia appeared floating in the sky in front of Moby making him extremely shocked. "Thank you so much for everything!" "Please take care of my brother and sister in my absence. They are all I had," "Here is a gift from me to you to help you on your journey!" Neia''s light form said, floating a ball of light into Moby''s body. "Good luck! And please get revenge for me! I want her dead in the most brutal and humiliating way possible!" "I will be watching you from above!" "I will leave the rest up to you!" Neia''s light figure said before going up into the sky and fading away. Moby was in awe at what he just saw. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. ''I promise I will keep my promise to you no matter what!'' Moby thought with a smile. Suddenly, a big blue notification popped up in Moby''s peripheral vision, slightly startling him. [ System Notification ] [ New Skill Obtained! ] *********** [ Angel''s Blessing [ Passive ] (Level 1) ] A blessing bestowed upon a person by an angel with apletely pure heart of gold. Effects: Holy energy resistance +10% Health +10% Energy regeneration +10% *********** ''Wait¡­ WHAT THE FUCK!!'' Both Moby and Avilia inwardly screamed in unison. ********************************* Update on the new cover! I hired an actual artist to draw it! progress pictures and updates can be found on the discord! Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 63: Archangel Neia

63 Archangel Neia

\u003c New Quest Received!\u003e An Angel''s Wish ------------------------------------- Details: Complete the dying wish of the former human and new angel, Neia Spud. Part 1: Conditions toplete: Kill Natalia Xane in the cruellest, most brutal, most humiliating way imaginable. Make her suffer a very slow, brutal, humiliating death and make her pay for all the pain and suffering she has inflicted on others. Time limit: 2 week Reward: Angel''s Blessing skill level 2 Part 2: Conditions toplete: Take good care of Neia Spud''s brother and sister and make sure they have a good life. Time limit: 2 years Reward: Angel''s Blessing skill level 3 IMPORTANT NOTICE! The user has already epted this quest when he made his promise to Neia. The user can not unept this quest. Failure toplete this quest and not fulfilling the promise made will lead to the skill ''Angel''s Blessing'' to turn into ''Angel''s Curse'' which will lead to many downsides for the user. ------------------------------------- "GRRRAWWWWRRRR!!!" The worm screamed a piercing cry, startling everyone in the group. Everyone except for Natalia and Moby. ''Why is my love just staring at the ground with a wide-eyed expression! Don''t tell me that he had feelings for Neia and he feels emotionally distraught because of her death! ''He only just got to know her and he already felt that attached to her!'' ''I''m so d I killed her this early. She was able to corrupt my love''s heart and mind in such a short amount of time!'' ''She truly was dangerous¡­'' ''But now that that whore is dead and out of my hair! Moby can focus all his attention on me!'' ''Ooooo!! I''m so excited!'' Natalia thought in excitement. However, Natalia''s theory on why Moby is acting the way he did was not entirely urate¡­ Moby had just finished reading the new quest notification that appeared in front of him, leaving him looking at the ground in a daze. ''WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!'' Moby asked Avilia, even more shocked than before. ''I DON''T KNOW!! THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED! A DEMON RECEIVING AN ACTUAL ANGEL''S BLESSING! NO WAY!!'' Avilia inwardly screamed like a maniac. ''Avilia! Did you give me this new skill and quest from the system!?'' Moby asked. ''No! I didn''t! That angel did! She gave you that blessing and conditions! All I did was analyze what she gave you and transfer it into a skill and a quest format!'' ''WHAT THE FUCK! I''M SO CONFUSED!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED NOW! EVERYTHING HAPPENED TOO QUICK! AVILIA! PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!'' Moby asked, his mind still in turmoil trying to process what just happened. ''Every century or so. A human of apletely pure heart will be turned into an angel and ascend into the celestial realm upon their deaths.'' ''That is what happened to your friend there.'' ''However, that''s still not the craziest part. Not just any angel is able to bestow a blessing onto someone else, '' ''That power is only reserved for Angel''s of the rank of at least Archangel. One of the strongest ranks of angels.'' ''This means your friend there had such a pure heart that she was deemed worthy enough of the status of archangel!'' ''It''spletely baffling to me!'' ''An angel''s blessing can only be bestowed to a person when a human dies then turns into an archangel. They will bestow the blessing upon someone they know they could trust. They decide this by reading the minds of everyone in the area to see who they will bestow it to. If no one matches their criteria, they will just decide to not bestow a blessing at all.'' ''When receiving the blessing, the person will also receive the Archangel''s dying wish before their human body died.'' ''This is because Archangels and angels, in general, are not allowed to go to the mortal realm without express permission. Not allowing them toplete their wish with their own power. That is why they bless a person they trust to help do it for them while also giving them a gift to help themplete the task and as a thank you gift to them for all their help.'' ''Once the blessed onepletes a wish, their blessing will grow stronger until all the wishes are fulfilled,'' However, the blessing is not all just sunshine and rainbows. If you fail toplete a wish, their blessing will instead turn into a curse. Turning their positive effects into negatives instead. ''In this case! You were the one chosen by who is now Archangel Neia Spud to receive their blessing.'' ''You are the first-ever demon in history to my knowledge that has been blessed by an angel. I have been sealed for a very long time so maybe there might have been but still! You get what I mean!'' ''To my knowledge, this has never been done before! You actually don''t understand how broken the skill that you just got would be on a demon!'' ''Demon armies would not hesitate at all to go to full-on war just for the slightest chance to receive such a skill!'' ''It helps shield us against our only weakness, Holy energy, while at the same time increasing one''s energy regeneration and vitality greatly.'' ''To a human, this would be no big deal, they would just feel a little stronger. The resistance to holy energy won''t matter that much.'' ''But, to us demons! It''s apletely different story! That skill you just got is without a doubt broken beyond belief!'' Avilia exined. Moby''s brain was spinning in high gear, trying to take in everything that Avilia just said. ''Soo¡­ Neia is not dead¡­ She was chosen by the celestial realm to be an archangel,'' correct? Moby asked. ''Correct,'' Avilia replied. Moby then inwardly breathed a long sigh of relief before going on to his next question. ''You said that she is not allowed to be here and that is why she can''t fulfil her own wish. Does that mean that I''m not supposed to be here either!'' Moby asked in worry. ''Technically no, you''re not. But! If you are never caught. There will be no problem. The demons and the current demon lord definitely have no idea of your existence here. The same goes for all the angels and gods as well. As long as you don''t expose your secret to people. You should be fine!'' ''I used to sneak out of my castle and visit the mortal world multiple times and I am proud to say that I was never caught! If I, when I was the demon lord THE MOST important figure in the Nether Realm could do it, I''m sure you can too!'' Avilia said in a confident voice. ''Didn''t Neia turn into an angel and even read my mind! Wouldn''t she inform god or an angel? about my existence!'' Moby asked in a really worried tone. ''No! Not at all! She is the one that blessed you. Why would she just turn around and backstab you by telling one of the gods? She needs you to fulfil her final wishes and I believe she actually liked you as a person even after finding out your true identity. I can promise you that you will be fine!'' Avilia replied with the mental equivalent of the smile. ''By the way, I heard you say ''Gods'' as in plural. Does that mean that more than one god exists!?'' Moby asked. ''Well yes, of course there is! Not all of them are on the same level of strength or status as each other. But still, yes. There is definitely more than one god!'' ''I know that from first-hand experience,'' Avilia added with a chuckle. ''Hmmm¡­ good to know¡­ I will need you to tell me more about the celestial andher realms in the future. There is so much you are not letting me know,'' Moby said. ''I''ll add that onto your reward forpleting the exam!'' Avilia said with a chuckle. ''It seems like you already calmed back down. You seem really happy now,'' Moby replied, noticing Avilia''s cheerful mood. ''Well of course I am! You are the first demon to receive an angel''s blessing! You keep surprising me every day! At this rate! You might even surpass me when I was demon lord!'' Avilia said in a cheerful tone. ''Thanks a lot!'' Moby replied with an awkward chuckle. Moby breathed a deep breath, trying his best to calm down. All the new information he received was really overwhelming. ''I am really d Neia is still alive. I hope we can meet again someday so I can properly thank her for everything she has done to help me.'' ''I don''t really care about the quest and it''s penalties anyways. I was going to do it regardless. ''Natalia needs to die a horrible death and I promised to help Neia''s siblings.'' ''I would have done that even without the quest. But, now I can also get greatly rewarded for doing what I was going to do anyway!'' ''It''s a win-win situation for me!'' ''The penalty would not even matter that much. If I fail to kill Natalia, It would end very badly for me and my demon family. The curse would only be putting salt on the wound and nothing else.'' ''I will not allow that to happen no matter what!'' ''NATALIA XANE NEEDS TO DIE!'' Moby thought with unwavering resolve. ''But for now, I need to worry about the problem at hand, '' Moby thought, looking at the huge iling howling worm right in front of him. ********************************* Please don''t drop ???????? Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 64: Worm Part 1

64 Worm Part 1

Arge visible bump in the sand could be seen where the worm is currently travelling. Its speed was incredible. It immediately went for Natalia''s location, lunging out of the sand like a fish in water jumping out to swallow a bug. Natalia responded by immediately blinking back, dodging the quick attack of the worm. Then, she quickly ran in the direction of the seemingly frightened Moby, picking him up like he was a princess, blinking 3 times away from the fight before gently letting him down. "You can stay here where it''s safe! It''s far too dangerous for you to stay over there!" "You can leave the rest up to me! Your team leader! I promise I will keep you safe!" Natalia said with a smile and a slight blush. "Thank you so much for your help team leader!" Moby said to the speeding Natalia in the distance. ''You know, her n might have actually worked. I might have fallen for her if I didn''t realize what she was truly like,'' ''However, she made two major miscalctions.'' ''The first is that I already like someone else and wouldn''t flip flop like a fish out of water.'' ''The second is that I''m not retarded and can actually use my brain,'' ''I want her to believe that I actually like her. It would make my revenge that much sweeter and more shocking. As long as she doesn''t try to force herself on me I should be good. Luckily, I don''t believe she would do that as it is pretty much the same thing as admitting defeat,'' ''I bet she must be thinking that I am starting to develop feelings for her and that she has me secured in the bag or something along those lines.'' Moby thought with a mischievous chuckle. ''I got him secured in the bag! After all, I just saved him from impending death twice in the same day!'' ''I must be his hero!'' ''It won''t be too long until he will be begging me to be with him!'' Natalia thought blinking towards the huge worm with a smile, putting her hands over her beet red cheeks. ''I can''t really do much against that big worm without exposing my power. My best bet is to just stand back and examine how the rest of my team fights.'' ''It would be helpful to know the exact specifics about each of their abilities.'' ''Especially for Natalia. No way she can just infinitely blink. She would be untouchable. Her blink ability must have a weakness or restriction that I can exploit.''. ''First, it would be nice to see exactly how strong this worm is, '' Moby thought using his inspect skill on the worm. ****** Name: Brown Terram Sand Worm Power Level: 18,700 Hp: 150/150 Mana: 298 / 376 Strength: 485 Agility: 432 Endurance: 577 Intelligence: 376 Mind: 0 ****** ''It seems like this worm''s power level is around the middle of the pack, ording to Natalia, these worms range from having a power level of 14,000 all the way up to 21,000,'' ''If it were a 21,000 power level worm, there would be no doubt in my mind that we would lose.'' ''This worm seems really defence heavy, but, even still, all its other stats are still insanely high.'' ''I wonder how they will take care of a monster like that¡­'' Moby thought. After the worm noticed that Natalia was no longer there, it focused his attention on Jay instead, going underground once again and speeding towards the terrified Jay. As soon as the worm popped its head out of the ground opening its wide mouth about to eat Jay whole, Natalia blinked in from its side like a meteorite kicking the unsuspecting worm on the side of its head, blowing it away, slightly cracking one of its gigantic scales. "Are you ok? Sorry I''mte, '' Natalia said to the shocked a relieved Jay. " Uhh¡­ Yeah¡­ Thanks a lot. You just saved my life. I will try and stay farther back and support you from there by manipting the sand to slow and ensnare the worm, " Jay replied, trying to regain hisposure. "That''s good to hear!" Natalia replied with a smile. "It''s time I got serious!" Natalia said in a serious expression, releasing 2 white yellow glowing des from each arm before blinking straight towards the startled enemy, shing at it''s exposed cracks between scales, making it scream a loud cry. ''So that''s what her weapon is¡­ Seems interesting and unique...'' Moby thought, taking a mental note. Travis immediately used this opportunity to back off from the worm''s attack range while it was distracted by Jay, Natalia, and Haley, running towards the opposite side of the worm from where Moby was standing. He kept moving until he was at least a good 1 kilometre away from the worm. Then, he stood still taking a stance. A momentter, a purple bow made of raging energy appeared on his arm. Then, out of thin air, 5 different arrows appeared into the hand that was not holding the bow. He pulled back all the arrows into his bow and shot them all at once towards the huge worm at immense speed. At first, all the arrows looked like they were way off hitting their targets, going around where the worm was. However, at thest second. All the arrows swerved all at once in an unnatural way, hitting the worm in the small exposed parts of its body that were not protected by itsrge scaly armour. The worm once again let out a loud cry. Although not nearly as loud as Natalia''s hit, it clearly did some damage. ''It seems like Travis can control his arrows mid-air to track and throw off his opponent,''? Moby thought, once again taking a mental note. In the close-range fight, Natalia was fighting on nearly equal ground with the worm while Jay stayed a little farther back trying to slow down Its movements.??? Haley stayed even farther back from Jay, using her staff to heal Natalia from a distance every time she got injured. However,? Her healing was not able to keep up with the rate that the Worm was hurting Natalia. Travis was still far in the back shooting arrows at the worm. Every time the worm tried to focus its attack on someone other than Natalia, she would always retaliate with a very powerful attack, punishing the worm for taking its eyes off of her. ''They are working a lot better together than I thought., I''m really surprised. I thought that their survival instincts would kick in and they would start acting selfish but, I guess I was wrong, '' Moby thought. Natalia quickly triple blinked up to the worm''s head and kicked down on its forehead, making it fall on the ground with an outstanding thump. "It looks like it''s dead. I''m pretty sure I just cracked its skull or something." "You guys did great. I''m not sure I could have killed that thing by myself." said the badly beaten up, Natalia. "Ya I agree! I''m so d we survived that!" Said Jay in a relieved tone. "Hey Natalia,e closer, my healing ability is much more effective up close than at range," Haley yelled to Natalia in the distance. Sure thing! Natalia said, rushing her injured self over towards Haley as fast as she could. "Sorry, I won''t be able to heal you up to full strength. I used up way too much mana in that the fight," Haley exined, healing what she can of Natalia. "It''s ok! You did great during that fight!" Natalia replied. "Thanks¡­" Haley replied with a smile. "Whelp, I''m just about done. That''s all I can do for you currently. Once my mana regenerates, I''ll be sure to heal you uppletely!" Haley said in a cheerful tone. "My body still aches all over! But I''m so much better now! Thanks for the heal!" Natalia replied. "Jay! Go tell Travis that the worm is dead! Can you do that for me?" Natalia asked. "Uhh Yes, Ma''am!" Jay responded in a very nervous and stiff manner. "Good!" Natalia replied with a smile. "Now let''s go take our reward! A whole 625 points! We will definitely be first ce after this!" "However, it dide at the cost of the life of our dear teammate Neia Spud. I really liked her¡­ It was sad to see her go. She was so young, full of hope and energy¡­ May she rest in peace, " Natalia said with a sad expression. ''Huh? What the fuck are they doing? They are speaking too quietly for me to hear? Why are they just standing there doing nothing and just socializing?'' ''The worm still has 71 hp!'' ''Wait a second¡­ don''t tell me they¡­'' Moby thought, immediately dashing towards the group as fast as he could. As Natalia got closer to the worm''s body, she noticed a crack in the shell exposing what there was inside the worm. "What the fuck!!! Why is it hollow!!?" Natalia eximed in confusion. Suddenly, the mouth of the huge worm appeared from under her, rising up towards her at breakneck speed. Natalia was not at all expecting this. She was almost certain that the worm was dead. This made Natalia''s reaction time much slower, not allowing her to react fast enough to blink out. Her eyes grew wide open withplete shock as to what just happened, her body slowly falling into the abyss known as the worm''s mouth. However, as Natalia''s head was mere inches from being bitten offpletely, she felt the tug of an arm that quickly grabbed and took her away from the worm, only an instant before the worm did its bite. A fraction of a secondter and Natalia would have no doubt been dead. She was then flung out into the sand, safely away from the worm''s attack range. Then, Natalia regained her sense of thought and started touching herself all over trying to understand what happened. ''I''m alive¡­ I''m actually alive¡­ How¡­ I swear I was just a goner.'' ''I was saved by the heavens!'' ''A miracle!'' ''The gods must not want me to die just yet!'' ''Now I know that my motivations are 100% just!'' ''I WILL MAKE THIS FUCKING WORM PAY FOR ALMOST RIPPING ME AWAY FROM MY LOVE!'' ''NO ONE NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE CAN GET AWAY WITH THAT!'' Natalia said with fire in her eyes, standing up and taking a fighting stance. ********************************* +1,000,000,000 points and a shout out to whoever can first correctly guess what just happend! WE HIT 1 MILLION VIEWWSSS!!! THAT''S INSANE! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! I HONESTLY NEVER BELIEVED I WOULD EVER GET THIS FAR!!! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! The new cover should also be out tomorrow! Hope you guys are hyped! Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 65: Worm Part 2

65 Worm Part 2

''SHIT! SHE''S GONNA DIE!! THE WORM IS RIGHT UNDER HER!!!'' Moby inwardly cursed, dashing towards the battlefield at full speed using his "Demon sh" and his "Eyes of Sin" for the extra 12% stat boost. Luckily, his team was looking in the opposite direction allowing him to use his full power without any repercussion. However, even if they were all looking in his direction, he would still do it and try to think of a somewhat believable excuse because this is an extreme emergency. He can not allow Natalia to die like this for two reasons. The first is of course the angel''s curse that he would gain if Neia''s wish of torturing her to death doesn''te true. And, the second is that after everything she has done to Neia and Jayden, a quick and easy death is way too merciful for the likes of her. As Moby was speeding towards the battlefield, he noticed the silhoutte of what looked like the worm''s sharp, wide and seemingly bottomless mouthe up from under Natalia. ''FUUCCKKK! I HOPE I''M NOT TOO LATE!!'' Moby inwardly cursed, using his devil''s hand to pull her out as he was about to be within the 10m range of the skill. Luckily, Moby managed to get a hold of Natalia''s back, pulling her out of danger, throwing her to safety merely moments before the worm''s loud chomp happened. ''Few¡­ That was way too close forfort,'' Moby thought with a heavy sigh of relief, deactivating his "Eyes of Sin". ''FUCK! How retarded is my team!!?'' ''They are way too careless!'' ''Especially Natalia!'' ''Does that fucking skank think she can get away with dying such a quick, easy, painless death while I''m still around!?'' ''THINK AGAIN!'' Moby thought trying his best to hide a sinister smile under his poker face. Suddenly, Natalia noticed the scarred, panting Moby was standing in the range of the worm. "Hey! Moby! What are you doing here! It''s way too dangerous! Runaway!!" Natalia screamed with clear worry and concern in her voice. "Ummm¡­ I came here because I thought that the worm was dead¡­ But, when I arrived, I saw that worme jumping out of the ground out of nowhere. I think it shed its outer shell and went for a sneak attack on you¡­" Moby replied, his hands shaking,plete fear showing in his eyes. Haley''s figure could be seen scurrying away from the battle in fear and desperation as she haspletely run out of mana making her useless in a fight and was too scared to die. Jay and Travis have also depleted their mana reserves and chose to spectate from the sidelines. Everything was all up to the injured Natalia now. Suddenly, the worm started moving again. However, instead of going for Natalia, It chose to go after Moby instead. Moby just stood there, his teeth and legs shaking faster than vibrator on steroids. He almost looked like he was about to piss his pants. Even though Moby looked scarred on the outside, he waspletely calm on the inside. He knows that there is no way that Natalia would let him die and woulde to rescue him even at the cost of her own life. Even if that was not the case, he could easily Demon sh out of the way if needed. As the worm neared him he noticed that Natalia was too far away to save him. So, he went into a blind spot that didn''t allow himself to be seen by anyone and prepared to dodge. However, when the worm was only a few meters away from Moby, it abruptly stopped. It looked like it was being held back by something. Then, Moby noticed that there was a huge ball of energy-sucking in everything around it andpacting it in the middle. this also included the sand forming a decent-sized hole under it. The energy ball was also sucking in the gigantic worm giving Natalia enough time to catch up. However, the ball''s pull was not affecting Natalia or Moby at all, only the worm and everything else around it. The worm let out a loud cry, trying its best to get free from the ball''s grasp and pull range with no avail. ''What the fuck is that ball!? Is it like some sort of miniature ck hole?? Did Natalia do this??'' Moby thought in confusion. Moby used this opportunity to pretend to run for his life in order to spectate the rest of the fight from afar. On his way, he picked up a decentlyrge rock and put it in his pocket. As he was running, he looked back to see how the fight was going down. When Natalia finally reached the worm, she disappeared, most likely blinking in for an attack. However, instead of reappearing again a secondter like she usually does, she stayed invisible for 3 seconds instead. When Moby noticed this, he immediately activated his "Eyes of Sin" in order to even further boost his eyesight. What he saw greatly shocked him, to say the least. Natalia was spamming blinks left and right, attacking the ensnared worm in its weak spots. ''1¡­'' ''2¡­'' ''3¡­'' ''4¡­'' ''5¡­'' ''6¡­'' ''7¡­'' ''8¡­'' ''9¡­'' ''9 BLINKS!!!!" Moby thought in shock. When Moby was analyzing Natalia''s earlier fight. He concluded that Natalia was only able to blink 3 times in a row before she has to wait for a 1-second cooldown to regain another blink. This gave her power a much-needed restriction as without it she would bepletely unstoppable. However, Moby now needs to reconsider his previous assessment. ''What the fuck!! Her powers are broken!! How the fuck are we supposed to beat that if she can just blitz us all in one move without even giving us time to react. 3 blinks was feasible but with 9 it''s pretty much impossible!'' Moby thought in turmoil. ''I can''t give up now just because of something like this. Now is not the time to worry. I''ll probablye up with a way to defeat her in the future. I need to focus on the task at hand before I miss my opportunity,'' Moby thought, using his inspect skill on the worm to check its hp. [HP: 2/150 ] ''Perfect!'' Moby thought with a smile. As Natalia finished her 9 blinkbo move, the ball of energy that was sucking in and ensnaring the worm disappeared, now allowing the worm to move freely once again. However, instead of moving or trying to attack, the worm just remained still doing nothing. It was far too injured to even move. If left alone, it would definitely die in a few minutes from blood loss. Natalia used this opportunity to jump up above the worm''s head to deliver the finishing blow. As she was dropping down trying to kick at the worms skull, she noticed what looked like a pebble or rock smashing against the head of the worm with a speed many times faster than a regr bullet. Natalia did not think too much of it as she was too focused on attacking the worm''s body in front of her. She came down on the worms head with incredible force, causing arge loud shockwave followed by a small hole being dug as the worm''s body smashed against the ground causing a giant sand mushroom to form. As the dust cleared, the figure of the heavily injured and panting Natalia could be seen trying her best to do a victory pose. This was then followed up by the sounds of cheering and celebration of all the team members celebrating their victory. Natalia did not care for the reactions of her teammates and instead decided to immediately look at the only person that mattered in her eyes, the immensely happy looking and smiling Moby. ''I''ve never seen my love so happy before... I''m d...'' Natalia thought with a smile, falling on the ground, going unconscious from exhaustion and the injuries she sustained in the fight. ********************************* In thements, there will be some novel covers including the original one. Please vote by liking the one you think looks best and want to be the novel cover until I have enough money to get a new one. (Which won''t happen anytime soon because my contract has yet to be epted by Webnovel). Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 66: Emergency Meeting

66 Emergency Meeting

After Natalia defeated the giant worm in the desert, The group decided to head into the forest, carrying Natalia''s unconscious body with them. The desert had a lot of strong monsters and would be a lot more dangerous than the forest, especially at night time. Team Natalia steamed rolled their way all the way up the rankings, taking first ce by a very considerable margin. Abby''s and Alex''s teams were in second and third ce respectively with around 200 points each while team Natalia was in first ce with 625 points. They searched for many hours in the pitch-ck darkness of the night, trying their best to find a good ce to rest and keep the unconscious Natalia safe while they try their best to avoid any of the beasts in the area. While his team was literally in the dark having no idea where they are going, Moby could see like it was clear as day. There were at times where his team was walking straight to a pack of beasts or towards a hole or dead end. So, Moby guided them towards the nearest cave by giving them hints that they all reluctantly decided to follow. After a few hours of what felt like endless searching, They found a moderately sized empty cave that came from the side of arge mountain in a clearing in the forest. The cave was not very deep but still deep enough for all of them tofortably sleep and camp and there. This is good as it ensures that there are no beasts lying deeper inside the cave. Beside the cave was arge waterfall and river of what looked like freshwater. The group worried that the water might be poisonous so they decided to test it before they drank. Of course, this did not concern Moby at all as he is immune to poison. But, he pretended to care so he doesn''t look suspicious. In the end, They found out that the water was safe to drink and filled up a few water bottles. Haley and Moby both had brought their own personal sleeping bags in their dimensional rings while Travis and Jay had packed one in their bags. They collected wood from the forest and then lit a fire inside the cave for light and warmth. Haley took Natalia''s magical ring from her body to try and find her sleeping bag. However, when she looked inside, she looked very shocked. "Why would she need all of this stuff¡­" Haley muttered under her breath before she pulled out a long sleeping bag from the ring, slowly putting Natalia on it, her voice still loud enough for Moby to listen. Moby was now very intrigued about the contents of the ring. He wanted to ask her if he could keep the ring in his possession as he is the porter of the group but immediately scrapped the idea as it would look really suspicious. ''I''ll find a way to peek into that ringter¡­'' Moby thought. "My powers only restore physical injuries. I can''t restore her stamina. She is just really tired. She will probably be out for the rest of the day at least.'' Haley exined after she finished healing Natalia. The team decided not to hunt magical beasts and rest up for the rest of the day while they wait for Natalia to wake up. If they go hunting and leave her alone, she would be in great danger if a beast randomly shows up. They were in first ce by arge margin anyways meaning points were not as big of a worry and concern for them at the moment. Haley had some extra food in her storage ring and reluctantly decided to share it with the rest of the group as they are currently unable to hunt for food and they don''t know what nts are poisonous or good to eat because they arepletely different from earth. Haley did give Moby a smaller portion of foodpared to the other 2 which slightly annoyed him. But, he decided to keep hisints to himself. The time was now 9:00 pm and most of the team decided to go to sleep, leaving Moby up to stay guard for the night. "I''m really tired from everything that happened¡­" "Good night guys¡­" Travis said with a loud yawn before falling to sleep like a baby. "I second that opinion, "Jay said, also going to sleep. "Hey! Porter boy! You will be responsible for staying up and keeping guard! If anything happens wake us up immediately! However, if you wake me up from my sleep for no good reason! I will not hesitate to kill you!" Haley said, staring daggers into Moby''s eyes. "Y..yes ma''am! I will be keeping watch from the outside!" Moby stiffly replied, pretending to be intimidated. ''Sometimes I can''t tell if she is joking or being serious¡­'' Moby thought. "Good!" She said, going to sleep. ''Fuck! Why did she have to do this to me! She hid Natalia''s ring in her bra! If it was anywhere else like in a bag or on her hand, I could have taken it out using my "Devil''s Hand" without her noticing, taken a quick peek inside, then put back where it was like nothing happened. But, I can''t search in her bra! It would definitely wake her up!'' Moby inwardly cursed. ''Well anyway, now that I finally got a breather, I need to contact Abby and Jayden to tell them about the change of ns.'' Moby thought, walking outside of the cave. ''I am so close to my evolution! That worm gave me 16,000 XP, boosting me all the way to level 29! I also received another 5000 XP from the household bonus from my servants,'' ''My XP gauge is now 11,000/19,000,'' ''I should probably assign my 10 stat points before I call Jayden and Abby, '' Moby thought, opening his stat page, assigning all his points into the mind stat, turning it from a base of 40 to 50. ''This new mind skill at 100 points better be worth it!'' Moby said. ''Of course it is! Remember thest time you got a new skill from mind stat? That was also my suggestion! Have I ever let you down so far?'' Avilia said with a chuckle. ''No, of course you haven''t,'' Moby replied with a smile. Moby then walked over to a t rock on the ground and called both his teammates. "Hey, guys! Can you hear me!" Moby asked. "Yes! I can hear you, my lord!" Abby firmly replied. "Ya, loud and clear," Jayden said. "Are you guys currently busy or are you fine with talking now? This is really important and can not wait any longer." Moby asked. "My team is currently asleep, how about you?" "Same with mine, I am just lying in bed, pretending to be asleep until I receive your call. You did tell us that you will be calling us every night for an update on everything. Ever since I turned into a demon, I started to not get that sleepy anymore! It''s great!" Abby enthusiastically replied. ''Of course, she was waiting,'' Moby thought with a small chuckle "My team is currently eating, I am just sitting on the side so don''t worry about it," Jayden said. "Good to hear," Moby said, nodding his head. "The thing that I wanted to tell you guys is that we are going back to the original n," Moby said in a serious tone. "That''s odd, we just switched the n recently this morning. I trust that something Important happened¡­" Jayden replied. "Yes, of course there was, let me start from the beginning¡­" *********** After 5 minutes of exining what happened. "Ya so, I also think that one of you will be next on her hit list¡­" "I HATE THOSE TYPES OF PEOPLE THE MOST!!" Abby said with a burning passion. "She is the exact opposite of my lord!" "My lord is the embodiment of justice itself! Going against his will is a grave sin!" "He is merciful, benevolent and kind to those who deserve it, and he only Judges the wicked by killing and torturing them!" "She is just a deceptive bitch that tramples and kills those who she doesn''t like just for petty reasons!" Abby said with clear passion in her voice. ''That''s a bit of a stretch but sure¡­ I''m d that she has so much faith in me,'' Moby awkwardly thought. "Abby, listen to me carefully. Do not listen and do everything I say like it isw without questioning it. If you feel like I have made a mistake or bad decision please don''t hesitate to let me know. A servant who blindly follows their master is no better than a mindless robot. I hope you understand," Moby said. "Yes, of course my lord! I understand that point very well! I just feel like in my personal opinion, you have yet to do anything wrong for me to rebuke or correct. Those are my honest feelings and opinions," Abby replied in an assertive tone. ''I know that she is being truthful but I''m not sure about how she will go about it.'' Moby thought in concern. "Thank you for understanding my intention, Abby!" Moby replied. "You are too kind my lord," Abby said in a thankful tone. "Hmm¡­ That exins why your team is so far ahead in the rankings¡­ Ok, let me get this straight¡­ So, your team went against a B rank worm monster and Natalia "killed" one of your teammates, Neia, who was really nice and kind to you. The only decent person In your group. Natalia turned out to be a crazy yandere killing anyone she deems a threat of taking you away from her. She is ready to do absolutely anything to ensure that she ends up with you. Absolutely anything. Due to Niea''s pure heart, she became an Archangel and because you promised that you will get revenge for her, she decided to give you a blessing to help youplete her wish of revenge, the same one you promised you would do. Then, she went off to the celestial realm. If you fail toplete the wish, the blessing will turn into a curse. Natalia defeated the Worm monster, after you saved her life, by using a 9 blinkbo super move along with a mini ck hole to suck and ensnare the worm. She is now unconscious and asleep in the cave. Is that everything?" Jayden said. "Yes, that is everything," Moby replied. "Does that mean I can get my revenge on Natalia properly! After all that bitch did abuse me, embarrass me in public, and even tried to sneakily kill me and try and make it look like an ident! Thank you so much!!! I was ok with the other n but this one is so much better!!" Jayden said with an enthusiasticugh. "Indeed!" Moby said with a smile. "That''s what I wanted to hear!! I can already imagine it now! The look on her face will be absolutely priceless!!" Jayden said,ughing like a lunatic. "Anyways, we need a way to beat that 9 blinkbo and sucking energy ball thing she has. I think if all 3 of us team up on her, we should be able to defeat her." Moby said. "That is true, but first, we need to get our teams closer to each other," Abby said. "I can sense that Jayden''s team is a lot closer to my team than Abby''s," Moby replied. "How do you know that??" Jayden asked in confusion. "I don''t know, I just feel a certain connection between all of us¡­ It''s probably because we are all in the same household. I think if you try to focus on that, then you should be able to find me, " Moby said. "Let me try!" Jayden said, trying to do as Moby told her. "Ya! I see something! You are decently far away¡­ I''m not sure exactly how far though, but at least now I know what direction I should head in and know when I be closer to you. I will try my best to push my team in your direction," Jayden said. "Lord! I see it too!! Woooow You are reaaaalllyyy far! That might be almost the other side of the! I don''t think that will be able to reach your location within the 6 days we have remaining. However, it is easier for me to move as I am the team leader. But still, I have a few lower levels on my team. If I were alone I would definitely be able to reach you. But, with them slowing me down, I don''t think that there is any possible way I can reach you guys¡­ You might have to do this on your own. I sincerely apologize my lord... I have failed you¡­" Abby said in a really sad and ashamed tone. ''Shit! That will reallyplicate things! Without Abby, I''m not certain that Jayden and I can defeat Natalia by ourselves!'' Moby inwardly cursed his bad luck. "You don''t have to apologize. It''s not your fault." "You can still help me out from afar! Do you remember what I told you about how demons get stronger from killing and defeating living creatures and how you and I share a link making us share the strength we receive?" "Yes of course my lord! How could I forget! You also said that the stronger the enemy, the more strength we gain!" "Well, I am nearing my evolution, I only need a little bit more strength! If you keep killing a lot of magical beasts, it will help me get stronger, greatly helping our odds of defeating Natalia." Moby said. "Yes! Of course my lord! I promise I will help all I can!" Abby said in a confident tone. "Jayden, you are also nearing an evolution, Once we both evolve, I''m sure we can think of a way of defeating her!" Moby added. "Wait! I am! Really! I can''t wait! Jayden said excitedly. "By the way Jayden, how is it going with Alex?" Moby asked nervously. "Not very good¡­ He still hates me and doesn''t trust me with a passion. Don''t worry, he hasn''t treated me badly, it''s just I know what the feeling is that he is giving off. But don''t worry! I promise I will get there with him! Eventually¡­" Jayden said with an awkward chuckle. "I''ll leave it to you! I''m sure you''ll somehow manage to gain his trust and show him that you are not the same as before!" Moby replied, trying his best to cheer her up. "Thanks¡­ I promise I will try my best! I also kinda want to make up with him. We used to be really good friends¡­" Jayden said. "Abby, how is it going as a team leader?" Moby asked. "It is going splendidly my lord! I feel like I am really fit to be put in a leading role!" "My team already loves me!" "They also think that the shadow of death is looming around us with every step because of the strategy you told me to do with my undead!" "Your ideas are truly genius as always my lord!" Abby said enthusiastically. "I''m d to hear that everything is going well!" "Anyways, that is all that I had to discuss with you guys! I will call you around this time every night." "Take care!" Moby said with a smile. "See ya!" Jayden replied in a happy tone. "Stay safe my lord!" Abby added closing the mind link with everyone. ''It seems like the first step in defeating Natalia will be in getting my evolution.'' ''It''s time I do some solo hunting!'' Moby thought with a big smile, looking into the vast forest ahead of him in excitement. ********************************* ATTENTION EVERYONE!! I have finally made a PayPal donation box if you guys want to even further support me and my novel! I don''t actually expect anyone to donate but I decided to make one anyways ???? (Just in case) I promise all the money will go back into making the story! (New cover [But this time I won''t get scammed I promise, if I do then I will legit return all the money that was give to me, no joke] Better equipment, and editors) https://.paypal/paypalme/AuthorDrip (The link will also be at the bottom of the synopsis!) Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 67: Evolution Stage 2

67 Evolution Stage 2

Moby only needed 8000 XP until his evolution, which is most likely only a few kills away. He should be able to evolve during this night time hunting session. He has been really excited about this moment for a very long time. It felt weird for him, the master of the household, to actually be the weakest one. He felt like his powers wereckingpared to his servants and he hopes that evolution will bring them to their level or even higher. He decided to not go too far away from the team''s current hideout as he is still supposed to be on watch duty. He needs to ensure that no beastse near the base and if someone wakes up and sees that he is not there, that he would show upter and tell them that he was just taking a walk or something along those lines. On his way, he found many different types of beast ranging from lizards and giant frogs in the swampy areas to giant birds soaring through the sky. Sadly, when Moby inspected them, he found out that they were all F rank to low D rank which would barely give him any XP at all. After nearly an hour of searching, he finally came across something interesting. A pack of 5 ck and green wolves, roaming around and looking for prey, in a small clearing in the forest. They had ck fur with streaks of light green lines on them. Their eyes shined a small glow of green and they were around the same size as an actual wolf from earth. When Moby used his inspect skill, he noticed that their power levels ranged from 5000 to 6200, around high D rank to low C rank. ****** Name: Lupus Toxicus Power Level: 5750 Hp: 100/100 Mana: 120 /120 Strength: 188 Agility: 158 Endurance: 89 Intelligence: 140 Mind: 0 ****** Usually, Moby would not choose to engage such arge group of strong enemies like this pack of wolves as they can most likely overwhelm him due to hisck of area of effect skills. However, this time was an exception. ''Lupus Toxicus, I am pretty sure that trantes to the toxic wolf. If that is true then that means that these wolves use toxic power or another way to put it, poison, as their main way of attack!'' ''This means that all their toxic-based attacks will bepletely useless against me and they would lose out on most of their attack potency.'' ''This is just free XP at this point!'' Moby thought with a smile, jumping off the tree, hiding behind it, trying his best to find an opportunity to make a stealth attack on one of the wolves. ''Either these wolves have a really strong mental resistance or "Lesser Mind Control" doesn''t work on magical beasts,'' Moby thought. Moby just had to improvise and find another opening or strategy for distraction. Then, he came up with a genius idea. Using his "Devil''s Hand" he grabbed hold of one of the wolve''s necks and squeezed it as hard as he could. Although the attack was really weak and caused virtually no harm to the wolf, it still greatly scared and startled it, making it run around in distress and calling out in panic. This made the other wolves really confused which made them let their guards down. Moby then used this opportunity to reveal himself from behind the tree, activating his "Eyes Of Sin" and performing a 3 demon shbo to quickly and stealthily take out one of the wolves by using "Demon sh" on their neck. [ +1000 XP] ''1000 XP per kill? That''s pretty good!'' Moby thought. As soon as the wolves saw the headless body of their fellow pack member, They all let out a loud howl that rang throughout most of the forest. Then they fixed their gaze on Moby with what looked like immense rage, growling, showing their green sharp teeth and long green ws. Then, all at once, they let out a green toxic gas from their mouths and aimed it at Moby. Although the toxic gas was slow, it was very wide and dynamic, covering most of the area around. Any nt, insect, or living creatures, that the toxic breath touched immediately either rotted or disintegrated. Everything except Moby who was walking through the toxic breath like it was not even there. ''Damn, these wolves really need to brush their teeth! Their breath stinks!'' Moby thought with a chuckle, slowly walking towards the 4 remaining wolves. At first, the wolves became really confused about why their breath is having no effect, so they decided to even further increase the potency and strength of their attack. However, all their efforts were futile which they soon realized. With every step that Moby took, the wolves'' fear would intensify, their angry eyes turning more and more fearful, their ws retracting as their legs shaking more and more. ''It seems that even magical beasts know fear. Good to know!" Moby thought when he was now only a few steps away from the wolves. The Wolves hung on to theirst sliver of hope as they continued to breathe toxic breath at the still advancing Moby when they noticed a sudden sh of light. The head of one of their other pack members was cleanly sliced off and rolling on the ground in front of them. They looked at the severed head in fear then back at the unknown man with purple glowing eyes right in front of them in horror. They had never experienced such a thing in their lives. No other beast they had faced was ever able to withstand such a high concentration of toxic breath. Not even their own species werepletely immune. The 3 remaining wolves tried their best to make an escape, each running into the forest in their own direction. However, Moby was not going to let them go that easily. He used his "devil''s hand" to ensnare the running wolves before shing straight to them and delivering the final blow. After a few gusts of wind and sudden shes, one of the wolves noticed it''s 2 dead teammates. It let out a loud cry before it too felt a tug on its legs. Then, suddenly, the wolf felt no more feeling in its neck, its head immactely sliced off. ''I now only have 78/183 demon energy left. I used a lot of demon shes, shes, along with a little of my devil''s hand to defeat them.'' ''Hah, that was easier than I expected, if they had actually ganged up on me I would have been in much more trouble. I guess they were too frightened to even think straight,'' ''Well, that was the easiest 5000 XP of my life. I only need 3000 more XP for my evolution. I guess it''s time to search for more beasts¡­'' Moby thought, stretching his arms and neck. As Moby was about to store the bodies of the wolves before leaving the area, he heard a loud, piercing, roaring from deeper in the forest. Then, before he got the chance to collect the bodies, he noticed arge wolf-like beast over 4 meters in height, stomping on its hind legs like a human, walking out of the forest and in the small clearing. It had a very muscr body, sharp ws and fangs, along with the same colour fur as the toxic wolves. When it noticed the dead bodies of the wolves that Moby had just in, it let out an even louder scream that hurt Moby''s ears before lunging at him at full speed, forcing him to demon sh out of the way. Moby then used this opportunity to use his inspect skill on the beast in front of him. ****** Name: Toxicus Lycan Power Level: 13,400 Hp: 120/120 Mana: 350/350 Strength: 270 Agility: 260 Endurance: 360 Intelligence: 450 Mind: 0 ****** ''Wait! What the fuck is that thing! It''s a low B rank! Why is it so fast!? Wait! That must be their pack leader! So those loud screams and howls that the wolves did had a purpose and were not solely due to fright! My demon energy is so low! I''m not sure I can even escape! I need to find a way to defeat it.'' Moby inwardly cursed. ''It has really high intelligence which means that it has a high energy reserve. This is most likely only used for toxic attacks which I ampletely immune to. If I run into the trees, I''m sure that it will try to chase me all day until it kills me which will attract the attention of even more beasts. My best choice right now is to fight! Plus, it would most likely give a lot of XP,'' Moby thought with resolve. The Lycan let out a loud toxic roar, covering the entire area around, causing trees, nts, and any living creature unfortunate enough to near it to wither and disintegrate. It even dissolved the bodies of the dead wolves which made Moby inwardly curse at his carelessness as to why he did not collect their bodies faster. Moby wanted to set the precedent early to the beast that he ispletely immune to his poison. He ran straight through its breath, running up and shing at its exposed neck at full force. However, when he tried to do it, he felt a loud clinking sound like the sound of steel shing against steel. The Lycan just stood there, seemingly unaffected by Moby''s sh, swatting him away like a fly, hurling him against the nearest tree. ''FUCK THAT HURT! I think I might have broken something! I knew that he was a lot more defensively strongpared to the wolves who only had around 80-100 endurance but I didn''t expect such a difference! Even a clean hit on the neck did not even leave a single scratch!'' Moby inwardly cursed. ''I need to use my advantages!'' Moby thought, running into the forest, jumping on a tree branch. Suddenly, he felt the tree start shaking before immediately falling down, forcing Moby to jump on another tree only for it to be cut down as well. Moby then jumped down onto a lower branch, grabbing the Lycan by the neck using his "devil''s hand as to distract it. Then, he leapt out of the branch and went for a sh towards its leg, once again causing no damage. After the sh, Moby thennded on the trunk of another, once again jumping towards the wolf and shing towards its shoulders. Moby''s speed at doing this was insanely quick as hepletely transfers the momentum from one jump to the other, attacking the beast from apletely different angle each time. He was like a ball bouncing in an enclosed room if the ball did not slow down at all and just continued bouncing. The more he attacked, the brighter the purple parts of his sword became. At first, the beast paid no heed to the attacks as they dealt no damage and could not pierce his tough skin. It just tried to once again use it''s toxic breath on Moby and tried scratching and swatting him away like a mindless beast. However, it was unable to predict his movements, making it miss every attack. This proved to Moby that the magical beast was not at all intelligent and more like a mindless animal instead. ''If this were an actual person or an intelligent creature, there would have been no way I would be able to get away with this. Also, I''m so d for this poison immunity, if it weren''t for this skill, I would definitely be dead long ago,''?Moby thought. For the first few attacks, the beast felt absolutely no damage. However, around the tenth or so hit, it felt an actual cut on one of its legs, blood running down from it. This made the beast gopletely berserk. It started breaking trees left and right only for Moby to jump on other trees. He tried to naturally lead it to another set of trees while still attacking at the same time, each attack slightly stronger than the next. After a few more shes, the small cuts that Moby was previously dealing turned into deep wounds instead. Eventually, this made the Lycan much slower than before as his body waspletely covered in wounds. Suddenly, After many more shes, the Lycan was able to block one of Moby''s attacks which made it extremely happy. However, at that point, he was already toote. Moby activated his "Eyes of Sin" and performed a demon sh using his glowing and bright purple sword on the Lycan''s arm,pletely cutting it off making the Lycan scared and distracted. This then allowed Moby to step on the stump of his severed arm, demon shing up to his neck, once again using the demon sh topletely sever the beast''s head from its body. [ You have defeated a low B rank, Toxicus Lycan ] [+ 12,000 XP ] [ Level Up! ] [ You Have Reached The Stage Of Evolution! ] [ Do You Want To Evolve? ] [ Yes ]????????????[ No ] ''That''s a lot of XP! Finally! The evolution!'' Moby thought in celebration. ''That was a really tough fight. I would have definitely lost if it weren''t for this sword''s ability, the stupidity of the beast, and my poison immunity. If any of those were not true, then I would have been dead.'' ''The Lycan''s hard body was impossible for my sword to cut without the extra 5% attack power for every consecutive hit. Luckily, my attacks were just fast enough to count as a consecutive attack. I''m so d I tested this out before the exam.'' Moby thought. Moby then walked over to the dead Lycan and ced its body in his inventory. The body might sell for a lot or even be used as good crafting material. Moby now focused his attention on therge, blue, pulsating notification in front of him. [ You Have Reached The Stage Of Evolution! ] [ Do You Want To Evolve? ] [ Yes ]????????????[ No ] ''I would love to evolve right now but first I would like a more secure location. I don''t want some random beast to attack me in the middle of my evolution.'' Moby thought, jumping back into the trees, searching for a cave just like the one he led his team to. Luckily, while his team was searching for a cave earlier in the day, he noticed another cave that was slightly smaller and not too far from the team''s current base. After a few minutes of tree jumping, he finally made it back to his team''s base to check on them. Luckily, he found out that they were all fast asleep despite all the loud howling that was made by the wolves. Then, he left for the other cave as stealthily as he could, trying not to make a sound or be followed. When he finally reached the other cave, he noticed that it waspletely empty. It just like his team''s cave which was perfect for him.?He assigned his 10 stat points he gained from leveling up into mind before he went through with the evolution. ''It was now time for evolution,'' Moby thought with a wide smile, bringing up the notification once again. [ You Have Reached The Stage Of Evolution! ] [ Do You Want To Evolve? ] [ Yes ]????????????[ No ] ''Yes,'' Moby thought, with a mix of strong determination and excitement. Moby prepared himself for the immense pain that he felt thest time he evolved. For a few seconds, it felt blissful andforting just like he expected. Then, suddenly, he felt his heart rate abruptly jump to an insane amount. His blood started boiling with the heat of what felt like 1000 suns. His skin peeled off like an orange before being regenerated multiple times. Every bone in his body was crushed all at once before being constantly rebuilt and regenerated. Arge amount of ck blood escaped from every orifice of his body in litres. Moby was rolling on the ground screaming in agony. The pain was immensely more unbearable than his first evolution. After 5 minutes of pure torture, which in Moby''s perception felt like an eternity, the pain finally stopped. When Moby slowly opened his tired eyes, he was greeted by arge notification in front of him. [ Congrattions! You have evolved into a "Draconic Demon Of Sin" ] ********************************* ATTENTION EVERYONE!! I have made a few changes to the story! The worm now gave 16k XP instead of 10k! Demon sh and Demon sh have been nerfed because it hase to my attention that they were too powerful! don''t worry! they will level up more during the story! A lot of cool abilities will be given next chap! I hope you guys are excited! Also, I have not been updating recently because I felt super burnt. Especially after the disaster and wasted money of my previous cover and the news that it will take over a month for my contract to be signed. Don''t worry, im not dropping. I just needed a small break. Luckily, I ordered another cover for only $30!!! and it looks amazing!! Join the discord for more updates and to help with the design! I will show the cover so far in thements. that is only a rough draft and less than 1 day of work!! Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 68: A Child In a Candy Shop

68 A Child In a Candy Shop

"Umm¡­ Avilia? You there¡­" Moby asked with a hint of worry, as Avilia has been quiet for almost half a minute. "Is this real? What the fuck did I just witness? First, it was that angel blessing and now I find out that you are a real sin demon and draconic demon hybrid. That has never been done before. EVER! You are actually abination of 2 of the strongest demon types I know¡­" "I myself was a demon of sin, that is what I expected you to turn into. I even gave you a few of the exclusive skills before your evolution like mind control, eyes of sin, and your devil''s hand." "There is no such thing as a "lesser demon of sin". So, I did not think it was odd that you did not get a specific demon type or ss like your teammates. The same goes for a draconic demon¡­ There is also no such thing as a "lesser draconic demon." "Were you even a human before your first evolution? Now I am questioning that more and more¡­ Who are your parents? That level 100 demon skill book you have is not at all normal. The same also goes for how they had my demon ne. And how you obtained draconic blood. All of that is not normal¡­" "The only usible theory that I coulde up with is that your parents are actually draconic demons of some kind¡­ That is still very weird¡­ I am sure that you were definitely a human when I first saw you¡­ This means that they either adopted you, or they found a way to suppress your demon nature." "To my knowledge, my parents were just normal people¡­ They died during the war a few years ago. To be honest, I don''t remember much about them. My memory is really cloudy about that part." Moby replied, making him think deeply about his past and his parents'' true identity. "I see¡­" Avilia replied, still in shock. "So¡­ I am now a dragon demon and a sin demon at the same time." "That''s really interesting. Lucifer, one of the first-ever demons, who is mostly referred to as Satan, transformed into a dragon when he went against arc angel Michael in their fight for heaven. Maybe being a dragon has something to do with that," Moby said. "There you go, mentioning names I don''t recognize once again. Where did you learn this?" Avilia asked? "From the school library that one time we went," Moby replied. ''Draconic demons are not verymon at all. During my whole life, I have onlye across a few. And even then, I was not able to learn much about them. All I know is that they were extremely strong." Avilia said. ''I have never heard Avilia talk about other people with such praise¡­ If she is talking about them like that, then they must be stronger than I can imagine.'' Moby thought. "Yes, it does. Sin demons are very good with pure demon energy maniption, strong mind control, and many other cool abilities. The system will help you learn the techniques that I learned in the past as I was a sin demon as well. However, it will not help you with your draconic abilities as I myself have no experience with them or know any of their techniques. You will be on your own on that," Avilia exined. "I understand¡­" Moby replied, nodding his head. "So, what sin do I represent? Wrath? Or maybe pride?" Moby asked excitedly. "You do not represent a sin¡­ You are sin itself. You have the power to assign your servants a sin to give them more power. However, that sin will need to make sense with their personality or past, you can''t just give anyone a sin. Back in my time as demon lord, I assigned a sin to each of my seven generals. I rmend you to do the same. I did not exin this before. But, not just any demon can start their own demon household. Demons of sin like you and I are one of the few that have that ability." Avilia exined which made Moby really excited. "Due to Jayden''s past, I can give her the sin of lust. And, Abby has be really ruthless these days so I can assign her the sin of wrath. And! If I turn¡­" Moby excitedly thought before being interrupted by Avilia. "I''m sorry to burst your bubble. But, you can only assign sins to your servants once you evolve into a greater demon, you currently don''t have enough power to do so." Avilia said. "Well, that''s a bummer. But, now is not the time to feel sad or disappointed. Now is the time to feel happy. And if what I am seeing in front of me is an indication of what there is toe, then I will definitely not be disappointed!" Moby said, looking at his new stat sheet. "Well, I will leave you to do your own thing and make your own judgements. I will just be watching from the back while I contemte my life choices." Avilia said, still stunned by what she just witnessed. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Level: 30 XP to next level 9,000/30,000 Power Level: 11,850 (10,250 + 1,600) Hp: 165/165 Demon Energy: 263 /263 Demon Energy regeneration: 158 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 336 (281 + 55) Agility: 314 (289 + 25) Endurance: 272 (222 + 50) Intelligence: 263 (233 + 30) Mind: 100 (60 + 40) Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** As soon as Moby saw his new stats, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. ''HOW THE FUCK AM I SO STRONG!! My power level is around the same as Abby''s!!! And I don''t even have an ability!!'' Moby thought, foaming from the mouth. Moby then scrolled down to check out any new skills. He ignored all the old skills that didn''t level up and focused on the new ones. ------------------------------------- Sense [Level 3] (Passive) Greatly Enhances a users 5 senses ------------------------------------- Inspect [Level 3] Allows the user to inspect any person or object and general information will be avable. ------------------------------------- Draconic Blood [ Level 1] (Passive) The Host''s power is strengthened due to his draconic blood. All stats except for mind +80 ------------------------------------- Draconic Scales [ Level 1] (Passive) The host''s skin is hardened due to his new draconic skin. Endurance +50 ------------------------------------- Drain [Level 1] This skill drains any creature''s (except for nts) health and energy and transfers them to the user. The stronger and healthier the enemy the better. The target must be alive for this skill to work. ------------------------------------- Air Steps [Level 1] This skill allows the user to use a triple jump mid-air by letting out a pulse of demon energy from their feet or air around them. Cost: 5 demon energy/jump ------------------------------------- Pure Demon Energy Maniption [Level 1] (passive) The user can control the pure essence of demon energy itself to perform strong attacks and defences. Cost: It Depends... Strength +50 ------------------------------------- Sin Mode [Level 1] A mode exclusive to the sin demon. This mode allows the user to gain energy from their enemy''s emotions, turning them into power for as long as the transformation is active. This skill can only target one enemy at a time. While this mode is active, the user can also read the emotions of the target of the skill. The power boost depends on what emotion the target/enemy is feeling and is different depending on the emotion. Multiple effects are possible if the target is feeling multiple of the emotions that are listed. The emotions felt must be a direct result of the user''s actions or else the skill would have no effect. The power boosts go as follows. Anger = Strength Annoyance = Agility Fear = Endurance Shame/Embarrassment = Health Regeneration + Energy Regeneration Cost: Nothing Activation: 1 time / 24 hours Duration: 5 minutes ------------------------------------- After carefully reading through all the new skills, Moby couldn''t help but startughing like a lunatic who had a little too much cocaine. "HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHA!!! THIS IS GREAT!!" "These new skills are amazing!! How does this pure demon energy maniption work!" Moby said, bringing his hand out. Suddenly, a small dark purple ball of energy emerged from his right hand. The ball floated a few inches away from his hand. It gave out a subtle glow and was slightly pulsating. It was exactly how Moby imagined pure energy would look like. Moby condensed the ball of energy into one finger and shot it straight at the wall of the cave, making a small finger-sized hole. ''Hah! This is great! I will need to experiment with this power more! I know I can do a lot more damage than that if I put more energy into the attack,'' Moby thought. ''Next, air steps!'' Moby thought, running out of the cave, jumping a few meters into the air. Then, he focused his demon energy into the area around his feet, boosting him up even higher. After that, he did a flip, putting his feet straight above him, his head facing towards the ground. Next, he performed his final jump, bolting towards the ground at immense speed, kicking at the ground, causing a small crater. ''Woww!! I feel like a kid who just got new toys for Christmas! These skills are so useful! Plus, I feel so much stronger and faster than before! I feel reborn!!'' Moby thought in excitement, like a hyperactive child on a massive sugar rush. ''Thest thing I need to test out now is drain!'' Moby thought, jumping towards the swamp to find a weak magical beast to test it on. When he arrived there, he made a cut on his skin, making himself lose 20 HP. Moby''s demon energy was already 21 away from max which was good enough for him to test out the skill. He then grabbed one of the giant F rank frogs and immediately used his "Drain" skill. Before the frog even had the chance to retaliate, It suddenly lost its ability to move. Then, After a few seconds, the frog turned into a shrivelled corpse. ''Only 10 demon energy and 5 hp restored? Plus, it took a few seconds for it topletely drain them. I assume this is because the target is only an F rank. However, even if it wasn''t, I can''t see this bing useful in a 1 vs 1 fight. But! In a group fight, this can be very useful. Draining one of the enemies as a power and health source before moving on to the next one! As long as there are enemies, I would always have power!'' Moby thought with a smile. ''Thest new skill I gained was "Sin Mode" which sounds really strong just from reading the description.'' ''I can literally gain power by fucking with people and their emotions!'' ''But, I do not want to test it out now as it has a 24-hour cooldown. It would be too careless to just waste it like that. There might be a possibility that I will need to use it in the very near future. I would hate to have it on cooldown if such a thing happens.'' ''Well, It''s only 3 am right now and I don''t feel tired at all! I still have the rest of the night to experiment with these new powers!'' Moby thought with a devilish, child-like smile. ********************************* ATTENTION EVERYONE!! Join the discord! https://discord.gg/GsPu5Kd If you enjoy my novel, please vote to help support me and to tell me you are enjoying my work! Chapter 69: Cap Star

69 Cap Star

It was finally the second day of the exam. Even though it was technically morning, the sky was still pitch ck as the is night-time 75% of the time. Team Natalia was still fast asleep like they had no care in the world. Suddenly, a powerful, boisterous, stomping sound was heard slowly approaching the cave from the outside. As a result, the noise woke up Haley who was sleeping closest to the cave''s entrance. She slowly opened her eyes and looked towards the entrance of the cave. There she saw the shadow of what looked like a huge bear monster the same size as some of thergest trees. As the figure of the bear became bigger, so did the sound of the stomps. Haley stared at the huge bear, visibly shaking and shivering, cold sweat running down her face with a fearful look in her eyes. She was almost too scared to move. Almost. ''Where the fuck is that porter boy!! He was supposed to be on watch to warn us about something like this!! Don''t tell me he fell asleep while on the job! So fucking useless!! We should have never relied on trash like him!'' Haley inwardly cursed. She scrambled over to Natalia''s sleeping bag and tried to wake her up by vigorously shaking her with no avail. In her mind, Natalia was the only one in the group strong enough to face that beast. After a few seconds of meaningless shaking, she finally gave up and woke up the rest of the group instead. "Hey! It''s still early! Why the fuck did you wake me up, Moby Dick?!" Jay bellowed in annoyance, trying to open his eyes. *p* "STOP YOUR YAPPERING YOU BIG FUCKING BAFOON! I''M NOT THAT USELESS, TRASH PORTER! DON''T YOU HEAR THAT SOUND!! LOOK OUTSIDE," Haley screamed in panic at the top of her voice. "Oh! Haley, it''s you! I''m so sorry for screaming at you. But, What the fuck are you ta¡­" Jay said, looking at the entrance of the cave with wide eyes. "HEY!! TRAVIS!! WAKE THE FUCK UP!! WE HAVE TROUBLE!! IT''S RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAVE!! WE WON''T HAVE TIME TO ESCAPE OR HAVE A PLACE TO RUN TO!!!" Jay screamed, now almost as panicked as Haley. Travis then immediately woke up and looked at the entrance of the cave with a hint of seriousness in his eyes. It was the only time that his life was truly in danger and on the line. "WAW! That''s a big monster!! Looks like fun to defeat! But, I would rather not die while facing it! So, Jay, on my mark, we attack! We need to hit it when it least expects it!" Travis said, with an awkward joyful and excited expression. "Umm¡­ Ya, I got it!" Jay nervously nodded, preparing a barrage of earth spikes. "3!" Travis said, loading a bunch of astral arrows into his bow. "2!" "1!" "Now!!" Travis said, shooting all his astral arrows towards the unknown beast which were followed by dozens of earth spikes from Jay. "Fuck! It didn''t work! What the fuck is that thing?!!" Travis shrieked, his fun and yful persona crumbling. However, Haley and Jay were too scared and focused on the beast nearing them to even notice Travis''s unnatural behaviour. "Haley! Calm down! I''ll protect you even if it costs me my life!!" Jay said standing in front of Haley, trying to act tough but failing miserably as his whole body was shivering in fear. ''Shit! I am done for!! I am too young and pretty to die!!'' Haley thought, abruptly falling over on her ass, pissing her pants. Suddenly, a familiar voice came out from the forest where the huge bear was located. "Hey! What the fuck was that for! Are you trying to kill me!? I barely survived defeating this beast and this is the type of wee I get!" As the beast came out of the forest and into the clearing in front of the cave, it suddenly fell down revealing the tired and bloodied Moby who was carrying it on his back the whole time. "Well shucks! It was just Mr. Porter the whole time! I thought we had another fun beast to defeat!" Travis said with a chuckle. "What the fuck!! What happened!!! Weren''t you supposed to be on watch! How did you get that beast?! Why are you so tired and injured!? How did you deflect all those attacks!? Exin yourself!" Haley demanded. "Here, take a look at this¡­" Moby calmly said, showing his watch to Haley. "I don''t care about your trash, weak ass power¡­" Haley said, stopping herself as soon as she noticed his power level. ''7,150!!'' ''What the fuck! How the hell is this abilityless trash so strong! He doesn''t even have any magical equipment! I checked that myself! So that is his base strength!?! This means that in terms of base strength, he is the second strongest one on the team! There is no way he''s been hiding his power level this whole time! That''s impossible!!'' "Huh!! Exin yourself!!!! How the fuck are you so strong!!" Haley screamed in shock. ''Fuck! I was too hasty! He is much stronger than me now!! I shouldn''t be so rude to him anymore or else it will end badly for me,'' Haley thought, biting her tongue. "Ok, let me start from the beginning¡­" Moby said with a deep long sigh. "Yesterday, when I was on watch, my legs got really tired so I decided to take a little stroll to stretch. Then, as I wasing back from the walk, I noticed a pack of 5 wolvesing to the cave where everyone was staying." "I couldn''te in and warn you guys as I would definitely be caught and killed by the wolves. So, I did the next best thing. I did not want you guys to die or get injured due to my mistakes and recklessness. So, I called out to the wolves to get their attention away from the cave." "Luckily, it worked and the wolves now had their attention on me. I ran as fast as I could, speeding myself up with some martial arts until I reached a small clearing in the forest." "There, I waspletely surrounded by the 5 wolves. My back was literally against the wall. I had nowhere to run. I was too scared to even move, shivering in ce, cold sweat running down my face. As the wolves were about to pounce on me, I closed my eyes and tried my best to ept my death." "Then, suddenly, a loud howl came out of the forest and a loud stomping sound was heard." "It was a huge Lycan or werewolf-like beast that emerged out of the forest and into the clearing." "I thought it was going to attack me. But, instead, it attacked and killed the other wolves, leaving me alone." "It let out powerful toxins from its body that immediately killed and dissolved some of the wolves alive." "I felt so blessed and relieved. I was somehow saved by some unknown miracle." "I then noticed that the Lycan and the wolves were too busy fighting. So, I used this opportunity to make my escape." "Unlucky for me, as soon as the beast finished taking care of the wolves, it focused its attention on me." "I was scared shitless and immediately started running in a random direction." "Normally, I would have run to the hideout. But, I did not do that for 2 major reasons. The first was that I had no idea where I was and where the hideout was located. Especially in the darkness of the night. The second was that this beast looked really powerful and I did not want to endanger you guys because of my mistakes." "So, I ran as fast as I could. Luckily, the beast was really slow and the trees were in its way ensnaring it''s movements, allowing me to barely stay out of its reach." "The beast broke down the trees like they were small twigs and naturally released a vicious toxin, killing and withering everything unlucky enough to be in its way.'' "After a few minutes of running, I managed to make the beast lose my scent and I hid in a random cave I somehow managed to find." "Inside the cave, I found many weird statues and ancient-looking words and runes. In the middle of the room, I found arge looking altar with some sort of purple glowing orb ced on top of it." "From watching TV and things online, I knew exactly what it was." "An ability orb." "I''ve never actually seen one in real life other than when I was offered one at the beginning of the school year. I was just too poor." "As I heard the sound of the beaste closer, I panicked and took the purple ability orb and absorbed its power gaining the unknown ability that was inside it." "As soon as I did, the beast lunged into the cave, destroying and dissolving everything inside." "Luckily I managed to dodge its attack. I barely managed to escape the cave due to the new wildly boosted physique that my new Ability provided me." "From the ability orb, I got some weird purple energy ability that I am not sure of myself." "With it, I was able to defeat the Toxic Lycan beast. Since it was slow and gave off a strong toxic gas when anything got near, I defeated it by keeping my distance and sting it from afar." "I wanted to bring the body back here for points. But, even in death, its body still gave off a strong toxic gas that killed anything that got near. So, I just left it where I killed it." "I spent the rest of my time trying to find where our camp was. I searched all night with no result. I waspletely lost. That was until I finally found you earlier this morning." "I got super excited so I decided to kill this huge bear monster to surprise you guys with a strong looking beast that would probably be worth a lot of points." "I just wanted to be useful to the team after doing absolutely nothing during thest fight." "I guess I really did surprise you guys. Just not in the way I wanted," Moby said with an awkward chuckle. "What you say is very hard to believe. Other than your increased power level, do you have any evidence." Haley asked with clear skepticism. "I have plenty of evidence. The corpses of the wolves and the Lycan. The broken treas, the dead and melted nts. And the remains of the cave." "Plus, I can show you my new ability," Moby said, putting his hands out making a strange purple looking energy flow his fingers. Then, a beam made of the same purple energy burst out of his hand and hit the ground near them, causing a massive crater to be formed. "See?" Moby said in a tired tone, heavily panting. Everyone in the group stared at Moby speechless, their mouthspletely wide open in shock. ''Prince charming? Is that you?'' Haley thought with love-struck eyes. "Hey, I could use some healing here, I think I''m going to pass out or die if I lose any more blood," Moby said, nervously scratching the back of his head. Chapter 70: Plan

70 n

"Well, I''m really tired. I''m going back to the cave to take a nap. Call me when you guys want to go somewhere or if something important happens. Don''t get too intimate now," Jay said, walking back into the cave, not before staring daggers at the seemingly oblivious Moby. "Same here! Bye! You two have fun!" Travis said in his usual overly joyous tone, following right behind Jay who gave him a mean look a second after. "Hey¡­ I''m sorry to ask, but, what is that yellow stuff dripping from your clothes?" Moby asked, feigning ignorance, trying his best not to break his poker face and burst out inughter. Suddenly, Haley stopped her treatment, her face became redder than a tomato. She took a few steps back before awkwardly waddling into the cave for a few seconds beforeing back. "Sorry about that! I spilt my water all over myself when I saw youing, carrying that monster on your back. We all thought we were under attack." Haley said with an embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah! It''s ok! I''m so sorry for scaring you! I promise that I only had good intentions. I really care about you," Moby said with a radiant smile, running his hands through her hair before putting it firmly on her shoulder. ''Is he an angel sent from the heavens? Was he always this attractive and cool?'' Haley thought, putting her hands over her blushing cheeks. "Hey, I just wanted to ask. Would it be possible if I hanged onto Natalia''s storage ring? It would be the safest with me since I now have the second-highest power level on the team," Moby said in a sincere and worried tone. "I''m sorry, I can''t do that. I want to respect Natalia''s privacy. She is my saviour, I can''t just give it to you¡­ I understand that you only have good intentions, but I already vowed that I would not expose it''s contents to anyone. I hope you understand¡­" Haley said, nervously fiddling with her thumbs. As soon as Moby heard her response, a small, barely noticeable dent was made in his poker face. A few bulging veins became slightly visible on his face and his right eyebrow started sporadically twitching. Luckily, no one saw him. His back was turned to his other teammates and Haley was too nervous and ashamed to even look him in the eyes. "Of course, Ipletely understand¡­ You seem like a very trustworthy friend," Moby said, trying his best to maintain his poker face. ''ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING MEE!?? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN RESPECT NATALIA''S PRIVACY!?! YOU ALREADY TOOK A FUCKING PEEK!? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN LOOK AT IT AND I CAN''T,'' ''PART OF THE REASON THAT I EXPOSED MY POWER WAS TO GET A PEEK AT THAT FUCKING STORAGE RING!!!'' ''I DON''T CARE ANYMORE!! THIS TWO FACED BITCH CAN DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH FOR ALL I CARE!!'' ''At least your other n worked. You sessfully managed to convince the team that you have an ability meaning that they will allow you to go hunting with them, gaining you more XP,'' Avilia said, trying to cheer him up. ''True. Although everything did not go perfectly, I had no intention of scaring them. I honestly just wanted to give them a beast as a present to raise their spirits and help persuade them into believing my story. I even injured myself in an attempt to nerf my own strength. But, that backfired badly in my face!'' ''Also, this is the only time that I can somewhat realistically convince my team and the school that I got an ability. Luckily, I know the school has no way of knowing if my "Ability" is actually an "Ability" and, no one would question if it is as it resembles one. They have no reason to think otherwise.'' ''Furthermore, If I got one on earth, it would be too obscure as there would be no ability like my pure demon energy. They don''t need a lie detector to figure that out. It''smon sense. So, if I just get it on another and show convincing evidence, then they would have no choice but to believe me. The school would most likely make me take another lie detector test. But, when I get that skill you were talking about, I''m sure I can bypass it with no problem. Furthermore, If I were to get an ability in the future, it would have to be something subtle or that looks very simr to my pure demon energy which can be a hassle for obvious reasons. '' ''I also chose not to expose my full power level for many reasons.'' ''The first is that I want to give Natalia the illusion that she is still in control and that I am not a threat to her. It was hard to choose a power level that allowed me to do that while at the same time making it at least possible that I could defeat a B- rank beast. I also needed to make my power level low enough for me not to be noticed by any of the stronger second-year students.'' ''The second, my team all thinks that my equipment is normal and that it gives me no power boost at all. If I showed my full power level and either took off or wore magical equipment, I would not be able to adjust my power level ordingly. Exposing my lie as a result.'' ''And, the third, andst, is that it is always good to keep your power hidden. It gives you an upper hand in most fights as your opponent will most likely underestimate you. This is also the reason why I will be hiding "Eyes of Sin", "Devil''s Hand", and "Sin Mode" as they will be my hidden trump cards and won''t make sense with the theme of my "Pure Demon Energy Maniption".'' ''This n just made the most sense, I can now freely use most of my powers without the fear of being exposed. And, I can now gain more XP by hunting with the group. I would have to do this eventually and it''s better to do it now thanter. The only other time I could pull something like this off is during a future exam. And, who knows if it will even be an exam on another or how long in the future it will take. It was just my safest bet to do it now,'' Moby thought. ''Seems like someone cheered up a bit and rambled on a little too long¡­'' Avilia said with a chuckle. "All done!" Haley said in an energetic tone as shepletely finished healing Moby''s wounds. "Wow!! I feel good as new! You are an incredible healer! Thank you so much!!" Moby said, stretching his newly healed body. "Aww, it''s nothing¡­ I''m just doing my job," Haley said, trying her best to do a cute chuckle but failing miserably in the process. ''Fuck that''s disgusting! She now has a crush on me for no reason! Natalia is going to now kill her anyway so it would be more advantageous for me to do it myself. At least she could help me by serving as XP. I can''t imaginesting a week with her in the group.'' Moby thought, inwardly shuddering. Suddenly, the air around the area dropped by what seemed like a few degrees. Then, a strong, suffocating, killing intent emanated from within the cave. This could only mean one thing... ''Fuck! It''s her! There goes any chance of me getting that ring.'' Moby thought, knowing exactly what was going on. Then, suddenly, as soon as the killing intent arrived, it instantly disappeared. A few momentster, a familiar figure walked out of the slightly lit cave. "Good morning guys! How long was I asleep! What did I miss?" Natalia said with a cute yawn. "Team leader!!! I''m so d you''re okay!! You''ve been out for almost 24 hours now!! Umm¡­ I just wanted to thank you for saving my life. I owe you a great debt!" Haley said, excitedly running towards Natalia. "No need to thank me! I was just doing my job as a leader. You are a very important and vital part of the team! We are friends, right?" Natalia said with a wide smile. "Team leader! I¡­" "Just call me Natalia." "Umm¡­ Natalia, I am so grateful for having such a great, selfless, honest, team leader such as yourself. I doubt the other team leaders are as amazing as you!" Haley said as if she was a little kid. "You tter me, you''re giving me too much credit," Natalia said with a chuckle. "By the way, here is your storage ring! I kept it safe for you the whole time!" Haley said, pulling the ring out of her bra and handing the ring over to Natalia. "Did you by any chance take a peek at what was inside?" Natalia said, her smile bing even wider than before. "Well¡­ I did take a little peak when I used it to grab your sleeping bag. Nobody else saw what was inside. It was only me. I promise on my life that I will keep it a secret! That''s what friends are for." Haley said in a nervous tone. "Well, that''s good to know. Friend..." Natalia said, with a small chuckle. "Anyways¡­" "I see that you and Moby are getting along a lot better now¡­ I''m d to see that you guys are no longer on bad terms¡­ So, what is that about?" Natalia said with a wide grin that seemed almost ominous. Chapter 71: The Goblin Queen In The Goblin Trap

71 The Goblin Queen In The Goblin Trap

"You made out!?!" Natalia screamed, almost breaking her poker face. "Heavens no! I said we made up!" Haley immediately retorted, her face even redder than before. "Oh, sorry, I misheard¡­" Natalia said in an apologetic tone, scratching her right cheek. "Oh! Natalia! I have something to tell you! Moby here got an ability randomly from a cave in the forest! He is now the second strongest person on the team! The teams were supposed to be bnced but now ours clearly has an edge over thepetition! Even though we are missing a member! That weak slut was useless anyways! To be honest I even forgot her name!" Haley said with a loudugh. "First of all! Neia was a very important part of the team! And second, Moby has an ability!?! Please exin!!" Natalia said in an extremely surprised tone that seemedpletely out of character. At that moment, Moby had a lot to say. But, he fought the urge and calmly held everything inside. ******************************** 10 minutester¡­ "I see¡­ I think I have a better grasp of the situation¡­ sure everything turned out fine by the end but, I can''t say I agree with your methods!" "Why did you let Moby keep watch all night!? You should have switched every few hours! Even if this all ended well and Moby luckily got the ability and survived. What he did was a 1 in a million thing. Without it, he would have easily died! I don''t know what I would do if I lost him!" Natalia said with clear passion and concern in her voice. "Uh, I mean another teammate! Not "him" " Natalia added, immediately and nervously correcting herself. "Yes¡­ I understand¡­ I''m so sorry¡­ It was my idea for him to keep watch as he was the weakest and would be useless in a fight. If our useful fighters are tired, then we would have a worse chance of survival." Haley nervously exined. "I understand your point of view. But, you need to realize that we are all people with feelings. Don''t just go around treating everyone like they are worthless and as a bother!" Natalia exined. ''You should probably take your own advice.'' Moby thought, scoffing at herment. "Moby, I am really happy that you now have an ability! But don''t get reckless just because you are now a lot stronger! You are still much weaker than I am! You can count on me to lead and keep you safe!" Natalia said with a smile. "Yes! Of course team leader! I will take those words to heart!" Moby replied. ''Am I going crazy!? Or is Moby even hotter now than before!? Is it because I haven''t seen him in a long time? Am I just imagining things and he always looked like this!?'' Is what Natalia was thinking about during her entire conversation with Moby. That and how she ns to get rid of Haley. None of his other teammates noticed anything different about Moby as they did not pay much if not any attention to him or his appearance before. This also included Haley. "This bear monster also looks pretty impressive! I think I saw that it was a C rank when I was looking at the bestiary! Nice catch! That''s an easy 125 points!" Natalia said, pulling out her magic rod and teleporting the beast away. "Anyways, I want to see all this evidence you''ve been talking about, including that strong Lycan, it might be worth a lot of points!" "I''m going to go exploring the forest to see if I can find the battlefield and scout around for any monster in the area. It shouldn''t take too long! In the meantime, you guys call Travis and Jay and tell them to get ready and wait with you guys until my arrival!" Natalia said, jumping into the dark forest. "Hey! Natalia! Don''t you need a shlight! It''s still really dark outside! I''m scared that you would get lost!" Haley asked with evident concern in her voice. "It''s fine! My armour gives me night vision! It won''t be a problem at all!" Natalia replied beforepletely disappearing into the forest. "While you go wake up the guys, I''m going to do my daily exercise. Sorry, at this point it''s a habit I can''t get rid of," Moby casually said before running into the forest. "Sure thing! You can count on me!" Haley cheerfully replied. ''Such a hard worker!'' She thought, looking at the sprinting Moby in the distance. Moby had nned to run after Natalia to see what she was doing. He doubted that she was just "scouting". However, he lost her track as she was too fast for him to keep up. So, he decided to do his daily quest and gain his 3 stat points. He immediately assigned the new stat points to his agility, raising it from a base of 259 to 262. After his evolution, his strength stat was now higher than his agility when armour is added. So, he wants to change it back to around the same proportions as his pre-evolution stats. He decided to assign the points he gained from levelling up into mind and his daily quest stats into agility. He will do this at least until he reaches a base of 100 mind. When Moby returned to his base, he found that his team was already prepared and was waiting for his arrival, Natalia included. She said that she had explored most of the forest and found the battlefield, the broken and withered nts, and the cave. She said she saw a lot of beasts in the area and that sheid out a safe path. She insisted that the group should not use a strong light source as it would attract the attention of the many beasts in the forest. So, everyone just had to rely on the small light that their watches provided which only emitted a faint light that was only strong enough for them to be able to barely see their own feet. The group then entered the dark forest in a single file line, Natalia leading the way. She was the only one in the group that knew the correct path to the evidence and the only one that had night vision. So, she was the obvious choice to lead. The second person in the line was very obscure. Instead of Moby who was now the second strongest in the group. Natalia insisted to have Haley right behind her while Moby was in the middle of the line, in between Travis who was in front of him, and Jay that was behind him which was arguably one of the safest parts of the line. Natalia exined this decision by saying that Haley''s healing is a lot more effective when she is closer. She said that in the fight with the worm, when Haley was at a distance, she felt almost no healing and whenever she got closer, the healing greatly multiplied in strength. Everyone in the group understood the exnation and thought nothing suspicious of it. Natalia has been so nice and caring to them and even saved their lives in the fight with the worm. They had absolutely no reason to doubt her words or find her even the least bit untrustworthy. Everyone except for Moby who knew that she must have an ulterior motive. Every few seconds, the sound of animal screams and cries could be heard in the forest, startling Jay and Haley. This also included whenever someone would step on a twig making a sound. After a few minutes of walking in the darkness of the forest, Moby noticed that Natalia made a slightly unnatural movement. She walked a bit farther in front of the group, making her body out of the group''s field of vision before performing a casual looking small hop. At first, Moby thought that it was nothing too significant. Then, he noticed an unnaturallyrge clump of leaves on the path straight ahead of Haley. As soon as Moby saw the leaves, he knew exactly what was going on. He immediately reacted by using his "devil''s hand" to hold onto Haley''s leg, slightly off-putting her movements making her step off the side of the clump of leaves instead of straight on it, revealing a deep hole where the leaves once were. "Hey! What the fuck was that! Did someone push me? Or Did I trip on a twig?? I just ruined my favourite armour! It''s all muddy now!" Haley angrilyined. As soon as Natalia noticed that Haley waspletely unharmed, she bit her lower lip almost strong enough to draw blood before a massive, ugly scowl appeared on her face. She thought that she was safe to act natural as it ispletely dark and no one could properly see her face. Unlucky for her, Moby saw everything. It was the first time he saw Natalia go all out on a natural facial expression. Every other time was a minor, barely noticeable slip up in her poker face. ''I see what game you are now ying. Well yed indeed. If I did not notice the leaves, your n would have worked. Sucks to be you! I will be the one that kills Haley! I''ve never killed a C rank human before! I bet that it will give a shit ton of XP!'' Moby excitedly thought, hispetitive spirit surfacing into his mind. Suddenly, Haley screamed a loud, piercing, high pitch scream that startled everyone in the group. "AHHHHHH!! WHAT IS THAT!! I ALMOST FELL DOWN THERE!!" Haley screamed, dropping down on her ass and pointing at the deep hole right beside her with horrified eyes. The hole was at least 20 feet deep with sharp tree branch-like spikes at the bottom. The branches had a purple tip on them which was most likely some sort of poison. "Haley! Are you ok! Are you hurt? " Jay asked with clear worry and concern. "Does it look like I''m okay you big oaf! I almost died a second ago!!" Haley screamed once more. "Shhh!! Please be quiet! I am scared that you might alert any beasts in the forest with your screams!" Jay whispered. "I agree with Jay, you should be a little quieter. This right here is a goblin trap. I forgot to tell you guys before but, there are goblins that live on this. A semi-intelligent species of magical beasts. Their power levels range all the way from F- to D. I am fairly sure that this was a goblin trap. I am not sure how fresh this trap is. But, depending on that, it means that a goblin vige might be near here. When I chose this path, I did not know of these traps as I was jumping from the tree branches to move around. There might be more traps ahead. So, I rmend you all keep an eye out. I''ll notify you guys if I see another one ahead. However, I will tell you now that I am not very good at identifying traps. So, don''t put all your hopes in me because I will most likely disappoint you guys." Natalia calmly exined. ''That''s bullshit!!'' Moby thought in outrage, immediately catching her lies. Chapter 72: A Toxic Environmen

72 A Toxic Environmen

After Haley and the rest of the group regained theirposure, they continued to walk behind Natalia as she led them to the first battlefield. On their way, they ran into 2 other traps, One was another hole trap while the other was a rope trap that would bind onto someone''s foot and catapult them in the air, making them fall to death. Natalia even pointed out many fake traps in order to gain the trust of the group and even received praise for doing it. Moby used his devil''s hand to make all the traps miss Haley. He made her either stumble or trip in a way that looked natural, saving her from each trap as a result. Each time Natalia noticed that her n didn''t work, she became even angrier, her scowl growing bigger and uglier each time. Her ns were proving to be absolutely ineffective for reasons she could not understand. It was like there was a ghost, spirit, or guardian angel watching over Haley. After a few minutes of walking, the group finally reached the first battlefield that Moby was talking about. It was a small clearing in the forest. There was blood on the ground, withered nts, dissolved rocks, and broken trees, exactly like Moby described. The area definitely had a clear sign of a scuffle. The bodies of 5 wolves were randomly scattered around the vicinity, their bodiespletely dissolved and unrecognizable. Their description matched the one Moby told them exactly. They could tell that they were wolves, but had no idea of their species. Since the bodies were so damaged and poisonous, they were unable to cash them in for any points. Even if Haley wanted to heal them, she couldn''t. Their bodies were beyond saving. Natalia exined that the bodies must be in at least decent or usable condition for them to be worth any points. Also, any extremely poisonous beast would be a hazard for the soldiers at school to deal with. So, those types of monsters will be worth half points if they were teleported to the school for points. From the clearing in the forest, they noticed another pathing into the clearing. It was a path littered with broken trees and withered nts which Moby described to them as the path he took for escape when the Lycan started chasing him. When the group was walking on the path, they were amazed by the magnitude of destruction they were witnessing. It made them even more interested in how the beast that caused all this destruction and mayhem looked like. On the way were even more traps that wereid out. This included 2 more hole traps with sharp rocks at the bottom and one rope trap which Moby once again made miss their intended target. At this point, Natalia was close to snapping, with every failed trap she started to lose her mind more and more. However, she somehow managed to keep her emotions under control and calm herself down. After a few minutes of walking, the trail of devastation led them to where the cave once stood. Now in its ce was a pile of dissolved rubble. Nothing was recognizable at all. Once again, exactly like Moby described. From the cave was another path of broken trees that led them into a massive area of a withered and dissolved environment. Many craters littered the ground andrge scratch marks were on many of the trees. In the middle of the battlefield was the gigantic figure of the dead Lycan. Around it was dissolved ck grass that made the Lycan''s body slightly sink into the ground. Even in death, the Lycan''s body was extremely toxic. With this much proof, the group had to 100% believe Moby''s story. They knew that it would be impossible to fake all of this unless he was immune to the Lycan''s toxins and was able to pick up its body to fake the withered nts and scratches. Which was absurd. No one could possibly bepletely immune to such a strong toxin. Or so they thought. That was exactly what Moby did. The Lycan did not follow him all the way to the cave. So, he faked the rest of the way by picking up the Lycan''s body and manually destroying and withering everything in the area with it. This included both the cave and the new battlefield he recently created as well. He spent the entire night doing it, trying his best to make it look as natural and convincing as possible. As the group got closer to the huge monster in the center of the battlefield, they noticed that it was indeed a giant werewolf looking beast. "l recognize this beast from the bestiary! This is a Toxicus Lycan! They are extremely rare and have not been seen on this since 30 years ago! They secrete a very powerful poison from their mouth and body that can wither and dissolve virtually anything! Their power levels range from 10,000 to 12,500. I assume that Moby got lucky and faced one closed to 10,000 as if it were any higher I wouldn''t see any way he could have won." Natalia exined. ''Huh? 10,000 to 12,500? The one I faced was 13,400! Is her information outdated or something?'' Moby questioned. "Sadly, since this is an extremely toxic beast, it will be a hazard for the workers at school. The body is in well enough condition but, due to its toxic body, our points will be halved." Natalia exined with immense disappointment. "I have an idea! Haley, your ability is healing! So, maybe if you try to heal the body, the toxins might also be dispelled!" Moby excitedly asked her with stars in his eyes. Natalia inwardly cringed and felt a piercing pain in her heart when she saw Moby talking to Haley like that. "Well¡­ sure! Why not! It''s worth a shot!" Haley said, blushing with a wide smile on her face. "Try to stay clear of the body, you might get hurt if you get too close to it," Jay warned her. "No shit Sherlock! Of course, I know that! I''ve never heard anything goode out of that useless mouth of yours!" Haley replied in disgust. "Yo, chill, I was just trying to help out¡­" Jay replied, looking genuinely hurt. "Drop the act! I know that you have a thing for me! Sadly for you, I wouldn''t look in the face of ugly, weak, worthless trash like you! Don''t even think that you actually had a chance with me! Go die a horrible death for all I care! I would do it myself, but sadly, I don''t want to touch your disgusting body! I feel like you might get some sort of sick satisfaction from it!" Haley said in a cold, revolted voice. This made both Natalia and Moby really shocked at this reveal. None of them noticed that there was anything going on between the two. Especially Moby, he could not believe that anyone would ever find interest in a little goblin like her. He was convinced that if the goblins on this saw her, they would think she was their queen. "I''m sorry¡­ I''ll just leave you alone from now on¡­" Jay replied, trying to hold his tears inside the dam known as his eyes. Usually, Natalia would have intervened, telling both parties to calm down and makeup. But, this time was different than all the other times. There was no point in making up with someone who is about to die. ''You''ve been getting so lucky dodging all my traps! I think I''m about to go crazy if I see this bitch alive for any longer!! You actually disgust me!!! While I was scouting, I saw a pack of beasts near here! I''ll just make one of them kill you in a way that looked idental. And, if that doesn''t work, I''ll just tell the group to split up as I kill you with my own hands and me it on a random reason! No one would be suspicious of me or anything! I''ve been so nice and caring to this group for them to possibly think it was me!'' Natalia thought with a smirk. Haley spat on the face of the clearly depressed Jay, who had no reaction at all, before confidently walking towards the Lycan''s remains. However, as soon as she was about to reach its body, she felt arge and abrupt push hit her from behind, simr to how she felt when she was saved from the traps. Only this time, it was much harder. This made Haley tumble and fall straight onto the Lycan''s dead corpse. As soon as she did, green veins started to pop up on her face. She then started to throw up a weird looking green substance. She tried her best to move or grasp for air with no avail as the toxins have already spread to her lungs. Her hair started to quickly fall out like a dog shedding. Her hands started to dissolve into a slime-like substance. She tried her best to use her healing ability to save herself but it did not even make a difference. Her whole body was dissolving. Everyone was just staring at Haley''s agony in extreme horror and shock. No one was expecting such a thing to happen. "NOOO HALEY!!! NOT LIKE THIS!! HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN!! HEY! NATALIA! CAN''T WE SAVE HER!?!" Jay screamed in desperation, trying not to give up hope. "No¡­ I''m sorry to say but it''s not possible. Once the poison spreads through the body like that, there is nothing anyone can do without the proper antidote. She is as good as dead¡­" Natalia said with clear grief in her voice looking away from the dreadful scene in front of her, tears falling down from her face. "NOOO HALEY!! WHY!! NOOOO!! HOW DID IT COME TO THIS!?" Moby screamed, small tears also running down his face. "AHHHHHH!!!! THAT HURTS!! IT FUCKING HURTS!! I DON''T WANT TO DIE!! NOT LIKE THIS!!! MOBY!! MY LOVE! I HAD NO CHANCE TO PROPERLY EXPRESS MY FEELINGS TO YOU!! BUT, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I CAN!! PLEASE!! NEVER FORGET ME AND KEEP ME CLOSE IN YOUR HEART!! I AM REALLY THANKFUL FOR BOTH YOU AND NATALIA!! YOU GUYS WERE AMAZING FRIENDS!! JAYYY!!! I KNOWW IT WAS YOU!!! YOU DID THIS TO ME!!! YOU PUSHED ME IN USING YOUR EARTH ABILITY!! YOU FUCKING PEASANT!!! I SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU THE SECOND I FOUND OUT YOU LIKED ME!!! YOU WON''T GET AWAY WITH THIS!! ONCE THE SCHOOL FINDS OUT AND KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED!! YOUR WHOLE FAMILY WILL BE TORTURED, THEN EXECUTED!! MARK MY WORDS!!" Haley cried out before dying and dissolving away. "NOOOOO!!! WHY LIKE THIS!?! HALEY!! IT WASN''T ME!! I PROMISE IT WASN''T ME!! I PROMISE IT WASN''T ME!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Jay screamed as he watched Haley dissolve right in front of him, falling on his knees, a waterfall of tears falling down his face. As soon as Moby saw Haleypletely dissolve, he held in the urge to burst out inughter. It was really hard to hold it in and not break his grieving poker face but he somehow managed to do it. \u003c System Alert! \u003e \u003c You have killed a low C rank enemy! \u003e \u003c +35000 XP \u003e \u003c Level Up! \u003e ''Exactly as nned¡­'' Moby thought in joy, looking at all the XP he got. Chapter 73: A New Reason To Live

73 A New Reason To Live

Moby was on his knees, looking at the ground with an empty and nk expression, tears falling down his face. Natalia was still on her two feet, closing her eyes, looking away pretending to be hurt. "No¡­ Haley¡­ You were a really good friend. Why did this unfortunate ident have to happen?" She grieved. Travis, who was standing at the back of the group where no one could see him had apletely nk expression, trying his best to look shocked. However, a small barely visible smirk was on his face which quickly disappeared into a more serious expression. Jay was on his knees, smashing the ground under him like a lunatic, screaming as loud as he could with a seemingly never-ending stream of tears falling from his eyes. He was the only one that was truly grieving for Haley. Everyone else had their own reason for pretending. "HALEY!! HALEY!!! NO!!! YOU CAN''T BE GONE!!! IT WASN''T MEEE!! I STILL LOVE YOU!! I NEVER GAVE UP ON YOU!! WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?? WHAT ARE THE ODDS THAT YOU TRIPPED!!" Jay shouted at the top of his voice. "Wait¡­ was it really my fault? Was it because of my words that you went off in anger? Is it really my fault that my own crush died right in front of my eyes¡­ I was just trying to help¡­ I didn''t deserve this¡­ It''s all his fault! It''s his¡­ He stole her away from me with his non-existent charm¡­ none of this would have happened if it weren''t for him¡­ He ruined everything¡­ I''ll fucking kill him¡­ Heh¡­ heh¡­ he''s dead! But now¡­ I will bide my time to make sure I can choke the life out of him..." Jay crazily mumbled to himself in a barely audible tone. Even with Moby''s enhanced senses, he was still unable to properly hear Jay''s words. Even when he focused on it, it just sounded like random gibberish so he paid it no heed. ''Why is he even simping for a girl that literally spat in his face and said that she wanted him dead?? I can never understand that. Is he a masochist that gets off at that kind of thing? I never took him for the type,'' Moby questioned. Suddenly, a swarm of red, blue, green, and brown slimes emerged from the forest. "Enemies are here!! We must have alerted them! Everyone, get ready to fight!! They are only high E ranks!!" Natalia screamed. ''This damn Jay and his senseless howling alerted them. At least it''s free XP.'' Moby thought, trying his best to pretend to regain hisposure to fight the slimes. There were around 50 slimes in total. They were just a big blob of jelly-like substance with a glowing core in the middle, allowing them to be clearly seen even in the darkness of the night. They moved around with short hops that gave them a decent burst of speed. Each colour slime controlled a different element. Green controlled wind, blue controlled water, brown controlled earth, and red controlled fire. Moby just shot out a barrage of energy attacks, taking out many slimes at a time, targeting their cores in a meticulous way. Travis took a few jumps back, hopping from tree to tree, dodging all of the slime''s attacks and firing back with his own arrows. Jay on the other hand was still on his knees, motionless in the middle of the battlefield. "Hey! Jay! We can use a little help!! I know that you are still really depressed but now is not the time to stay like that!" Natalia said, shielding him from a barrage of attacks that were headed his way. This made Jay slowly lift his head, look into the sky before standing up and wiping away his tears. He had found a new purpose in life and there would be no way he would allow himself to die like this. He joined the fight, helping his teammates win. Although the slimes themselves were weak, the sheer amount of them was almost overwhelming. They were extremely slow, but at the same time really tanky and dished out a lot of damage. The fightsted almost an hour and drained the team out of all their mana forcing them to go back to their base to rest. They only sustained minimal damage which is good because they nowck a healer. Of course, Moby had a really high demon regeneration and Natalia''s armour had a boost to regeneration as well so it was not a big deal for them. But, for Jay and Travis, it was apletely different story. They both had a few regeneration potions that healed their body after a 3-hour nap which was really impracticalpared to having a healer. Natalia cashed in the bodies of all the slimes and the body of the Lycan which still had the dissolved corpse of Haley on top of it. During their fight with the slimes and walk back to the cave, Jay was staring daggers at Moby who waspletely oblivious. Moby thought that Jay posed no threat to him at all so he did not pay a lot of attention to him. He still wanted to gain the favour of his group so he tried his best tofort the grieving Jay with no result making Mobye to the conclusion that he must still not be over what happened. After a small rest, the group went out for more hunting. In total, they killed 10 D ranks, 5 E ranks and 1 C rank this didn''t include the slimes, the bear, and the Lycan that they cashed in earlier in the day. All in all, they gained 1,088 points. In total, they had 1,731 points. Although 2 of their team members had already died, their score on the leaderboard had yet to be deducted which really confused the group. They should have negative 269 points after the 2000 point penalty. They concluded that it must be that the deductions are not made until the end of the exam or that they just forgot to deduct their points which was highly unlikely. So, this made them realize that the leaderboards were not entirely urate and they needed to try harder in order to catch up to any possible group ahead. On the leaderboard, they lost their first ce and dropped all the way down to 3rd ce. Right behind team Abby and Alex who were at 1st and 2nd respectively. Team Alex had 1,910 points while team Abby was at a staggering 2,560 points. Team Nags who was still in 4th was fairly far behind the other teams with only 1,360 points. Moby was expecting this result as he was barraged with XP notifications all day to the point that he told Avilia to disable notifications on XP shared kills. He just levelled up today and he is already close to another level up. He had already assigned his new stat points to mind. He now has 70 mind, only 3 level ups away from getting the new skill at 100 mind. The fact that their team was shown in 3rd made Natalia fairly angry. But, she tried her best to keep her emotions under control. She could not ept that Jayden''s team was ahead of hers. She exined the sudden increase in points from the other groupspared to the first day as just them trying to find good hunting grounds and to set up their bases on their first day. She wanted to Move out of the area as most of the beasts in this region of the forest were either too strong or too weak. The group was not expecting the exam to be this hard as it was supposed to be just practice. Moby included. It was now 9 pm and the group prepared to go to sleep. Moby wanted to go talk to Jay who seemed like he has yet to get over what happened. But as soon tried to get close to him he turned away signalling him that he didn''t want to talk. Moby volunteered to take the first shift for the night watch in order to talk to his group about what happened. He sat on a rock outside his team''s cave and called both his family members using his mind link. They both answered instantly just like Moby expected. He exined to them about his new evolution and about everything that happened during the day with Natalia and the death of Haley, their healer. He kept the part about assigning sins out for now as he found it unimportant and meaningless to talk about before his next evolution when it will actually be useful. "Congrattions on your evolution and newfound strength my lord! Exactly as expected from you!" Abby eximed. "Wait...Ohhh!! So that exins the random surge of energy I experienced! It''s from killing the goblin queen!" Jayden realized. "I felt the same too! My lord is indeed an incredible tactician!" Abby said in a happy tone. "By the way Jayden, I saw you transform into Haley when we were taking care of Nathan. How do you know her?" Moby asked with curiosity. "Oh, her family is pretty close to mine. I''ve talked to her a few times and I found it insufferable. She and I just could not get along no matter what. I tried to get friendly with her but she always looked down at me like I was somehow beneath her. This was around when I was 5 or 6 before I started to push everyone away. People like her are what distorted my views of the world. I only transformed into her because I heard that she was a really good healer and that''s it." Jayden exined. "I see¡­ Well, at least she''s dead now! It was such easy XP!" Moby said with a chuckle. "XP? Do you think this is a video game? I guess the energy we get from killing is simr to XP in games. It''s a nice way of visualizing it!" Jayden said with a cute giggle. "Anyways, how was your day Abby?" Moby asked, trying his best to change the subject. "It was great my lord! I killed so many low-ss D rank beasts! That''s the best way to farm! The school''s point system is really stupid! D ranks go from a power level of 2500 to 6000 and they all give the same amount of points! Same goes for all the other ranks but I feel like farming low D ranks is the fastest way of gaining points. They are quick to kill and are safe for the entire team to hunt! I found a hot spot that has many low D rank beasts and I''ve been farming it all day! My team absolutely loves me even though at times they get spooked out from the strategy you told me about! I believe that I am very fit for a leader role! I hope I prove worthy of bing one of your generals in the future my lord!" Abby exined. "Don''t worry about it! I''m sure you will!" Moby said in a kind and cheerful tone. "Jayden, how was your day as well?" Moby asked. "Things are still not great between me and Alex but I''m sure I''ll get there with him sooner orter. I''ve also been guiding my team over to your team''s direction. They do not find anything suspicious about it so far. My team had a few close calls while hunting but no one has yet to die. Also, for nearly the entire day, I felt a weird feeling in my head. It''s like there is a missing hole that I need to fill with Demon Energy. I didn''t want to do anything before asking you about it. So¡­ what should I do?" Jayden asked. ''That''s her evolution indicator. If she feeds demon energy into that empty feeling in her head, she will evolve.'' Avilia exined. ''Yeah, I thought as much,'' Moby replied. "Don''t worry about it! All it means is that you are now also ready to evolve! If you fill that hole with demon energy, you will initiate your evolution from a lesser demon to a normal demon. Make sure you are alone when you do it as it will take at least 5 minutes to finish. Last time you evolved from a human to a lesser demon you were unconscious meaning you didn''t feel the pain that goes into the evolution process. I will warn you now, the pain will be like nothing you ever experienced in your life¡­ Abby can confirm," Moby exined. "Yes, indeed. My lord is right." Abby added, confirming Moby''s words. "I see! That''s great! I can now finally evolve! I can finally get a lot stronger!! I''ll find a good time and ce to do it! Also, don''t worry about me! I''ll be fine! I''m sure I can take the pain!" Jayden said with clear confidence. "Yeah, I believe you also can!" Moby said with a smile, cheering her on. "Anyways, I think this will be all for our discussion today! I''ll call you again around the same time tomorrow! Good night!" Moby said, letting his family say their goodbyes before closing the mind link. Moby was really tired from all the hunting and work he had done for thest 2 days. He has yet to sleep for thest 48 hours. So, he decided to lie down and rx until his guard shift is over so he can finally go to sleep. Chapter 74: The Ape Queen

74 The Ape Queen

Vrurk swamp, located towards the north of Xibillvia has been calmer than usual in recent days. It was one of therger swamps on the. The short, brown leafed crimson red trees were in awkward shapes and sizes whilst the small puddles, rivers andkes were filled with gray water that reflected the red from the trees'' giving it a bloody colour that was mesmerizing to the eye. Small paths and patches ofnd lined the many areas filled with water making the brown grass particrly muddy and damp. The swamp was a haven full of food and weak beasts for the many stronger different species to pray on. One such species were the Aagz goblins. They were by far the strongest species of goblin on the. They were short, cynical, long-nosed, bat-eared, semi-intelligent species of magical beast that emerged on the within the past 10 years. They were a hybrid of the past 2 strongest species of goblin, the Albs and the Pizz, who were species of warriors and mages respectively. The Albs were blessed with unnaturally strong muscles and physiques while the Pizz had the ability to use certain magic depending on their attribute at birth. After many years of war between the 2 species of goblin, they were forced into a 1-year temporary treaty as they were both being attacked by swarms of unknown Magical Beasts they had never seen before. In the end, only after a week, the strange magical beasts retreated and never came back. Even if the war against the strange beasts was over, the treaty still stood for another year. In that time, a few goblins belonging to different species fell in love and had kids. Although goblins have an extremely low pregnancy rate, they matured considerably faster than humans, reaching adulthood in only 5 years while keeping the same lifespan as humans at around 60 - 100 years. Unlike the green and brown colour of the Albs and the dark blue and yellow of the Pizz, the newborn hybrids were a charcoal ck and bright red. This new hybrid species of Goblin were called the Aagz. They had the strength of the Albs and the magic of the Pizz. The perfect warrior. The Aagz quickly rose to power, making all the Albs and Pizz into their ves in only the short span of 6 years. Some even enved their own parents as they saw them as inferior creatures. Truly like the barbarian species they were. Walking in the dark swamp was the weekly hunting squad for the Goblin vige. The goblins were blessed with natural night vision that made night time hunting an appealing option. Each week, a party of 7 lightly armoured goblin warriors that consisted of 6 ves and 1 Aagz were tasked to hunt the seemingly never-ending fish and weak beasts that inhabited the swamp to feed the tribe. Prys, the well armoured young Aagz goblin inmand of the group became increasingly frustrated the more he looked around, taking his anger out on his subordinates. No matter how hard he searched, He could not find a single prey to hunt. ( \u003c\u003cThis means it''s in anothernguage \u003e\u003e ) \u003c\u003c Where are those damn beasts!! Don''t tell me they all ran away!! The groupst week had no problem! Why must it be when it''s my turn to hunt!! The tribe will severely punish me and I will be theughing stock of the vige!! \u003e\u003e He bellowed, tightly clenching his spear. \u003c\u003c Umm¡­ Sir¡­ I have something to report¡­.\u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Talk maggot! This better be important!! I''m in a really bad mood right now! It will be your head if I don''t like what you say!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c I saw a figure of a strange beast straight ahead...sir¡­ \u003e\u003e An Alb goblin mumbled, pointing straight ahead of him with a shaky hand. \u003c\u003c Huh? Where?? \u003e\u003e Themander replied, looking closely in front of him. There he saw the skeleton of a beast he has yet to see in his 5 years of life. It stood on two feet just like goblins but it was over a foot taller. Its head was a lot smaller with an ape-like structure. In its right hand was a steel sword and in its left a metal shield. It was the first time he had ever seen a walking skeleton beast. Behind it was a simr yet different looking beast.?A naked, hairless, ape with rotted skin, and patchy hair. It also held a simr-looking sword and shield in its right and left hand respectively. \u003c\u003c A walking skeleton ape and a weird looking hairless monkey. Are they the reason why all the beasts escaped? They don''t look that strong! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Attack!! \u003e\u003e Themander shouted, lifting his spear in the air, standing back to observe his troops. \u003c\u003c For the glory of the Aagz tribe! \u003e\u003e The goblins yelled, charging at the unknown enemies with no fear or hesitation as they had the obvious number advantage. Suddenly, a rain of arrows fell down on the unsuspecting goblins. Some were lucky enough to block with a shield while others were extremely injured by the surprise attack. Behind the tree emerged 4 more skeletons holding bows along with 2 other Zombies who carried enormous tower shields. The tables have turned. The goblins no longer had the numbers advantage and they were either injured or startled by the sudden sneak attack. \u003c\u003c Go on you maggot ves!! Prove your worth!! Don''t tell me you are going to lose to a bunch of monkeys!! \u003e\u003e Themander cried out from behind them making the group regain most of theirposure and fighting spirit. The goblin troops immediately went into their usual formation. The Mage Goblins moved back and cast their elemental fire, wind, air, and earth attacks while the warriors opted for a close-range approach. The skeletons proved to be a problem due to their strength and speed while the hairless ape''s regeneration was on apletely different level from anything they had ever seen. Yet, they had their weaknesses. The skeletons were strong but were really fragile while the zombies were tanky but extremely slow. However, even with identifying the weaknesses of their enemies, they were being pushed back and overwhelmed. 3 of the 6 goblins had already perished in battle while the enemy was only down 1 of their starting 8. As an insult to injury, the enemy was also in much better condition, seemingly not getting tired like they had unlimited stamina. The teamwork between all of the undead was like nothing they had ever witnessed. The zombies shielding the front, blocking as soon as an attack happens while a skeleton strikes at the small opening provided. It was like they had perfect synergy, like they were connected to the same hive mind. \u003c\u003c Useless!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Must I do everything myself!! \u003e\u003e The Goblinmander wailed, surrounding his spear in a shroud of fire before he also joined the fight. The addition of the single Aagz Goblin was more than enough to push the fight into the goblin''s favour by arge margin. They were that strong. Although it wasn''t an easy fight, the goblins came out on top. After the Commander joined, only a single other goblin died while the other 2 remaining were only slightly injured. The fightsted over 30 minutes straight, greatly tiring the surviving goblins. It seemed like the enemy knew that they couldn''t win with a head-on approach so they used their superior stamina to tire them out for a chance at victory. The enemy was a lot smarter and stronger than they had ever expected. \u003c\u003c Hey, Idiot! Go back to the tribe and tell them what happened! I''m going to stay here a bit longer to inspect these unknown beasts! I''ll be back at the tribe in a little with their bodies. They might be edible. And if they are not, then they will be your dinner after that brain-melting performance I got from you useless retards! \u003e\u003e Themander screamed, heavily panting, sweating from every pore. \u003c\u003c Y...yes sir! \u003e\u003e The goblin awkwardly responded, running away as fast as he could. \u003c\u003c Hey you!! You go grab the bodies that are far away and bring them near here!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Right away sir!! \u003e\u003e Shortly after the goblin left to do as he was told, a loud piercing shriek was hearding from the direction he ran in. This greatly startled themander who was about to try a bite of the hairless monkey in front of him. As he looked up, he saw a simr-looking ape. However, the one in front of him was much different than the other ones he had just finished fighting. This ape was fully clothed in elegant ck and red equipment instead of being naked. It had a full head of long red hair tied up in a ponytail that went down to their waist. The ape had a very curvy body with ample fat in the right areas confirming that she was a female. In her hands was a gigantic ck and red scythe that reached a full head taller than her body that stood at a very tall 5''8, over a full foot taller than the goblinmander who was at a measly 4''1. \u003c\u003c Ha ha ha!! You must be the monkey queen!! These weak soldiers of yours were not much of a challenge for me! I am the great Prys of the Aagz tribe!! I''ll rape your beautiful body then take your head as a trophy!! It will be good enoughpensation for myck of prey! Our battle will be legendary!! Prepare yourself monkey!! \u003e\u003e The goblinmander shouted, running straight at the ape queen. He surrounded his spear with an orange fire before spinning it in the shape of a circle at incredible speed. This created what looked like a cyclone that he then shot out, creating a huge fire tornado headed straight towards the Ape queen. As the attack got closer to her, arge devilish smile appeared on her face. She then proceeded to catch the fire tornado sent towards her, spinning it on her index finger like it was a basketball. Then, after speaking about what sounded like iprehensible words, she surrounded the mes around her scythe. The orange mes turned into a deep scarlet colour, growing bigger and bigger by the second until it became almost like a sun in the sky, illuminating the darkness of the night. As soon as the goblin saw what happened, he felt severe pain in his stomach. It was like his insides were being turned inside out. He looked at what he was witnessing with shuddering wide eyes and weak legs,pletely speechless and scared out of his mind. \u003c\u003c WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!! \u003e\u003e Themander screamed, somehow finding the strength to run away as fast as he could, jumping into a smallke where he thought he would be safe. Sadly, not even that could help him from what was about to happen. The ape queen condensed the huge sun in the sky all into her scythe, surrounding it with a dense, deeply-tinted scarlet me that illuminated the area with the strength of 1000 glow sticks. She then dashed into theke, heading towards the still terrified goblin, shing at his neck with such force and firepower to evaporate the entireke. Despite his good fire resistance, Her attackpletely melted through the goblinmander''s neck and severely burned the rest of his body. The charred remains of the goblinmander fell on the ground followed by heavy rain which was a result of the evaporation of theke. After saying a few words to herself with a bright smile. The ape queen gathered what was left of the goblinmander''s corpse into one spot. She then lifted her hands up into the air, a purple glow surrounding them. As soon as she did, the remains of the body started to attract each other like mas. The bones regenerated and connected together like a puzzle while organs, tissues, and skin slowly surrounded it until limbs were formed. As the many limbs started toe together into the shape of a body, the previous ck and red skin of the goblins turned into white and purple. The stench of rot and decay was prevalent and emanated from the corpse of the goblin. Before long, it started moving like it was alive again. "Arrgg Rawrg!!" It growled, taking one knee, acknowledging its new master. Chapter 75: A Lovable Leader

75 A Lovable Leader

She had used all her demon energy on a single summon, the white and purple goblin in front of her who was on one knee talking in what seemed like an iprehensible growling. ''I am at yourmand my lord'' the goblin spoke telepathically to Abby, pausing between every word. This greatly startled her. It was the first time she had ever seen one of her summons speak or even have even a single shred of intelligence, bowing on the ground without her issuing even a singlemand. Is that random growling that you were doing the goblinnguage?'' She asked with great curiosity. ''Yes my lord, it is as you predicted.'' The goblin responded which made Abby really excited. She sensed a greater powering from him than any one of her other summons. It felt like it required as much mental control as 5 of her regr summons. She dug through her memories and remembered when her lord, Moby Kane, told her that stronger summons mandate more space than the weaker ones. In her current state, she felt like she could control a total of 25 spaces due to the many strength boosts she had received from training and killing beasts on the. This was all due to the genius strategy her great master had suggested to her. The strategy was both simple and efficient. She had sent her undead in groups of 6 - 8 to patrol the area around her group, killing any weak or unsuspecting beast. Then, the stronger beasts that the undead were unable to defeat were reported and funnelled straight to her and her group for a quick death. Using such a strategy allowed her to ughter every weak beast or preditor that resided in the Vrurk swamp within the short span of 2 days. At first, Abby''s team was very rebellious and rowdy, unwilling to follow a single order no matter how many times Abby screamed at them to behave. They took her threats as empty,ughing them off like they were nothing. Although Abby was the team leader and her power level was the highest, it was not by much. Her power level of 8220 was only 600 and 800 points higher than the second and third strongest members of the team respectively. Not even within the first hour of the first day, the second and third strongest members threatened and convinced the other weaker members to join them in putting the strict and Arrogant Abby in her ce. They even offered a small slice of the cake for them, a reward and temptation for their help.?Abby was the only female of the group and she has suddenly be one of the hottest girls in school, and, as long as they don''t kill her, they could do whatever they wanted. Rape included. And with a body like hers, they could not resist the temptation. The other 3 members of the group were all guys and belonged to the support division. Their abilities and description go as follows: Clement Scur, a short blonde haired boy with an enhancement ability (4630 PL). Graydon Vrain, an average height, dark blue-haired boy with a healing ability (2490 PL ). And, Draven Hawkins. A short gray-haired nerdy boy with sses that had the Ability of greatly enhanced senses which also included a small degree of night vision (1140 PL). They used the darkness of the night and Draven''s night vision to choose the correct time to strike while Graydon tried his best to distract her. Then, they all lunged at Abby as a unified force, like a pack of hyenas pouncing on its unassuming prey. Retta, the water ability user, was especially confident since his water element was the natural counter to Abby''s fire. He formed an enormous, dense, ball of water that was enhanced by Clement''s ability, and shot it straight at the seemingly unsuspecting Abby. That was sadly the worst decision of his life. Abby countered his ball of water by erecting a wall of scarlet mes,pleting evaporating his move before it could reach her. This made Retta fall straight on his ass in fear and disbelief. He could sense such a strong hatred, killing intent, and disgusting from the demon known as his team leader. She waved her hand in the air before a stream of fire erupted from her fingers heading straight for Graydon who was running away screaming in panic, engulfing him in a tornado of fire, and at Retta who was still trembling on the ground. ''Impossible!! What the fuck!! She just blocked that enhanced water ball, one of my strongest attacks, like it was nothing!! I am the counter to her element and my power level is not even that much lower than hers!! How strong is she!!'' Retta thought, shitting himself with a horrified look as the stream of fire headed straight for him, severely burning him to a crisp but leaving him barely alive. Graismy, who had balls of steel, decided to use this opportunity to attack Abby while she was off guard, transforming his hands into gigantic, sharp, scaley, ws before pouncing on Abby. This only led to him getting roasted like a charred shish kabab. Clement and Draven, the only 2 remaining members unharmed, were hiding behind a tree, shivering, cold sweat running down their faces, trying their best not to make a sound. They would take a few peeks every now and then when they heard the sound of screaming in agony. At first, they were excited when they heard a womanly scream, however, when they looked out, they found the burnt bodies of their teammates instead. They stayed hiding behind the tree, praying to god to save them from their predicament as an act of desperation. Sadly, their prayers were never heard. A stream of fire burnt the tree they were hiding behind exposing them. Instead of running away. They stared at the demon in front of them in absolute horror, their legs shaking like a vibrator. "Please¡­ spare us¡­ we were forced into this!" The boys somehow managed to mutter before they too were burnt to a crisp. After Abby finished disposing of the trash, she undid her fire tornado that was engulfing Graydon, the team healer. "Please!! No!! I''m sorry!!! I don''t want to die!! They forced me to do this!!!" Abby heard him scream as soon as the tornado of fire disappeared. "Hey, listen here you sorry excuse for a waste of space. I spared you from getting punished because you are the healer. Now, go heal your teammates before I change my mind!" Abby ordered, a raging fire aura surging behind her, her eyes shining through the darkness of the night with red mes. ''D...d...demon¡­'' he thought, looking at his team leaders'' terrifying face and piercing red eyes. "Y...Yes, ma''am!!" He nervously responded, healing his burnt and unconscious teammates. After that incident, no one ever dared toin or show any form of negative emotion towards their leader, following every order shemanded like it wasw. They did not want a repeat of what happenedst time, for her to unleash her demon side once again. This gave Abby the illusion that her team really liked her when in reality they were scared shitless. Their fright and horror intensified even more when they started hearing the random dying cries of beasts as they walked inside the forest. At times they would just find the corpses of random beasts in the area in which their team leader would say that they found a lucky catch and cash it in for free points. It was too ominous, like the shadow of death was always looking over their shoulders, it felt straight out of a horror movie. This was as a result of Abby''s undead killing the beasts in the area. Abby always insisted that the group should just sleep in the open, not bothering to go find a shelter like a cave as it would be a waste of time, time they could have spent hunting instead. She promised that the group would be fine and that she knew exactly what she was doing. This was met with a lot of skepticism from her teammates. However, they dared not question her judgement and did as they were told. They would rather fight an unknown magical beast that snuck up on them while they slept than fight Abby again any day. The reason Abby did this is because she always had a group of undead patrolling the area 2km around their camp, alerting her about anything that happened to approach. This was exactly what happened this morning with the goblins. She was notified by her undead and immediately left her group''s camp alone as they were still fast asleep due to it being only 5 am. She had read about the goblins in the bestiary, about all the different species and tribes that resided on the. However, when she arrived, she was surprised to see apletely different species of goblin than anything she had seen in the bestiary. A ck and red goblin. It was much stronger than anything the bestiary ever mentioned about the goblins as it had the strength of at least a low C rank beast. Since Abby had just lost a good chunk of her army, she decided to turn the dead goblins into her undead servants. The green ones turned into strong warriors while the blue ones turned into mages. Nothing much changed about their appearance other than their lifeless eyes and rotted skin that gave off the smell of death. The only one that had a drastic change was the ck goblin who was most likely their leader. His skin turnedpletely white, his red lines being reced with purple. She named this new goblin "Grunk". He was the only one that could talk and the only one that seemed somewhat intelligent out of the other goblins so, she decided to appoint him as the leader of her new goblin division. She ordered her new goblin division to continue patrolling the area in order to protect her sleeping team. She did not want any of them to die as she would lose arge number of points. And, it would prove to her master that she was unfit to lead, ruining her chances of bing one of her lord''s future generals. She would rather die than disappoint her lord and saviour. It was one of her biggest fears by far, right behind not getting revenge on her family. Abby now focused her attention on the one Goblin that escaped. She was unsure where the goblin vige was located so she decided to send a wisp to follow his trail while she followed behind the wisp, staying around 5km away from it as to not be spotted by any nearby goblins. She was uncertain if the runaway goblin saw everything that she did to his friends, but she was willing to take the risk in order to find the location of his vige. An entire vige of goblins would definitely be worth a lot of points and XP, as her master previously put it. She was certain that her master would definitely be overjoyed at such a thing. Chapter 76: The Goblin City

76 The Goblin City

He scrambled through the muddy swamps and thorny forests, trying his best to avoid any beasts. Then, after 30 minutes of running, he finally reached a treeless in filled with nothing but grass until he reached a rough gravel path leading to arge ck stone wall that formed a circle with a perimeter of around 1km around a city. The wall was around 4 meters in height and had ripped red gs and banners with unknown writings or symbols hung across every 100 meters. Luckily, the city was only 18km away from her team''s base, meaning that it was well within the 20km range that the undead must be in to survive. As Abby''s wisp was scouting the goblin city, she noticed that most of the houses were tightly packed and were either made out of weak straw, sticks, or wood while only a few were made out of stone. Out of the entire city, only one building really stood out. Therge stone castle-like building in its centre. From a birds-eye view, she estimated that the city''s poption was around 2500. The streets were packed with mostly blue and green goblins trying to either work or pass by. Shops such as armour and weapon shops, food stores, restaurants, taverns, and many more were not an umon sight at all. One thing that immediately became apparent was the difference in status between the different types of goblins. The many Green and Blue goblin looked starved, wore tattered rags and were subjected to the worst treatment and conditions while the few ck goblins were well fed, better dressed, and were treated like gods on the street, no one daring to get near them or even look them in the eye. Many green and blue goblins and even goblin children were chained up and forced to work as ves for their ck goblin overlord. The few that weren''t ves were forced to live in fear and in the worst living circumstances imaginable. It was not an umon sight to see a ck goblin openly torturing or even killing a blue or green goblin in the streets for the sin of looking at him funny. It reminded Abby of the discrimination at her school only on a muchrger and more severe scale. As soon as the goblin reached the gates of the city, the 2 ck goblin guards at the front stopped him for a few seconds before letting him in. When the goblin entered the city, he was immediately escorted through the busy streets by those same guards, to the veryrge stone building in the middle of the city. Everytime they came near a group of goblins, they immediately dispersed akin to how Moses parted the red sea. After a few minutes of searching therge hallways, avoiding any servant it sees, Abby''s wisp finally got a glimpse of the goblin she was searching for. He was entering a room with arge door which was most likely the throne room. But, by the time she noticed, she was already toote, the door had shut before she could reach it. Sadly, the room was tightly closed and had no cracks or windows she could slip in with. She could hear talking from the other side but, it was in an unknown yet familiar growling she could not understand. Abby decided that it was a waste of time to listen to useless ramblings that she could not understand so she decided to explore the lower levels of the castle. As she was searching around the lower parts of the castle only to find nothing of interest other than the usual abuse of the blue and green servants, she heard a loud, disturbing screame from even deeper down in the castle. It came most likely from the underground dungeon which was exactly where Abby sent her wisp. The wisp immediately flew down the damp, sketchy stairs to the dungeon, dodging any drops of liquid falling from above. The closer it got to the bottom, the louder the agonizing screams became. When Abby''s wisp reached the bottom, it noticed a long hallway filled with jail cells from each side. Before she took a peek inside the first few cells, she started hearing the sound of flesh hitting flesh and the sound of loud moaning echo throughout the entire hallway. It was the sound of the goblins having sex. Due the goblins'' low brith rate, the king had ordered for there to be a sex chamber full of ves that only lived for the sole reason of reproducing Aagz goblins. The cells were full of beds and on each bed were naked male and female green and blue goblins going at it right next to each other. The younger looking goblins seemed like they were enjoying themselves while the older ones looked like they were dreading their own existence. Abby stared at them in absolute disgust. Not the disgust that makes one want to throw up but rather the disgust that makes her want to burn them all to the ground. However, this still did not exin where the torturous screams came from, so Abby went further in down the hallway. When she approached the end of the corridor, ignoring all the goblins making love, she heard a loud, piercing, female voice that resounded throughout the dungeon. They were the first recognizable words she heard since entering the city. "NOOOO!!! STOPP!! HELP ME!! SOMEONE HELP!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! *Gag* *Gag* *Cough*" There, in the final few cells, she saw something she was not at all expecting. ck goblins were violently raping a group of 4 girls whom she recognized as her fellow students. Their bloodied bodies were suspended in mid-air by chains allowing for easy ess to every hole. Various wounds and bite marks could be seen all over their bodies but especially on the breasts. Tears were falling down their face as they tried to grasp for even a single breath in the darkness of the dungeon. The goblin''s moans, giggles, andughed rang throughout the entire dungeon but got drowned out by the screaming females. On the ground of the cell behind the back, were scattered fresh looking human body parts, which included 2 male human heads with a very disturbing look on their dead faces. A normal person witnessing such a scene would be shaking in their boots, pissing their pants before bing traumatized for life. However, Abby had no such reaction and felt no such emotions. The only thing she felt was her disgust immensely grow, vowing to kill everyst goblin inside the city with no exception. She now had more reasons and motivation than ever to exterminate everyst one of them. She was sure that is what her master would have wanted. She wanted to take action right now but she was not dumb enough to follow her emotions, and blindly rush in against a city of 2500 goblins with no n or strategy. It would be no different than a suicidal attack. The time was already 6:30 am and her team should be waking up soon. So, she decided it would be a perfect time to head back. She retreated her wisp outside of the castle and back into her inventory before running back to her team''s camp. She needed to formte a n of attack and she was certain that she would need their assistance to sessfully take down the city. Even from the little that she had seen, she had already enough information to formte, in what was in her opinion, a genius n. ''My lord will be so proud of me! I will destroy all those filthy goblins and finally prove my worth to my lord!'' She thought with a mix of excitement and disgust, running back to her camp at breakneck speed. ********************* \u003c\u003c My Lord Gerkrik the great! This peasant ims that he has something important to report! \u003e\u003e A ck goblin guard said, throwing the green goblin in question in front of the goblin king. The green goblin immediately went on both knees, smashing his face against the hard floor, blooding out of his forehead from the strength of the impact. On a magnificent throne made out of various bones from different beasts, sat a veryrge, muscr, red-bearded, Aagz goblin. His clothes were that of a warlord and not at all luxurious like the typical king as his armour mostly consisted of heavy leather and bloody skulls. To his left and right were 2 of the curviest, most attractive goblins in the city. Butpared to the average human, they look like ugly, big-nosed, evil witches. \u003c\u003c You are getting your filthy blood all over my carpet!! You are courting death!! \u003e\u003e The king bellowed. \u003c\u003c N-n-no! Please have mercy, my lord!! I wouldn''t dare!!\u003e\u003e The goblin panicked, immediately lifting his bloody head off the ground. \u003c\u003c Now speak! I heard that you have really important news for me!! If not then it will be your head! \u003e\u003e The green goblin gulped a big chuck of saliva before continuing. \u003c\u003c My lord! While my group and I were hunting, we came across an unknown monkey race we have never seen before. They had already cleared out everyst beast in the Vrurk swamp. We fought the skeleton and rotten apes to a standstill and we only won due to the help ofmander Pyris. Themander told me to leave and report what happened to you, my lord. But, as I was leaving, I noticed that the Ape queen had arrived. She was extremely strong and more beautiful than any woman I had ever seen. She used her fire ability to absolutely annihte themander using her fire magic, even evaporating an entireke. My lord! I rmend that you watch out for her... \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c HAHAHA!! Is that it? You came here just to tell me of your team''s failure and incapability to hunt!! Pathetic!! Those Apes you saw were actually humans. The very same beasts we went to war with 10 years ago. You can even see one of their skulls on this very chair I sit on \u003e\u003e The king said, rubbing a human skull on his right armrest. \u003c\u003c A group of guards ambushed and captured a group of 6 humansst night! Your team was one of the weaker ones so you were never told about this!! I had fun with one of the human girls this morning and I will say it is a very lovely experience. I have them kept in the dungeon as a reward for any goblin I see worthy of ying with them. The human boys just became my dinner, their flesh is extra tasty! \u003e\u003e The king said, taking a bite of a human finger like it was a French fry. \u003c\u003c My lord¡­ Are you not worried about the possibility of another war with these humans? They seem very strong and they might be looking for revenge¡­\u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c HAHAHAHA!! Them?? Are you trying to insult me?? They''re harmless! Nothing more than little puppies! Thest time they came here it was only you weak ass blueberries and cabbages. But now that we great Aagz goblins are in charge, they won''t be able to do a thing! They can attack my kingdom as much as they want! It will only be more food and women for me! \u003e\u003e The goblin kingughed like he heard the funniest thing in the world. \u003c\u003c Y...yes¡­ of course my lord¡­ \u003e\u003e the green goblin muttered. \u003c\u003c You provided me with some good entertainment so I shall let the punishment for wasting my time slide! \u003e\u003e The goblin king said with augh. This filled the green goblin with immense relief and happiness, so much that he even started crying from joy. \u003c\u003c Thank you so much for your mercy lord!! You are truly a great king!! \u003e\u003e The goblin sobbed with joy. Sadly, his joy did notst for long. \u003c\u003c However, as punishment for not hunting enough food for the city, I order that you be chopped up into a meat stew and served to the slums!! They haven''t eaten good meat in years! I am sure that they would be overjoyed at the news!! \u003e\u003e The king said,ughing his ass off. \u003c\u003c N...n...no! PLEASE MY LORD HAVE MERCY!!! \u003e\u003e The goblin screamed at the top of his lungs as he was forcefully dragged out of the throne room by the same 2 guards that escorted him. \u003c Hehehe¡­ I wonder if that human girl he talked about really was as sexy as he described¡­\u003e Chapter 77: Imposter

77 Imposter

On top of an old, wooden, run-down hut in the goblin city, fell a shiny blue rock, rolling off the roof andnding in a pile of trash in between 2 broken houses. Out of the mound of garbage awoke a fully armoured goblin. He wore the standard ck armour worn by the many Aagz goblin guards that usually patrolled the city. He stood up, pushing all the trash in his way to the side and walked out from the filthy alleyway into the muddy yet slightly less filthy road. As soon as the many green and blue Alb and Pizz goblins on the streets noticed the armoured goblin, they immediately and instinctively took many steps back and looked straight down to avoid eye contact and get out of their way. Even the children who were ying on the road immediately ran away in fear only to be severely beaten by their parents for theirck of respect. Every single goblin on the street only had 2 thoughts in their mind at that moment. "Where the hell did hee from," and, "please don''t choose me, I don''t want to die or be tortured today." It was customary for an Aagz goblin to choose 1 or a few Albs and Pizz goblins to be their own personal ything, usually killing, raping, or torturing them in public, whenever they arrive in a new district or street. They would choose them at random for the most insignificant transgression or even at times fabricating a fake excuse to get their way with whomever they please. Even when they had something important to do, they would always find the time to randomly attack vigers on the streets to assert their dominance or vent out their frustrations. This was why there were few to any elder Alb and Pizz goblins because not many of them were lucky enough to survive to see old age. However, to everyone''s surprise, something unprecedented happened. The armoured goblin did not even bat an eye at the many vigers and just walked past all of them like they were not even there. It walked by many streets and districts choosing not toy a finger on any viger. Its destination was the Aagz goblin exclusive stone tavern called the "Lealk Tavern". The news quickly spread throughout the entire city like wildfire, the news of a pacifist and fair Aagz goblin that did not torture, rape, or kill any Pizz or Albs. Many did not believe the rumours deeming them as fake while a small group was filled with a tiny hope that they did not have in a long time. They dubbed the unknown patrolman as "the Aagz of light". As the armoured goblin entered Inside the rough-looking Lealk Tavern, he was weed by a bottle of beer sshing on his armour before arge Aagz goblin bumped into him from the front, pushing him away. \u003c\u003c I''m in the middle of a fight here! Get the fuck out of my way! \u003e\u003e He bellowed before going straight back into the fight. In the middle of the tavern, a few meters in front of the front counter was arge circle of Aagz goblins surrounding a huge hand to hand brawl between 2rge Aagz goblins that stood at a staggering 4''9 which was very tall for a goblin. In the bottom right corner of the tavern, there was anotherrge circle of spectators. A cored Alb ve was going against a cored Pizz goblin while their Aagz masters were behind them giving themmands and orders on what to do. \u003c\u003c Wrilx! Do a backflip! Then hit him with rock st!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Dodge it Clerx! Then go for bite on his throat to go for the kill!!\u003e\u003e It looked like something akin to dogfighting, or even real-life Pokemon battles with ves. The armoured goblin walked through the crowded tavern, ignoring all the provocations from goblins who wanted to fight him and from the slutty goblin maids trying to seduce him as he headed straight for the second floor of the tavern. The tavern also served as an inn or love hotel for goblins to stay in or to just have sex in. When he reached the second floor, he was greeted with many long hallways with rooms on each side. The hallways were crowded with many goblins either hanging out, kissing, oring in and out of their rooms. The armoured goblin walked past all the crowded hallways until he finally found a nearly empty corridor with only 2 Aagz goblins wearing casual clothing who were struggling to get into their room. \u003c\u003c Hey! Weirdo in the helmet! Can you help us out a bit? This stupid old door seems jammed. Mind giving it a shot for us! \u003e\u003e One of them called out. \u003c\u003c Sure Thing \u003e\u003e He responded in a slow, awkward, monotone way. \u003c\u003c Hey, are you ok?? \u003e\u003e The female goblin asked with slight concern. \u003c\u003c Yes I am fine it is just a small cold \u003e\u003e He responded. \u003c\u003c If you say so¡­ Well¡­ One second lemme find the right key again... \u003e\u003e The male goblin said, sorting through the many keys in his key holder. Suddenly, as he was still looking for the right key, he felt a strong, metallic hold, crushing his head. \u003c\u003c Hey! What the fuck are y... AHHHHHH!!!\u003e\u003e Were hisst words before his head waspletely burned by a scarlet me. \u003c\u003c AHHHH!!! STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!! AGAHH! \u003e\u003e The female goblin screamed before she also got her brain fried by the same scarlet mes as her partner. When the goblins in the area heard the sound of mes and agonizing screams, they immediately rushed into the hallway only to find nothing but a small stter of blood on the ground next to an open window. They knew something went down but, there was barely a sign of anything. An investigation was formed to search for the missing goblins and figure out what happened. Witnesses say that a fully armoured patrol goblin was thest one seen near the area. However, there were many goblins in the tavern and around the area that fit that same description so it was not a big lead. Their main lead was that the perpetrator must have escaped from the window, but even after they searched for a while questioning any witnesses, they saw nothing of importance. The closest thing to a lead they found was a strange shiny object being thrown far into the distance, but that does not provide much if any help. Cases of missing Aagz goblins began springing up all over the city like wildfire. In just a single day, over 10 Aagz goblins were missing and not even a single clue was found about the perpetrator. Such a thing had never happened before. Many Alb and Pizz goblins were tortured to squeeze them out of any information about the situation. However, they knew nothing other than about a rumour of a nice Aagz goblin that was patrolling the city, "The Aagz Of Light". In the eyes of the Aagz goblins, they saw their words as no more than lies. A ploy to trick them into doubting and turning on their fellow Aagz goblins. Since the birth of the Aagz goblins 10 years ago, there had yet to be a traitor amongst them so why should this case be an exception? The same day at 8:00 pm, a group of important Alb and Pizz goblins decided to have an important and secret meeting about the things that had gone on during the day. They decided to hold the meeting in the basement of one of the slightly richer elder goblins to fit the required space for the conference. At the door of the basement stood 2 guards, exclusively allowing entry to those who know the designated password, and only when they see that there was no one else in sight and that they are not being watched. Just as when they thought thest guest had arrived and they were about to go in, they found that there was another visitor that had arrived. An uninvited guest. It was a fully armoured Aagz goblin patrolman that was walking straight in their direction. \u003c\u003c To what honour do we owe such a visit from a great Aagz goblin such as yourself! \u003e\u003e The two guards said, nervously bowing down, their body clearly trembling from immense fear. If the Aagz goblins found out about what was going on, it would not end too well for them. It might even cause a massacre of all guests at the meeting as traitors to make an example out of them in front of the whole city. \u003c\u003c Fear not my brothers I mean you no harm. In fact, I am Grunk the "Aagz of light" you heard so many rumours about. I havee bearing good.news from the human queen. She wants to help you break free from the tyranny of the Aagz goblins. Now, allow me entry. I am on your side.\u003e\u003e The goblin patrolman said in a slow and awkward voice that still somehow disyed a sense ofposure and confidence. Chapter 78: Vive la Re?volution!

78 Vive Re?volution!

On Abby''s way back to her camp, she noticed a fully armoured goblin patrolling in the forest. After killing him and taking his armour, she showed it to her team as soon as they woke up before cashing it in as a C rank beast. She exined how she nned to raid a goblin city filled with such creatures and she requires their assistance. All of them were very unsure of their leader''s proposal but no one dared to object and were instead super enthusiastic which really surprised and excited Abby. She felt like she was increasingly growing on them as a leader and that they were trusting her even more. She exined her n of attack to the group, leaving out some important details, telling them that they would be attacking in theing days. A lot of the things she said did not make sense to her group but they dared not object or even ask any questions. Since the swamp where Abby''s camp was situated had already been cleared, they moved to the forest near the goblin city to hunt the beasts in the area. Abby left her group telling them to take a break while she scouted the exterior of the city. Of course, this was not entirely true. She was about to start the first phase of her n. Her n to start a revolution. However, before she could begin, she needed to test out the strength of her new undead summon. Unlike all her other summons, Grunk was the first to be worth more than 1 space (5 spaces) making him stronger than his original strength when it was alive. She wanted to ask her lord about what makes this particr summon special but chose against it because she did not want to bother her lord about such a trivial matter, waiting for their daily meeting to let him know. She was impressed to find out that its strength was at a high C rank (around 9000) and that its old fire magic now closely resembled her fire ability although much weaker. She now began the first phase of her n, she equipped the full body armour of the goblin she killed earlier on Grunk to hide his unnatural white skin. Then, she sucked him into her storage ring, throwing it over the walls and into the goblin city. Due to Abby''s connection with her undead, she was able to use their eyes as her own, putting herself into their shoes while giving themmands and orders on what to do. This included anything from simple toplexmands depending on the intelligence level of her undead summon. In the case of Grunk, this also allowed her to order him on what to say. So, that was exactly what she ordered Grunk to do. After every kill, she ordered him to suck the dead body into the storage ring before throwing it far away while also at the same time sucking himself into the ring as it flies out of his hand far into the distance. Doing this would ensure that Grunk could not be tracked at all allowing him to kill multiple Aagz goblins in a single day. Then, after overhearing that there would be a meeting between the goblin ves to discuss the city''s current state, she knew that she had to make Grunk attend. So, Grunk was sessful in entering the meeting. He is currently being escorted down a flight of stairs by 2 scrawny and lightly armoured goblins. Now began phase 3 of Abby''s n. Convince the goblin ves to join her and revolt against their Aagz goblin overlords under the premise that they have the support of the human queen. After a few seconds of walking, they finally reached a filthy but decentlyrge room with around 50 goblins, who were mostly elderly, sitting around dirty wooden tables. \u003c\u003c So! Are you sure that this Aagz of light shenanigans is real Prostoc?? \u003e\u003e An extremely elderly blue goblin said, standing on a wooden box in front of the room. \u003c\u003c Yes elder! Trust me! I witnessed it with my own eyes! You must believe me! \u003e\u003e He responded. \u003c\u003c Ummm¡­ Elder, you have an uninvited visitor who has something important to say, \u003e\u003e One of the guards said, interrupting the conversation. \u003c\u003c How dare you interrupt me for such a stupid reason!! Just kick him out!! And what are you doing here!! You should be keeping watch outside!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c B-b-but elder, it''s the Aagz of light¡­ He has important news to deliver¡­ \u003e\u003e The entire room gasped all at once while some scoffed at such sphemy. \u003c\u003c How dare you spout such lies in my presence! If you were not the best warrior here, I would have had you killed! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c But elder! I am not lying, look! \u003e\u003e He muttered, revealing the fully armoured goblin behind him. \u003c\u003c Greetings my fellow goblin brothers! My name is Grunk. I havee bearing great news and a chance for you to reim your lost freedom from the Aagz goblin tyranny! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c WHY DID YOU LET AN AAGZ GOBLIN IN HERE!! IF WE WORK TOGETHER WE CAN TAKE HIM OUT!! ATTACK!! \u003e\u003e The elder ordered. The few Alb goblins in the room fired their elemental magic at Grunk all at once only for it to be blocked by a wall of scarlet mes that he erected, shocking all the goblins in the room including the elder. \u003c\u003c My goblin brothers! Calm down! I havee in peace! I mean you no harm! If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you long ago! Or, I would have run and reported you to the other guards! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c As proof of my words, I have taken the time to kill a few disgusting Aagz goblins. I hope you now understand I am on your side, \u003e\u003e Grunk said, releasing the 10 Aagz goblins he had killed from his storage ring and onto the ground. \u003c\u003c What kind of magic is this!! In all my years of living, I have never seen such a thing!! Also, you are the one who has been killing Aagz goblins!! They used us and even killed a few of us for what you did!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Sacrifices must be made in order to obtain true freedom, at least you now know that I am 100% on your side. And, how is that different from what happens to you every day? How long will you stand for this!!\u003e\u003e Grunks voice rang throughout the room, causing everyone to stare at the ground in silence. \u003c\u003c Elder, will you allow me to take the stage? \u003e\u003e Grunk asked, immediately yet hesitantly receiving a nod back as the elder hopped off the small wooden box. \u003c\u003c I will introduce myself once more! But this time, properly. \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c I am Grunk! And I am a general in the army of the human queen! Abby Reid. \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c The human queen!! Are you talking about the same humans who attacked us 10 years ago!! I lost my son in that battle!! How dare you associate yourself with such barbarians!! \u003e\u003e An elderly woman eximed. \u003c\u003c A lot has happened in the past 10 years. She is not what you think. She is a very kind and caring leader that fights against injustice! The old corrupt human leader was killed under a revolution leading to the rise of the new queen we have today!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c I was an Aagz goblin who was taken away from their Alb and Pizz parents at birth just like everyone else!! But unlike the others who forgot their roots, I did not! That is why I respect you people! Without you, I would not be here!! I had nned to free you for a very long time!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c?A few days ago on a patrol mission, I was severely injured by a beast and was bleeding out. There, I saw her, the human queen along with her elite unit. They saved my life, and in return, I pledged my allegiance. \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c She gave me very substantial items, skills and power for my loyalty. That is why I was able to easily block your attacks, I am now much stronger than most Aagz goblins all due to my queen''s blessing!! I begged her to help me in my mission to free the Alb and Pizz goblins from their Aagz overlords and she graciously epted like the peace-loving, juste leader she is! \u003e\u003e At that moment, Grunk lifted his helmet for a second, revealing his scarred face and pale skin. \u003c\u003c This is from the injuries I sustained from the attack when the queen saved my life! This is why my speech is awkward! My white skin is the blessing I received from her!! This magical ring is a very powerful gift from my queen allowing me to magically store anything I want!! The queen is very powerful!! Even more powerful than the goblin king himself!! With her help, you can take back your freedom!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Ensure a better tomorrow for your future generations!! The queen will dly wee you into her country as equals to everyone else! No discrimination at all!! We will start a revolution!!! Who is with me!!! \u003e\u003e Grunk screamed, putting his hands in the air with clear passion. A group of goblins stood up, pumping their fists in the air vigorously. \u003c\u003c REVOLUTION!! REVOLUTION!! REVOLUTION!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c I agree that what you say is indeed very good news, however, I still do not trust you, \u003e\u003e The elder said, interrupting all the cheering. \u003c\u003c I believe your story that the queen is very powerful and that you want to set us free, but, how is this even possible? Will her army be good enough to stand against the 250 Aagz soldiers? We only have around 2000 warriors able to fight and we know we don''t even stand a chance. And even if we actually beat them, how will we know that we will truly be treated justly under the goblin queen? \u003e\u003e The elder said, making everyone that was mindlessly screaming stop and think. \u003c\u003c The Queen''s Army only consists of 30 elite warriors, each is either on par or far stronger than an Aagz goblin. With them and the power of the queen, we should be able to win!! She only has so little because she is currently on an expedition away from the human kingdom which is on another. And to prove that she will treat you correctly, she gave me a few very expensive human treasures to share with you. Each is worth at least a few thousand gold coins. \u003e\u003e Grunk said, pulling out several hot pizza boxes from his storage ring. \u003c\u003c This is a human delicacy called "Pizza". It is so good that humans would die to even have a chance of tasting it, \u003e\u003e Grunk exined, opening one of the boxes releasing the pizza''s delicious smell throughout the entire room, making several goblins drool on the ground like babies. \u003c\u003c Well, I guess it beats eating most of the disgusting slob we eat every day. We just had our first serving of meat in years! It was a delicious meat soup! I doubt it''s as good as you im, the soup we had was probably better! Actually, I bet that your food is probably poisoned! Any of you foolish goblins want to try it and be my taste tester? \u003e\u003e The elder scoffed with a small chuckle, making the room go quiet once again. \u003c\u003c I will do it! \u003e\u003e A young Alb goblin bravely volunteered. \u003c\u003c good luck dying!! \u003e\u003e The goblin elder said with an amused look. The goblin took a deep gulp of saliva before picking up a piece and taking a bite. \u003c\u003c So? How is it? Is it poisoned? \u003e\u003e A member of the audience nervously asked. \u003c\u003c Yes¡­ yes, it is poisoned¡­ \u003e\u003e He quietly responded in a monotone voice. \u003c\u003c HA! See!! I told all you fools! \u003e\u003e The elderughed. \u003c\u003c It''s poisoned¡­ WITH DELICIOUSNESS!! IT TASTES LIKE HEAVEN IN MY MOUTH!!! \u003e\u003e He said, gobbling down half of the box like a mad man. This made all the goblins in the room go crazy, trying their best to fight for the remaining pizza slices. \u003c\u003c Let me try!! Get out of my way!!! You can''t eat all of it!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Just let me have a small nibble!! That''s all I want!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Is it really as good as you say?? I have been eating dirt and bugs for the past few months!! \u003e\u003e In only a few seconds, all the pizza was eaten, leaving many goblins hungry and disappointed. \u003c\u003c There is more where that came from! Everyone enjoy!! \u003e\u003e Grunk said, pulling out dozens of pizza boxes making everyone cheer in glee and go wild like beasts and barbarians, pushing, shoving, and fighting everyone in their way just for a chance at another bite. \u003c\u003c Here you go, elder! Try a slice! \u003e\u003e Grunk said to the elder, who was the only goblin not fighting over the pizza. \u003c\u003c Fine! If I really must!! \u003e\u003e The elder aggressively grabbed it out of Grunk''s hand and quickly took a bite. \u003c\u003c Hmmm¡­?? DELICIOUS!! What is this stretchy yellow thing? It feels so good just melting in my mouth!! And this soft meat and bread is something I''ve never imagined could be possible!! Can I have more!!\u003e\u003e The elder said like a little boy, quickly eating the slice. \u003c\u003c Sorry, but it looks like we are all out of pizza¡­ But! The human queen promises you free pizza for the rest of your lifetimes as long as you agree to join her glorious kingdom!! She is a fair leader who only wants Justice!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Do you want your freedom from the terrible oppression you suffer from every day!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c YESS!! \u003e\u003e Everyone screamed in unison, this time including the elder. \u003c\u003c Do you want a better a better tomorrow for you and your future generations!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c YESS!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Are you willing to fight alongside the human queen for freedom and a much better life!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c YESSSSS!!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c REVOLUTION!! REVOLUTION!! ALL HAIL THE HUMAN QUEEN!! ALL HAIL THE HUMAN QUEEN!!\u003e\u003e ''Hahahahha!! Such simple-minded mongrels! All that I needed to do to win them over was some cheap pizza!! My lord will be so proud of me!'' Abby thought, unable to control her excitement andughter. Chapter 79: Mass Destruction

79 Mass Destruction

Day 6, 5:00 am, Goblin City, Top of Northern wall. \u003c\u003c Ughh!! Everything is so boring around here!! Why do we have to just stand here and watch all day!! Don''t you think so Val?\u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c What are you talking about?? Haven''t you heard all the rumours about the human queen and about the mass murderer killing Aagz goblins?? There might be war on the horizon. That''s why they greatly increased the city security.\u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Hahaha! Those are just stupid rumours!! Has the king really stooped so low!! We don''t need all this extra security!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Didn''t you notice the sudden weapon and armour shortage in our barracks? I think someone must be stealing them. I was barely able to get any equipment for today and, many other guardsck proper weapons and armour. \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Yes! I did notice that there were fewer weapons! I couldn''t find my favourite spear!! It was probably you who stole it!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Hahahaha!! It wasn''t me! Why would I ever want your stupid spear! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c So it was you!! I dare you to fucking say that again!! \u003e\u003e Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Val spotted someone or something in the distance, approaching the wall at a steady pace. \u003c\u003c Ummm¡­ Gulc¡­ Who is that hooded person walking up to the wall?? \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Hey!! You trying to distract me!! I won''t fall for such simple tricks!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c No! I am being serious! Look! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Oh shit! You''re right for once!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Hey you!! Get the fuck away from the wall or we shoot!! \u003e\u003e The hooded figurepletely ignored the guard''s warnings, not even stopping for a second and continued to slowly walk towards the wall. \u003c\u003c Hey!! Did you not fucking hear me!! I said get the fuck away fro¡­\u003e\u003e Boom!!! A huge explosion erupted from where the hooded figure was,pletely destroying arge chunk of the wall while at the same time incinerating the 2 guard goblins on top of it. After dusting themselves off, the hooded figure pulled out arge scythe. They raised it into their air and pointed it in front of them, making it glow a bright crimson red. Then a small pea-sized fireball forming in front of them which quickly grew into the size of a small sun before shooting it out at the huge castle in the distance, forming a huge hole where the throne room was situated. This was none other than the human queen herself, Abby Reid, signalling the start of the revolution with the huge fireball. Ring Ring Ring The bell sounded announcing an enemy attack. \u003c\u003c Revolution!! All hail the human queen!! Come on my fellow brothers!! Let us gain back our freedom!! \u003e\u003e It was none-other than a goblin ve disguised as a city guard. Beforemencing the revolution, Abby had told her lord everything, and as she expected, he agreed and praised her which motivated her more than ever. She had also asked him about what makes the white goblin she summoned so special which he then exined that she got super lucky because she has a 1/100 chance to summon an upgraded undead from an originally weak beast. Over the past 3 days, Abby had been patiently preparing for the revolution, informing every goblin in the city and telling Grunk to do various more speeches all over the city in order to raise morale. Naturally, the goblin ves hadcking weapons and armour making them much less likely to win. So many of them were scared or discouraged to fight. So, Abby thought of a genius strategy to gain more equipment while at the same time lowering their opponent''s. Abby would spy inside the Aagz barracks where all the weapons and armours with her wisp until the coast was clear before ordering Grunk to throw the ring with him inside through a window or crack, teleporting himself inside, quickly and quietly stealing as much gear as the ring can hold before once again teleporting out. She needed to do this as the city greatly increased their security after the first mass killing, requiring every goblin to have their helmet off to show their face when they are indoors. Abby did this a few times over the past 3 days which greatly boosted the morale of the goblin ves while at the same time causing a lot of infighting between the Aagz as many of them were left with little to no equipment. Abby had over 100 full sets of Aagz armour, so she gave it to her undead goblins that she managed to sneak in a few days prior, and, a few goblin ves and ordered them to blend into the Aagz goblin ranks on the day of the revolution to cause more confusion and infighting while getting a few free sneak kills at the same time. Abby had ordered her team to stick together and go around the city , setting fire to all the Aagz houses in order for them to gain better visibility because they do not have night vision before going in to join the fight against the Aagz goblins.?Prior to the fight, she had somehow managed to convince them that the green and blue goblins were peaceful and on their side while the ck goblins were the true enemy.?Her team found her exnation very skeptical but still they ended agreeing with no hesitation as they had no other choice and where scared to object and answer otherwise. She ordered her human zombies and skeletons to go fighting on the opposite side of the city from where her team was located. She did not want them to meet each other for obvious reasons. In only the first 30 minutes of fighting, the Aagz army had already lost 100 soldiers leaving them with only 150 remaining soldiers while the revolution army only lost 500 of their original 2000 which was an amazing win in their book. The battlefield was absolute mayhem. The once quiet and obidient ves rose up against their masters. Even parents attacked and ambushed their own children who had enved them, trying to kill?them with no remorse at all almost like they were wild animals. The previously brown dirty streets were now painted red with blood, body parts and organs littered the ground and flying everywhere. Elemental magic attacks flew all over the air while the buildings were inplete wreckage and plumes of smoke roamed the skies from the various fires. Screams of agony and cries of determination rang through the air as the battle became even more intense. The Aagz goblins were extremely confused on who was friend or foe as a lot of spies and impostors were disguised in their armour when the head goblin generals shouted. \u003c\u003c Attention men!! Remove your helmets to see who is underneath!! We need to identify our allies!! Pass this message on!! Any goblin with a helmet on is either an imposter or a traitor!! Kill them all!! \u003e\u003e This should have been an obvious thing to do but the thought never crossed their mind, they were too stupid to think of such a thing. So, after the announcement from their general, the tides of the battle shifted once again, it was now an even match. A battle of power vs numbers. Suddenly, a white goblin wearing an impressive set of armour went in for an attack on the head general, thrusting a me covered spear at his skull only for it to be blocked by the general''s sword. \u003c\u003c Ahhh!! You must be that traitorous Aagz of light!! You will die by my hands!! Do you really think you can defeat me and my magma magic!! \u003e\u003e He scoffed. \u003c\u003c I am Grunk, a general in her majesty''s army! In the name of the human the Queen!! You shall die!! \u003e\u003e Grunk said, taking a fighting pose. \u003c\u003c Heh heh fine! I am great general Zriehus in the service of the almighty goblin king!! Prepare to die!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Hey!! listen up!! All you losers stay out of this!! This chump is mine!! \u003e\u003e Zriehus said, shooting magma out of the ground to start the fight as Grunk reflexively dodged and fired back with his own fire sts. ************* Abby had been fighting upwards of over 10 C- rank Aagz goblins at a time, swiftly taking care of them with her ming scythe. The fight was definitely not easy at all, she had a few close calls during the fight making her rely on the life steal perk of her scythe to keep herself alive on multiple asions. The wisp that she used for keeping an eye on her teammates was unfortunately taken down by a stray fireball, meaning that she was not able to monitor their condition. She felt a bit anxious thinking that if she was having this much trouble, how would her team be doing? She could not allow herself to let any of them die, it would be a big scar on her resume, making her unfit to join her lord''s demon army as a general. Abby was constantly depleting her demon energy as she used it to heal and buff her summons who were currently fighting. It gave a small strain on her body but it wasn''t anything she couldn''t handle. After finishing thest Aagz goblin around her, she focused her attention on the huge hole she created in the goblin king''s castle. **************** \u003c\u003c Ummm, My liege, is it really ok for you to join the fight? It is far too dangerous down there! Please stay in the castle! We have many guards and traps inside and outside! No one could possibly enter! \u003e\u003e Said the goblin Advisor to the goblin king who was looking out at the carnage below through the huge hole in the wall. \u003c\u003c How dare you!! Are you saying I am too weak!! Their queen has joined the fight so why would I not!! I am not weak and I am no coward!! I am not inferior to that human queen!! \u003e\u003e The king roared, smashing his hand on the wall of the room strong enough to cause the entire room to shake from the tremors and shock waves. \u003c\u003c N-n-n-no not at all my lord! That is not what I meant at all! All I wanted t¡­ \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c Shut up! \u003e\u003e The king said in an annoyed tone, grabbing his advisor''s head with his huge hands like a basketball before crushing it like a ck grape. The Goblin King who had already dawned his warlord-like battle gear and great sword jumped down the top of his castle and onto the ground below, causing a huge crater from the fall and his immense weight. He entered the fight, swinging his great sword at the puny inparison goblins, killing 10s of goblins with only a single sh of his sword. He did not even pay attention to if he swung at friend or foe as he swung his de like an absolute lunatic,ughing with his tongue out the entire time to taste the blood sttering on his face. Every time the king would near a group of goblins, they would always run away in fear without a second thought, however, they were always too slow to escape the king''s reach. The arrival of this behemoth had shifted the state of the war once more. If it were not for the king also attacking his own soldiers due to friendly fire, the Aagz would have been very far in the lead. He continued to rampage throughout the entire city, crushing anyone and anything unfortunate enough to stand in his path until he was finally faced to face with Abby Ried, the new human queen. \u003c\u003c AHAHAHAHHAAH!! it seems like the rumours were true!! You, the human queen is indeed very breathtaking! The most beautiful woman I have ever seen by arge margin!! I will have fun raping the hell out of you!! Don''t be afraid! I''ll be gentle and make you feel like never before!! \u003e\u003e The kingughed before licking his lips in a clearly lustful manner. Then, all of a sudden, Abby broke out in a burst of even louderughter than the king, to the point of even dropping her weapon and holding her stomach in pain. She could not understand what the king exactly said but knew he was obviously talking shit and looking at her lustfully. "AHAHHAHAHA!!! You really think you can defeat me?! Bring it on..." Abby said, suddenly turning all serious, staring at the goblin king with a cold, disgusted stare, pointing her glowing, fiery scythe at the goblin king with clear provocation. Chapter 80: Goblin Slayer 1

80 Goblin yer 1

However, this did not scare him in the slightest. Instead, this only further fueled his excitement. He roared out loud inughter once more, loud enough to cause harmful sound waves, injuring the ears of every goblin within a 100-meter radius. Abby just stood there with the same deadly re,pletely unaffected. She hated the goblin king with every fibre in her being. Unlike her lord, the goblin king was everything she hated in a leader and a king. A disgusting, discriminatory, unfair leader who showed absolutely no concern for his loyal subordinates. A creature like him was unfit to call himself king. Abby decided to take the initiative, trying to end it fast as she could not stand the look of his arrogant smirk. she dashed towards the smiling goblin king like a rocket by boosting herself from her feet with her mes. She wrapped her crimson mes around her scythe before jumping a few feet in the air, boosting her self down towards the goblin king, who was still standing there smirking, like a meteorite, doing a few front flips to boost her attack power and momentum before shing down at the goblin king who responded by casually lifting his huge, ck, great sword to block her attack causing a huge explosion as their des shed. As the dust fell, the figure of the panting Abby and her huge scythe could be seen standing while the goblin king was kneeling on one knee and had various burn marks all over his body and armour with a slightly cracked great sword. The many goblins who were hiding and spectating the fight either cheered in victory or gasped in absolute horror depending on which side they were on. \u003c\u003c The Goblin King Has Been¡­\u003e\u003e A goblin was celebrating when his words got cut short by a burst of immense, loudughter that was strong enough to blow all the dust away from the massive gust of wind it caused. \u003c\u003c Hahahahhaha!! You are much stronger than I expected!! That actually really hurt!!! I have not had such a challenge in my whole life!! You have proven yourself worthy of bing my wife!! The strongest man and the strongest woman having children!! They would be able to rule the entire world!! Now! Show me a good time, would you? \u003e\u003e The Goblin king said, standing up and dusting himself off with a smirk and a lustful gaze in his eyes. Abby was very surprised to see that he survived one of her strongest attacks head-on but, it was overshadowed by the annoyance and rage she had from seeing his ugly smirk and lustful gaze. ''Does he think of me as his fucking ytoy or something??'' Abby thought, gritting her teeth and gripping onto her scythe in anger before taking a fighting stance. Over the past month, Abby''s skills with the scythe had grown exponentially due to her weapon training in Professeur Leo''s ss and private lessons from her lord. She proved to be a very quick learner, picking up every technique and style her lord taught her in the short span of a month. However, she was still by no means an expert and still needed a lot of work. She used her fire ability to shoot fireballs and to wrap her scythe in mes but also for exceptional mobility making her able to dodge and attack in a quick and unpredictable fashion as she was even able to instantly change directions in mid-air. This also allowed her to increase the momentum and power of her attacks as well. The battle was fought mostly in close quarters as every time Abby tried to back away to fire at him from afar, the king would always quickly close the distance and make her pay for doing so, the only time she was able to fire off long-range attacks was when she was being blown away by some of the goblin king''s strong hits. The few long-range attacks that actually managed to hit the goblin king did little to no damage so she let go of her long-ranged attacks and opted for a more close-up and aggressive approach. Every goblin in the area knew to steer clear from the fight of the two kings as it was nothing more than suicide to do so. However, there were a few spectators who were watching a good distance from afar where they thought they were safe. The vast, dirty, gravelly city square was where the showdown between the two overlords was happening. There had been a huge prior battle going on in the area that caused a lot of mayhem and destroyed the entire area which then immediately cleared out as they saw who was approaching in their direction. The once, bustling and popted area was now nothing but a pile of rubble with nothing other than the remains of the charred and broken buildings, the blood that was sttered all over the gravel and walls and the many goblin corpses that littered the area. At first, Abby and the goblin king were on par in terms of strength and speed, matching each other almost blow for blow. However, the big difference was that the goblin king was only using his raw power while Abby was using the full extent of her fire ability. If it wasn''t for her ability and her superior weapon skills, she would have stood absolutely no chance. But, Over the duration of the fight, Abby felt herself grow slightly stronger. It was most likely due to her minions killing goblins in the area giving her XP and in turn making her stronger. As a result, she started to slightly push the goblin king back. From what she felt, the goblins provided her a lot more XP than normal beasts of their strength level so what she felt was not at all surprising or obscure in her eyes. While she grew more confident, faster and stronger, the king only grew slower and more sluggish due to his considerably lower stamina and his increasing rage. Thanks to her lord''s intense and rigorous training, she had almostpletely adapted to the king''s fighting style and was able to identify most if not all of his patterns and battle tendencies only a few min into the fight. The once visible smirk on the King''s face slowly started to fade away and be reced by a scowl and heavy panting as he was beingpletely overwhelmed by Abby. She was always consistently able to fully predict where the king would block and attack allowing her to perform a perfect counter that did devastating damage. Every time she would go for a strike, she would always pretend to strike one area while actually hitting another, throwing the kingpletely off. She whaled at the king like a lunatic with lightning-fast attacks leaving him no room to go on the offensive as he was too busy trying his best to block to do anything else. This Also led to Abby healing most if not all her lost vitality due to the life steal ability that her scythe provided her. By infusing and surrounding her Scythe with her crimson mes, she was able to melt straight through the king''s impressive, ck and red armour like it was butter, attacking straight through it, shing and burning straight into his soft, meaty flesh. Even after all of this, Abby could not allow herself to grow arrogant or overconfident. Every Aagz goblin she had faced so far had some sort of elemental Magic or Ability and she could not see why the goblin king would be an exception. She had to bepletely prepared for any magic or underhanded tactic that he might pull. Then, a few more minutes into the fight, Abby finally found a major opening in the king''s defence and took full advantage of it. She dashed in really close to the goblin king and flung his sword away with a swipe of her scythe leaving himpletely weaponless and exposed for her to deliver a fatal strike. She kicked him straight in the stomach,unching him onto the hard, stone wall of a house in the distance at an incredible speed, causing him to throw up and cough out in pain. "Fucking die you big piece of shit!!!" She yelled, imbuing her scythe with most of her remaining mana, rocketing off the ground by boosting herself with fire from her feet, forming cracks under her before performing a whirlwind spin with her scythe striking towards the goblin king''s exposed neck with all her strength. When she thought she was about to slice through his neck like it was cake, she felt her de suddenly and abruptly stop in its tracks. Her attack was halted by a long, thick, hard, sharp, red, spike protruding from the body of a dead nearby goblin. As soon as she noticed what happened, Abby immediately backed off to take in and better assess the situation. Her attack only just barely managed to break and melt through the red spike which required her to use most of her mana and energy to do so. She was not at all expecting what happened but she always prepared herself for the worst. \u003c\u003c HAHAHAHAHAH!!! You fucking bitch! You are far better than I ever even dreamed was possible!! No one has ever pushed me far enough to where I actually had to use my blood magic!! You are the first!! HUMAN QUEEN!! Consider yourself lucky!!! You will be the first person to ever witness my full power up close!!! You might be a little feisty but I am sure I will grow on you... my future wife!! \u003e\u003e The goblin king screamed like a mad man, a sea of blood from all the blood stters, puddles, and corpses around him and formed right behind his insane, dark, menacing,ughing figure. Chapter 81: Goblin Slayer 2

81 Goblin yer 2

The pool of blood from under him began to engulf his tattered armour, covering his entire body with an exceptional looking red armourpletely made of hardened blood that was truly befitting of a warlord. He waved all of his tentacle-like bloody spikes in the air before smacking them down on the ground at incredible speed, forming thin, long, deep craters in their wake as a disy of his ability. \u003c\u003c You see this human queen!! You pushed me to do this!! Now pay the consequences of your actions my pretty!!! Hahahahaha!! \u003e\u003e The king bellowed, thrusting his 5 tentacles straight at Abby. Although the tentacles were very quick and came from every direction, Abby still somehow managed to dodge the attack due to her quick reactions and enhanced senses by boosting herself away with her fire. As Abby dodged, she fired fireballs towards the goblin king who just casually blocked them with his tentacles. She continued dodging his seemingly never-ending barrage of tentacles while at the same time trying to find an opening to attack him. His blood magic was like an unstoppable offence and defence. No matter how much Abby experimented and looked about it, she could not figure out any weakness. She analyzed the king''s magic and noticed he only had a limited range of control and could no longer control blood that was hardened within a span of 5 seconds meaning that his supply was limited but from what she could observe, he was not going to run out any time soon. However, she could not understand why he did not just kill her by controlling the blood on her face which was still in liquid form into spikes, pushing them in and piercing her brain for an easy kill. She could only think of 2 logical exnations. The first was that the goblin king was only able to control the blood of goblins, and he can''t control the blood on her face because it was demon blood. And, the second is that he was able to control the blood of anyone and anything as long as the person the blood belongs to was dead. Abby was leaning more towards her second exnation as many blood stters seemed untouched by the goblin king''s magic. This is why she also decided against using her undead to aid her in the battle. Nevertheless, she decided to avoid any nearby corpse, blood stter, or puddle like the gue. Luckily, in the past when she stepped in a blood puddle, it would always immediately evaporate when she released fire from her feet to boost. She looked over to theughing king with her blurry vision, gritting her teeth and tightly gripping her scythe. She immediately sliced off the tentacles impaling her before ripping them out of her body which sent another wave of pain that ravaged her system, making her grunt in pain once more. She struggled to melt straight through them but somehow she managed to do it before the king''s next wave of attacks.?By some miracle,?she was somehow able to dodge all the iing attacks in her blurry-eyed, painfilled, disoriented state by her sheer will alone. She could not allow herself to fail her lord, not aftering so far. And, she could not allow herself to die before her revenge on her family was fulfilled. If Abby wanted to stay in the fight, she needed some way to heal herself. So, she had to resort to her emergency previsions. Abby kept 4 zombies spare in her inventory just for an emergency moment such as this. As she was dodging, she stored half of her scythe inside her inventory while the second half was still outside of it. From the perspective of others, it looked like Abby sucked half of her scythe into some unknown vortex making it invisible. With all her remaining strength, Abby swung her scythe inside her inventory, killing all 4 of the zombies which inturns almostpletely healed her due to her scythe''s life steal perk. Then, she immediately burned the blood residue on her scythe because she did not want it to be used against her. She opted to do this instead ofpletely summoning them because she did not want the goblins to see what she did. The goblins thought that the zombies were just a type of human and it would be very disturbing to see a human instantly summoning another human. Also, Abby would have to attack and kill her own zombies which would be seen as her killing her own subordinates for no reason which would lower morale and make her be seen in a very negative light. Abby now had to be even more careful than before. She could not allow herself to be injured to such a degree as she no longer had any way of healing herself like she did now. The Goblin King and all the spectators looked at what just transpired inplete awe. They had no idea that the human queen was also a proficient healer. This only further enraged the goblin king and his growing insanity. \u003c\u003c WHY WON''T YOU STAY DOWN YOU LITTLE BUG!!! \u003e\u003e He screamed, unleashing an even faster barrage of attacks than before. ''I am so stupid!! If it were my lord in my situation he would definitely find a way to win! I cannot let him down! Not against this filthy heathen! I still feel myself getting stronger and faster as the fight goes on! I will just have to stall until I get strong enough to win for now'' She thought, dodging and gritting her teeth. As she continued dodging, the angry scowl on her face slowly melted into a confident smile. The rate that she had been growing had suddenly and exponentially increased. She could tell that her army was on the winning side of the war just from this indication which was even further reinforced by Grunk who had reported that he had defeated the goblin general, who was slightly stronger than him, by the grace of his incredible zombie regeneration and unlimited endurance. The tides of the war had once again shifted giving the revolutionary army the upper hand. But, that did not mean that the war had already been decided as proof of the ever-growing spectator count of the sh between kings, the deciding fight in the war. Neither side was willing to help their lords as they were scared to be easily killed with no hesitation as soon as they drew near. Especially the Aagz goblins who knew that even their own king would not hesitate to kill them for interrupting his fight. After a few minutes of dodging and being called a rat and a coward by the now even more enraged and tired goblin king, she was now enough confident to take the offensive once more. She pretended to grow tired, dashing straight at the goblin king with seemingly no n of attack as a final and desperate attempt at victory. \u003c\u003c It seems like you have already given up on living!! But don''t worry! I have yet to give up on you!! I will keep you alive... But just barely... \u003e\u003e The goblin king screamed with a smirk, thrusting 10 tentacles straight at the rocketing Abby. Abby began to twirl her scythe around her like a tornado, engulfing them in thick mes. It was one of the strongest techniques her lord had taught her. As the blood spikes came in contact with her spinning scythe, they were all either easily deflected or melted and cut in half. She did not do this attack earlier as she was still too weak to slice and deflect the hardened spikes as she did now and would have resulted in her bing a pincushion full of spikes. The goblin king''s facial expression took an instant 180 as soon as he saw that his attacks were so easily nullified. He immediately started to panic, sending even more spikes from the ground, walls and from the nearby corpses with little to no effect on Abby. \u003c\u003c What the fuck!!! How do you keep getting stronger!! What is your fuel!! Or have you been taking me for a fool the whole time!!! \u003e\u003e He roared, forming a wall of blood that Abby simply sliced in half. Abby jumped up in the air to avoid the sea of blood underneath the king and boosted herself straight into him with a burning kick to the face, making it turn even cker than before,unching him towards the other side of the city square, away from his main source of blood. She, however, did not do this without a cost. She did sustain some injuries by doing so, It was too hard to dodge and deflect all the iing spikes when she was so up close and personal. She sustained a somewhat deep wound in her left arm and a gaping wound in her torso that was luckily away from any major organs. Although she did sustain injuries, they were all well worth it, she could always heal them back with her life steal. The king had already gathered most if not all the blood in the area around him in his previous location but he is now far away from his main source of blood making him almostpletely defenceless. Ignoring her injuries, Abby rocketed towards the still recovering Goblin king leaving him no chance to rest or catch his breath. As soon as he woke and opened his eyes, Abby was already underneath him shing her scythe straight at his face which he somehow managed to dodge making the attack none lethal. However, the attack did burn and scar his face and made him lose the use of his right eye making him let out a sharp scream. Abby continued her assault on the king with no hesitation at all. Every time the king tried to control the blood he gathered on the other side of the battlefield, he would have immediately been interrupted by a strike to the liver from Abby. All he had to work with was the few corpses and puddles of blood that he missed or did not gather from this side. However, It was only barely enough to keep him in the fight and not instantly lose. Abby had been low on mana for quite some time now so she was unable to deliver a finishing blow. If she went for one, she would have to use all her remaining mana and she would have to make sure that it would 100% hit its intended mark, so she decided to go for weaker yet faster attacks until she finds an opportunity. She ducked down under an iing spike attack, shing towards the goblin king''s knees making him kneel down to her eye level. Then, she began her barrage of attacks while at the same time dodging any iing spike. First, she cut off 3 of his fingers when he went to block with his arms, then, she struck him in the liver with the hilt of her sword in one swift motion. Dodging the iing barf, she jumped up, shing at him in the face which he dodged making it hit and create a deep hole in his right shoulder. Landing towards the king''s back, she swung her scythe at his stomach, melting through his blood armour and going deep into his flesh. Any goblin in the king''s situation would have died long ago but due to his superior physique and gics, he managed to survive. However, he was still almost knocking on death''s door. As a final act of desperation, the king erected a blood wall behind him to block Abby and began stumbling towards the blood on the other side of the city square in desperation, leaving himself 100% defenceless as there was no liquid blood around him and he could not control any hardened blood after 5 seconds of him hardening it. She found this as the perfect opportunity to finally end this fight. She shed through the blood wall blocking her path and set her sights on the limping goblin king who was grabbing his innards in pain in the distance. She infused every drop of her remaining mana into her scythe making it glow a crimson red me with a tint of purple and sprinted straight at the goblin king with eyes of determination and happiness as victory was finally in her reach. Cheers of celebration and cries of defeat filled her enhanced hearing as she started to near the goblin king''s location. "DIE YOU OVERGROWN PIECE OF SHIT!!!" She screamed swinging her scythe towards his exposed back. As she was still in sprinting motion, her legs suddenly stopped in ce by an unknown, piercing pain she did not at all expect. She looked down and saw 2 spikes,ing out of the hardened puddle under her, piercing through her feet and all the way up to her knees making her scream in agony. She could not understand how that was even possible. That puddle was made long ago and does not align with the 2-second rule she had previously observed making her head spin in absolute bewilderment. Then she noticed it, a small leakage of liquid blooding out around the spikes in the hardened puddle. underneath the thickyer of harden, blood lied a concealed liquid blood puddle that the king had been saving for an asion such as this. The spectators'' tones immediately took a turn. The ones who were celebrating were now gasping and sobbing in despair while the others who had previously given up hope now started cheering. ''FUUUCCKKK!!!! I AM SOO STUPID!! I THROUGH IT ALL AWAY!! I SHOULD HAVE NEVER UNDERESTIMATED HIS INTELLIGENCE LIKE THIS!!! I GREW TOO OVER CONFIDENT!! FUUCCKKKK!!! I CAN''T LOSE HERE!! I JUST CAN''T!!!!'' She inwardly cursed, desperately trying to shoot fireballs at the panting and smirking king who was outside of her scythe''s range with no avail, resulting in her emitting nothing but smoke due to herck of. \u003c\u003cUhh¡­ Uhh¡­ I finally got you!! You now have nowhere to hide you fucking bitch!! I have you right where I want you!! I will teach you a lesson you should never forget!! No one ever fucks with me without consequences!! \u003e\u003e The king said while panting, forming and shoving blood spikes straight into Abby''s stomach making her cough up blood and throw up on the floor. \u003c\u003c Don''t worry!! I won''t kill you or embarrass you too hard in public! You are still going to be my future wife!! No one will have the pleasure of gazing upon your naked body but me and me alone! All I will do is teach you a little lesson on what happens when you go against me!! \u003e\u003e Chapter 82: Goblin Slayer 3

82 Goblin yer 3

Abby could not do anything but scream and try her best to reach the king with her scythe and none existent mes with no result. Without the power of her mes, she was unable to break through the spikes binding her. As the king finished creating his final spike, he walked towards Abby who started to frantically wing her scythe, only missing him by a hair. \u003c\u003c Wow wow!!! That was too close forfort! You need to lose that scythe right away my dear! It will just get in the way, \u003e\u003e The king said, cutting off 3 of Abby''s right fingers just like she did with him. Abby let out a loud piercing grunt from the pain. However, even when he did that, Abby refused to let go of her scythe, the weapon that was graciously gifted to her by her only lord and saviour. \u003c\u003c I SAID LOSE THE FUCKING SCYTHE YOU DISOBIDIANT BITCH!! \u003e\u003e He said,pletely cutting off her right arm causing her to foam from the mouth and grunt in suffering. \u003c\u003c I nned to only cut off 3 fingers just like you did with me, so then we can be matching! However, you forced my hand. Keep that lost right hand as a reminder for the rest of your life to what happens when you don''t listen to your future husband!! \u003e\u003e The king screamed, slicing at Abby''s face, making her lose the use of her left eye, the opposite eye that the king lost, making Abby scream once more. \u003c\u003c Now we are truly matching!! HAAHAHHHAA!! If you kiss me right now, I will stop the torture and let you go free for now. You will of course be held in the dungeons for at least a year until you learn to behave. Only then will you be my wife! \u003e\u003e The king said, now going in for a kiss. Abby did not hesitate to spit on his face before turning away in disgust, fully knowing the possible consequences of her actions. She would rather die than be stuck as the wife of such an ugly, despicable monster such as the king, away from her lord and away from her revenge. \u003c\u003c It seems like you have yet to learn your lesson¡­ Now, let me re-educate you¡­ \u003e\u003e The king said, shoving a blood spike through Abby''s arms, binding them together, making her lose the ability to move them. Then, he approached Abby with a lustful gaze in his eyes. \u003c\u003c This will be a long¡­ painful¡­ experience, so, you be patient and try and learn the best you can¡­ Ok? \u003e\u003e The king said, licking the defenceless Abby''s face before giving her a quick kiss on the lips before she got the chance to bite him. The spectating Aagz goblins were waiting in anticipation for a chance to possibly peak at Abby''s naked body while the revolutionary goblins began hopelessly crying and sobbing in horror and defeat as they watched their queen being slowly tortured. The angry Abby decided to calm herself down and think things through logically. She would get absolutely nowhere by senseless rage and desperation. All while enduring the king''s torture, she contacted Grunk to ask him if he was able toe and help her. However, he was in the middle of an intense fight with many Aagz goblins that would definitely kill him if he tried to escape as Abby was low on demon energy, slowing down his regeneration. So, she had to resort to the only other thing that could save her. In order to win, she needed mana which she does not have right now. The only way she could get mana was with Nature''s Stimtion, a move her lord had shown and taught her when they first met. However, the big problem was that Nature''s Stimtion required 4 minutes to activate and the user had to have aplete and uninterrupted focus which was nearly impossible to do in her situation. However, nearly impossible was still possible so she went for it anyway. She closed her eyes and focused on nothing but the consequences of losing the fight, the love and respect of her lord, and her burning hatred for family. She could still feel all the pain, of her organs being impaled, of her fingers being peeled like an orange, the pain of her breasts being torn and ripped apart by spikes. It was nothingpared to the pain of losing her lord and losing the reach of her undying revenge. It felt almost the same as when she was first blessed with demon powers by her lord, only this time it was much harder. Although the pain was far less this time, it required far more concentration than before. Her love, passion, and hatred had to exceed the imagination, it had to unexceptionally trump everything else in her life for this to even be remotely possible. That was how far her loyalty and love for her lord, and hatred for her family reached and ran deep in her very soul. As the king continued whaling on the seemingly sleeping Abby, he started to grow slightly concerned. No matter how much he tortured her, no matter the pain he inflicted on her, she would not react at all, no movement or sound at all like he was expecting. \u003c Huh? Did I identally kill her?? \u003e He thought in worry, checking her pulse only to find out that she was perfectly alive. So, he came to the conclusion that she was either sleeping or fainted from all the pain. Thus, he decided to wake her up. The torture was not as fun or fulfilling if his victim was not fully conscious, .screaming and begging for mercy every step of the way. He began by grabbing a shorter spike that was around the size of a pencil before writing his name, Gerkrik, in the goblinnguage on Abby''s face by digging it really deep in her face, writing it with the deep ravines, holes, that were filled by blood on her face. He wanted to mark his territory which he always very much enjoyed doing. But, even still, Abby had no reaction at all to having her face scarred and dug into like someone was drawing things with a stick on sand. This even further aggravated the king, as he started to p Abby''s face with incredible force, making her lose most if not all the skin on her face, showing the various bones and muscle tendons thatid underneath. However, this still led to no reaction from Abby. She was as still and motionless as a doll. If it weren''t for her demon anatomy and regeneration, she would have no doubt died long ago from the king''s fury. \u003c\u003c WHY WON''T YOU FUCKING WAKE UPPP!!!!!! \u003e\u003e He roared, grabbing onto the eyelid of Abby''s only remaining eye, ripping it out. Underneath it, he saw nothing butplete white, no pupils, and no agitation at all, it waspletely calm and serene which greatly shocked the king. \u003c\u003c WHYY!! SHE JUST HAD TO TURN INTO A STUPID DEFECTIVE DOLL!!! I GUESS I MIGHT HAVE TOOK IT A LITTLE TOO FAR!! BUT NOW I HAVE NO USE FOR YOU!!! SO DIE!! I WILL HAVE FUN WITH YOUR CORPSE AFTER YOU ARE GONE!!!! CONSIDER IT A GREAT?HONOR!! \u003e\u003e?The king screamed, slowly lifting his tired and still wounded arms with a spike in hand, aiming to stab Abby straight in the brain. However, as he was shing down, he was interrupted by an unknown figure dropping on his head, trying his best to stab at his rock hard skin with no avail. \u003c\u003c GET AWAY FROM OUR QUEEN YOU FUCKING MONSTER!!!! \u003e\u003e A group of 50 Alb and Pizz goblins screamed in unison, dropping down towards the unassuming king, tugging, stabbing, and using magic on him with little to no effect. The goblins knew that they had no chance of victory and that they were only dying the inevitable. But, they would rather die fighting for their freedom than to die as cowards. Once the war was over, the king would have all of them executed or live in even worse conditions than before. They would rather die as hero''s than to be executed or be ves once again. The spectating Aagz goblins still did not even dare get anywhere near the battlefield even if you paid them. They knew that the king would not even hesitate to kill them so they just watched as the goblin ves left their spots and rushed into the battlefield, not even bothering to stop them as they knew what would befall anyone who dared get near the battlefield. The heavily tired and injured goblin king struggled to get all of the goblins off of him, trying his best to swat them all away like the bugs they were, killing some of them in the process. \u003c\u003c GET THE FUCK OFF ME YOU DIRTY LITTLE INSECTS!!! \u003e\u003e He screamed as he continued to struggle with the ve goblins'' ensnarement. Finally¡­ 4 minutes have passed. Abby had atst seeded in finally in regaining all of her lost mana. As she woke up, the first thing she noticed was the horde of ve goblins pestering and ensnaring the goblin king. Abby smiled at what she saw, they were the perfect distraction and sacrifice for what she was about to do. Abby immediately started to release a scorching heat all around her body, melting through all the spikes impaling her in a subtle way that did not at all alert the distracted and frustrated goblin king. As she took her first step towards him, an intense pain ravaged her entire system. Her body was definitely too injured to even move let alone walk. However, she kept going, persevering, trying her best to ignore all the pain and force her body to move, grunting, coughing, and foaming from the mouth on every step. As she finally neared the goblin king who was still swatting away goblins, she stopped to take a deep breath. Then, she filled her feet with mes and rocketed straight up to the distracted goblin king''s face, forming huge craters and cracks in her wake. As the goblin king finished swatting away thest of the goblin ves, he looked over at Abby''s old location only to find out that she had gone missing. Then, as he looked down, he saw the rocketing Abby flying straight towards him at an incredible speed, her teeth tightly clenched, her left arm extended and reaching towards his face. \u003c WHAT?! WHEN THE FUCK DID SHE GET HERE!!! \u003e The goblin king panicked, erecting a spike from one of the nearby corpses he just killed to block her attack as he was not able to fully see her due to his shortened vision. Sadly for him, Abby did not care at all. Even after she saw the spike being erected right in front of her, she continued to her trajectory straight towards the king, her hand still extended. The spike ended up slicing Abby''s only remaining left arm vertically in half but was ultimately unable to stop it. In the end, she managed to barely reach the goblin king''s forehead with her half arm and 2 remaining fingers. "D-die¡­" Abby barely managed to mutter, unleashing everyst drop of mana in her nearly full reserve. A raging vortex of purple and crimson mes engulfed the king''s entire body, the mes were very dense and spread far and wide, piercing the many clouds in the purple night sky. The goblin king''s body sizzle to a crisp before it eventually burned into nothing but a pile of cinder, screaming in absolute pain and agony as he started to feel and smell his body being turned to ash. there was no way in hell he could have survived such an attack so far up close. Gerkrik, the goblin king was finally dead. Abby''s injured, deformed, and tattered body began falling on the ground with a smile on her face as soon as she knew that she won the fight. "Hah¡­ I did it, my lord¡­ I hope that you will be proud of me¡­" Abby muttered before crashing on the ground, slowly losing consciousness. Chapter 83: Killer Queen

83 Killer Queen

As she lifted her head and sat down, she noticed that most if not all her wounds were healed, this also included her lost limbs, skin, and eye. \u003c\u003c The Queen Is Alive and well!! Hurrah!! \u003e\u003e screamed the previously worried goblins who were surrounding her,ughing and celebrating like it was the greatest day of their lives. "We are so d that you are alive team leader Abby!! We were all so worried about you!!" Retta said with a smile, followed by the nods of all her teammates. "Thanks for looking out for me guys! It means more to me than you think!!" Abby said with tear-filled eyes, as she now knows how much her teammates cared about her and how much of an amazing leader she has been. "Thanks to you, we must have gained a lot of points! We have definitely set our first ce spot in stone!! We are so thankful for that!! Also, the way how you convinced these goblins that we are friendly even without speaking theirnguage is still beyond me. Even though you did exin it to us very well. You are truly a genius!! When we got here your body was beaten very badly, we could barely even recognize it was you¡­ But!! We are so d you are alive!!" Graydon said with an even wider smile, followed by the rapid nods of her other team members. "Also, I have a question¡­ How did your lost limbs just regenerate on their own¡­ My healing ability can only heal wounds, regrowing limbs is still far from my reach," Graydon added. "Oh! That! I just drank a good regeneration potion before the fight! As you know, regeneration potions only kick in once a person is asleep or in my case, unconscious," She immediately replied as she already had her answer formted in case of such a question. Abby continued her conversation with her team all the while goblins and, goblin elders and children that have been let out of hiding asked her for handshakes and blessings which she of course dly epted on the outside but reluctantly did on the inside. She found out that she has been unconscious for the past 30 minutes and that by the time they got there, there was already a worried-looking crowd of goblins surrounding her with a white goblin in the center. They continued talking until Abby noticed something extremely worrying. "Umm¡­ Guys¡­ Where is Draven? I don''t see him with you¡­" Abby asked with clear worry. "Ohh him! That weak, useless E- trash! He died from a stray fireball that hit him while we were hopping from roof to roof! It was so slow but he somehow didn''t manage to dodge it! It was hrious!" Graismy said in an amused tone before biting his tongue for speaking so disrespectfully and casually to Abby. Was what Abby said on the outside. But, on the inside, she was having a mid-life crisis. However, she could not allow herself to show distress so she does not bring down the mood of her team and the masses. ''Fuck!!!! I am so stupid!!! I have failed as a leader!! I should have asked him to stay outside because of his weak strength!! I just thought that my team needed him for nighttime visibility! My?lord will be so furious at me!! Now he will never let me be a general!!'' She inwardly panicked'' ''I will just finish my current objective here and hope that my lord doesn''t punish me too hard even though I know that I deserve all the punishment in the world for my ipetence!'' She said, calming down a bit and focusing on the task at hand. For her lord, she could not mess this up as well! After celebrations were over, Abby went over to where her scythe was thrown, picking it up before jumping on top of a broken building to address the crowd. From the top of the building, she was able to see how many goblins survived. She estimated a total of 350 goblins of all ages and sizes, 10 of which were Aagz goblins who had surrendered and been taken as prisoners. She also noticed that her undead summons were all killed, all except for Grunk. However, this didn''t really bother her as she was always able to summon new ones from the many corpses that littered the streets. Abby ordered Grunk to follow her and stand by her side to trante her words to the masses while at the same time leaving her team in the dark. Abby would send her words telepathically to Grunk who would then say them out loud. \u003c\u003c Attention everyone!! We have finally won this war!! You answered the call and revolted!! And now you are free!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c ALL HAIL THE HUMAN QUEEN!!! \u003e\u003e The crowd roared all at once in response. \u003c\u003c Everyone!! Gather all your belongings and gather at the city gate!! We will all be heading towards the queen''s space ship to head to the human, where you will live free, with unlimited pizza with good living conditions! Where you live like kings!! Just like you were promised!!\u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c ALL HAIL THE HUMAN QUEEN!! \u003e\u003e the crowd erupted once again. \u003c\u003c Now go and prepare your selves for the trip!! \u003e\u003e As Grunk finished his short speech, Abby exined to her teammates what her n was. They thought it was really cruel and heartless, but it still excited them to no end. She ordered her team and Grunk as well to wait on top of the front gates while she goes to take care of some business. The first thing she did was go to the Goblin Kings remains. There, she saw a group of goblin children ying with the king''s ashes like they were ying in the sand, seemingly having the best time of their life. She nicely motioned them to go y somewhere else which they agreed to with a smile and no hesitation at all. She stored the king''s ashes in her inventory for future use and set her sites of the Goblin King''s Castle in the distance. Ignoring all the corpses littered all around the castle and its interior, she entered the castle and headed straight down into the dungeons. On her way down, she once again heard the familiar sound of loud moaning and flesh pounding against flesh. ''Even in the middle of a revolution, they didn''t stop! Absolutely revolting!'' Abby thought, spitting on the ground in disgust. When she looked into the first cell, she saw the same goblins as before having sex, not even paying attention to her nearing the cell''s entrance. She felt her anger and disgust grow even further. She couldn''t bear the sight of seeing or hearing them anymore, something about it just pissed her off. However, she decided against killing them for now as she did not want to alert any nearby Aagz which would cause some problems. She had more important things to take care of first. As she neared thest cell, she heard the same human screaming once again. "PLEASSEE!!! JUST STOPP!! JUST KILL ME INSTEAD!! I BEG OF YOU!!*GAG* *GAG* AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" She looked into the cell only to find the same 4 girls being raped by 4 Giggling and Laughing Aagz goblins. She was absolutely disgusted and angered to no end. Abby then slowly opened the cell, entering inside without making a sound. She grabbed the heads of 2 nearby goblins with an iron grasp, crushing and burning their heads. The 2 other goblins turned around and noticed Abby as soon as they heard the dying screams of their partners and saw Abby''s crimson mes. They immediately rushed towards Abby who then proceeded to rip out their eyeballs, burning them in their empty eye sockets before chopping off their hard dicks with one clean swipe of her scythe. She then finished them off by shoving her scythe up their anus, conducting heat through it to burn and cook them from the inside out. The 4 girls stared at what they were seeing in horror, backing up against the wall, their whole body uncontrobly shaking in fear. the dungeon was way too dark for them to see anything. All they saw were flickers of light every time Abby used her fire ability. As they started to hear footsteps near their direction, one of them screamed in a high pitched voice that echoed throughout the entire dungeon. "MONSTER!!!! STAY AWAY!! PLEASE!! DON''T HURT US!!! WE CAN''T TAKE IT ANYMORE!! JUST KILL US ALREADY!! I CAN''T GO ON LIVING LIKE THIS!!! I BEG OF YOU!!!!" Then a bright fire sparked and burned in the middle of the pitch-ck darkness allowing them to finally see who was there. "A-A-Abby Reid??" one of them managed to mutter. "Yes, it is indeed me! Abby Reid! I havee to save you!" Abby said, trying her best tofort them. "R-Really!" another one muttered, still scared shitless. "Yes¡­" "Indeed¡­" "I will save you by giving you what you asked for¡­" "A quick..." "Painless¡­" "Death¡­" She said with a devilish grin, quickly beheading all of them with one swipe of her scythe with no remorse or hesitation at all, feeling herself grow even stronger as their heads all dropped dead on the dirty, cold, hard dungeon floor, a wide smile of happiness and relief on all of their faces. Chapter 84: Bites Za Dusto

84 Bites Za Dusto

The sun had started to shine which allowed her to see her first-ever sunrise in many days. The red sunrise was mesmerizing to the eye which put her in a great mood, especially for what she had nned. She sprinted straight through the bloody, corpse-filled, empty streets of the destroyed city at breakneck speed until she finally reached the front gates. There she saw all 350 goblins patiently awaiting her arrival, smiling, bags in hand, their children by their sides. She hopped up on the city walls to meet up with her teammates before looking back at the crowd beneath her with a smile and a wave which led to the masses erupting with cheers and blessings for their new queen. She found it very unnatural and disturbing that she saw no one in the crowd that was sad or morning for the death of a friend or family member that might have died during the revolution but, she just chalked it up to their beast-like barbarian habits and tendencies. ''Truly a disgusting, uncultured group of people.'' She thought. "Sorry that I waste guys! I had somest-minute things to take care of before we leave!" Abby said with a smile, turning away from the crowd, smiling at her team. "Ummm¡­ Abby, Shouldn''t we cash in all these goblin corpses for points before we leave the city¡­ A-and maybe, we can see if they had any treasure we can take for ourselves or something..." Retta murmured in a serious yet nervous voice. "Ohhh! Ya! Don''t worry! We will definitelye back here again after we take care of business! It should definitely be back before the end of the exam." Abby replied with a smile, putting her hand on his shoulder and patting him on the back which sent shivers of fear down his spine and will probably fuel his nightmares for years toe. \u003c\u003c The Queen has finally arrived!! I believe that everyone is ounted for! This will be our first trip! Don''t worry if you were not able to carry all of your belongings, a team from the human willeter on to scavenge everything important left behind! You can be rest assured!! \u003e\u003e Grunk shouted, addressing the crowd which roared back at him in excitement. \u003c\u003c We will be leaving for the queen''s space ship that is located just past that mountain over there!! \u003e\u003e Grunk said, pointing at a mountain in the distance. \u003c\u003c since there are no questions, we shall now be on our way! Raise the gates!! \u003e\u003e Grunk ordered, letting the group out of the city. They formed a huge, loud crowd behind Abby, following closely right behind her and her team They sang, cheered, and drank in celebration as they marched through the dark forests and damp swamps which Abby found super annoying as they were too loud and obnoxious while at the same time attracting every beast in the area with their seemingly endless yapping. The children at times strayed to the sides of the group, ying in muddy puddles and screaming like mindless monkeys. Even Abby sometimes had struggled to constantly save them from getting their puny little heads bitten off like a grape by any beast that was lurking in the forest, waiting for its best time to pounce. The children even sometimes collected flowers from the nearby nts and gave them to Abby as presents which she graciously epted with a smile, making all her nearby teammates shudder in fear. After 2 hours of walking, the group finally reached the foot of the mountain and stared straight into the deep, dark cave ahead of them. Usually, any group of people would be scared or skeptical about entering such a deep, sketchy cave. However, the goblins felt no such thing. Instead, they feltpletely calm, confident, and brimming with happiness. This was because they had the human queen protecting them, their new lord and saviour that freed them from their previous unjust, shackled lives and gave them hope for a better tomorrow. She was a person that risked her life with no hesitation to be seen. All for their sake. All for the sake of peace and justice. A truly inspiring and magnificent leader, the perfect role model to look up to. Grunk ordered the group of goblins to form a vertical line that was around 5 goblins wide before entering the cave, allowing them to easily fit in the narrow path with minimal problems. Before entering the cave, Abby lit a fire on her left hand like a torch to allow her teammates to better see in the pitch-ck darkness of the cave. The inside was dirty and dark with some weird white liquid dropping from the ceiling and onto the ground and heads of the masses. The only magical beasts they found were a few low-rank bat-like beasts that Abby and her team quickly disposed of with minimal effort, the goblins behind them over-enthusiastically cheering the entire time, their voice echoing throughout the entire cave. After 15 minutes of non-stop walking, the group finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel making the goblins grow somehow even more excited than before. As they approached the cave''s exit with brimming anticipation, Abby suddenly and Abruptly stopped, smashing the hilt of her scythe on the ground with a resounding thud to grab everyone''s attention and make them quiet down and listen. "Hey! Can you guys stay a bit further back? Like maybe just outside the cave? Trust me, it''s for your sake This shouldn''t take too long..." Abby said to her teammates with an almost mother-like heartwarming smile that sent shivers down to their very core and gave them goosebumps all over. They immediately nodded frantically at Abby''s order and followed it with no question or hesitation as they knew what was about to happen. \u003c\u003c Oh my dear goblin brothers! As you already know, I am Grunk, a general in her majesty''s army! One of the gifts that been graciously bestowed to me was the ability tomunicate directly to her without the need for verbal speech. As such, I will be sharing with you her message in real-time! The words she wants to tell you before we board the ship! Her true victory speech! \u003e\u003e Grunk said with clear passion, making the crowd go wild screaming \u003c\u003c Speech!!! Speech!! \u003e\u003e *Ahem* \u003c\u003c My fellow new citizens of the human kingdom, I am Abby Reid, the human queen. I have witnessed first hand all the pain and suffering that you all had to withstand every day! You have all fought very hard! Many sacrifices were made today but they will all be in heaven, looking down at us with a smile and a sense of relief. Relief that the oppression is over. Relief that their race can live in peace for many years toe! For the past 10 years, you have lived in the worst conditions, eating nothing but dirt and worms to survive. I could not stand to watch such a thing. So, I took it upon myself to put an end to such treatment!! I risked my life for the sake of all you people and the smiles on your faces and cheers of happiness have made it all worth it! Especially all you younguns that gave me flowers, that was very sweet of you! Any injustice just makes my blood boil!! I am so happy to see that you are all alive and well! I promise you that on my, you will live in peace! As equals to everyone else!! With the best food that the entire universe could offer!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c PIZZA!! PIZZA!! ALL HAIL THE HUMAN QUEEN!! ALL HAIL ABBY REID!!! \u003e\u003e The crowd exploded chanting. \u003c\u003c Before we go any further, I have a confession to make¡­\u003e\u003e Grunk said, in a sad, regretful tone making everyone turn a little more serious. \u003c\u003c I lied, there is no actual ship outside this cave¡­ \u003e\u003e He continued, making every goblin very confused yet still super happy as they expect a special surprise from their new queen. \u003c\u003c There is only one ship that you will be boarding today, and that is the shiping out of my hand¡­ \u003e\u003e Grunk said in a disturbing sombre voice, as Abby''s right hand began to glow an ever-increasing purplish crimson me with a small chuckle followed by a devilish, sadistic grin from ear to ear. Some goblins were confused at what was going on while other''s facial expressions took an instant 180 degrees as they began to run the other direction, attacking, pushing and shoving everyone in their way like wild animals. \u003c\u003c RUN!! WE HAVE BEEN TRICKED!! WE WILL ALL DIE!!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c FUCK YOU OLD HAG GET OUT OF MY WAY!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c OH NOO!! MY BABY!! THEY TRAMPLED OVER MY BABY!!! \u003e\u003e \u003c\u003c And this special boat will lead you STRAIGHT TO HELL. \u003e\u003e Grunk continued with his tongue out and an even creepier expression, before being stored in Abby''s inventory outside of the vision of her teammates and before Abby''s attack could reach him. Abby looked in front of her, at all the madness she had just created with a distorted grin and a sense of satisfaction and aplishment. She slowly charged most of her mana into her right hand and shot out a crimson stream of fire that ravaged every single goblin in its path, burning them all to death yet still keeping their bodies in useful condition for point purposes. None could dodge or escape the st as they were perfectly lined up in a tight group due to the narrowness of the cave, which was exactly why Abby lured them there. The sounds of goblins of all shapes and sizes screaming echoed and resounded throughout the entire cave, the smell of death and cooked goblin flesh was absolutely suffocating. Abby''s teammates who were standing behind her just stared at theirughing leader and the death and destruction in horror, shivering, their mouths wide open in awe. Their fear of Abby had just increased by 10 fold, how she manipted an entire sentient race to do her bidding before turning around and burning them all to the ground with a smile on her face and with no hesitation at all made them want to throw up and run as far away as possible from her. They were scared that they could be next. But no one dared to actually do it as it would end even worse for them than those burning goblins in front of them. They would rather die a horrible death than to ever get on Abby Reid''s bad side. ''AHAHAHHAHAA!! My lord is truly the wisest of them all! Giving your victim a false hope of winning and surviving before snuffing it out like a candle, watching their faces brimming with happiness and excitement turn intoplete fear and utter horror is indeed a fun, great experience!! Truly cruel in every sense of the word!! I wonder how my sister''s face would look like when I try it out on her!! I bet it would be hrious!!'' Abby thought, looking at the destruction and mayhem in front of her, clenching onto her stomach with cynical, uncontrobleughter. Chapter 85: A Broken Duo

85 A Broken Duo

A flying bug of light was darting through the air, spectating everything that was going on in the battlefield below while sometimes providing support by ensnaring, blinding or distracting the beasts below. "Alex! There is a crocodile beast hiding behind the sand dune to your left! Watch out!" A voice came from Alex''s watch. "Roger that!" Alex (B- rank) replied, cloaking himself and his spear in a tough lightning aura before blitzing behind the dune, taking out the crocodile beast with a quick thrust of his spear, blowing arge hole straight through its stomach. "Marth! Keep an eye on your rear! Another horde of low-rank beasts areing this way!" The same voice rang through pretty boy Marth''s watch. "Affirmative mydy!" the tall, pink-haired Marth (C- rank) said in a yful and almost flirtatious tone before forming a huge tornado of wind, blowing away all the iing beast like they were bowling pins waiting to be knocked down. "Alli! I require some healing! Can youe back to me, I this they have got everything in the bag!" The same voice sounded through Alli''s watch. "Y-yes ma''am¡­" the tall, skinny ck haired Alli (D+ rank) timidly responded. "Jayden! Quickly! Take care of the wolf that is heading for Parson! We can''t let him get injured! Without his night vision supportability, all of you would be sitting ducks!" Parson (F rank) was a brown-haired, short, scared boy who was always exploited and bullied at school for having such a useful ability for nighttime bullying and fighting. He stood on top of arge sand dune in the middle of the battlefield. His ability allowed him to provide a night vision buff to everyone within a 200-meter radius of him which was an overpowered and invaluable ability for a such as this. "Sure thing Karen!" Jayden responded with a giggle. "My name is not Karen! It''s Becky!" She replied with clear annoyance. "Hahahahahha! Becky¡­ That''s even worse! The name cracks me up every time!" Jayden responded once again,ughing even harder than before. "Shut up! Just kill the damn beast before it gets to parson!" Becky (E+ rank) snapped. "Whatever you say spirit bug girl!" Jayden replied, trying to hold in herughter. "Ahhhh!! Please don''t kill me wolf beast!! I don''t wanna dieee!!" Parson screamed like a toddler, putting his right leg and arms up in fear, nearly pissing his pants. Jayden threw one of her shadow-enhanced daggers at the leaping wolf before it could reach parson with pinpoint uracy, hitting it straight through the throat, killing it in one shot before immediately returning the dagger to her hand thanks to her weapon ability. "It seems like our work here is done! Everyone head back to me!" Becky said in a cheerful tone, retracting her spirit bug back to her side. She was the team''s battle strategist and scouter, giving the team orders on what to do as they fought. The watch''s calling feature was disabled for the student''s outside of their assigned team in order to minimize teams cheating and colluding with each other which did not at all hinder them. As the group was walking back towards Becky and Alli, Jayden started to hear a slight rumbling in the ground underneath Alex who was walking around 50 meters in front of them. When she looked around at her teammate''s faces, she noticed that they lookedpletely normal. Marth was giving her the lustful eye waiting for his moment to flirt and start up a conversation like usual and Parson was tightly holding his staff, looking at the sand dunes around him with extreme fear and paranoia. None of them were able to hear the rumbling sound that wasing from underneath Alex which Jayden then concluded that it must be her demon enhanced senses picking up on it. She started to panic as she noticed the sound increasingly get louder while her teammates were stillpletely clueless and had no reaction at all. She sprinted straight towards Alex at top speed, startling all her nearby teammates before jumping straight on the unassuming Alex, greatly surprising him, holding him and jumping away from where the rumbling sound wasing from. "Hey! What the hell is your problem! Get the fuck off of me you slut!" Alex roared in anger, immediately shoving Jayden away in disgust. "I was just trying to hel¡­" Jayden was interrupted by an armoured, massive brown worm jumping out of the sand like a whale jumping out of water. "Huh! What!! Why do you keep risking your life!? Why do you keep trying to save me!! Why are you being so nice!!! Why are you not trying to get my dick like the slut you are!! I just don''t get it! Are you trying to manipte me or something!! I''ve known you for so long!! This isn''t at all like you!! People don''t change this drastically in such a short amount of time!!" Alex roared in clear confusion. "I already told you! I changed after I met a certain man! He brought happiness to my otherwise bleak, meaningless existence. He allowed me to better judge others, only hurting people when they hurt you. Not seeing everyone and everything around you as a toy or personal ything! He taught me to work hard, that I must always try my best to do anything and everything in my power to achieve my goals and dreams! No matter the price! And, didn''t you also change! I remember that you used to be the biggest asshole ever when we first met! Then, after we stopped talking for a month or so, you suddenly changed!! So! Why are you still being a dick to me!! Why can''t you ept the new me!! We were once really good friends you know!!" Jayden replied with watery eyes and clear passion in her voice. Alex looked at the ground with a frown on his face, trying his best to take in everything Jayden said to him once more. He still just couldn''t fully ept everything Jayden just said, especially after all the years he has known her. ''It should be impossible for someone to change so drastically in such a short amount of time without faking it¡­ Right¡­ My case was special¡­Right? Ahhhhh!!! Was Moby not actually manipted to say what he said? Was he being honest with me, telling me the truth?? Ahhhhh!!! I don''t know what to think anymore!!!'' He thought with extreme mental conflict and strain. Alex quickly shook his head and focused on the big problem at hand, the huge worm growling ahead of him. "Whatever! Now is not the time for such useless chatter! We have to take down this beast right in front of us! I believe I saw it in the bestiary in the desert section prior to us entering the desert. It is a Brown Terram Sand Worm, by far the strongest beast found in the desert. It is a B rank beast and should be very extremely rare to find. However, the bestiary seems to always be fucking up and getting everything wrong when ites to this so I wouldn''t be surprised if the bestiary''s description of it was bullshit." Alex exined. ''Ahhhh!! So this must be the same sandworm that Moby and his team fought. However, this time, it seems much weaker and didn''t go for any quicksand manoeuvre! I thought this thing was rarer than a unicorn!! Did we both just get really unlucky??'' Jayden inwardly questioned. The team assumed their usual fighting position. Alex was alone in the front who will engage in closebat. Jayden and Marth were further back providing ranged support and protected parson who was beside them, Jayden with her daggers and Marth with his wind des. A little further back were Becky and Alli who provided only minimal support in a fight such as this. Over the past 5 days, the team had grown exponentially better as a group. Their teamwork was impable. This was mostly due to Alex''s ability to be a great leader and bring people together, even forcing himself to act fake nice to Jayden so the team''s atmosphere doesn''t turn sour and negative. Luckily for them, the worm seemed like it belonged to a lower B rank in terms of strength which allowed them to take it out with only medium difficulty. It was much weaker than the one Moby''s team went up against. Alex was able to easily dodge most of the worm''s attacks due to his lightning-fast speed and reflexes, beating the worm with only minimal damages sustained. However, just like Moby''s team, they did not notice that the worm was not actually dead, but rather shed its hard skin, burying itself under the sand for a sneak attack. Luckily, Jayden was already expecting such a maneuver thanks to hearing Moby''s experiences with the fight so she warned her team in time for one of them was swallowed whole by the worm''s sneak attack. Eventually, the team''s constant wailing was able to bring the worm down with Alex seemingly getting the final blow by digging a hole through its stomach. However, the actual finishing blow was snatched by Jayden who expertly threw an extremely enhanced dagger with perfect timing before Alex could deliver the finishing blow. It was a strategy Moby told her to do called "Kill Stealing". The team cashed in the worm in for points keeping themfortably in 2nd ce in between team Natalia and Team Abby who were 3rd and 1st respectively, the team took a quick rest allowing Alli to heal all their wounds before Jayden suggested them to go to the forest that was visible in the distance, the same forest that Moby and Nataliaid. Luckily, her team found no problem with the suggestion and headed straight for the forest in the distance to continue hunting. Jayden had been subtly leading and nudging her team in Moby''s direction and it seemed like no one thought that what she was doing was weird or suspicious, not even Alex who always kept a close eye on Jayden''s every action. ''Hahahahahhaha! The time has almoste!'' Jayden thought in excitement, trying her best to hide a devilishugh and a smile under her impable poker face. Chapter 86: An Old Friend...

86 An Old Friend...

This was due to Becky and her bug ability. Jayden simply could not find an opportunity to stay clear of her teammate''s sight. At first, she had nned to go elsewhere to evolve under the excuse that she was going to take a shit. However, it did not work as Alex always kept a closer eye on her, not allowing her to go too far. And, due to Becky''s spirit bug ability, she was able to easily spy on Jayden if she so pleased, which is something Jayden could not risk doing. This is why she also opted to not shapeshift and run away as there would be a high risk of being caught that she simply could not afford. She thought about just killing the spirit bug if she noticed that it is following her. However, she ultimately decided against it as it would seem treacherous and suspicious as hell. Even at night when other teams usually took turns to watch over, her team did no such thing as Becky''s spirit bug was always hovering in the air, scouting the area around them, notifying them about any iing beast making Nightwatch redundant. If Jayden wanted even a chance to evolve in peace, she needed some way to either kill or critically injure Becky. She would rather critically injure her than kill her as she was vital to the team''s sess and Jayden still wanted a decent score on the test. She needed her gone if she wished to sneak off to meet with Moby for a chance to evolve. Sadly for Jayden, she was sure that any underhanded tactic she could pull would be immediately caught by Alex, something she did not want at all. So, all she could do was wait and be patient for the chance that Lady Luck could shine upon her before the end of the exam. And finally, her gamble had paid off¡­ While walking inside a narrow path in the forest, the group randomly heard a loud scream. "AHHHHHHHHH!! *GAG* *GAG* *COUGH* *COUGH*" The group was startled and immediately rushed over to where they heard the scream. they found a deep, narrow hole that had arge pile of leaves beside it, like a trap of some sort. At the bottom, they saw the bloody figure of the screaming and gagging Becky being impaled by a wooden spike that had some sort of purple substance oozing from its edges. Luckily, Becky was able to notice what she was falling into thanks to Parson''s night vision. So, she was luckily able to react in time to lessen the blow by kicking the tip of the wooden spike, breaking it off making it less sharp and lessening the amount of weird purple substance ontop of it. "Alli! Can you save her!?" Alex asked with nervousness and clear concern, looking at the agonizing, unconscious, skinny, blood coughing, purple-veined, pale-faced blonde girlying in front of him. "Umm¡­ Luckily she is still alive¡­ I am able topletely heal her injuries but I have no idea how to heal this poison, I''ve never dealt with such a thing before¡­ Luckily, not that much poison entered her system so I think she should be able to survive¡­ best-case scenario is that she stays unconscious and wakes up tomorrow. As for worst-case is that she will stay unconscious until we head back to earth and get her proper treatment¡­ I guess death is still slightly possible." Alli timidly exined while healing Becky, lessening her pain, making her tense face rx and go to sleep. "Fuck! I can''t risk her dying!! Even if we lose out on a lot of points by doing this! It is still worth it to save her life!!!" Alex screamed, holding the emergency button in his right hand. "Hey!! Bro! Cut that out!!! If you do that, we would definitely be docked points and would look like pussys in front of the entire school and teachers!! I can''t have that on my conscience man! I would not be surprised if there was an extra rule that they did not tell us about upon pressing the button to punish and separate pussies from true warriors!! My family would fucking kill me for being a disappointment and a disgrace if you press that shit!!! Don''t fucking do it bro!! I swear if you do I would rather fight you here and now to maintain my honour and dignity as a man!!" Marth said, tightly grabbing onto Alex''s hand. "I don''t fucking care!! An innocent human life is more important than your stupid fucking pride and family honour!" Alex retorted in anger. "Umm¡­ I am okay with going home now too¡­ I miss school¡­ I would rather deal with bullies than high-rank beasts lurking everywhere¡­ Plus,?she really needs help! That''s a good enough excuse for using the button right..." Parson nervously said. "Shut the fuck up pip squeak!! No one fucking asked for your opinion!!" Marth bellowed at Parson who was standing behind him making him shriek and shudder in fear. "Alex, calm down and think things through, we can''t be acting so hasty. I agree with Marth, the button is probably some sort of test from the school to see who is a pussy and who will tough it out to the end like a true soldier. Please calm down and make the right decision Alex¡­ If her condition gets critical, then press the button¡­ Just please hold off for now... Jayden confidently said with a serious face. "AHAHAHAHAHA! You finally show your true colours huh bitch!! I knew it!! you don''t care about your teammate''s lives at all!!" Alex screamed like a crazy person. "Ummm¡­ Alex¡­ I would also have to agree with them¡­ The chances that she will die are almost none¡­ You should just calm down a bit and think things through¡­" Alli reluctantly added. "Do none of you understand!!! Do none of you care at all about the lives of the innocent!! You are all a bunch of madmen!!" Alex screamed as he slowed delved further into insanity. Then, suddenly, Alex felt a small tug on his legs. It was none other than Becky who wasying beneath him¡­ "Don''t do it¡­ Please¡­" Becky barely managed to mutter before once again going unconscious. "Huh¡­ Why¡­ Why is everyone like this¡­ Caring more about some stupid points on a test than your very life..." Alex quietly said, dropping on 2 knees. "Don''t you get it! If we do bad in school, there would be no point in living! Military school decides absolutely everything in a person''s life! That''s always how society worked since the war¡­ You''re a good leader¡­ Please, stop living in your own little goodie too shoes fantasy and grow up a little and face reality!" Marth said in a harsh yet caring tone. "Hey¡­ Alex¡­ Don''t feel down¡­ We all know that your heart is in the right ce¡­ But you sometimes need to stop and think of things from other people''s perspectives and not just act on pure instinct. Life has gotten a lot harder ever since the war¡­ People''s ideals and motivations are entirely dependent on military school. Most people would rather die than to fail military school and get disowned by their families. I believe that she most likely also falls under that category of people. Sometimes saving 1 person wille at the cost of killing many... You are a very kind-hearted person! I have only ever seen you get mad when you stand up for your friends and at clear injustice! You don''t go out of your way to bully the innocent like all the other high ranking students! I have grown to admire that about you! Don''t let this incident make you lose sight of who and what you are! Use this as a learning opportunity to grow!! I believe in you!" Jayden said with a bright smile that shined brightly like the sun, squatting down to meet Alex''s eye level, reaching her hand out to him to help him get back on his feet. "Yeah¡­ I guess you are right¡­" Alex said with a small chuckle, grabbing Jayden''s hand, regaining hisposure once again. "Ok guys! We are going to find a good hiding ce to safely camp out for the rest of the exam! We are far ahead of the team in 3rd ce and there is no way in hell we would be able to catch up to first ce so I think we should be safe just hiding for the rest of the exam or until Becky makes a full recovery!! Does anyone have any objections!!!" He picked up Becky''s unconscious body, effortlessly putting it on his shoulder and announced to the rest of the group. They just nodded back at him with a smile and continued on the path they were on, only to find even more traps, all of which had already been activated but with no sign of blood on the spikes that were in perfect condition which was really fascinating to the group. So, they just decided to take a more obscure pathway to avoid the traps and continued to look for a suitable hiding spot to camp out for the rest of the exam. ''Feww!!! That was close!! For a second there I thought that he was actually going to do it!! It would have fucked up everything If he had actually pressed that button!! Luckily! Now, I will have a greater opportunity to evolve and I think Alex hates me a little less now!! I wonder how much stronger I will get!! Natalia won''t even stand a chance!!'' Jayden thought, brimming with excitement and anticipation. Chapter 87: Confession

87 Confession

Team Natalia was taking their usual break after a long session of hunting. They were all huddled up around a firece eating some of Natalia''s homemade cooking that she had stored inside her storage ring. "Hmmmmm!! Delicious! This shit fucking ps!! Natalia! You''re cooking is amazing!! You would be a great wife for whoever is lucky enough!!" Moby said, devouring all of Natalia''s food. "You''re always teasing me! Umm¡­ It''s not that good¡­ You are just over exaggerating¡­" Natalia nervously retorted, covering her face that was redder and brighter than a burning sun. "I agree with my buddy Moby here! This cooking is absolutely delish!" Travis added, only receiving a simple nod and a smile from Natalia. Jay just looked at Moby''s cheerful face with contempt, trying to hide it under his poker face. ''You moved on from Haley so fast! Didn''t you! You fucking man whore!'' He inwardly thought. Ever since Moby revealed his power, Jay and Travis had been treating him a lot nicer with a lot more respect, exactly like he expected them to act. This made his time around them a little more bearable, even though he knows that they were most likely doing so as to damage control just in case he wanted to take revenge on them for their previous harsh treatment of him and to just suck up to him in general. They only had a limited supply of regeneration potions and they needed all the extra protection they could get as they nowcked a healer. Suddenly, a ringing noise sounded, it was what he was waiting for all day long. "Sorry guys! It''s an emergency! Gotta go take a leak! It should not take too long! I''ll be back in a bit! Don''t eat my portion or else!" Moby said, sprinting out of the cave in a panic. Every time Moby said that he wanted to take a piss, Natalia was always really tempted to go spy on him with her camera just for a chance to catch a glimpse or even take a picture of his mighty Katana. Out of all the pictures and video''s that Natalia had in her stash, that was the only yet one of the most important things missing. However, she never found the chance to do so as if she says that she also wants to go at the same time as Moby, it would seem really suspicious and creepy which is something she does not want toe off as, especially to Moby. 3 minutester¡­ Moby walked back into the cave, looking more refreshed and happy than usual. He sat back down around the firece in his usual spot right beside Natalia. He greeted his team once more before quickly gobbling down the rest of his food. Then, he slowly turned his head, looking Natalia straight in the eyes before saying. "Ummm¡­ Natalia¡­ I''ve been meaning to tell you something for a long time¡­ Mind if we talk in private?" Moby said, looking at Natalia straight in the eye with a mellow yet serious stare. Before she had the chance to cover up her beat red face, Moby grabbed her by the hand, dragging her with him outside of the cave. "Follow me! This shouldn''t take too long" Moby said with the voice of an angel and a smile on his face, his red-tinted ck hair dancing in the wind. In Natalia''s eye, he looked like an angel sent down from heaven just for her. She felt like a princess being swept away by her prince charming. "Have fun love birds!" Travis teased from behind. "It-it''s not what you think! This is some serious strategy n that Moby wanted to discuss with me! R-right!" Natalia nervously replied leading to Moby giving her only a simple nod and a smile as a reply. "We have some seriously urgent matters to discuss! Nothing more! We will be back in a bit!" Moby said with a serious face. However, in Natalia''s eyes, he looked like a charming knight in shining armour trying to protect the honour of his queen. "Whatever you say! Well! You two have fun with your serious discussion then!" Travis yelled at Moby and Natalia who were walking away in the distance. Jay just stayed silent as he looked at Natalia and Moby walk out of the cave with absolute disgust. He felt his stomach turning, making him want to barf out everything he just ate but he somehow managed to keep it under his poker face. Moby and Natalia walked through the darkness of the night, no one speaking a single word. They were still both holding hands, Moby leading the way with a mesmerizing and beautiful purple aura surrounding his green eyes that he had previously exined to her was a way to use his ability to enhance his vision allowing him to see clearly at night. She was too entranced by Moby''s looks to even say a word as she drifted into her own fantasies and let her imagination run wild. Luckily, as they walked, they met no beasts at all as they had already cleared out most of the ones that resided around the cave. After a few minutes of walking, they reached a clearing in the woods where Moby stopped and let go of Natalia''s hand before looking her straight in the eyes with a blushed face and a nervous look. "Ummm¡­ I''m so sorry for dragging you here¡­ Especially in front of everyone else like that¡­ I am sorry¡­" Moby nervously said, scratching his right cheek. "N-no! Don''t apologize! I-I really don''t mind at all!" She replied, ying with her long silver hair. Moby looked at the ground, taking a deep breath before standing up straight, looking Natalia straight in the eyes before saying. "Natalia!! I think I am in love with you!!" He said with confidence and a firm resolve. "Huh? Wa-wahhh-wahh what!! Really!!" Natalia replied, not able to believe her own ears. "Of course really! You are an amazing leader with a heart of gold and an impable personality! You care for all of our safety! You treated me with respect even when I was an F rank with no ability! You saved my life multiple times! You risked your life for my sake and others over, and over, and over again!!" "Not to mention that you are also the most beautiful girl I have ever seen!! Your mesorizing long silver hair, her radiant smile! Your heavenly purple eyes! Your full luscious lips! They are all to die for!! And you are even a great cook!!" "You are the perfect girl! Will you please go out with me!!" Moby asked, closing his eyes, seemingly waiting for rejection. Suddenly, he heard loud sniffling followed up by the sound of heavy crying. When Moby opened his eyes, he saw Natalia on her knees, balling her eyes out like a baby. "Huh! What happened!! I am so sorry! I didn''t mean to make you cry! Just forget about everything I just said then!! I am so sorry," Moby said, putting his hand on her shoulder trying tofort her and make up for his mistake. "No! You got it all wrong!! I am not sad! I am happy! Really, really, really, really, really, really happy! You actually don''t understand! I''ve been waiting for this moment for so long now! I''ve had the biggest crush on you for the longest time now! What you just said was like a dreame true!!" She screamed, tightly grabbing Moby''s hand that wasid on her shoulder, still balling her eyes out. "You are the perfect man in my eyes too! You are so pure, kind and caringpared to all those slut chasing guys at school! The second Iid eyes on you I knew that you were the one for me and me alone!! The way you work hard to train and better yourself every day even with the constant harassment and bullying and theck of an ability is truly inspiring and is what I really love about you!!" "You''re almost hypnotizing deep green eyes and your natural ck and red hair along with your toned physic and beautiful face and not to mention your hot jawline are something I just could not resist!" "This is by far the happiest moment of my life!! I Love you tooo!!!!!" She yelled, still on her knees, a waterfall falling down her eyes out. "I am so d!!" Moby hugged her tightly with tears falling down his face startling Natalia, making her face turn redder than a tomato, prompting her to hug him back. They could not see each others faces, which allowed moby to rest his face and cringe really hard while Natalia was smiling and crying like she was melting in his embrace like it was the best time of her life. Then, after they had been hugging for a few seconds, Natalia stopped the hug and went in for the kiss that Moby immediately swerved and dodged with no hesitation as soon as he saw iting. "That we can save for our first date!" Moby said, putting his finger on Natalia''s lips prompting her to pout and nod in understanding. "Why don''t we have our first dateter tonight? After everyone else is asleep¡­ Like around 11 o''clock? Same ce! Just the two of us! All alone with no one else! I know that we are in the middle of an exam and all but what would be more romantic than a first date on another under the purple night sky!" Moby said with a smile. "Yes of course!" Natalia cheerfully replied standing up on her two feet once more. "We should probably head back! The guys must be worried! We took a bit too long!" Moby said, rubbing the back of his head before grabbing Natalia''s hand once more, walking with her back towards the cave. "Ummm¡­ Not to be rude but, what is that liquid dripping from around your legs??" Moby asked as they were still walking together, seemingly clueless about what it is. "Ohhhh ummm¡­ I think I just sat in a really wet part in the forest¡­ Please don''t pay attention to it¡­ It''s too embarrassing¡­" She awkwardly said, looking away from Moby with arge visible blush. "Umm¡­ Moby I have a quick question for you¡­ Who is more beautiful¡­ Me or Jayden Griffith¡­" She nervously asked. Moby''s poker face broke down for a split second after she asked that question. Luckily, Natalia was still looking away from him in embarrassment awaiting his answer so she did not notice it. He gulped down his saliva and steeled his resolve before giving her his answer. "Well, you of course! What kind of question was that! Where did that questione from!?" Moby somewhat awkwardly replied. "You don''t understand how relieved and happy I am to hear that! I know that Jayden Griffith keeps you as her personal sex toy and pet to do her every bidding, the entire school knows at this point. She is a shitty slut that no one likes. No one but horny guys that lust after her for her body and money. I know that you now have the power to break out of her control¡­ But! Wouldn''t it be better if she were just¡­" "DEAD," "She must pay for everything she has done to you!! Her and her partner Abby Reid!!! With my family''s authority! I can kill them both and get away with it as long as no one knows that it is I that did it!! I made a deal with one of the teachers allowing me to bypass the lie detector test!! So! What do you say!! Are you down for revenge!!" Natalia said with an uncharacteristically wide devilish grin. Moby''s brain was spinning in full gear after hearing what he heard, trying his best to formte an answer. He knew full well that such a question woulde but it still hit him extremely hard when it happened. "I don''t really condone killing people¡­ But, in their case, I guess that It is fine¡­" He awkwardly replied. "Tsk, tsk, I see that you have not yet made up your mind¡­ Your soul is indeed too pure for such things¡­ Don''t worry! I will always be there to help and support you!! I know what is best for you! Just put all your trust in me! I'''' personally take care of everything! Don''t worry, I will help you grow into a fine man!" Natalia said with an innocent smile that had a much darker aura to it. "Yes¡­ I will trust you with that!" Moby awkwardly said as they both neared the entrance of the cave. Chapter 88 - Unexpected Visitor Chapter 88 - Unexpected Visitor 10:01 PM, Team Alex camp. Moby, Jayden, and Abby just started one of their most important daily meetings yet. Moby and Jayden talked about their n even further and Abby talked about how she was going to attack an entire city full of Goblins and asked for permission to do it for the 3rd time this week which Moby replied with. "Remember, go in with a full n in mind! If you are confident that you could take it down then go for it! Show them what the future general of the demon army could do! Burn them all to the ground!!" Which she then replied with an endless barrage of praises and promises of victory that Moby wholeheartedly epted. "Moby, by the way, do you know what the difference between a lesser and normal doppelganger is??" Jayden asked with excitement. "I''m sorry, I can''t really answer that question at the moment. There seems to be something wrong with my head that is not letting me remember¡­" Moby replied with slight annoyance. "ARE YOU OKAY MY LORD!! IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR HEAD!!! DO YOU NEED HELP!! I WILL FLY TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET IN ONE NIGHT IF I HAVE TO!!" Abby screamed in panic. "Calm down Abby! I was only speaking metaphorically! I ampletely fine both physically and mentally!" Moby immediately replied, which resulted in a big long sigh of relief from Abby. "Anyways Abby! Good luck with your city invasion tomorrow! I would love to hear every little detail when you''re finished!" Moby said, trying to brighten her formerly panicked mood. "I wish you the best of luck too my lord! Give her what she deserves!!" Abby cheerfully said. "So! Jayden! Same spot we talked about! I''ll lure her there and then we both attack her! Make sure to evolve before youe for an extra power boost!" "I nned to go there as a wisp but I am scared that it might start to rain and I die. I could alwayse as a bird but I don''t know how to fly yet. And I am not very quick on 4 legs so I''ll have toe there as myself then transform into something else to blend in with the environment before you twoe! I should be there at 10:55!" Jayden exined. "Sounds good! That should bepletely fine! I should be at the spot at around 11 or a bit after! Just make sure to convince Alex to keep you on night watch and make sure you are not being followed and you should be good! When you see us, don''t attack right away and wait for my signal If anything wrong or weird happens on my end I''ll let you know immediately!" Moby replied. "Of course! Don''t even worry about it bruv!" Jayden said in an extremely confident tone before everyone said their goodbyes and closed their mind link. Jayden was just silently sitting around a firece with her teammates in a random yet secure cave located on the side of a mountain. The group was having dinner before their usual sleeping time at 10:10. "Hey, Alex! Since we don''t have Becky to keep watch for us while we sleep, don''t you think that we should take shifts with night watch??" Jayden asked. "Hmmmm¡­ Yes¡­ That is indeed true¡­ Well then! I''ll just watch over all of us for the entire night!" Alex said, nonchntly stretching out his stiff shoulders. "No! Don''t be stupid! You need to rest too! If you stay up all night then you would be pretty much useless tomorrow! You are the strongest on the team! If a B rank beast attacks us and you were too tired to fight then we are done for! I propose we all take 2-hour shifts to make it fair!" Jayden replied with clear annoyance. "Fine! I guess you have a point¡­ But who is willing to start it?" Alex said, looking at all his teammates. "I call dibs onst!" Marth immediately said with no hesitation at all. "I-I''ll take fir¡­" "I call going first! I don''t like waking up in the middle of the night just to go to sleep again! Might as well do it all now!"Jayden said, cutting off Parson." "I''ll take second then!" Alex said. "This then makes Alli third and Parson fourth!" He added. ''Wow! That was a lot easier than I expected! I thought that I would have to argue with him for minutes just so he can trust me with Nightwatch! I guess he is "lightning" up to me a bit!" Jayden thought with a smile. After her teammates went to bed, Jayden waited until 10:30 to ensure that they were all asleep before slowly exiting the cave after checking if there was even a possibility of a beast attack in the next 2 hours only to find that the entire area clear was of any beast. After running away from her team''s cave for a few minutes, she finally reached a much smaller cave that she had spotted earlier in the day. She thought it was the safest area for her to evolve. She used her energy sense to look around for any beast in the area to make sure that she was not attacked mid evolution finding there to be nothing at all. She heard stories from Moby and Abby about how painful the experience was but it did not stop her from being excited. She was by no means a masochist but she could not help feel excited for arge boost in her power. She focused on the empty feeling in her head and began to fill it with her demon energy. ''Heh! Moby was just over exaggerating! This shit isn''t too bad!'' thought as a feeling of calmness spread throughout her entire body. Then, out of nowhere, all that peace and serenity went away and were reced by nothing other than agonizing pain. She felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. Her skin began to melt off before being regenerated, over and over again. Every bone in her body cracked and shattered all at once, turning her body into a jelly-like substance before they regenerated and allowed her to regain her previous form. Boiling ck blood escaped out of every orifice of her body in litres as she tried her best to grasp her air with no avail as she screamed in agony. It was by far the most painful thing she had ever experienced or even thought was possible. The 6 minutes that the evolution took felt more like months or even years of time until it finally came to an end, allowing her to open her eyes and freely move around once more. Even after all the pain and suffering she had to endure, she still felt like it was all well worth it for the extra strength boost and it didn''t make her forget or lose sight of her task at hand. At first, she didn''t feel any different at all but when she looked at her watch, it told a different story. ''10,640! That''s a 1000+ point boost! That''s incredible!!'' she mentally screamed with excitement. She also assumed that her transformations were now stronger than 70% of the original but she did not know the exact amount. If she had to guess, it would be either 75% or 80%. She couldn''t wait to test out her new powers on Natalia as she currently had no time to do it now. She looked at the time on her watch that read "10:45". By her estimation, it should only take her 5 minutes at her new max speed to reach the location where Moby told her to wait and hide. She sprinted out of the cave at full speed, brimming with excitement and anticipation. Scenarios of what was about to go down yed over and over in her head making her not help but let out a small, audible chuckle. Suddenly, as she was still running, she started to pick up the sound of weird whooshing heading in her direction. It almost reminded her of the sound that Dio''s stand, "The World" made when stopping time from that ancient 100-year-old anime she loved called "Jojo''s Bizzare Adventure". Jayden immediately activated her energy sense to see if there was anything around her. She was surprised to see the aura of an unknown figure, disappear and reappear in bursts of 3 every few seconds until it finally reached her location. Jayden teleported her daggers into her hands and prepared for the worse. Then, out of nowhere, the figure of a girl with a gold and white suit of armour swooped in and went straight for Jayden''s neck, slicing at it with a de that extended out of her forearm prompting Jayden to block with her dagger, something she only barely managed to do. As their des shed, it allowed Jayden to take a clear look at the face of her attacker. ''Natalia Xane! What the fuck!! Where is Moby at!?! What the fuck is going on!!'' She inwardly panicked. As they concluded their sh of des, they both backed off by jumping several steps backwards. Jayden started to slightly panic as her brain spun in full gear. When she tried to contact Moby using their mind-link, nothing happened, he would not respond at all making her worry that something happened to him. "What the fuck are you doing here! Where is Moby?!" Jayden bellowed. "Hmph! I am surprised you were even able to block that! Especially in the pitch-ck darkness of the night! And, don''t worry about Moby! Your little "pet" ispletely safe! I just told him to sit tight at home base while his future wife takes care of the trash!!" Natalia said with a devilish smile on her face, licking her des like an insane nutcase. Chapter 89: Becky Sus

89 Becky Sus

Becky Struggled to open her eyes due to her still weakened and poisoned state. It felt almost like lifting dumbbells with the power of her eyelids alone. She somehow managed to lift her head up slightly in order to look around and get a better grasp of her surroundings. There, with her blurry vision, she saw Alex, Marth, Parson, and Alli in their sleeping bags, fast asleep. However, she could not see Jayden anywhere which made her panic. She was tasked by her best friend to keep an eye on her and she let her out of her vision which she thought was uneptable, even in her current state. She used every ounce of her remaining power to summon her spirit bug, sending it outside the cave to scout the surrounding area for the chance that she might find Jayden''s whereabouts. Luckily, she still had the help of Parson''s night vision as her body was close in his vicinity. She continued frantically looking around from high above in the purple night sky like her life depended on it only to find absolutely nothing. Then, out of the corner of her vision, she spotted an unknown figure dashing out of a small cave in the distance, heading towards arge clearing in the forest thatid far ahead. From its agility and speed, she doubted that it was the D rank Jayden Griffith, thinking that it was most likely a really quick magical beast. However, when she went in for a slightly closer look, she confirmed that it was indeed Jayden Griffith which really surprised her. She had to immediately report what she found to her best friend, Natalia Xane. Over the past month, Natalia had started to act strangely towards her, always asking her to spy on her newfound crush, Moby Kane. Becky did agree with her that he was indeed very dreamy but she still could not understand why her best friend would be over the top obsessed with such a weak, F rank piece of trash like him. She even asked her to spy on him while he ate lunch on the roof with two other girls which only led to her spirit bug being squished like the bug it was every time it got near them, not allowing her to see anything. It was almost like they could sense it when it got near. So, Natalia then opted for her to just spy from outside the roof doors, trying to hear any conversation going on inside with absolutely no sess as it waspletely silent which really frustrated Natalia to no end, more mad than Becky had ever seen before. So, when Natalia found out that she was going to be on Jayden''s team, she asked her to keep a close eye on her and lure her in towards her location to beat her up and teach her a lesson. She said that she had been badly treating her crush every day, using him as her own personal ve to do her every bidding. So, she of course agreed without hesitation which made Natalia super happy. Natalia gave her a tracking device that would help her locate her and a phone that works on even others. She said that they were extremely expensive items she bought with her own money just in case of such a situation. These items were probably not allowed on the exam due the to rule against teams colluding or sabotaging each other but Becky did not care at all as it was all for the sake of their friendship and because she promised her that she can get her past the lie detector test with no problems at all. So, Becky epted the gear without hesitation, promising Natalia that she will keep a close eye on Jayden and report to her if anything important happened or when she thought that Natalia had a chance to strike and take her out. Luckily, their groups spawned somewhat near each other and she had been trying to guide her team in Natalia''s direction. What really surprised her was that Jayden was also subtly guiding the team in the same direction which she thought was just a coincidence. Over the past 5 days that she had spent with Jayden as a teammate, she did not find her to be that bad. Although she found her extremely annoying, she was nowhere near the description that Natalia had given her. However, she valued her friendship with Natalia and her own survival over the well being of a random stranger. So, she felt absolutely no regret doing what she was about to do. Still in her crippled and disoriented state, she pulled out the phone that Natalia had given her from her pocket and called her before she goes unconscious once again. ***************************************** 10:45 PM, Team Natalia camp, Back in team Natalia''s camp, Moby and Natalia were quietly preparing themselves to go on their first date. They went to bed at around 10 o''clock when the rest of their team fell asleep and pretended to sleep until 10:45 when they thought that Jay and Travis were fast asleep. They were both eagerly excited to go on their first date, although it was of course for different reasons. Then, suddenly, a small vibrating sound that was barely even audible came off of Natalia''s body. "Sit tight in the cave! I need to go take a quick piss! This shouldn''t take too long!" Natalia whispered before immediately running out of the cave. Moby thought nothing weird of Natalia''s actions as he thought that it was probably some sort of hidden vibrator in her pants malfunctioning or something along those lines making him chuckle as he sat on a nearby rock in the middle of the cave and patiently waited for Natalia''s return. Then, only 30 seconds after he started waiting, The entrance of the cave suddenly copsed, blocking him inside. ''What the fuck is going on!?'' He inwardly screamed. "What was that sound!! What just happened!!" Jay yelled, waking up from the loud sound. "Come on man! I was having a good night''s sleep!" Travis yfullyined. "The entrance suddenly copsed you idiots! I''ll just break us out with my energy ability!" Moby said, forming arge ball of pure demon energy from his hand, sting it at the rubble blocking the entrance of the cave in order to vaporize it. The raging purple ball of demon energy flew through the cave before crashing against the entrance rocks blocking the entrance, causing a huge explosion. He had no doubt in his mind that such a strong st wouldpletely vaporize the simple rocks in its path. However, when the dust settled, the entrance waspletely unharmed. ''Fuck me sideways! How did that do jack shit!!" Moby thought, both shocked and confused. Even Jay and Travis who were sitting behind him, still in their beds had the exact same reaction. Then out of nowhere, Natalia''s voice came from outside of the cave. "Sorry for doing this guys! It was me that copsed the entrance on you! Sorry if you were a little startled. I have really urgent matters that I must attend to! It shouldn''t take too long! I just need to go take out the trash and I''ll be right back! Don''t worry! You will all be safe while I am gone! I added a temporary defence crystal to reinforce the walls and entrance of the cave so no one will be able to enter from the outside or exit from the inside! The Crystal''s effect should onlyst for around an hour so sit tight and be patient for my return! Also, Moby, I know that you were super excited but I am sorry that our ns got all messed up. Luckily, we can always put them on hold for tomorrow!" "Well, you guys behave yourselves! Bye bye!" Natalia said in an overly joyous mood before the sound of blinking and footsteps could be heard from the outside. "No Natalia!! Wait!! Take me with you! I CAN HELP YOU OUT!!" Moby screamed at Natalia who just ignored him and kept blinking away. She thought that he wasn''t ready for what she was going to do and it would be better off staying at the camp with others until she finished taking care of business. Chapter 90: A Simps Fury 1

90 A Simp''s Fury 1

When he tried to contact Jayden using their mind-link nothing at all happened. It reminded him exactly of the time when Jayden had gone to General Ryker''s office in order to take the lie detector test in his stead. In Moby''s mind, there could only be one exnation for why his mind link had stopped working, a magic crystal used for blockingmunications, one other than the one that she used to reinforce the entrance of the cave. He learned the hard way back then that his powers were not omnipotent and with no limits, that they still had to abide by the rules of the world. Truly, Moby''s prediction was indeed true. Other than food, a sleeping bag, a high-quality 16k camera and an album folder full of Moby''s pictures titled "Top secret do not touch or I will kill you", she had brought 2 magic crystals, one for defence, and one for antimunications just for a moment such as this. She knew that Moby and Jayden had some way ofmunicating with each other as part of Jayden''s filthy maniption towards him but she didn''t know what it was exactly. Additionally, She also brought arge bottle of weird purple liquid that was powerful poison and some rope for emergency reasons that she ended up using for the traps that she nted to try and kill Haley. Moby was still shocked and confused about what happened. However, he knew that he needed to find a way to get out of the cave and quick. Knowing Natalia and what "going to take out the trash" meant, he knew that she was headed straight for Jayden''s location that she had managed to find and know about by some unknown mean he did not at all predict. He doubted that Jayden, even in her evolved form would be a match for Natalia. He was convinced that she needed his help to win. He was currently running borrowed time. He needed to quickly reach Natalia and Jayden before Jayden undoubtedly dies. "Hey! Jay, can you help me get out of here? I really need to go and help Natalia! Can you be a real homie and use your earth ability to create a tunnel to the outside? It would be much faster and more efficient than me using my energy ability," Moby said, trying his best to act as nice natural as possible so that he follows his request without any suspicions. Moby ran right past Jay who waspletely silent, looking at the ground hiding his face and headed straight for the back wall of the very tall andrge dome-shaped cave they were in. "Start tunnelling from here! We don''t really have mu¡­" Moby said before being interrupted by his legs being engulfed in the ground and a giant rock spearheaded straight for his head which he promptly dodged by flexing his head to the right in an extremely drastic way. "I know that you are a stupid fucking man whore that flip flops from girl to girl all the time!! "From Haley to Natalia in only 3 days of time! Have you need shame, decency or pride!" " You were the reason that Haley died! I still don''t understand why she even liked an ugly mug like yours! I know that you must have done something to her!! That is the only exnation for why she ever liked you!!" "You ruined everything! Without you around she would have definitely fallen for me and she would still be alive and in my embrace right now! I''ve been waiting for this moment for so long now!" "I bided my time until Natalia was gone because I knew that she would definitely side with you without a doubt!! But with you alone, I definitely stand a chance! I don''t care about my own life anymore!! I will definitely be arrested or even killed when the lie detectores back that I killed someone but I don''t give a shit! It will all be worth it if I can take you out with me!!" "Now please do me a favour and die!!" Jay screamed like a lunatic, forming several rock spears around him, shooting them straight at the seemingly stuck and speechless Moby," As soon as the spears neared him, they were all destroyed by a st of purple energy before Moby just casually walked out of the bindings ensnaring his legs with a devilish smile on his face that was followed up by a mightyugh that echoed throughout the entire cave. Over the past 3 days, Moby had managed to level up 9 times, reaching level 40, he assigned all the stats he had gained into agility and intelligence except for 30 points that he had used on mind to get it to level 100. The skill he obtained was not at all useful inbat but it was extremely useful in many other cases despite its major drawbacks. He could clearly see why Avilia imed that it could help him bypass the lie detector if used correctly. Moby''s new stats were as follows. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Level: 40 XP to next level 1,400/40,000 Power Level: 12,600 (11,000 + 1,600) Hp: 165/165 Demon Energy: 271/315 Demon Energy regeneration: 189 Demon Energy/Hour Strength: 336 (281 + 55) Agility: 337 (312 + 25) Endurance: 272 (222 + 50) Intelligence: 315 (285 + 30) Mind: 140 (100 + 40) Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** "HAAAHAHAHAHA!!! Are you actually being serious?? You are still crying and simping over an ugly dead goblin!! That''s too jokes!! And yeah! You were right! I don''t give a shit about any of you!! I never had! Except for Natalia who I have special ns for and Neia who was an actually nice human being! I had just been acting nice towards your sorry ass to keep a face up for reasons that your tiny pee sized brain could not understand!" "Now, I don''t really have time for this shit so I am going to repeat myself only once more¡­" Moby said in an ominous voice, demon shing towards Jay, nearly effortlessly dodging all of his attempts at attacking him. Then, when he finally reached him, Moby grabbed and held up Jay by the face, tightly crushing and squeezing it with an iron grip before saying in a serious tone,. "Make a fucking tunnel out of here before I shove my sword up your ass, making ite out of the other end!" "*Cough* *Cough* What the fuck! How the hell are you so strong!! You were never like this when we were hunting!" Jay screamed while at the same time trying to catch a breath of air, kicking and shoving in front of him with no avail. "Don''t Make me fucking repeat myself!" Moby said, tightening his grip on his head to the point of almost forming cracks in his skull. "I don''t fucking care!! *Cough* I would rather die than help out filth like you!!" Jay retorted, biting Moby''s hand prompting him to infuse it with pure demon energy, burning the tongue and face of the still biting Jay like he didn''t care about the pain at all. ''What the fuck is wrong with this guy!! He''s absolutely psycho batshit crazy! Why won''t he just fucking behave and do like he was told!!'' Moby inwardly cursed his seemingly neverending bad luck. Moby did not want to kill Jay just yet. He had no other choice but to force Jay into making an alternative exit for him with his earth ability if he wanted to make it to Jayden on time. If he vaporized a hole himself, It would use up most of his demon energy to do so, something he could not afford to do if he wanted to even have a chance against a fully powered Natalia. He could always make the tunnel then use his drain skill on Jay but it would only replenish a small portion of his demon energy as his drain skill was still at level 1 and was very inefficient so he decided against it. He also doubted that his mind control would work on the stubborn minded Jay and he was not willing to try, just to end up wasting his demon energy. And, even if it somehow did work, the control time would definitely not be long enough for him toplete anywhere near a full tunnel so he just scrapped that ideapletely. "Last chance before I gouge your eyes out, crush your balls and burn your sack, forcing you to swallow it before finally giving you a slow¡­ Painful death¡­" Moby threatened once again, lifting his left hand, surrounding it with demon energy like he was about to strike before increasing the intensity of the energy flowing around his right hand, causing the still biting jay to grunt in pain as his teeth started to burn off and his mouth began to salivate blood. ''Well, shit! It seems like he still has no intention of cooperating! I''ll just have to increase the pain 10 fold and see how he likes it!'' Moby thought with growing impatience. Then, As he was about to use his energy-infused hand to rip Jay''s eyes right out of his sockets, arge, powerful, purple arrow came from the side, forcing him to let go of Jay to dodge the iing attack. The arrow came from theplete other side of the cave from none other than Travis who Moby had nearlypletely forgotten about in his restless frenzy against Jay. "Stop torturing Jay you fucking monster!!" Travis screamed from the other side with a visible smile on his face that Moby only saw due to his enhanced vision. Chapter 91: A Simps Fury 2

91 A Simp''s Fury 2

He now had to go 2 vs 1 against them while at the same time trying to conserve as much demon energy as he could which was definitely not an easy task to do. Although they were much weaker than him, it was still a 2 on 1 situation where Jay has a clear terrain advantage as they were in a cave and all the walls were made out of rock for him to manipte. If he wanted to win in the best and shortest amount of time, he needed to use his demon energy efficiently to the point where he could win and restore all his energy by draining both Jay''s and Travis''s life essence. He also wanted to not sustain any damage if possible so he could be in top condition when facing Natalia. Normally, Moby would have extinguished the campfire and any other remaining light in the cave so he could have the visibility advantage but, it was redundant in his current situation. The Cave that they were in was extremely tall and had arge, unreachable hole at the top which let down direct moonlight, allowing them all great visibility. The campfire that they had only served as heat for them and nothing more. Jay tumbled on the ground before boosting himself away from Moby''s location with a rock pir that he erected from under him. His face was barely even recognizable due to all the damage he sustained from such close-up and long exposure to Moby''s pure demon energy. Bloody hot red scars and muscle tissues filled his face, his cheeks where Moby was grabbing on the tightestpletely disintegrated allowing his bloody, melted teeth to be clearly seen from his cheeks. His eyebrows werepletely burned off and his once long blond hair was now a patchy mess as his hair had almostpletely shed or burned off. "The heavens have gifted me a chance once more!! This time they also gifted me with a worthy Ally! They as well know that my cause is just! I shall not let this chance slip you get away this time!!" Jay screamed with awkward speech like a mad man, controlling the earth from the walls and floor beside Moby into spikes before shooting a few rock spear at him from the front, prompting Moby to sh most of the iing spikes in half and jump up to dodge the rest. Thinking that Moby was now a sitting duck, Travis shot out a barrage of tracking purple arrows that towards Moby which he promptly dodged by boosting himself away by infusing demon energy in his feet, using his triple jump to dodge the arrows and make them explode behind him by crashing into each other. As soon as he dodged, Many earth pirs erected from under him,ing at him in quick session as Travis charged up another barrage of arrows in the distance. Moby did not care for such a weak wall, shing it in half before finding out that Jay had suddenly disappeared prompting him to use his energy sense to see his location. When he found out where Jay was hiding, he could not help but smile and let out a small chuckle. ''I didn''t think he was mentally stable enough toe up with any sort of strategy. He must think that he is so smart for doing this!'' Moby inwardly mocked his sorry excuse for a strategy. As Mobynded on the ground, he pretended to start looking very like he had no idea what was happening. "What the hell! Where did you run off too fucking pussy! Show yourself!!" Moby screamed in anger trying to lure Jay out while casually dodging and blocking Travis''s arrows in the distance. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a barrage ofrge rock spikes erupted from behind the seemingly unsuspecting Moby who instantly turned around, shing all the iing spikes in half with his Katana. "Hahahahaha!! I finally got you again! You fucking mole rat!!" Moby yelled, digging his hand right through the ground like a spear before pulling out Jay''s head by what little was left of his hair. "WHAT!! HOW THE FUCK DID YO-" Jay screamed like a lunatic, still with awkward speech due to his injuries before being interrupted by the sound of crackinging from his lower region. "Shut the fuck up!" Moby screamed with clear impatience, kicking and nearly breaking both of Jay''s legs in one motion, making him let out a loud scream of pain. "You will only be needing one arm for what I will be needing you to do!" Moby said, grabbing Jay''s tightly clenched fist, squishing it like a tomato before snapping his arm, ripping it right off making him grunt in pain with killer eyes still locked on Moby''s face. Purple arrows came from the other side of the cave once more. But, instead of dodging, Moby decided to lift up the injured and incapacitated Jay by his head, using him as his personal shield to block all the iing arrows that exploded right on his back. The impact from the arrows burned off the skin on Jay''s behind and pierced through several parts of his body that were in a non-fatal area due to Moby''s masterful positioning. "I''ll still not yield to a bit-" Jay muttered from his barely functioning mouth before Moby kneed him in the stomach causing him to throw up and kneel in pain, tightly clenching his stomach. "You wait right the fuck here! I''m not done with you yet!" Moby said looking down on Jay before spitting on his face before dashing towards the clearly terrified Travis who was spamming arrows like his life depended on it. "Stay the fuck away from me you monster!!" He cried out in clear horror,pletely out of character as he noticed that none of his attacks were hitting their mark, Moby drawing nearer by the second. "Nooo!! Please have mercy!! I was only doing what I have been told!! It''s all the zex-" Travis pleaded as he was running away before Moby cut him off. He grabbed his head with 2 hands before he had the chance to run and brought it straight to his knee, breaking his nose and several teeth, nearly knocking him out. "I will leave you alive for now because I have several questions for you¡­" Moby said, lifting Travis''s crying and half-unconscious body with one hand, using his "drain skill" on him. As soon as he did, Moby felt his energy being restored at a decent yet not extraordinary rate managing to restoring almost all of his lost demon energy. Travis''s once healthy looking tanned skin began turning paler by the second until he looked almost ghost-like. His big, round red eyes began losing most of their colour before they flip to the other side of his skull. His previously pitch-ck hair now had a few streaks of white and his chiselled, muscr psychic became slightly skinnier. Although barely, Travis was very much alive. Even if he killed both Jay and Travis, he doubted that it would give him enough XP to level up. And, he could always fill up the rest of his energy by draining Jay instead. So, he decided to leave Travis alive for now in order to interrogate himter on. He found his actions and his character especially odd and he wanted to know what his motivations were but he did not have the time or patience to do it now. Moby threw Travis''s unconscious body on the ground like a ragdoll before setting his sights on Jay who was still kneeling on the ground, writhing and vomiting in pain on the other side of the cave. He sprinted towards the other side of the cave at top speed before grabbing the still coughing and vomiting Jay, lifting him up by his throat. "Last fucking chance! Do as you are told or I''ll show you pain more than you ever thought was possible¡­" Moby said, with glowing eyes, using his nightmare skill on Jay. Chapter 92: From Heaven to Hell

92 From Heaven to Hell

The feat was so intense that what was only a few seconds in real life felt like days of time. However, even through all of that fear and pain, he would not give up as his stubbornness prevailed. "Fuck¡­ You..." He muttered, still somehow being disobedient despite all that he had gone through which angered Moby even further, forcing him to use hisst resort, trump card. He grabbed Jay''s head even tighter than before, now sending in a small portion of demon energy into his system. Moby opted to do this instead of using "Drain" as it was a much more painful experience ording to Avilia. However, the only downside was that Moby had no idea how much demon energy would be enough to where he scares the shit out of someone, making them abide to his every wish. And, how much was enough topletely destroy a person''s mind and body until they wish for nothing but death like he did was Nathan. That was why it was a huge risk but, it was a risk that Moby was fully willing to take. As the demon energy filled and flowed through Jay''s body, it began to calm his tense nerves. When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on a couch made of clouds,?high up in the beautiful blue, sunny sky with luxurious clothing, eating the best of food. Then suddenly, from even higher above, Haley appeared in front of him like she an angel with a glowing face and feather wings flying down upon him from the shining heavens. She wore apletely see-through robe that left little to the imagination, allowing him to see all of her soft, luscious curves. She swooped down towards him, putting her hand on his face, sweetly caressing his chiselled jawline and running her hands through his soft blonde hair before giving him a sweet kiss on the lips and a big long tender hug. For him, it felt all too real for it to be a dream as he was crying tears of Joy in Haley''s soft embrace. It felt absolutely heavenly, he wished for the moment tost forever. "I love you so much¡­" He said in a warm yet joyful tone, crying in Haley''s fine tender hands, looking up at her gorgeous, angel-like face. "Hee Hee Hee! I LOVE YOU TOO HONEY!!" She replied with a demonic shriek, her once angel-like face dissolving into a hideous, naked, old, witch goblin straight out of the depths of hell. Suddenly, the once bright, blue and vibrant cloudy environment around him turned into a fiery inferno that wreaked with the smell of death and burnt skin making him shriek in absolute horror. Metal chains erupted from the ground underneath him out of nowhere, binding him in ce, not allowing him to move or use his ability at all. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS PLACE!! WHERE DID HALEY GO!!!" He cried out with extreme panic as he started to inspect his surroundings. "Whatever do you mean? I am Haley right here? Don''t say that you have forgotten me already? That makes me feel really sad¡­ My sweet little Jay had already forgotten who I am¡­" The ugly goblin in front of him said in a sad voice, ying with Jay''s balls with her old, hairy, long-nailed fingers. "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET ME OUT OF HERE!! YOU ARE NOT FUCKING HALEY!! HALEY LOOKS NOTHING LIKE YOU!" He yelled out in denial. "Hmmm¡­ I see how it is then¡­ I will now have to teach you a long¡­ hard¡­ lesson until you behave yourself!!" The goblin said in an angry yet ominous tone, crushing the balls she was ying with like they were little cherries before casting some weird spell on him that made his entire body cry out in pain as his skin, bones and organs began to twist, melt and turn in obscure ways while she stood there,ughing at his agony. What Jay saw was indeed not reality but a mental visualization of what was happening to his real body. But, as soon as it started, it ended a few secondster. However, What he saw for those few seconds was enough to break himpletely. "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME YOU DISGUSTING GOBLIN BITCH! YOU ARE NOT HALEY! YOU ARE NOT HALEY!!!" He screamed in his still stiff voice as he snapped back into reality. Moby was really confused about what Jay was screaming about but he decided to y along for now to get what he wants. "FUCK!! She is right there! Run away! We need to get out of this cave right now!!!" Moby screamed at the top of his lungs, pointing at a dark shadowy part of the cave in the distance. Although there was nothing there, Jay''s still crazy and uneasy mind imagined the figure of that same goblin in the shadow Moby pointed at. "Nooo!! Get away from me!! Never again!! Never again!! Don''t drag me back to that fucking ce you ugly disgusting hag! AHHHHHHHH!!" He screamed like a lunatic, running away from the shadow Moby pointed at like his life depended on it, ignoring the aching pain that ravaged his entire body and the fact that his balls werepletely crushed. To him, it just gave him even more motivation to run away as fast as he could as he now knew that what he felt and experienced was 100% real and not a dream. He eventually reached the cave''s walls and broke a chunk of rock off of the side of the cave and began tunnelling like his life depended on it. "Hurry your ass up!! She''s catching up to us!! She''s almost here! We are all gonna die!!" Moby screamed from behind him in a convincingly scared and anxious tone. "FFUUUCCCKKK!! He screamed at the top of his lungs before pushing his body past its limits, clenching his melted teeth so hard thatrge cracks began to form on them. After a few seconds of digging, a small crack revealed the light from the moon outside. They finally made it out of the cave. However, This was not the time to celebrate for Jay as he pushed himself even further to run far away from the cave and from the hideous Haley that was chasing right after him. However, before he began sprinting once more, he felt a tight, iron, grasp on his head that didn''t allow him to move an inch. "Fuck!! She got me!! Despite all my efforts she still fucking got me! Why must I suffer such a hellish fate!! WHYYY!!!" He cried out into the forest ahead of him, tears of blood running down his face. Then suddenly, he felt his energy being sucked straight out of his body. His once young, clear skin began to rapidly wrinkle and age until it turned to dust. Then, what was left of his already white hair shed on the floor before the only thing that remained of him was nothing but dust and a pile of clothes. \u003c System Alert! \u003e \u003c You have killed a high D rank enemy! \u003e \u003c +10500 XP \u003e ''Good!! That filled me up to almost full demon energy!! Don''t worry Jayden! I''ll be there in an instant!'' He thought with evident resolve, sprinting straight into the forest ahead of him. "Jayden!! I''ll be there in a bit!! Hang tight for me okay!!" Moby screamed to Jayden using their mind-link. "*Cough* *Cough* Please¡­ Hurry¡­ We don''t have much longer¡­" Jayden managed to mutter into the mind-link before it was suddenly and abruptly cut off. ''FUCK!!! WAS I TOO LATE!! I CAN''T ALLOW HER TO DIE!!'' Moby inwardly cursed, now using his demon sh and eyes of sin to increase his running speed despite the high waste of demon energy. Chapter 93: Overwhelmed

93 Overwhelmed

"What the fuck did you do with Moby you fucking bitch! And what do you mean by "Future Wife"! He doesn''t even like your ass at all! Don''t tell me that you notice that?" Jayden screamed, trying to buy more time to try and contact Moby once more. "Ho ho ho! Au contraire! He just confessed his love to me today! And he even gave me the green light to slice you up into a million pieces!!" Natalia shrieked with a devilishugh. Even though she knew that what Moby did was all part of their n to lure her out and make her feel happy before turning on her and snuffing that happiness away, it still made her a little sad to hear those wordse out of Natalia''s mouth. "Now¡­ Enough Chit chat! It''s time for you to die!" Natalia said with a cheerful p, blinking towards Jayden who was still in her fighting stance, daggers in hand. Although Jayden felt like all her senses were extremely improved, especially after her evolution, she still found it extremely hard to track Natalia''s movements. She knew that she cannot attack her mid-blink and only when she reappears. So, she transformed herself into her shadow figure and drifted away in order toe up with a better n of attack. However, her shadow figure was notpletely immune to all attacks like one would believe at first hand. All it did was turn her into a shadowy figure of herself that was extremely hard to spot, with a small, barely visible core in the middle of it that represented her life essence. Attacking the core would be the same thing as attacking her directly. Jayden doubted that Natalia would have enough vision and skill to urately attack her extremely small, flexible core but, she was sadly mistaken. "WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE RUNNING OFF TOO!!!"?Natalia screamed as she effortlessly shed down at it with nearly perfect uracy, making Jayden go back into her normal form with a huge sh mark on her back, tumbling and falling before rolling over to hide behind a tree. ''Shit! What kind of insane buffs does that armour give!'' Jayden inwardly cursed. "Ha ha ha ha! There is no hiding from me!" Natalia screamed, dashing towards the tree at her top speed. Then, as she got near it, an extremely fast shadowy electric dagger zoomed right past her face as she managed to barely dodge it, creating arge scar on her left cheek. "Ahhh!! My beautiful face! How dare you do that! Moby might now hate me all because of you!!" She bellowed, blinking around the extremely fast, speeding daggersing her way. "I got you now!! She screamed, shing the tree Jayden was hiding behind in half, only to find out that there was nobody there, making Natalia extremely confused. "Where the fuck did you go! Show yourself!!" She roared at the top of her voice. Jayden had transformed herself into a little rodent before sneaking up to Natalia from behind for a sneak attack. However, she only barely managed to miss Natalia''s vitals due to her inexperience in a fight to the death, she still required a lot more training from Moby to be able to perfectly attack a person''s vitals whenever she wanted. Jayden''s Doppelganger Abilities were strong but had many major drawbacks. The first was that Jayden was limited to switching between only 5 transformations, and those transformations must have been people or beasts that she had seen within thest 24 hours, copying their abilities and powers at 70% of their original strength from thest time that she saw them. This meant that Jayden was limited to only her teammates and a few beasts that she had no idea how to properly move with due to them all have 4 legs. However, she did find it a bit easier than usual to run when she transformed into that little rodent that she used for the sneak attack. The second major downside was that it required a second or so to switch between transformations, however, she felt like that time had been exponentially cut down due to her evolution. Jayden thought about running away from the fight to stall for Moby''s return however, she knew that Natalia would then go berserk killing everything in the area until she was finally caught as well. "WHAT THE FUCK!! ALEX HART!!! Where did youe from?? What are you fucking doing here! Don''t tell me you are siding with that whore! I thought you were better than this!!" She bellowed in anger, kicking him away straight in the stomach, forcing him to clench it in pain. "Where the hell is Jayden Griffith! Answer me now! And where did youe from I didn''t hear jack shit!!" She yelled at Alex who was standing in front of her. "I have no idea what you are talking about¡­ I was always here¡­" Jayden replied, trying to buy some time. "I am not that stupid you know! You were never always here! The point still stands, you tried to kill me and you don''t want to tell me where she went. So, you have no use for me! So die!!" She yelled, blinking towards Jayden who already cloaked herself in lightning. Jayden created a shadow cage around Natalia in order to ensnare her movements which really surprised her as she did not see iting as Jayden was nowhere to be found. Then, Jayden threw one of her daggers straight at the ensnared Natalia while she rushed in for a direct hit up close. However, what she did not expect was to see Natalia blinking out of the shadow cage like it was not even there, startling Jayden, shing straight at her chest before kicking her to the ground, causing a small crater and loud cracks. Then she blinked back down to the ground towards her in one swift motion with no hesitation at all, only to find herself shing des with herself,unching her other self back to the ground due to her immensely stronger power, causing her other self to spit out a mouthful of blood before it changed forms once more to Jayden Griffith''s. "What the fuck is going on! What the hell are you! Are you even Jayden Griffith or some sort of demon monster!!" Natalia screamed, rushing towards Jayden who was standing below her, who was heavily panting and in pain. "Huh...huh¡­ I am¡­ Both!" She managed to mutter before transforming back into Alex who was at this point her strongest transformation, cloaking herself in lightning before rushing towards Natalia, daggers in hand. She threw both her daggers at Natalia who just blinked away before bringing them back into her hand, shing at Natalia in front of her forcing her to blink once more before predicting byplete luck that she would blink behind her, which she did. "Ha ha ha! You used up all your 3 blinks! Now die!!" Jayden screamed in victory, shing toward''s Natalia''s face that smirked only an instantter. She blinked once more to behind the shing Jayden before stabbing her straight through the stomach forcing her to vomit arge chunk of blood and all the food that was in her system. "What the fuck¡­ I thought you were only limited to 3 blinks at a time¡­ *Gag*" Jayden barely managed to mutter. "Ha ha ha!! I knew that you and Moby had some sort of way tomunicate with each other! I know you forced him to tell you all the intel he knew about me!!?so I decided to hide my true power on purpose just for a moment such as this!! To see the stupid look on your face as you think you won and outsmarted me but ending up failing miserably instead... " "Don''t worry! I won''t kill you just yet! I am going to have fun making you suffer you fucking demon whore!" She said in a disturbingly ominous voice, taking her de out of the still vomiting Jayden before kneeing her in the face at full force, breaking her nose and sending her flying before blinking right behind her, sping her hand together and smashing her flying body to the ground like she was ying ping pong, breaking her back. Then, She blinked back down towards her, with a smile on her face, looking at Jayden''s half-dead eyes before shing her right boob and arm off in one clean swipe before kicking her in the stomach, sending her flying and crashing towards arge tree in the distance. "This is only the beginning! I would sure wish I were dead if I were you! But don''t even try to kill yourself or I will make the pain 20 times more unpleasant!" Nataliaughed like a lunatic, slowly walking towards the heavily panting and injured Jayden who was holding her lost right arm and boob in pain. Then, suddenly, Out of the forest, the sound of lightning striking was heard before the sound of various bird beasts flying away in the sky was seen. Not even a secondter, a tall, handsome purple-haired man cloaked in a heavy coat of lightning emerged out of the forest and into the clearing where Natalia and Jayden were. "What the fuck is going on here!!" Alex screamed as he saw the figure of an unknown armoured girl walking towards a person who had lost an arm that looked exactly like him. Chapter 94: Friend or Foe?

94 Friend or Foe?

At first, he was really outraged that she would skip out on such an important duty such as keeping them safe while they slept. But, he gave her the benefit of the doubt thinking: ''She probably went out to take a piss or something, I should maybe go check on her.'' So, he left the cave, spear in hand, and began looking for Jayden in the deep dark forest which he then realized was a bad idea as he was so used to parson''s night vision. Then, all of a sudden, he heard a loud scream of pain that sounded really human, followed up by many crashes. It was no doubt the sound of a battlefield. Although he couldn''t see through the night at all, he was still able to pick up the direction of the screaming and crashing, cloaking himself with lightning and running straight in that direction at top speed only to find an unknown armoured girl fighting what seemed like a crippled version of himself. "What the fuck is going on here!!" He screamed in confusion. "Ooo!! You must be the real Alex Hart!" Natalia said, turning around, switching her focus onto him. "Natalia Xane?? Why are you here! And what do you mean by "Real" Alex Hart?? Is that a fake version of me over there or something??" He replied, growing even more confused than before. "Why of course it''s a fake!! That over there is none other than Jayden Griffith!" She said with a heartyugh. "Huh!? Is that true!!" He screamed, looking at his heavily injured self. "Yes Alex¡­ It''s true¡­ I have the ability to shapeshift and use other people''s powers in addition to my shadow ability¡­ See¡­" Jayden barely managed to mutter before transforming back into her original body as she had no other choice but to reveal her secret to him. Alex looked at Jayden with eyes that werepletely wide open in surprise, he had never heard about anyone with 2 abilities. And, even with his extensive knowledge of abilities, he never even heard about the shapeshifting ability that Jayden had and was talking about. "I am still really confused about everything but what you said still doesn''t exin what is going on here!!" Alex bellowed with a hint of anger and annoyance. "Ha ha ha!! Don''t feel sad! You can always redeem yourself!" "You can still restore your lost honour!" "Join me in torturing this little bitch until her bones get broken and crushed to dust! Until every organ in her body stops working! Until we peel off her skin like an orange with dirty and rusty des! Until her tears of blood run dry making her cry no more!! So, are you in!" "W-will it really be okay¡­ Will I truly regain what I have lost if I join you?" Alex muttered in a low yet audible voice. "No Alex! Don''t do it! It''s not really what you think!!" Jayden barely managed screamed from the sideline. "Shut the fuck up you dirty slut! No one asked for the opinion of a dead girl!! And to answer your question, yes of course! I promise that if you just join me it will all be fine! I am sure Moby would understand!" Natalia replied with clear confidence. "W-will Moby really understand? If I join you will all be forgiven¡­" Alex mumbled still looking at the ground, cold sweat running down his face. "Hahaha don''t worry! With him as my future husband, I can always talk some sense into him if things go south! So! Join me Alex Hart! Let us punish this bitch for her sins an-!!" Natalia said before being abruptly cut off. "BUT I REFUSE!!" Alex screamed, dashing towards Natalia at his top speed, leaving her little time to react as she was not at all expecting such an oue. He attacked her straight in the chest with the tip of his spear, forming small cracks in Natalia''s armour, making her spit out a mouthful of blood. "B-but why! I thought you hated Jayden Griffith as well!" Natalia shrieked in disbelief. "Well, let''s just say that I have faith in the words of my friend!" Alex said with a smile, thinking about the words that Moby told him when they got back from the amusement park the day before the exam. "Also! One of the things I, Alex Hart, like the most is to find someone who thinks they''re some hot shit, and say ''No'' right to their faces!" Alex added with a smile, pointing his spear at the clearly enraged Natalia. "Also, don''t get me wrong! I still don''t quite like you Jayden! I just don''t mind fighting alongside you just this once because I promised a friend that I would!" He said, looking towards Jayden with a friendly smile that she somehow managed to return but only barely due to her clearly injured state. Alex cloaked himself in lightning once more and stared at the angry Natalia in the darkness of the night. Although the moon was shining hard on them, he still had a great amount of trouble seeing and tracking her movements. One second she was far in the distance, and she was already behind him in the next. He only barely managed to react in time to dodge a fatal strike to his heart, causing it tond in a non-fatal spot before she kicked him away with the force of a bullet train, making him break through several trees in the process. ''Fuck! I think I felt something crack!'' Alex inwardly cursed. He was at a major disadvantage as long as he couldn''t properly see his opponent. So, he thought of a way that he could regain his lost vision. With arge visible smirk on his face, he infused his spear with a lot of lightning before running around the edges of the clearing in the forest at top speed, lighting the trees on fire allowing him to see clearly once more. "Much better!" Alex said, setting his sights on Natalia. "That was pretty resourceful of you! But that still doesn''t change the fact that I am stronger than you and will still beat your weak ass!" She screamed, blinking towards Alex like a mad man, shing des with him where she clearly had the upper hand. Even though Alex was much stronger than Jayden who was transformed into him due to his more proficient use of his ability and body alongside his higher power level, Natalia was still overwhelming him with her blink ability as he barely even managed to dodge and counter attack. All the while Alex was barely hanging in trying his best not to get killed, Jayden was just spectating from the sidelines beside one of the burning trees, transformed as Ali in order to heal her injuries. Although Ali''s healing Ability was not strong enough alone to regenerate limbs, it became strong enough to do so when it wasbined and used alongside Jayden''s demon regeneration. After spectating the fight for a few more seconds, she screamed a mental, ''Fuck it dood,'' Before transforming into Alex and joining the fight as soon as she regained control of her previously missing arm, not waiting until she waspletely healed as she had no time and wanted to conserve her mana. She swooped in from behind Natalia, throwing her shadow and lightning enhanced daggers straight at her. This forced her to blink away making the daggers aimed at Alex who was behind her instead. But, before it could make contact with him, Jayden returned them to her hands making him breathe a huge sigh of relief. With theirbined efforts, Jayden and Alex managed to regain the upper hand. Alex did think that it was really weird to be fighting alongside what seemed like himself but he would be lying to say that he didn''t appreciate the help. They continued to whale on her until they managed to make her waste her 4 consecutive blinks on dodging their attacks. Then, Jayden threw both of her daggers hitting Natalia''s knees, forcing her to grunt and kneel on both the ground. "Do it now!" Jayden screamed at Alex who sprinted towards her at full speed. "Go to hell!" He screamed, thrusting his lightning enhanced spear towards Natalia''s chest, not aiming to kill her but to ipasitate her instead. Then suddenly, Natalia disappeared from where she onceid. Then, all of a sudden, Alex lost the feeling in both of his arms as they were both cleanly sliced off, causing him to scream in pain as blood started gushing out of his hand like a gaiser. A small ck hole formed right in the middle of both of them, sucking them in and ensnaring both of their movements as they struggled to escape its grasp with no avail. Fuck!! I should have seen this shiting!!'' Jayden inwardly cursed. She hadpletely forgotten about Natalia''s trump card that Moby had previously told her about. Natalia''s 9 blink ck hole super move. Natalia then appeared right in front of Jayden and Alex, shing off several of their limbs in a barrage of blinks that they could barely keep track of at all, especially in their ensnared state. They lost parts of their arms, legs, pelvis and shoulders. The barrage was especially bad for Jayden who was now nothing more than an armless and legless nugget due to her jumping in the way of some attacks that were directed at Alex since she knew she could survive by sustaining more damage than him due to her demon regeneration. As the ck hole disappeared, they both dropped?and began falling on the ground like rag dolls. Alex was still alive, however only barely, all due to Jayden''s efforts. However, he was most likely still going to die in the next hour from blood loss. As Jayden''s heavily injured, armless and legless body that was nearly lifeless and unconscious was dropping on the ground, she heard the voice of the one person she wanted to hear from the most. Even as she felt like she was about to die, she felt happy to be able to hear his voice one more time before she moved on to the other side. "Jayden!! I''ll be there in a bit!! Hang tight for me okay!!" Moby''s sweet voice rang in her head. "*Cough* *Cough* Please¡­ Hurry¡­ We don''t have much longer¡­" Jayden managed to mutter as she dropped on the ground, goingpletely unconscious, a wide smile on her face. "Hahahahahah!! I am surprised that you forced me to do that!! I never expected to use my trump card even while taking on both of youbined!" "I might have gone a little too far¡­ it looks like you are about to die from blood loss any second now! And we can''t have that now can we! So, I will kill you with my own hands! "Just like you tried to steal my Moby''s heart, I shall now steal yours as well!!" Natalia screamed like a maniac, beforeughing a devilishugh, making her hand into the shape of a spear before thrusting it towards Jayden''s heart. "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY JAYDEN!!!" Moby screamed, swooping in at thest second, punching Natalia in the face so hard that it cracked and dislocated her jaw, sending her flying away through several trees in the distance. Chapter 95: A Lovers Quarrel

95 A Lovers Quarrel

He looked at his surroundings only to find Alex''s battered and unconscious body on the ground missing one leg and one arm along with a few fingers. Technically speaking he was in much better shape than Jayden but without demon-like regeneration, Moby knew that he would no doubt not live for long. He slowly let go of Jayden''s unconscious body, tears still rushing down his face before setting his sights on the still recovering Natalia in the distance with more anger and rage than he ever felt before in his entire life. "NATALIA XANE!! I''LL FUCKING TURN YOU TO SHREDS!!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, activating his "Eyes of Sin" before dashing towards her at top speed causingrge cracks in the wake of his every step. ''What the fuck was that! It felt like I was struck by a meteorite, Natalia thought, cracking her jaw back into ce before trying to stand up to see what had just happened. However, before she got the chance to fully stand up, she felt someone''srge, purple, burning, iron grasp grab her head like it was a basketball, smashing her face on the ground before dragging it on the hard yet muddy terrain as they sprinted before continuously smashing it through multiple rocks and trees in quick session. She also felt that a small portion of her mana was being sucked out of her body but it was so little that she could barely tell if she was imagining things. As Natalia''s face was being smashed, she tried to take a peek at her sudden attacker with little to no result. All she knew about her assant was that they were someone that really liked and cared about Jayden Griffith due to them screaming about staying away from their Jayden so she immediately assumed that they were not a good person. Due to her face being burned, grabbed, and smashed in the ground, she was unable to blink out. So she opted to extend her retracted des straight into the chest of her assant, making him cough up blood on her face before he kicked her away in the stomach with incredible force, blowing her away and making her retract her de from his body. Her attacker did not deal much damage to her. It was almost like his main goal was to move her elsewhere instead of trying to deal damage which was exactly what Moby was going for. He wanted to take the battle elsewhere so that Natalia doesn''t try any underhanded tactics such as killing or taking Jayden hostage in the middle of the fight. "Why do you all always attack my beautiful face! Are you all just jealous or something?? Why am I so unlucky! All I wanted to do was to kill Jayden Griffith and I got an entire mob against me! Now what kind of bit-" Natalia said in annoyance before biting her tongue in regret as soon as she saw who she was talking to. "M-m-m-m-Moby!? What are you doing here... Didn''t I tell you to wait in the cave until I got back honey?" Natalia''s tone immediately shifted into a much kinder and almost motherly tone. Moby just ignored Natalia''s words, demon shing towards her in quick session. He had no time for chit chat while his friend and his crush were both dying and bleeding out on the ground and for a future n that he had. He infused his de with demon energy before shing the air creating waves of sh-like pure demon energy projectiles that were headed in Natalia''s direction making her naturally dodge a few while blinking to dodge the others when they got too close. When Moby noticed that Natalia had used 3 blinks in one quick session, he demon shed into close quarters, shing towards Natalia''s chest with all his might. However, when he expected to sh right through her armour dealing critical damage, he hit nothing but air, making him frantically look around in front of him with anger and impatience to find her whereabouts. "Moby¡­ Why do you look so mad¡­ Are you angry at me for some reason?" He felt a hand go on his shoulder before he heard a voiceing from behind him. Moby immediately turned around, shing right behind him only to hit nothing but air once more. "Moby dear! Do you not recognize me at all due to all this darkness? Are your purple night-vision eyes broken? It''s me¡­ Natalia¡­ Your one and only love!" She said, popping up right beside him, softly caressing his cheeks with her metal gloves prompting Moby to sh at her once more only for her to blink away once more. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" Moby screamed, predicting where she was going to reappear due to his small amount of future sight, shing at her forcing Natalia to block with her de. Then, as their des shed, Moby ducked down under her arm, infusing his fists with pure demon energy and punching her straight in the liver, causing slightly more cracks to form in her previously banged-up armour. She jumped away from Moby before blinking away as soon as she could before vomiting a little on the ground, holding her liver in pain. "Huh!! That fucking hurts! From when were you that strong! You don''t treat your future wife like this! I will have to teach you a lesson in manners!!" Natalia roared in anger blinking towards the battle-ready Moby. As Moby and Natalia shed des, it becamepletely apparent who had the upper hand in the fight. Even with his future sight, Moby was unable topletely predict Natalia''s blink pattern, especially since he now knew that she was able to use 4 blinks. And, it seemed like Natalia had stopped ying around and holding back and began taking the fight seriously as her angerpletely overwhelmed her senses, making Moby barely struggle to keep up with her. "Didn''t you tell me that you loved me! Why are you attacking me all of a sudden!!" She screamed, punching Moby in the face. "Were you just lying to me!" She shrieked, kneeing him in the stomach. "And what was that about "Get away from my Jayden Griffith" Do you actually like her or something!" She roared tripping him before kicking him high up in the air. "Were you only pretending to like me or something!" She bellowed, jumping up behind him, punching him in the side as he attempted to triple jump to dodge. "Were you just! ying with my emotions!" She screamed, blinking and hitting him in the ribs. "Tell me!" She roared punching him in the face "Tell me!" She screamed, shing him in the chest. "TELL ME!!!" She roared, blinking from above him, with her fists sped together, hitting him in him in the back, forcing him to drop down towards the ground like a meteorite beforending on the ground with an outstanding impact. "Sorry if I have been too hard on you my dear¡­ I know that we all make mistakes¡­" "And luckily for you, I am a very forgiving partner! All I will do now is teach you a quick lesson¡­ Maybe even cripple you until you learn how to properly use your powers and appreciate my love for you¡­ Girls like Jayden Griffith and Abby Ried are just nothing more than bad influences to you! See what they did to you! They corrupted your sweet little innocent mind into hating and turning against me! Your one and only true love! That is unforgivable! Don''t worry! I am doing this for your own good!" "You will thank me in future and grow to appreciate what I have done for you once they are dead! I just know it!" "But for now I must teach you a little lesson¡­ Trust me, it pains me to hurt you but this is for your own good¡­" She said in an ominous, psychotic voice, licking Moby''s blood stters that were on her face with her long, serpent-like tongue, walking towards the small crater and dust cloud where Moby was. Then as she neared the edge of the crater, a bright ck, purple and red light shined seemingly out of nowhere, blowing away all the dust in its path. The ground started to tremble like it was being hit by an earthquake as sudden cracks began to form in the ground beneath her feet. Abrupt lightning strikes began falling from the sky left and right, crashing on the ground creating craters and setting some trees on fire in their wake. In the small crater where Moby once stoodid a man with a raging aura of ck, purple and red surrounding his entire body. His hair was a perfect mix of ck and red. Under his eyes were ck shadowy lines that looked almost alive and had a slight glow to them. Rips in his equipment showed simr lines and runic patterns that extended throughout his entire body. Small, scaly, pointy ck horns were visible on his head that looked almost like a mixture of dragon and devil horns. "I''ve already said this once but, can you please just shut the fuck up for 1 second!!" Moby screamed from the bottom of the crater with unbridled anger and annoyance. Chapter 96: A Lovers Quarrel 2

96 A Lovers Quarrel 2

Moby had just activated his "Sin Mode" as he was now morefortable with Natalia''s moves and attack patterns. He did not want to go in blindly with sin mode at the start as he only had a limited 5 minutes of time to defeat her before its timer runs out. He had also been saving and forcing himself not to say most of his rants and insults as he was saving them for when sin mode was activated to maximize his power gains. "Yes! Of course, this is me! Moby Kane! But don''t you dare ever call me honey! That word is reserved for one person and one person only! Jayden Griffith!"?Moby retorted in confidence, still walking up towards her. As soon as he finished saying his words, he saw Natalia tightly clench her fists and grit her teeth before he felt a small power boost enter his body which told him that his words and new powers were working. He remembered that the power boosts he gained depended on the emotions that his opponent felt towards him. Anger = Strength Annoyance = Agility Fear = Endurance Shame/Embarrassment = Health Regeneration + Energy Regeneration So, what he felt just then was most likely a boost in strength and agility due to her anger and annoyance towards him. "Also, I know that that time when we were having our little "Date" you got wet from me just hugging you! That''s just pathetic! I also know that you most likely have some sort of stash full of all my pictures and a vibrator in your pants to help you jerk off even on this! You dirty bitch!" Moby screamed as Natalia look away with a frown and a slightly red face, making Moby regain most of his lost health and demon energy as he felt his broken bones being regenerated and his bruises fading away in the blink of an eye. "Unlike what you think, I am the one in charge of Jayden! I am her one and only master, not the other way around like you thought! All of this was nned by me! Not her! I always had this power, I was just lying to the group about it to give me an excuse to use it. Also, due to your constant abuse of Jayden, we decided that it was time to kill you¡­ However, Then I changed my mind. I thought that you could join us if you were able to cope with everyone in the group. But then, I soon realized that it could not be done and that you were beyond saving¡­" Moby continued. He had her attack patterns almost memorized and with his extra strength, speed, and regeneration he was able to much more easily keep up with her. For some reason, he also felt morefortable using his previously straining eyes of sin. He did not know why but he just thought of it as an extra bonus to sin mode. After blocking her attack, Moby flipped his sword towards its hilt side and struck her in the stomach before she even had the chance to blink. Then, as she was being blown away, she felt an invisible tug on her torso making her unable to blink before it started to pull her back towards the demon-like beast in front of her. "GET OVER HERE!!" Moby screamed as he pulled her in. Then, he shed down towards her chest to deliver a fatal blow. This forced Natalia to block with her de. Suddenly, Moby abandoned his sword, ducking down under Natalia''s attack before grabbing her face with both hands as to not let her blink before kneeing her straight in the face, breaking her nose and several teeth, sending her flying away, crashing on arge tree in the distance. He now found out that if she was being grabbed by something, she was unable to blink. He could use that to his advantage by grabbing her with his demon hand before she has the chance to blink or destroy it due to it being so fragile. This would have also had the added bonus of greatly annoying and enraging her, even further boosting his strength and speed. Moby picked up his sword off the ground and began demon shing straight towards Natalia who was desperately trying to catch her breath. "Did you know that I was the one that saved you from that worm on the first day of the exam when you killed Neia!? Do you know why! It was because I wanted the pleasure of torturing and killing you myself and that worm would have given you far too light of a death!!" Moby roared as they shed des, feeling himself grow stronger the more that he talked. "SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!! THAT CAN''T BE TRUE! I WAS SAVED BY THE HEAVENS!!" Natalia screamed, shing at Moby with all her might, forcing him to block. Then, she shed her second de towards his lower torso prompting him to jump above it, as he grabbed Natalia by her long hair before thrusting the sheath of his sword straight in her stomach, forcing her to grunt in pain. "Do you think that I am stupid or something! I saw everything! From stalking me and my friends, to all those weird, disturbing faces that you were making, to trying to kill any and every girl that got even remotely near me! How pathetic do you have to be to resort to such a thing just for some petty high school crush! You crazy slut!" Moby continued as they shed des once more, feeling himself grow even stronger as he started to even further overwhelm her. Every time Natalia tried to blink towards Moby for an attack, he was always somehow able to predict where she was going to appear due to his far greater speed and future foresight, counter-attacking every time which enraged, annoyed and confused Natalia all at the same time. "WHAT THE FUCK! HOW THE HELL DO YOU KEEP GETTING STRONGER! ARE YOU SOME SORT OF DEMON!" Natalia shrieked, shing down towards Moby with both her des like a crazed lunatic. "Yes¡­ Indeed I am¡­" Moby replied with a devilish grin, forcing his demon energy-infused de into Natalia''s stomach, not allowing her to blink away due to him grabbing onto her with his devil''s hand, forcing her to grunt and cry out in pain. Then, suddenly, when Moby released his sword from her insides to dodge an iing sh, Natalia immediately disappeared and blinked away leaving a small vortex-like ck hole in her wake. ''Fuck! She is finally pulling out her trump card!!'' Moby inwardly cursed. Chapter 97: A Lovers Quarrel 3

97 A Lovers Quarrel 3

Even with Moby''s greatly enhanced speed, he was still unable to outrun the pull of the vortex sucking him in. So, he prepared another barrage of insults to throw at Natalia to even further increase his power. Things like: ''your breath really stinks, It makes me want to throw up every time I get near you. Or ''Even that ugly goblin bitch Haley was much hotter than you!'' However, when he tried to say it. His mouth wouldn''t move at all. ''WHOOPS!! Sorry, I forgot to mention in the description of sin mode that the user is forced to say only the truth or what he believes to be the truth! So, you can''t just spout random none sense and bullshit! Sorry!'' Avilia said with a casual chuckle in Moby''s head. ''How the fuck could you forget such an important detail!! Or was this another one of your silly pranks that you masked as tests!'' Moby inwardly cursed towards Avilia who justughed even harder in his head, further enraging and annoying Moby making him inwardly curse once more. Then, all of a sudden, Natalia appeared from above him as he was distracted by Avilia''s words. "Peeka Boo!" She screamed before shing her de straight at Moby''s eyes which he only barely managed to dodge, making it hit his forehead instead. Then, she appeared right under him before giving him a strong uppercut to the jaw. Moby was able to predict exactly where Natalia would appear almost every time. However, due to the vortex behind him ensnaring his movements, he was not able to dodge properly or react in time. Natalia just continued to whale on Moby like a madwoman, ignoring any of the insults that he was spuing at her such as "I never liked you," and "Jayden is 1 million times hotter than your crusty ass," Which did not nearly hit as hard as when she heard them the first time. Moby released a massive amount of demon energy from his body, firing sts everywhere in hopes of one of them hitting Natalia but, it was all for no Avail as Natalia dodged every singlest one of them. A sh to his shoulder, a cuts on his cheek, a few bruises on his side, internal organ damage, a lost left hand, and a cut off ear, 2 cut off fingers and broken teeth. Those were all the damages that he sustained, baring them with his teeth clenched and an angry scowl on his face. Moby roared in absolute anger, hatred, and desperation, sent various shockwaves through the air, greatly startling Natalia. This allowed him to barely dodge sh, before head butting Natalia''s face, breaking her nose and sending her flying, making her cancel her final attack. [ System Alert! ] [ New Skill Unlocked! ] *********** [ Emperor''s Roar (Level 1) ] The user lets out a mighty dragon roar that causes strong shockwaves to ring throughout the air. Side effects may include fear and ear damage. Cost: 50 demon energy *********** The still enraged Moby ignored the sudden notification alert in front of him and focus all his attention on Natalia who was in the air right in front of him. He grabbed his sword with his right hand, tightly grasping it with his 3 remaining fingers before demon shing towards the heavily fatigued and startled Natalia, thrusting his sword on her chest with nearly all his remaining demon energy. When Natalia noticed what was happening, she tried her very hardest to blink away. However, when she tried, instead of blinking she ended up breaking everyst tooth in her mouth from gritting her teeth too hard trying to force herself to blink with 0 mana. Moby''s sword stabbed, cracked, and melted right through her armour as he moved his it in the shape of a circle, creating arge gaping hole where Natalia''s belly button once was. "F-fuck¡­" Natalia cursed her existence as she stared at the gaping hole in her stomach with wide open eyes, in absolute horror and defeat as she felt her self gag and quickly lose her vision. She was so damn close to winning and making her dreamse true but she ended up failing despite all the effort, sacrifices, nning and dedication that she put into what she did. ''Why did this happen¡­ Is the world saying that we were just never meant to be¡­'' She thought, feeling her consciousness slip away. Thest thing she saw before going unconscious was Moby''s heavily injured yet still beautiful face before she saw his knee make contact with her face, knocking her out. Instead of celebrating, Moby looked at Natalia who was dying and bleeding out on the ground with eyes of immense hatred and disgust, heavily panting and holding his injuries from the fight. He wished that she could have been conscious for what he was about to do but it was the only choice that he could do in his predicament and it was the thing that he had nned for even before the fight began. With his 3 remaining fingers, he grabbed and lifted Natalia by her barely recognizable head, infusing her body with thest of his remaining demon energy before dropping her on the ground. He watched as her unconscious body began moving on its own, twisting and turning in obscure and disturbing ways. Therge gaping hole in her stomach instantly regenerated before being burned off like the rest of her skin that was melting away before being reced. The sound of bones cracking and organs turning filled the quiet air as ck blood began to pour out of every one of her hole. A few secondster, arge notification screen popped up right in front of him which was exactly what he was expecting, making him let out a small chuckle as his sin mode ran out causing his horns to retract, his raging aura and shadowy runic lines fade away, making him revert back to his former state. [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a Demon Subus! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] Chapter 98: Pain...

98 Pain...

''Am I dead or did I turn into a ghost??'' She thought in extreme confusion. However, the more she moved the more she doubted that she was dead. The wetness on the ground, the smell of blood in the air. It all felt too real to be fake. She slowly stood up, feeling herself a bit heavier and tighter in the chest area than usual. Then, She started to frantically feel where she remembered the gaping hole in her stomach was, only to feel her unnaturally smooth, silky skin instead. Then, as she looked straight ahead of her, she noticed...him. Moby Kane, the love of her life was standing right in front of her, his arm and fingers half regenerated. She felt tears of joy start to run down her face as she began to sob uncontrobly as she immediately rushed over to give him a hug and a big kiss on the lips. "My Love! You changed your mind and saved me!! So you truly do love me! I am so hap-" Natalia said before she felt Moby''s 3 fingered tight grasp her face once more to the point of nearly cracking her skull. "M-my l-love¡­" She said before she felt an immense amount of pain ravage her body before she felt all her mana and strength being sapped away. When she tried to fight back to attack Moby, she felt her body suddenly freeze, not allowing her to move at all, it felt like she was being bound by invisible chains that made it impossible to move a single inch. "Do you not understand what the words "Shut the fuck up" mean? Don''t misunderstand what I did. You are now my ve¡­ I can do whatever I want to you¡­ And you can''t do jack shit about it¡­" Moby said in a harsh, devilish voice, using his drain skill on Natalia to regain arge chunk of his demon energy and health. He felt his lost limbs grow back at incredible speed although he still had many visible injuries on his body and a quarter of his demon energy was now refilled. He felt like his drain skill was much more effective on fellow demons than humans and it did not give them the same side effects most likely due to the fact that demons had a much, much stronger life force than that of humans. When Moby drained Natalia to the point when he was satisfied, he let go of her head, making her extremely drained and tired body fall limp on the ground before he dashed away in a hurry, cold sweat running down his face, activating his eyes of sin and demon shing away. To reach Jayden as fast as he could, he needed a way to restore his lost energy and injuries which was exactly why he used his drain skill on Natalia. "Slut! Follow right the fuck behind me!" Moby ordered the beyond fatigued Natalia who immediately stood up and limped in Moby''s direction with thest of her remaining energy. ''Why can''t I fucking control my own body!! This is bullshit!!'' Natalia inwardly cursed, her anger clearly showing on her face. As Moby sprinted through the forest at top speed, he could not stop the many bad thoughts that randomly popped up and entered his brain. ''What if I was toote?'' ''What if she died???? ''What if she died not knowing that I liked her?'' When he reached the clearing in the forest with the ring of fire, Moby noticed Jayden and Alex''s seemingly unconscious body''s on the ground. He found things to be very odd. For some reason, it looked like Alex''s injuries had suddenly stabilized making his condition none life-threatening as he had stopped bleeding. This made Moby believe that he had some sort of magic equipment that helped out with his regeneration or something along those lines. Also, although Jayden still had many injuries, her limbs seemedpletely regrown and all her bleeding had stopped making Moby breathe a big sigh of relief with a happy smile on his face.?He felt morefort in his heart than anything he had ever felt previously in his entire life. He slowly walked up to her body to try and wake her up. "Hey! Wake up sleepy head! It''s all over! We won!" Moby screamed in Jayden''s ears only to receive no reaction which made Moby slightly panic. So, he then decided to feel her heartbeat¡­ "W-w-why is there no pulse¡­ W-was I really toote" "DAMN IT!!" "This can''t be real¡­ It can''t be real¡­" "NOOOOOO!! WHYYY!!! AHHHH!!" Moby screamed, a waterfall of tears running down his face as a dark aura ravaged throughout his entire body. ck scales started to be apparent on his face as the shadow lines that were more ferocious than ever before as they were expanding and agitating at extreme speed. The same devil dragon horns began to grow on his head once more only muchrger and longer than before. "Surprise!! HAHAHAHA!! I got you!! You just got pranked!!" Jayden yelled, opening her eyes only to find Moby who was blinded by extreme pain and hatred. She immediately felt immense regret grow in her now heart cracked as she hugged him tightly in her embrace with clearpassion. "I''m sorry¡­ I guess I might have gone a little too far¡­ I was just curious to see how your reaction would be if I were to die¡­ Please forgive me¡­ But look! I ampletely alive and well! So please¡­ Calm down..." Jayden said in a soft, tender voice hugging him before looking him straight in his dead purple eyes, running her hands through his hair before wiping his tears away from under his ck, scaly eyes that slowly started to regain their original colour. ''J-jayden¡­ Y-your alive¡­" Moby said, snapping back into reality as his dark aura faded away along with his horns, scales, and shadowy runic lines. "DONT YOU FUCKING DARE DO THAT AGAIN!! That was too far even for you!! I nearly thought I lost you forever!!" Moby cried, tears still running down his face. "Yeah¡­ I realize that now¡­ I just wanted to see if you would say a few certain words if you thought I wa-," Jayden was cut off by Moby giving her a warm kiss on the lips before hugging her really tightly like her was holding onto the world''s most precious treasure, making Jayden redder and hotter than the sun itself. "I love you¡­" Moby said with tears still in his eyes and a bright smile on his face as he stopped kissing her. "And I love you too!" Jayden said, returning the sentiment with a hug and a kiss of her own. They both felt so incredibly happy as they wished that the moment couldst forever. Then out of the clearing in the wood emerged a slutty subus. She had clear skin, silky smooth silver hair. A nice proportioned beautiful face. Breasts that were tightly stuffed and nearly popped out of her extremely tattered armour with luscious curves that would make any man uncontrobly drool. She starred hate filled daggers at the couple kissing with overflowing and uncontrolled rage. She didn''t want to believe what she was seeing. She was witnessing her absolute worst nightmare up close and personal. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY MOBY YOU FUCKING SLUT!! I''LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!!" Natalia shrieked a dreadful piercing scream, using all her remaining power to dash straight at Jayden with blind, unbridled rage, her beautiful face twisting and turning into the face of a true demon. However, when she got within 5 metres away from the kissing couple, she felt the same invisible chains tying her down, not allowing her to move a single inch forward no matter how hard she tried. "AHHHHH!! NO!! NOT AGAIN!! THIS CAN''T BE HAPPENING!! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY MOBY!!!!" She screamed like a lunatic, trying her best to break out of the invisible chains binding her, looking really stupid and animal-like doing so as she started topletely break down and lose her mind. The kissing couple in front of her both chuckled out loud at the same time as they removed their mouths from each other''s lips only to go for a third round of kissing. They did not at all mind Natalia''s piercing shrieks as they found that her unfiltered screams of pain and agony that were going on behind them as nothing more than soothing romantic music, perfectly fitting for such an event. Chapter 99: To Kill or Not to Kill

99 To Kill or Not to Kill

"You know?I actually thought you were dead! You nearly gave me a heart attack!! I felt absolutely nothing when I felt your pulse! How did you do it?" Moby asked with a mix of worry and enthusiasm. "Well¡­ With my new evolution, I noticed that I had more control over my powers than before, allowing me to transform certain parts of my body instead of all of it. So, I changed my heart into the heart of a dead animal for the split second that you felt my pulse. It was really painful but you were the one who felt the true pain¡­ All I wanted to do was to see if I could bait you into saying that you loved me which didn''t work as well as I wanted it to. So, I just tried to make it seem like it was a prank instead of a bait¡­ " "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY MOBY OR ELSE I WILL SHOVE MY FIST SO FAR UP YOUR¡­" Natalia kept on screaming in the background, looking almost like a dog trying to break out of its leash. "Don''t worry about it! It''s all in the past! And at least now you know how much I truly care about you! Plus, I now know how I would feel if I actually lost you¡­" Moby said with a smile, slowly ying with Jayden''s long, silky, dark blue hair making her cheeks go slightly more red. "Also, I have another question for you. How are you almost fully healed? And how has Alex''s condition stabilized already? I could have sworn that he was almost dead a few minutes ago." Moby asked in confusion. "Well¡­ You wouldn''t believe how strong our demon regeneration is. Especially in our evolved state. I am convinced that as long as we are not dead, we can regenerate from anything! I woke up only a little bit ago. I still heard the sound of you and skank fighting but I was too weak and injured to be able to properly help you out. If anything I would have just been a hindrance. So, I transformed into one of my teammates who had a healing ability and healed myself and Alex with thest of my remaining mana and demon energy." "Then, as I was still healing myself, I heard a scream ring through my ears that was extremely loud even from here. I think it was you saying "How many times do I gotta say this? Shut the fuck up!" which is when I assumed that you had won the fight." "And, as soon as I finished healing Alex back to a stable condition, I heard the sound of someoneing in this direction which I of course knew was you because I had no doubt in my mind that you would be the victor. So then I quickly went to y dead where Iid before and did the "Prank" that I had just told you about," Jayden replied with a smile. "Hmmmm¡­ yes ¡­ a quick thinker like always!" Moby said with a chuckle. "Ohh¡­ That¡­ I think it was my sin mode. But at the same time, it didn''t feel like my sin mode. It felt really weird. I don''t really know how to describe it. But don''t worry about me! I was only in that pain because I thought that I had lost you forever! Not from the transformation! As you can see, I ampletely fine Now! Plus, you did say that it looked really cool so, in the end, it was all worth it!" Moby replied with a heartyugh. "Also, how did the fight go? I see virtually no injuries on you? Was it really that easy?" Jayden asked with enthusiasm. "Well of course it was that easy! It was a piece of cake! With my sin mode, my power level went up to 17,820 while hers was still only at a mere 16,530 so you can imagine how easy it was for me!" Moby replied with an awkwardugh, rubbing the back of his head. "I ALMOST HAD YOU IN MY GRASP MY LOVE!! I WAS SOO CLOSE!!" Natalia roared from behind them. "Heh, heh. Ignore her words, she''s just spouting none sense at this point¡­" Moby awkwardly said, making Jayden burst out inughter. "I see that you turned her into a demon just as we nned! What did she turn into? I am really curious!" Jayden asked in anticipation. "She turned into a¡­ a¡­ SUCCUBUS!!" Moby said, trying to hold in hisughter with no avail. "HAHAHAHA!! Really! That''s too jokes! I thought she would be something else since she was only going after you, unlike a normal subus that would go after any man. But, I am okay with what she became!" Jayden said,ughing even harder than Moby. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO MAKE FUN OF ME YOU FUCKING BITCH!!" Natalia screamed, making themugh even harder. "I think that her personality was just "Love Crazed" and that fell into the Subus category as there was no such thing as a Yandere demon, at least to my knowledge" Moby replied after receiving the information from Avilia who wasughing in his head, enjoying the romance show while eating metaphorical popcorn. "I see¡­ That now makes a lot more sense in my head," Jayden said, stillughing her ass off. "By the way, I have a question, our limbs were cut and off regenerated but it seems like our armour regenerated along with it! Is that normal?" Jayden asked once more. "Your armour and your regeneration work hand in hand. That''s how demonic armour works! So yes, it is perfectly natural!" Moby replied not needing Avilia to exin as he had already experimented with his armour prior to the exam. "I guess that makes sense. The armour seems to be a lot better than I first realized." Jayden replied in a slightly less enthusiastic tone. "And¡­ by the way, what are you gonna do with Alex? He was a great help during my fight with Natalia¡­ Without him, I would have no doubt died long ago¡­" Jayden asked, turning extremely serious all of a sudden. "Well, there is only one thing to do! Turn him into a demon! I still have 1 open slot which he can fill! He knows too much. He''s seen your doppelganger abilities first hand. It''s either we kill him or we turn him into a demon. And I would much rather do thetter than the former," Moby replied, cheerful at first but turning more serious as he talked. "But will it really be okay? Will he even be okay with this? He doesn''t seem like the type who would like to be turned into a demon when he is such a righteous guy¡­ Can''t you just use that new skill of yours to make him forget what happened here and we would be able to just move on?" Jayden replied with a serious tone. "Sadly no, that new skill requires for the person I do it on to give me full consent to activate it. It would never work on him. Plus, even if things go bad. We still have 1 week to convince him to join us so I think it could be fine¡­ I also have a feeling that turning someone into a demon might change their perception of things slightly but I could be wrong. I can always try to convince him that we don''t attack people that don''t bother us but I am not sure how he would react to our killing and torture..." Moby replied. "Oh¡­ I see. I guess it''s worth a shot. Go for it! It definitely beats outright killing him!" Jayden replied, trying her best to stay positive. "Yeah¡­ You''re right¡­ Well, it''s now or never!" Moby said, slowly walking towards Alex''s unconscious body, ignoring the barks from Natalia behind him. He crouched down toward''s Alex and put his hand on his forehead before injecting a good chunk of his demon energy into his system. As soon as he did, he saw the exact same scene that he expected as he stared at Alex''s transformation with anticipation. Alex''s body began to twist and turn in disturbing and unnatural ways all on their own. His skin began to peel off and melt at the same time, exposing all of his boiling blood and innards that were being destroyed and regenerated over and over again. As his skin reconstructed, boiling ck blood escaped out of every orifice of his body in bucket loads. Thest time Jayden saw a demon transformation first hand she felt like throwing up. However, this time, she felt no such thing. Instead, the only thing that she felt was immense nervousness as to what he will turn into and how he would react once he wakes up. After a few minutes, Alex''s body stopped moving and arge notification screen popped up right in front of Moby. [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a Demon Knight! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] Chapter 100: Demon Knigh

100 Demon Knigh

"Hey. It seems like you''re finally awake." a familiar voice came from in front of him. "Moby!? Why the fuck are you here! It''s too dangerous! Natalia might attack at any second!" Alex said, picking his spear thatid to his side, pushing Moby behind him before taking a fighting stance. "Calm down! She has already been dealt with! I now have her under myplete control!" Moby said, putting his hand on Alex''s shoulder before pointing at the crazy animal-like Natalia who was still going insane behind them. "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY LOVE!" Natalia roared like a wild beast. "Heh, just ignore her. It''s all part of the process." Moby said with an awkward chuckle. "What the hell is going on here! I am so fucking confused," Alex said, his mind spinning in circles. "Yo! Alex! Nice to see that your still alive and kicking!" Jayden said in a cheerful tone, popping up from behind Moby. "J-Jayden Griffith! How the hell are you still alive! Y-you saved my life! Again¡­ I saw you jump in front of a few of Natalia''s attacks before they hit me. I would like to apologize for everything¡­ I was treating you so harshly and you risked your life multiple times to save me¡­" Alex said in a truly apologetic voice. "Heh, don''t sweat it! I knew that I had a much higher chance of survival than you so it''s no big deal," Jayden nonchntly retorted. "Huh? How do you have a higher chance? My power-level is definitely higher than yours which means that I am definitely more defensively capable!" Alex said in even greater confusion. "Well¡­ About that, we will exin it allter¡­" Jayden replied in a more awkward tone. "Anyways, as you can see. What she and I were telling you is in fact the truth! She doesn''t treat me like a ve or rape me every day. There is absolutely no bad blood between us. In fact, we are even now actually dating!" Moby said with a small chuckle. "YOU''RE DATING! ARE YOU FOR REAL!" Alex screamed, his mouth wide open in shock. "Yep!" They both replied with a smile. "For how long!" He asked. "We got together only a few minutes ago!" They both replied, still smiling. "Hold up, hold up, hold up! I still have many questions! Why the fuck do I have night vision?! Why is Natalia acting like a crazy wild dog!? Why the hell do you think that you had a higher chance of survival than me?! Why in the world are you guys dating?! How am I fully healed when I was at death''s door only a few minutes ago?! And why the hell has my power level went up from 12,010 to 14,200!" Alex asked inplete and utter disarray. ********************** A few minutester. Moby had finished exined everything that happened to him: Their demon race, their n on Natalia, how he and Jayden met, what happened to Nathan and Eric, and what happened with Abby. As Moby talked, he saw no major emotions show up on Alex''s serious face that was taking in all the information given to him like a sponge. He found that to be very concerning. Moby expected Alex to be very vocal and be strictly against everything he said. But, he kept his serious face the whole way through, not even once stopping him, even in the most graphic parts such as all the torture and killing. "Then we confessed our love to each other and decided to turn you into a demon as well¡­ You are now of the demon race too¡­ A demon knight to be more precise." Moby finished his exnation and looked at Alex with expectant eyes." "I see¡­ I now understand everything. So you have been hiding your powers all along¡­ You know, I actually really respect your decisions. They are all for the sake of justice. You got rid of all those scum that littered society in a way that they truly deserved." " I found it especially noble of you to help out that teammate of yours that was unjustly and indirectly killed by Natalia''s hands. You did not go after anyone that did nothing to you and kept to yourselves which is more than I could say for the rest of our school." "And I also don''t mind being a demon. As long as I can live my life as usual and still have my free will I don''t mind at all. Plus, I gained a lot of power from it so I feel like it was a big win in the end," Alex said in a serious tone. As soon as Moby heard Alex''s reply, he was indeed very shocked as his mind started spinning in high gear. He could not believe what his ears were hearing. He was not at all expecting what he heard. Especially from Alex, the pdin type. Jayden who was standing beside him was just as confused but kept it all under her poker face just like Moby. ''Avilia! What the hell is going on!?'' Moby asked. ''Fine, fine! I was going to tell you thister on but I guess it wouldn''t hurt telling you now. As you have previously guessed, turning someone into a demon will slightly change and distort their mind. The person will keep their core personality and morals but they would be twisted and exemplified in weird ways.'' For example, Jayden is a girl that just wanted to have fun. So, when she turned into a demon, that was what was twisted and was what she most cared about. Abby wanted revenge and a sort of hero, leader or father figure as she had that missing in her life. That is what you now represent to her and what was twisted about her. That is why she is so fanatic and holds you in such high regard. As for Natalia, I assume that her love and affection towards you had somehow grown even further which even I find it extremely hard to believe. Finally for Alex¡­'' Avilia exined before being cut off by Moby. ''Alex cares about justice and doing what is right and now his perception of that has gotten twisted as well¡­'' Moby thought. ''Bingo! The Best part is that the transition is so natural that they won''t even feel like they changed at all! However, I would like to tell you that this world of wanna-be superheroes that you live in for some reason acts very demon-like in nature. So, the changes of the transformation are not usually very apparent like for this Alex friend of yours. It''s very entertaining to see! To my knowledge, most humans 100 years ago before the discovery of these abilities were nowhere near this malicious! nothing close to how it is today!'' Avilia said with a small chuckle. ''Does this distortion rule also apply to me?'' Moby asked in anticipation. ''That you will have to figure out on your own!'' Avilia said with an amusedugh before going quiet once more. The sudden revtion of what Avilia just exined did note as a massive surprise to Moby as he had that same thought lingering at the back of his mind. All it did was confirm his suspicions. However, what did surprise him was that the rule might have also been applied to himself as well. He started to wonder how Alex, Jayden, and Abby would react if they knew about what he knew. And, he wondered how things would have turned out if there was no such distortion effect in his family member''s minds and if they would have even epted him as their leader or even friend if they were normal. However, he pushed those ideas to the back of his head and decided to forget about them for now. What was done has already been done and he could do nothing to change it and in the end, it all worked out well. Luckily, Moby''s thoughts and conversation with Avilia onlysted a split second in real-time so it did not at all disturb his conversation with Alex. "I knew that you snuck into the bathroom for some reason the first day you came into the dorms but I thought of it as you just needing to take an emergency piss. Also, the room did smell really bloody and all but me and Ray thought that it was from you getting bullied or beat-up by other people so I decided to not pry any further into it other than asking you if you needed help with bullies which you then rejected. It was prettymon for low-rank students like you toe back to their dorms all bloody and injured. But now that I know what actually happened I reallymend you for standing up to your long-term bully and torturer like that! He got what he deserved!" Alex said with a chuckle. "Hahahahah! Thanks!" Moby said, rubbing the back of his head. "Also! You said that I was a demon knight! What does that mean?" Alex asked in excitement. "Demon Knights specialize in close-quarters battles. They usually have a strong physique and a really low reserve of demon energy that they use for certain skills that help in closebat. The skills and abilities you gain vary a lot depending on your fighting style. I can''t give more specifics as my memory is still hazy about demon knights. You should probably do some experimenting and training for it on your own!" Moby said, trying to squeeze Avilia out of as much information as he could. "What in the hell is demon energy??" Alex questioned. "It''s special energy possessed only by demons, I don''t have time to teach you it now so Jayden will just teach you instead when we both part ways and go back to our teams," Moby replied. "Well, anyways, knight seems like a perfect fit for me! I was never into long-rangebat anyways!" Alex said with a smile. "I am d to see that we are on the same page! Wee to the team Alex! You are now the third official member of "The House of the Blissful Demon!" Moby said with a smile, wrapping his arm around Alex''s neck in a friendly manner. "It''s good to finally join the cool kid club!" Alex said with an amusedugh, wrapping his arm around Moby''s neck as well while Jayden smiled before giving a cute chuckle as the sound of Natalia''s seemingly never-ending screeches still rang in the background. Chapter 101: Gang Star

101 Gang Star

"Okay! So you got the n? We will all meet up at the end of the exam before all the lie detector tests and then I''ll get us all past them when our names are called! Don''t forget to hide your sudden power boost and gradually build yourself up to that new power level to make it look as natural as possible," Moby said to Alex as he finished discussing with him his ns about getting past the lie detector. "Yeah, yeah, I got it! I also need to get used to this mind-link thing. It''s not every day you hear someone''s voice randomly pop up in your head. Well, anyway, we have stayed here for too long! Jayden and I need to head to our team before they suspect anything! I''ll try experimenting with my new skills once I learn how to use demon energy! Anyways, See ya!" Alex said, walking away with a smile. "Bye baby! We will see each other real soon! Don''t go too hard on Natalia and break her because I want some of the fun!" Jayden said in a very childish manner, following right behind Alex. "Yeah! I better get going too! The Dog is getting pretty rowdy! I should probably take it out for a walk!" Moby said, pointing at Natalia, making the other two turn around and chuckle before walking away once more. Then, suddenly, Jayden turned around, running towards thepletely defenceless Natalia, daggers in hand. "YESS! COME CLOSER TO ME YOU LITTLE BITCH SO I CAN FINALLY GET RID OF YOU!" Natalia screamed, trying her best to attack Jayden with her nearly broken des only to be stopped by the same invisible chains as before. In one swift motion, Jayden gouged out both of Natalia''s eyes with her daggers before kicking her in the stomach making her cough buckets of blood. "Hah! That felt good! Don''t worry! Your eyes will heal eventually! That was my goodbye present to you! It was only a small, little, tiny taste of what will befall you in the next week! Now you can''t find any sort of pleasure looking up at my boyfriend''s face as he drags you back to your team''s cave to meet-up with yourst remaining member!" Jayden said with a devilish yet somehow childish-looking smile. "Okay! All done! Now goodbye for realzies!"?before turning around, running back towards Alex once more. ''What a girl¡­'' Moby inwardly thought with a chuckle. Before Alex and Jayden went out of his sight, he decided to use his "inspect" skill on Alex to see his new stats post turning into a demon. ************************** Name: Alex Heart Race: Demon (Knight) Ability: Level 5 Lightning Level: 45 XP: 11,500/45,000 Power Level: 14,200 (12,100 + 2100) Hp: 150/150 Mana: 224 /224 Demon Energy: 224/224 Strength: 401 (366 + 35) Agility: 462 (407 + 55) Endurance: 333 (283 + 50) Intelligence: 224 (194 + 30) Mind: 25 (25 + 0) ''Hmmm¡­ Just like Avilia said. Low intelligence and mind but high physical stats. He''s pretty lucky that his armour somehow held up not beingpletely destroyed too,'''' Moby thought before focusing his attention on Natalia, using his inspect skill on her as well to see if anything would even show up. ************************** Name: Natalia Xane Race: Demon (Subus) Ability: Level 4 blink Level: 36 XP: 11,500/45,000 Power Level: 9,520 Hp: 78/150 Mana: 29/224 Demon Energy: 224/224 Strength: 209 Agility: 192 Endurance: 230 Intelligence: 321 Mind: 150 ************************** ''Well, shit! It works! But, It doesn''t even show her armour! I guess it must have been broken too much for it to work! Fuck! I really wanted to sell it for a fortune! Also, she has a shit ton of intelligence. That exins how she was able to spam blink so much! And her mind is extremely high, it''s even higher than mine!! I guess it''s part of being a Subus! I''ll make sure to experiment on her Subus powers when I have time¡­'' Moby thought. Then, he slowly walked towards the blind Natalia who was still coughing on the ground and gave her a simple order. "Follow me¡­ But pretend to be a crazy dog that constantly licks the ground," Moby ordered with a small chuckle as he saw Natalia immediately start eating worms and licking the dirt off the ground despite being blind, making Moby burst out inughter. After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached their cave that had a huge hole in the side. Moby passed by Jay''s clothes thatid on the ground and the magic crystals that Natalia hadid in front of the cave that were now gray and gave off no light and stored them in his inventory before he and Natalia entered the cave. There, he saw Travis''s slightly aged and shrivelled body still on the ground where he left him. He decided not to kill him because he was interested in his motivations. He ordered Natalia who had started to slightly regain her lost vision to wait for him in the corner of the cave. His previous order of her acting like a crazy dog was still in effect as all she could do was bark, lick the ground, and do other dog-like things. Moby then went over to Jay''s bag that was still on the cave''s floor to grab a regeneration potion, forcing Travis to drink all of it. He knew that the effect of the potion would take a long time to kick-in so he decided to spend that time teaching Natalia how to use and control her demon energy. If he wanted her to be able to hide her powers and be able to use her subus skills when he did his experiments, he needed her to know how to use demon energy. He dispelled his previous order and taught her in the most gruelling way possible, beating her up for even the slightest mistake and talking down to her like she was a bug. However, to his surprise, he found out that she got some sick sense of satisfaction from every time he would scold or touch her which really creeped him out. Even when he hit her so hard to the point of breaking her bones and organ, she still moaned in satisfaction making Moby stop his abuse on her as it clearly was not working. "YESSS! HIT ME HARDER DADDY! SCOLD ME MORE DADDY!" It was like in her head, they were going on a date as they were in private and his attention was all focused on her and her alone. Even when he started to mention how much he hated her and how much he liked Jayden, she still did not show any negative reactions and kept her horny, lustful acts. ''WHAT THE FUCK!! How does one torture a girl like her!??Has she always been like this or was this due to her bing a subus?'' Moby inwardly cursed, trying his best toe up with ideas until he found a perfect way, making a devilish grin appear on his face. The way required more preparation as he could not do it now. He would have to wait until the end of the exam to do what he wanted to do. So, Moby only had to endure Natalia''s nonsense for another day or so until he could make her truly suffer. ''Hahahahha! I am truly a genius!'' Mobyughed a mischievousugh of excitement. "It seems like daddy is enjoying himself as well!" Natalia said while moaning at Moby who didn''t even notice her words as he was still in his moment, so Natalia took it the wrong way. Then, after what felt like an eternity, Natalia finally managed to learn how to use her demon energy, exactly when Travis started to open his eyes. Moby ordered Natalia to hide her power increase and act naturally like she was still the team leader as to not draw any unnecessary suspicions from Travis. The first thing that Travis saw when he opened his eyes was the figure of a smiling demon in human skin that looked like he was ready to peel his skin off like he was an orange and cook him alive in boiling oil. "No-no! P-please don''t kill me! It''s not my fault! They ordered me to do it! I just needed the money and protection man! I needed to survive! I''ll give you anything!" Travis begged, smashing his forehead on the ground so hard that it started bleeding. Then, suddenly, he felt a friendly touch on his right shoulder making him look up to see what was going on. "It''s ok¡­ Calm down¡­ I won''t kill you! Well, Maybe¡­ I am still not sure yet. I just have a few questions that I want you to answer¡­ ok?" Moby said with a disturbing smile before activating his eyes of sin that he shrouded in purple demon energy. "You should be lucky that he doesn''t exterminate you like the bug you are for trying to kill him like that!" The still really injured Natalia added in a disgusted tone that was filled with killing nt from behind him which even further increased his fear. "Y-yes of course! I''ll answer anything!" Travis frantically nodded, not even daring to ask questions bugging his mind such as why Natalia was in such a state. "Why did you do what you did? Exin everything and don''t you dare lie to me!" Moby ordered in a cold voice. "Well¡­ Like most of the weaker people in the school, I decided to join a gang for money and protection. The Zexis gang to be more precise, it''s one of the stronger gangs in the school. The top members are even rumoured to be in the high A ranks! In exchange forpleting tasks for them, they give us both protection and money aspensation. If I don''tply with their demands I am as good as dead. My current task was to kill most of my team members so I would get a bigger piece of the money pool at the end of the exam. They promised to get me by the lie detector test by some teacher they had bribed so I did not worry about that. I nned to do it during thest 2 days of the exam to maximize our total beasts killed so we get more money. But, for some reason, I did not even have to do a single thing. All our team members started to drop like flies in only the first few days which was really messing with my ns but ended up actually saving me a lot of trouble in the end as we ended up gaining a lot of points anyway." "When I saw Jaysh out at you, I thought it was a perfect time to join him and take you out. Then once you were dead, I would turn on Jay, killing him as well. Then, when Natalia returned I would tell her that Jay killed you because of his terrain advantage and that I avenged your death." Travis nervously exined. ''WOW! What the fuck! I swear I predicted like half of this at the start of the exam!'' Moby thought, mentally patting himself on the back. "I am only doing this to get money for my sick mother in the hospital. And if I don''t have protection at school I would no doubt be robbed out of every penny," Travis continued. "AHAHAHAHAH! Are you really pulling out the sick mother card! What is this? An anime? Don''t bullshit me like that!" Moby started uncontroblyughing, his serious facepletely breaking down. "N-no¡­ I am actually being serious¡­ L-look" Travis muttered before pulling out a picture of him and his sick mother on a hospital bed. "I always keep this with me for good luck¡­" Heughed awkwardly. "Ummm¡­ Well! Congrattions! I have good news for you! I have chosen to be merciful and not kill you! But, it''s only because I have a use for you! I want you to be my spy for this Zexis gang and report to me on their activities and behaviours! I can just have a feeling that my return to school with all my new powers will cause a lot of trouble with the stronger kids¡­ I have my ways of knowing if you betrayed me. And if you did¡­ I would make you wish you were dead and long forgotten! Both you and your mother!" Moby said in a cheerful tone that became really harsh towards the end. "Y-yes of course! I''ll do anything!" Travis said, bowing really hard once again. ''That worked out better than I expected! Now I have a disposable human pawn that I can do whatever the hell I want with! I am sure that these gangs might cause some problems for me in the future and this will greatly help me out without having the huge risk of Jayden going undercover to spy on them. The best part is that this is almost risk-free as he has no idea about my demon powers and him getting interrogated won''te with any information leading the school to think that demons exist!'' Moby thought with a sinister smile. Chapter 102: New Record!

102 New Record!

2 days had passed since Natalia''s defeat and things had progressed with seemingly no surprises. The next day, Abby had reported to Moby about her victory over the goblins as he showered her with immense praise as he also received a massive amount of XP from her actions, levelling him up 10 times, all the way up to level 50. She did much better than he ever expected and couldn''t help but feel proud of his subordinate. However, despite all his praises, she still managed to shift the topic to about how she was reckless and allowed one of her team members to die due to her carelessness making her unfit to lead which Moby thought was absolutely absurd. If someone who easily destroyed a city andmitted genocide on an entire race while convincing them that she was friendly all with only one casualty was not fit for the role of demon general, he didn''t know who was. Even after Moby told her that it was alright and she did a great job, she still insisted on a punishment that would help remind her of her mistake so she didn''t do it again. So, Moby ordered her to do 1,000 push ups which she did with no hesitation at all. ''Even for a punishment, my lord chooses something that hurts but still helps me at the same time like extreme exercise! Truly a wise and caring lord!'' She thought, starting to do all 1,000.. Then, as she was doing her pushups, Moby exined everything that had transpired with Natalia and Alex. This of course led to him receiving non stop praise from her that did not cease even when she was almost out of breath as she started to struggle with her push ups past around 800. Moby did notin and awkwardly epted all the praise as practice for when he will eventually rule over an entire race of demons as demon lord.?Moby also told her that he and Jayden were now dating. And, instead of getting mad or jealous like he feared, she congratted them instead. Moby was not sure if she just had a really low self-esteem or that she just didn''t like him in that sort of way. Either way, his fears of internal love problems and fears of making a harem to appease everyone were put to rest. Moby decided to spend his 76 stat points on mostly agility and intelligence, followed by closely by strength, ignoring endurance for now in order to retain his borderline ss cannon build. Over the past 2 days, Moby had stopped abusing and scolding Natalia as he knew that she felt some sort of sick satisfaction from it. So, he opted to do the next best thing,pletely ignore her unless he was forced to talk to her. To his surprise, that strategy worked out better than he expected as Natalia started feeling super depressed, slightly growing crazier every day forcing Moby to suppress her by force, using his orders that she must abide by due to her being his servant. Becky had woken up and fully recovered during thest day of exams which was extremely good news for Alex''s team. As soon as she woke up, she of course called Natalia to check on what happened as she knew that Jayden Griffith was still alive and well as she was one of the first people she saw when she opened her eyes. Natalia, under Moby''smand, replied to her that Jayden got away and that she still ns to get her during another day of the month past the exam and that she should stay patient until then. Of course, Becky being the perfect pawn for Natalia did not suspect a thing and decided to wait patiently like she was instructed. Jayden had managed to teach Alex how to use his demon energy but he was still unable to perform any skills with it as he did not have much time to practice. The time was now 11:56 am, 4 minutes before the end of the exam and each team including Moby''s team was trying their best to get theirst few points in. Then, as time finally expired, a loud ringing noise came from all of their watches, greatly startling them. "Attention all students! The exam hase to an end! All beasts teleported after this point will be worth no points!" "Congrattions on surviving andpleting the test! Press the emergency button that you were given and a retrieval team with arge teleportation pad will be sent to your locations and teleport back to the school." "If you somehow lost your emergency button, other than paying arge fine, you must now wait patiently, with some sort of me signal and wait for the retrieval team to arrive. I will see you back in the arena!" A familiar voice rang through all of their watches at once, causing an echo-like effect. As soon as the message finished, Natalia pulled out the emergency button that she had stored in her inventory, immediately pressing it as per Moby''s orders that he gave her through their mind link. Not even 5 minutester, an armoured group of soldiers wearing all ck showed up in their location. Without speaking a word, one of them pulled out arge teleportation pad from his storage ring , motioning them to stand on it before blinding white light started to appear under them. Moby could feel the soldier''s slightly mock them for losing 3 members in such an exam but he paid them no heed as they were teleported back to the school arena where they saw the various other teams being teleported as well. Most of the teams teleported seemed to be missing members and either looked really angry or really depressed with nearly no expectations at all. In the middle of the huge arena surrounded by thousands of students, on a big stand stood the bored, almost dead-looking general Ryker, trying his best to look as professional as possible before addressing the students. However, before he could talk, one of the teachers whispered in his ear before giving him a paper. As he began to thoroughly scan it, his previous dead-looking eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he began to heavily sweat and feel his neck, cursing his entire existence. ''What!! How the fuck could this be possible!'' He thought, taking arge gulp of saliva before addressing the somewhat depressed looking crowd underneath him. "*Ahem* Attention all students! It seems like most of you have arrived so I will start by congratting all of you! You have all done great to pass this exam! We had only received a few emergency calls disqualifying a few teams before the exam even ended! A true soldier would have seen it through to the end no matter what, hiding in a cave for the rest of the exam if they really had to! You have all done great to make it this far! You all have the true heart of a soldier!" The general said, making people whisper a lot from underneath them. "I Knew it!" "See! I told you that it was a test! And your dumb ass kept begging me to press it!" "Yeah¡­ But we lost so many of our members¡­ was it really worth it in the end?" "Shut up! Your poor weak ass would never understand!" Then, general Ryker took a deep gulp of saliva before continuing on with his speech. "This exam we have smashed 3 country records! Both of these stand for the military school Zs around the country" the general announced making the rowdy yet slightly depressed crowd excited. "The first is that the old record for most points in a single exam has beenpletely obliterated by Abby Reid and her team,"?The general said in an awkward yet enthusiastic tone making the crowd go wild as their attention all went on Abby who was smiling proudly with her chest puffed out. "And¡­ The second is that we broke the record for most teams ending with a negative score and most students dead during an exam¡­" The general awkwardly added, heavy sweat running down his face, making the once excited crowd suddenly turnpletely silent and depressed once more. Chapter 103: Results

103 Results

"What was supposed to be a light-hearted exam to teach you, team-work against weak beasts on a dark to prepare for the unexpected turned into a blood bath, something we did not at all expect¡­ The average beast on that was only supposed to be around low E rank and the ones higher than that were almost impossible to find unless you go out of your way to look for them," The General said before being cut off by a student in the audience. "That''s bullshit! The average beast was at least a D rank! And they all came at us in waves! All in the darkness of the night! That was bullshit! I can''t protect 3 weak ass F ranks you gave me all the while fighting hordes of beasts at the same time! Just because I am an A rank doesn''t mean I should be stuck with a bunch of trash that did nothing but hold me back and make my score negative!" A short yet menacing cyan-haired studentined. "W-well¡­ we had to make the teams equal in someway¡­ And, we had no idea about the beasts being that strong. The test was made on the samest year and nothing bad happened. If anything student''s thought that it was way too easy¡­ We had no way of tracking or knowing if you guys were on the as the signal to your watch was too far, the only way we could find your location was with the emergency buttons. So, we didn''t know that so many people died as the exam was going on. Trust me, if we did, we would have ended the exam long before any of this got so out of hand," The General awkwardly said, leading the crowd to go into outrage. "You can''t be serious! I failed this exam just because of some bullshit like that!" "Even if this isn''t worth as much as the other tests, a failing grade will still fuck with my average!" "Fuck! my family is gonna kill me when they find out about this..." "My best friend died because of your negligence! A lot can change in a year!" "S-so, T-that is why I have decided to give everyone a perfect, passing grade on this exam despite all the low scores!?This all happened due to my negligence¡­ also, expect an extra $1000 in your school''s bank ount as a personal apology from me and the school." The General said, making most of the high ranking and even low ranking students stop sobbing andining to celebrate. This proved that most of the students cared more about their grades and passing the exam than the life of their friends which made Alex scoff at them in disgust. "Now, the moment you have all been waiting for, The results for the top 3 teams. We did not mention the reward but that was only to see how much you guys would try when there was no reward you were aiming for. All the rewards will be split equally between all the members of the team. The first-ce team will receive $15,000, the second will be $5000, and the third will be $2,500," The General said, making the other teams wait with baited breaths for the final results. Although they had ess to a leaderboard, it waspletely inurate as it did not include the -1000 point penalty from losing a member. They all knew who was going to be in first ce but the other 2 ces were still aplete mystery to them. "In third ce with 2 casualties, we have team Nags Axel with 9,947 points," The General announced, making the huge crowd turn their focus on the short cyan haired guy that spoke out against the General earlier as started to arrogantly boast of his achievements. "I carried an entire team of shitters all on my back and still managed to get in third ce! hahahhaha!" Moby expected such a result. Although his team had more points, they stillcked behind due to their -3,000 point penalty. However, he did not care much, losing $2,500 was not the worst thing in the world as he could easily make that much in a week just from Jayden''s allowance alone. "In second ce with 0 casualties, we have team Alex Hart with 11,422 points," The General announced, leading the crowd to look at the smiling Alex''s direction who just gave a cheeky wave at everyone looking at him. "And as no surprise to anyone, In first ce with only 1 casualty, we have team Abby Reid with a record-breaking 51,897 points! She and her team broke the country record for this test, which was only 28,582 points that was set by none other than her sisterst year by a long, long, margin!" The General said, making the crowd stare at Abby once more who smiled and puffed out her chest in pride, as in her mind, she was representing her lord at that moment. "She not only managed to discover a new species of goblin, but also ended uppletely eradicating everyst one of them and their city, making thempletely extinct, leaving us no live subject to study." He added with an awkward chuckle. "Well, that will be all for now! You have all worked and fought very hard for the past week! You all deserve a rest! You will have a 1 week break from school just to cool off and rest! However, until 3 o''clock, you must stay on school premises. In the next few hours, every single one of you will be called to down Arena B to take your lie detector tests! Just wait until you receive a ringing sound on your watch beforeing down to the arena! You are now all dismissed!" The General concluded his speech with a fake smile, sweat still running down his face. ''I am so fucking fired¡­'' He inwardly cursed before taking in a massive gulp of siliava.. After hearing the General''s speech, Moby could not help butugh as it made him in a very cheerful mood. A 1 week break was too good to be true. It would make his life and Natalia''s torture much, much, easier as it removed a lot of the hassle and lost time that school added. As the horde of students were exiting the school''s main Arena, Moby contacted all of his family members except for Natalia to sneak up to their designated meeting spot, the school roof. He ordered Natalia to just actpletely natural as if nothing important had ever happened during the exam. At first, Moby was unsure if such simplemands would even work. However, after a few experiments with his power to give orders using her as his test subject during the exam, he found out that simplemands were also really effective as theypletely conveyed his intentions. The only thing that he could not do was order her to do something that was impossible or control her emotions to make her feel a certain way. The most he could make her do in that regard was order her to do was pretend to feel certain emotion yet not actually feeling it. Natalia had told him that she had a way of getting past the lie detector test as she had a deal with one of the teachers by bribing them due to her family status. At first, Moby thought that he could use her and this teacher to get past the lie detector test instead of using his new skill. However, he quickly scrapped the idea as it was extremely stupid and risky for no reason at all. He did not want to draw any unnecessary suspicions towards himself by doing such a stupid thing as making a corrupt teacher know that he had something bad to hide. So, he just stuck with his original n and told Natalia and Travis to get past the lie detector tests via the corrupt teachers as to not draw any doubts towards them. It would have been weird for them to make a deal with them only to not go through with it in the end. Moby''s n to get by the lie detector test was both simple and in his mind,pletely full proof. With the use of his new mind skill and Jayden''s doppelganger powers, there was nothing that the lie detector could do. ----------------------------------- Lesser Memory Maniption [ Level 1 ] By staring at a target''s eyes for 1 minute, the user can tamper with /change their memories to a certain extent from the 2 weeks prior to its activation. The skill requires the full consent of the target and onlysts for 30 minutes before they go back to normal, remembering all that had transpired. This skill cannot be used on the user. Activation Time: 60 seconds Duration: 30 minutes Cost: 100 Demon Energy ----------------------------------- Chapter 104: Washing Brains 1

104 Washing Brains 1

Moby was not sure how Abby and Alex would interact as they both had a very shing definition of justice. While one thought that her lord was justice and might as well start her own religious cult, the other one had a more knight in shining armour or pdin-like sense of justice that had been a little distorted by his demon nature. And, exactly like he expected, it was a little awkward between them, although they had some prior interactions using mind-link. They both used Moby as a means for them tomunicate and get their ideas out which Moby did not at all find annoying as he wanted them to get along. They all patiently waited on the roof, only using their mind-link to talk for the same reasons as earlier. They discussed the various things that they nned to do with Natalia and things they could make her do with Moby''s absolute control. Things such as make her give them Money from her family reserve or from her personal belongings or getting her to be eaten half alive and raped by Abby''s undead goblins, and many, many, crueller things, making them allugh every time someone came up with a good idea as they were always trying to top each other. This made Moby happy to see that the new family was going well and there had yet to be any internal conflicts about torturing Natalia like he was previously worried about with Alex, they were all on the same page. Then, as they were discussing, they heard the first ringe out of Alex''s watch. "Guess I''m up first! Hit me with that brainwashing thing of yours!" Alex said, stretching his muscles, still using mind-link to talk. "Ok, just hold still and let me do my thing, I''ve never done this before so bear with me," Moby said, also standing up. He activated his skill making his green eyes glow an even more mesmerizing and almost hypnotizing colour as a mellow, almost mirage-like green aura began toe out of it before staring straight into Alex''s eyes. "Umm¡­ This is kinda awkward¡­ Do I really have to stay like this for 1 whole minute? Doesn''t this seem kinda gay?" Alex asked. "Shut up! This is definitely not gay! Just pretend like this is a staring contest and nothing more!" Moby immediately retorted making everyone around himugh. Then, after a minute had passed Moby''s mind wentpletely nk as he started to be one with Alex''s consciousness. Images and videos of Alex''s memories started to pop up in his mind, allowing him to feel his emotions and navigate through everything like he was scrubbing through a video in a video editor while still being able to easily find the most important parts. ''Alex really a nice guy with a truly has a strong sense of justice¡­'' Moby thought, feeling his emotions rush into him. ''Hahahaha!! Natalia got her own best friend in her trap while she managed to miss her intended target every time!" Moby inwardly died ofughter before goingpletely silent at the part of seeing Alex take a massive shit that he immediately skipped over. Then, after what felt like forever, he finally found the part where he found Jayden in the forest fighting Natalia and decided to help her because he trusted in his words which made him really happy to see. So, he reced all of those memories to him being injured meeting up with Moby and Jayden in the woods where Moby turned him into a demon to save his life. Then Moby exined to him that he and Jayden were dating and had no bad blood between each other. This was to prevent any questions about sabotaging other teams as attacking and nearly killing a person from another team definitely counted as sabotage in the eyes of the lie detector. And, finally, he removed the part where he told him about his brainwashing skill and the part that she was brainwashed by him. ''Avilia, do I need to change the rest of his memories to make it make sense for what I changed here?'' Moby asked. ''Nope! I have personally optimized this skill over many years to allow any inconsistency to be auto-filled and corrected on their own! It should work out fine! By the way, you only have a few more seconds with skill before it kicks you out! Todeloo!'' Avilia answered in her usual casual tone before Moby was kicked out of Alex''s mind and back into his own body. Moby went back into his own mind own body and only to see Alex''s dead-looking body in front of him thatcked pupils as his eyes werepletely white with everyone around them was waited in anticipation. Then, suddenly, the colour in Alex''s eyes began toe back as he stood back up and walked away. "See ya guys! I''m gonna bete for the lie detector test!" Alex said, walking towards the roof doors. "Hey! Alex! Who is Natalia Xane?" Moby asked him, making him stop to answer. Moby needed to make 100% sure that the skill in fact worked, that was why he asked such a question. "Well, that question came out of nowhere¡­ But, I guess I''ll answer but promise me to keep it a secret! Natalia Xane is one of the nicest, most gentle girls at school! And she doesn''t even look half bad! Definitely girlfriend material!" Alex said with a chuckle, walking out of the roof. ''Avilia¡­ What kind of sick auto-correct did you implement in that skill of yours?'' Moby asked, only to receive a huge burst ofughter from the other end. "It seems like it worked, but not as well as you probably intended¡­ Messing with a person''s memories seems to be a very delicate thing¡­" Jaydenmented. "Well, at least this will onlyst for 30 minutes¡­ We just need it to be able to get past the lie detector." Moby replied, trying tofort Jayden. "Yeah¡­ I guess it''s not really that bad¡­But please, whatever you do, just don''t make me forget about our confession and our feelings towards each other¡­ I would honestly rather die than forget about it even for 30 minutes," Jayden said in a serious voice. "Me as well my lord! Don''t make me forget about all the things I care about most like my loyalty towards you!" Abby added with clear worry in her voice. "Okay, okay! Calm down! Of course, I won''t make you forget about such things!" Moby said before a beeping sound came from Abby''s watch. "Well, that sure was quick, Abby, it''s your turn, stand still and let me do my thing!" Moby said, activating his skill on Abby who just stood there with nervous yet confident eyes. After a minute had passed, Moby was able to see all of Abby''s emotions and memories from the past 2 weeks. Her strong, unwavering loyalty and hatred towards her family overwhelmed him as they were much stronger than he ever expected. He saw her entire fight with the goblin king and the lengths she went through to win, all for the sake of her goals. The effort that she put into everything was incredible. The more he looked at her memories the more that he started to really respect and feel proud of her. Now, all that Moby had to change was the parts that she used Grunk to infiltrate the city as they would probably ask her how she was able to destroy an entire city full of thousands of goblins. Telling them that she controlled an undead to infiltrate the city would not end too well for her. And, he also needed to remove the part where she killed the 3 girls in the dungeon for XP and to put them out of their misery for obvious reasons. He changed it to that she found the goblin city when scouting. Then, she found a goblin that was in danger, saving him in order to see if she could manipte him. And, although they couldn''t talk to each other, they couldmunicate in signnguage. And with that, they formed a n of attack on the city with all his of his kind to go against the new kind of goblins who were their oppressors. And, when they won, she turned on all the goblins that helped her and killed them all as well. This was the story that Abby had told her teammates. So, she needed a matching story as well so there would be no inconsistencies between each other''s telling of the same story. And, just like Alex, he of course changed the memory of them knowing that they were being brainwashed. As Moby went back into his own body and mind, he saw the same familiar sight that he saw with Alex. Then, as Abby regained control of her body, she stood up before taking a knee. "I will be off now my lord! I promise to not disappoint you!" She said before leaving the school roof as Moby smiled and gave her the signal that it was okay to leave. Now, the only two people left on the roof were Moby and Jayden. As they were both having a casual, friendly conversation, Moby suddenly interrupted her with a small blush on his face. "Ummm¡­ I have something to talk to you about. It''s a torture method that I thought about doing to Natalia that would be the most effective and painful method for her to suffer¡­" Moby nervously said. "Hmmmm? What is it! Spit it out! I really wanna know now!" Jayden asked in excitement. "I didn''t want to say this with everyone around as to not embarrass you and ruin the mood¡­ But, what if we had hardcore sex and made her watch all of it?" Chapter 105: Washing Brains 2

105 Washing Brains 2

"I-I said would it be okay if we had hardcore sex in front of Natalia as I think it would be the best form of torture for her." "From my experience, anytime I hit her or scolded her she seemed to get off at it. The only time I ever saw true pain in her eyes was when we were together. So, what would be better than forcing her to watch the love of her life have sex with her worst enemy?" "So? What is your answer!" Moby asked with expectant eyes. "Yeah¡­ That''s what I thought you said¡­ That''s indeed quite bold of you to say¡­" Jayden said with a beet-red face. "So is that a no?" Moby awkwardly asked, looking away. "Hah! Are you kidding me! That''s a great idea! Why didn''t I think of that too! Of course, I don''t mind at all! I am not a virgin like you you know! I promise to show you the time of your life! I will literally rock your world while at the same time making Natalia''s world crumble!" She teased him. "Well, you may be mentally not a virgin. But, when you turned into a demon, you were pretty much given a whole new body. So, physically, you are still technically a virgin as long as you didn''t let any other guy prate you ever since you became a demon!" Moby teased back. "Hahaha! Of course I didn''t! I am not the same slut I used to be! I used to just take any guy I thought looked cute, keeping them under my protection, using them as a sex toy until I got bored of them and released them out of my protection, only for them to be bullied and tortured by all the jealous and thirsty guys. You are the first guy that I genuinely fell in love with. Not only with your looks but your personality as well! You made me feel things that I didn''t even know I could feel! I can''t really say as much for any other guy¡­" Jayden said with a bright smile that made Moby really happy before being interrupted by a beeping sound that came from her watch. "Damn, that''s quick! They must be using more than one lie detector to do multiple students at once and they must be flying through them at breakneck speed!" Mobymented before he as well got a ringing sounding from his watch. ''WHAT THE FUCK! This ispletely fucking with my ns! What were the chances that we would both be called down at the exact same time!'' Moby inwardly cursed. What Moby nned to do was that if he had to go, he would ask Jayden to transform into him and change her memories of every time he exined something to her into something else, removing key parts such as technically letting Neia die and killing Haley and Jay in cold blood. However, that would not be the biggest problem. The biggest problem would be that Jayden would have full ess to his memories which would allow her to know everything about Avilia and his system, something he wants to keep a secret for as long as he could. Then, as Moby''s head was spinning in full gear trying toe up with an idea on how to get out of his predicament, he heard Avilia''s sound in his head. ''You know, I can help you out! It''s actually pretty easy!'' Avilia said. ''Wait really! What is it? I''ll do almost anything!'' Moby replied. ''Well, I can always use the lesser mind maniption skill on you if you provide me with the rest of the XP in your gauge to fuel it as I have norge demon energy reserve for myself and I am unable to ess your reserves for my own use. All I need is your consent! Then I can do my thing!'' Avilia exined. Moby was really skeptical and worried if he should trust Avilia with his memories as he felt like she might pull something dirty on him like trying to take over his body or something. However, he had no other choice in his current predicament. Plus, Avilia had been a major help to him and without her, he would not have gotten anywhere near as far as he did. They had some sort of unexinable bond between them that Moby would be lying if he said he didn''t at times enjoy despite some of the annoying parts. So, he decided to trust her and give her 12,400 XP and consent to change his memories. It was the ultimate trust test between him and her because she could really screw him up if she wanted to. In his eyes, the risk was well worth it as it could provide Moby with useful information on how much he could trust and rely on Avilia. However, before he did, he decided to use his skill on Jayden first. "I''ll use the skill on you before I use it on myself, so stay still and just stare into my eyes," Moby said to Jayden. "Wait! I thought you said that you couldn''t use the skill on yourself! I was just thinking that me and you were just going to use the skill on each other at the same time! Do you not trust me to take a look in your memories? Do you have something important that you are hiding?" Jayden asked in confusion. "No! Not at all! It''s just that as a demon of sin, I ampletely immune to such mind skills from outside sources. Also, I have been experimenting with the skill over the past few days and I figured out that I am able to use it on myself although with extreme difficulty," Moby lied through his teeth with an impable poker face. "Fine¡­ I believe you¡­ I guess I was just really excited to have a chance to take a peek at your mind¡­ Sorry about that¡­" Jayden apologized. "It''s fine! I guess that you probably have a lie detector in your house as well. So, if you want, you can use it on me if you have any doubts about my words," Moby said, trying tofort her. "He he, no, that''s fine, I trust you. However, if you really insist, I might take you up on your offer sometime in the future. So, anyways, just get this brainwashing thing over with, I don''t want to bete for the test or else it would seem extremely suspicious," Jayden said with a chuckle, leading Moby to nod before activating his skill and staring into Jayden''s beautiful sky-blue eyes. After an awkward minute of them staring and blushing at each other, Moby finally entered Jayden''s mind. He felt all of her emotions, how happy she was feeling, how much she loved and cared about him, how much she valued her friendship with Abby, how happy she felt reconciling with Alex, and how much hatred she had for Natalia and many more emotions flooded his mind. As he was looking through her memories, he noticed all the parts where Natalia severely humiliated her in front of her entire ss and sometimes school. And, all the times that she almost killed her, making it seem like an ident only for Jayden to barely survive which made Moby''s blood boil as his anger and hatred for Natalia somehow grew even further. Jayden had described everything that happened to her in detail to Moby but it was a whole new experience when he saw what happened from Jayden''s eyes and perspective. Trying to calm himself down, Moby scrubbed through all of her memories and removed all the parts about nning to kill Natalia and about all the parts about the fight, still keeping the important memories of their confession and her making up with Alex. This was to remove any ideas of sabotaging another team, something that the school would definitely ask for during the test. Then, as soon as he finished recing all of her memories. He went back into his own body as he was starting to run out of time, only to see the unconscious Jayden in front of him, regaining her consciousness and standing up before walking away from him in anger. "Hey, Jayden are you alright?" Moby asked with clear concern in his voice. "Well, "baby," I am still really mad at you for changing your mind about killing and torturing Natalia. She did so many bad things to me and you decided to let her gopletely unharmed¡­ Do you even love me or even care about me like you im you do? I am starting to reconsider this rtionship, maybe you should have gone and asked her out instead!" Jayden said in clear anger, mming the roof doors behind her with a loud bang, leaving Moby in shock, his mouth wide open. Chapter 106: Washing Brains 3

106 Washing Brains 3

''Indeed, messing with someone''s memories is a very delicate procedure¡­ That is why I will try to change your memories with my expert skill and surgical precision so none of the weird stuff happens to you! Trust me!'' Aviliamented with a chuckle. ''Yeah¡­ I am trusting you on this¡­" Moby said with slight nervousness. ''All that I will be doing is changing all the parts about you killing your teammates, except for Jay who you killed in self-defence as even Travis is a witness of that. I will also change your memories to make you think that the crazy story that you told your group was actually real to hide the fact that your spike in power-level was due to you being a demon.'' ''As for your plotting on Natalia, I will keep all of it as it is technically not sabotaging another team as she is your own teammate, so, everything about the fight and past it will stay the same. Does that sound like a n to you?'' Avilia asked in a more serious voice that was extremely out of character to him, throwing him off guard as it seemed like Avilia was being serious and not at all ying around like he feared. Moby mentally gave Avilia a nod that he was ready before closing his eyes and waiting for her to do her thing. Then after 1 minute, his mind wentpletely nk as he lost control of everything in his body as his consciousness drifted into a space-like void in his mind. Then, all of a sudden, he felt his brain start to heavily throb like it was about to break right out of his head, leading to a huge headache. He felt memories being forcefully ripped out of his head only to be reced with new ones which was an extremely painful experience. ''No wonder everyone I used this on went unconscious,'' Moby thought in agony, as thest of his remaining memories were forcefully ripped out of his head. Moby then woke up, finding out that he was alone on the roof just like he remembered. Then, he looked at his beeping watch as he started to panic. ''Shit! I am going to bete for my lie detector test!'' He inwardly thought, running out of the roof, rushing straight to the gym. This was not the only time that such a thing would happen. There were always a few outliers that did not care or understand what it meant to be under Jayden Griffith''s protection. It meant that her butler, one of the strongest hitmen in the country, would be at their doorsteps to teach them a lesson that they would never forget. So, since Moby did not have to hide his power-level due to his new "ability", he could show the bully in front of him who he was truly dealing with. "Get the fuck out of my way fatty!" Moby screamed as he just casually slid and tripped his attacker, staring cold daggers in his eyes making him piss his pants before punching him in the stomach so hard that he was forced to regurgitate his morning breakfast, surprising everyone that was around him in the hallway as he sped right past them like a bullet train. "Am I imagining things? D-did you all see that¡­ Jayden Griffiths pet... that F rank trash just one shotted that C- rank like he was nothing¡­" One of the kids spectating said, his eyes wide open, almost popping out of their sockets. "Ye-ya," another student nodded in absolute shock. When Moby finally reached the arena, he saw several people behind tables with a lie detecting crystal on top of each one. He looked around the arena managing to find all of his family members who were still taking the test, including Jayden who still looked extremely angry. "Name please," a voice came from an extremely short teacher below him. "Oh, sorry, didn''t see you there. My name is Moby Kane," he replied. "Okay I get it! I''m short! I don''t even know why they assigned me to this role so stop rubbing it in! And you go to table 32! Now scram!" He said in an extremely annoyed manner. "Thanks," Moby said walking away, trying to find table 32. "Damn F rank brat thinks he''s hot shit!" Moby heard him mumble under his voice which made him chuckle as he wondered how he would start treating him if he took a peek at his watch instead of relying on what was written on his tablet. ''If only he knew that I had a good ability he wouldn''t have treated me like that. People like him really piss me off! Makes me wonder how many girls who were so openly hating me that would all of a sudden flip the switch and start simping for me hard!'' Moby inwardly chuckled. When he reached table 32, he saw a blonde female soldier sitting behind a white desk with a lie detector in its centre. As he neared the table, she motioned him to sit down before a sort of energy shield formed around them that slightly startled him. "This is just a barrier to block out outside sound and keep our conversation in here. Just put your hands on the crystal and I will ask you a few questions. Answer honestly, if you lie you will be even more severely punished than if you told the truth," She said in a bored, monotone voice, leading Moby to nod in understanding. "First question, did you kill or let any of your team members die out of malicious intent?" She asked. "No," Moby responded, making the crystal glow a green light. "Good. Next question, did you ever sabotage another team or bring any illegal items with you into the exam?" She asked once more. "No," Moby responded with confidence, making the crystal shine green once again. "Now,st but not least. On my paper, you are listed as an F rank but from your watch it is telling me that you are a B- rank¡­ Can you exin that¡­" She said, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "Well, you probably wouldn''t believe this but that is what we have lie detectors for! I found an ability orb in a cave while fighting a bunch of beasts. It is some sort of purple energy ability, It''s pretty strong but I am still notpletely used to it yet. See?" Moby said, forming a small ball of energy in his right hand. "Wow! You are indeed very lucky young man! You seem to have discovered a whole new ability! Only a few people in history ever reported finding an ability orb on a foreign! Would you allow the science division to do some experiments on you and your new ability for research purposes! The school will pay you handsomely for your efforts!" She said, moving closer to Moby with stars in her eyes making him lean backwards, her previously bored and serious attitude suddenly turning enthusiastic. "Uhhhh¡­ Sorry but I will have to decline your offer," Moby awkwardly responded. "Oh... Well, that''s unfortunate! If you ever change your mind please don''t hesitate to contact the school or go to the general''s office! Speaking of the general, I know that he wanted to give you the test himself! At first, I was skeptical about why he would choose to personally do the test for you, a former F rank, but now I clearly see why! But sadly he is now too busy dealing with the disaster that was the exam." The female soldier said, still brimming with enthusiasm. "Oh¡­ Is that so... I feel honoured that the general wanted to see me personally," Moby said with an awkward chuckle. ''What the fuck! Why does the general want to see me! Did Jayden put him offst time she took the lie detector test in my ce?'' Moby inwardly cursed. "Okay! That will be all! Thank you so much for taking the test!" She said, releasing the energy bubble that surrounded them as she waved good-bye to him with a smile on her face. ''Damn, that sure was quite the experience¡­?She changed so fast¡­'' Moby thought, walking out of the arena, trying to contact Jayden using his mind-link only for her not to answer. Moby took a deep, long breath before he threw the idea to the back of his head as he knew that he had used his mind maniption on Jayden and that it would wear off not too long from now, making her go back to normal. So, he decided to train his "Air Steps" in the forest that was now no longer out of bounds as there had been no forest killings in a very long time. Then, after a few minutes of training, he felt an intense pain ravage his mind as all of his true memories came back to him. ''Damn! Avilia! You have truly outdone yourself! That was perfect! I don''t know why I ever even doubted you!'' Moby praised her. ''He-he! Why of course! I am an expert at using the skill after all! I will consider this as part of your reward for doing well on the exam!'' Avilia boasted. ******************** Alex was walking through the hallway in his usual cheerful mood, he had just finished his lie detector test and was on his way to talk to Natalia whom he suddenly had the urge to be friends with and maybe date due to her pure, kind hearted nature and cute face. Then as he was about to leave the school through the front doors, he felt an intense pain in his head as all of his true memories started to flood back into his mind. "What the hell was I thinking¡­" He muttered in a low voice, feeling his stomach turn inside out in disgust. ******************** ''STOP CALLING ME! I will show you ungrateful scum about treating me so badly! I am going to officially break up with you in person!'' Jayden thought, walking angrily through the hallways at a quick pace, forcing everyone in her path to move out as they made way for her. Then, as she was walking, she felt her true memories suddenly enter her mind along with the feeling of extreme pain. "W-what the hell was I thinking¡­" She muttered in a low voice as she felt her heart crack in two, tears falling down from her face before quickly wiping them away before anyone around her noticed. ********************* Abby was walking around the school wearing a genuine smile as she was on her way to meet up with her lord and saviour, Moby Kane. On her way, many students congratted her for her record setting performance which was most likely all in order to suck up to her. When, all of a sudden, she felt a burst of pain enter her mind as her memories began to flow back in. ''Hahhaha! My lord is amazing! He already mastered his new skill in such a short amount of time! It worked perfectly! As expected of my lord!'' Abby thought with a smile. Chapter 107: Daddy Issues

107 Daddy Issues

"Did she get stic surgery or something? Was she always that hot? And was her chest always that big?" Natalia heard the many, constant, annoying whispers and rumours around her from the moment she got back to earth due to her enhanced hearing as she walked out of the school gates only to find 3 bodyguards waiting for her arrival. "Young miss! Your father is very angry with you! He wants to see you right away!" A bodyguard said escorting her to a luxurious car that was not quite a limousine but really close. "Fine, let''s just get this over with¡­ Natalia said with a sigh," Following the bodyguard and entering her car before driving away from the school. Natalia knew that such a moment woulde and she had been preparing herself mentally for it. She just nervously waited in the car with bated breath, thinking of Moby tofort her the whole way there. Natalia''s mother had died during the Shalker war and her dad was left to raise her by himself. Luckily, he was a very nice person that pampered and spoiled her, giving her everything she ever wanted. However, when he got mad, it was like he was apletely different person, nothing like the father she knew and loved. And, she knew that what she had done would have no doubt greatly angered him more than she had ever seen before. "We are finally here¡­" The bodyguard said, opening the door of the car, allowing Natalia to leave. In front of her was a massive outdoor garden that was beautiful and well kept and behind it was arge mansion that looked more like a castle than an actual house. "Follow me," her bodyguard escorted her up the stairs to her front door, across the wide and extensively decorated hallway all the way up to a huge door that led to her father''s office where he does most of his work. "Your father is waiting for you beyond this door, he''s been patiently anticipating your arrival for the past week¡­ I will be off now mydy!" The bodyguard said with sweat running down his face before he walked away in a slight hurry. Natalia was scared of virtually no one and no thing. However, one of the few exceptions to that rule was her father, the person that cared about her most in the world. But, what she was scared of was not the heavy beating that she would receive, but the immense anger, pain, and disappointment she would make him feel towards her. Natalia took a deep breath before swallowing her saliva, stealing her resolve before opening the pair ofrge doors in front of her. She saw the figure of a tall, lean man with silver hair sitting on a rotating chair behind a desk, facing away from her. That man was none other than her father. "Dad, I''m back home¡­" She muttered nervously. "G-good¡­" She replied. "Good! You better have done more than good after sneaking out with that armour of yours! Do you know how much that armour was worth to me? That armour was the armour that your mother wore when she was a soldier, they somehow managed to recover it from her dead body and bring it back to us in good condition that weter on renewed. It was supposed to be the armour that was given to you as a graduation present from yourte mother and you decided to sneak off with it for some dumb exam that isn''t even worth that much in the first ce! HAVE YOU ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME! FOR YOUR SAKE, YOU BETTER HAVE GOTTEN ATLEAST FIRST PLACE OR ELSE HELL WILL BEFALL YOU!" Her father said, starting out calm before he exploded with anger, the entire room shaking from the force of his immense power. "I-I only got fourth" She slowly replied. "FOURTH!!!!" He bellowed, turning around only to find Natalia standing there with a nervous and fearful look on her face. "WHERE IS THE ARMOUR! SHOW IT TO ME!" He ordered with a menacing re that sent shockwaves down her spine. Natalia braced herself and clenched her fists hard before pulling out the nearlypletely broken and tattered armour that she wore during the exam. "YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU BROKE THE FUCKING ARMOUR!" He roared like a wild animal, as the room started shaking even more. In one moment he was standing in front of her, and he waspletely gone in the next as he teleported right beside her using blink. He clenched his hand into the shape of a fist, punching towards Natalia''s face so fast that his hand formed ripple through the air, leaving Natalia virtually 0 time to react and dodge. However, when his fist was about to make contact with her face, he held himself backst second as to not kill her, opting to give her a flick on the forehead that was so powerful that it heavily dented and cracked her skull, sending her flying away crashing on a nearby wall. "You even dared toe back after getting stic surgery and a boob job as well! Are you just trying to make me mad!" He pped her in the face so hard that the skin on her cheek was torn off and many of her teeth were seen flying through the air. As he looked at the battered, bloodied, nearly toothless face of his own daughter, he immediately snapped back to his own senses and felt immense regret. However, he could no longer pamper her and go light on her so much. She was going to graduate and be an adult in 2 years so he needed to start acting stricter and provide her with proper punishments. "I don''t even want to look at you anymore! Get out of my house! If you can''t respect me or your mother''s wishes then leave until you''ve properly reflected on your actions and recognize the blessings you have over the many other citizens of this country! You are no longer allowed here! I don''t care where you go! Go live on a bench, at a friend''s house I don''t care! You can go anywhere as long as it''s not here!" He said in a voice that started to be slightly softer, as he turned around to hide the tears flowing down his face. "Would it be possible if you gave me a lot of money! I am probably going to need it to survive!" She blurted out of nowhere like she lost control of her own actions. That was of course due to Moby''s orders that went as follows, "Go back to your house like usual, make your dad give you an unsupervised leave from the house. Tell him that you are going camping or something, anything that lets you out. And, try and grab as much money and as many expensive items from your house as you can. Don''t act suspicious. Report to me when you are finished." "HAVE YOU NO SHAME!" He lifted his hand to p Natalia in the face once more before stopping himself mere inches before making contact on her other cheek before he again, turned around to face the other way. In that instant, she noticed the heavily crying face of her father as extreme pain began to rush into her heart. She still had absolutely no regrets for what she did as it was all for the sake of her love. However, she would be lying to say that it didn''t pain her to see her father, one of the nicest people she knew and the person that cared about her most get so angry at her. "Not even a little money?" She blurted out against her will once more, making her inwardly curse. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! Even after all of this, you refuse to show respect and stop acting childish! I see now that I have pampered and spoiled you way too much!" Her father snapped once more, picking her up by the cor of her school uniform and walking outside of the room and towards the front door as Natalia struggled to breathe, all the while servants were looking at them in fear, trying their best to get out of their way. When he reached the front door of the house, he kicked them open with incredible force, sending the massive heavy doors flying like they were made out of cardboard. "NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!" He screamed, throwing the still injured Natalia away far into the mansion''s front garden, in the mud and on her ass. "Now leave and don''te back until you''ve learned to respect me, and your dead mother! Learn how truly privileged you arepared to most of your peers! Leave and think long and hard about your actions and don''te back until you''ve fully reflected on yourself!" Her father screamed, tears flowing down his face like a river before closing the door with a loud, resounding bang. "G-goodbye¡­" She muttered in a low voice, shedding a tear of her own. "N-no! I mustn''t be sad! Now I get to spend the entire week with Moby,pletely uninterrupted! He did promise to show me a surprise if I did what he asked!" Natalia said, wiping her tears away, trying her best to ignore her inner pain by cheering herself up and getting really excited to go see Moby''s face once more. Chapter 108: Mobys Dick Chapter 1: R-18

108 Moby''s Dick 1 R-18

"Jayden¡­ Please¡­ Just calm down¡­ I already told you, I know that you meant nothing of what you said. Everything will be okay! My feelings for you have not changed one bit! I still love you very much!" Moby said, trying tofort Jayden who was clearly in distress and not in the right ce of mind. "I am so sorry! Why did I even say those things! It was all your fault! Or was it my fault? Would I have actually hated you if you didn''t agree to kill Natalia like that memory recement suggested? Is my love for you really that shallow? Or did you somehow alter my mind in other unintended ways? Please, just forget everything I said about hating you or breaking up with you! I really didn''t mean any of it! But it was all your fault to begin with! But you kinda needed to do it so we passed the lie detector test... But at the same time it was¡­" Jayden kept on rambling over and over again from the moment she gained back her original memories, like she was going crazy, tears falling down her face, not stopping even when Moby constantly tried his best tofort her. So, he decided to do the next best thing. *p* "Just calm down! Of course, I knew that you didn''t mean any of that! It was all in the past! I promise that I will be more careful while using the skill next time! It pains me a lot to see you, someone who I love very dearly, start acting like this! We are both together and well right now and that''s all that matters! Let us just move on from this and look towards the future!" Moby said, wiping the tears away from her face before giving her a firm, loving hug. "Y-yeah¡­ Thanks¡­ I really needed that...I guess you''re right¡­ I was just overreacting I guess¡­ I am so lucky to have someone like you in my life," Jayden said with an awkward chuckle, hugging him back, small tears still running down her face. "Speaking of looking forward to the future! It seems like our guest has finally arrived," Moby said with a smile as he heard the sound of two foot steps approaching them from outside the room, as he began ying with Jayden''s hair before kissing her passionately on the lips which slightly startled her at first but then ended up easing right into it. "My Lord! The slut is here! May I have permission to enter!" Abby said from the other side of the door. "Yes, of course. Come in!" Moby responded to her using his mind link. "Your "esteemed guest" has finally arrived my lord! The butler was busy cleaning around the house so I decided to escort her here myself!" Abby said, throwing Natalia''s body on the ground in front of her like she was a toy doll. "WHY CAN''T I KILL YOU! WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY BODY! WHY DOES MY BODY NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO ME ANYMORE!" Natalia screamed, looking at Abby with eyes full of hate and disdain. Then, Natalia shifted her attention from Abby who had just finished mming the door and focused on the kissing couple in front of her, her immense hate multiplying several times in that moment. "NOOO! STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY MOBY! Get your filthy hands and crusty lips off him or I''ll kill you! I''LL KILL YOU! I''LL KILL YOU!" She screamed like a banshee, trying her best to blink or even move but with no avail at all like she was being held by invisible chains, the same feeling she constantly felt ever since she became a demon. "Hahahahah! I would like to see you try! You look so pathetic! I bet you must be the most jealous girl in the world!" Jayden mocked her with a demonicugh. "Bitch! Didn''t I tell you that you are now my ve! My word, my will, and orders are noww! And there is nothing you can do to change that! Now watch as I show you something that you will never have! And with a woman that is millions of times better and hotter than your ugly ass in every way imaginable!" Moby said with a smile, leading to Jayden wrapping her arms around his neck and licking her lips in a seductive manner. "Did you say ve?! Why not use me as your sex ve! I would be okay with that! As long as you get that bitch out of here and prate me and only me! Then we could live happily ever after! Together! Wouldn''t that be the best life to live! The perfect fantasy! Me and my sexy body and you together forever!" She said in an alluring voice, quickly unbuttoning her shirt and bra, showing her new big subus melons to Moby as she began to y with them and suck on them with a horny look on her face. "Put that shit away! No one wants to see those things!" Moby shouted, activating his eyes of sin and staring straight into her soul, sending shivers down her spine, making her immediately put away her massive breasts back under her shirt and bra. Natalia tried her best to turn things in her favour by showing off her sexier, new and improved subus body to try and entice Moby into choosing her over Jayden who in her opinion, looked much worse than her. However, the answer from Moby was something she did not at all expect which made her go absolutely wild as her world began to crumble more and more right in front of her face. "Why! Why are you doing this! I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT YOU WERE GOING TO SHOW ME A SUPRISE THAT I WOULD NEVER FORGET!" She bellowed inplete outrage. "Hahahaha! You brought this onto yourself bitch! And, this IS the surprise that I promised that you will never forget! You seem to find pleasure whenever I would hit you, talk to you, or even get near you. So, this is the closest thing I could do to make you experience true suffering," Moby said with his tongue out in a devilish smile, grabbing onto Jayden''s gigantic tits with a tight squeeze. "Ooo! Quite bold for a virgin first timer aren''t you! But I won''t let you out do me!" Jayden said, grabbing Moby''s already stiff package with a hard yet tender grasp as she kissed him once more, their tongues fighting each other in their mouths. Natalia could not bear the sight of what she was witnessing. The pain on her soul was way too much to bear. So she instinctively tried to look away. However, when she tried, that same feeling of invisible chains stopping her prevented her from doing it. So, instead, she tried to close her eyes only to be stopped by that same invisible force. So, she opted for herst resort, killing herself. However, once again she was powerless to move even a single limb. So finally, she tried to bite her own tongue which was also stopped by the same unknown force. She was quite literally forced to watch her worst nightmare right in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop it. If hell truly existed, she could not imagine it being any worse than what she was witnessing. "AHHHH! JUST LET IT END! Kill me already! Why are you forcing me to watch this!? You actually don''t understand the pain that I am feeling right now! My heart had long cracked and shattered into a million pieces! This is too much to bear! I should have been the only girl that should have ever been near you let alone touch you! Not that dirty whore Jayden Griffith! You are making a big mistake! It''s not toote to stop now! Either take me as your one and only lover or kill me right now! I BEG OF YOU!" Natalia screamed, tears falling down her face that soon turned into tears of blood. "Hahaha! You are getting this desperate from this alone! I am d I suggested to do this instead of traditional torture! This is working out better than I ever expected! And we have yet to even get to the juicy part!" Moby said with a devilish grin from ear to ear as he ripped out Jayden''s shirt and bra in one swift motion exposing herrge set of tits and round, plump nipples as they dropped down, making a crashing sound as her perfect tits shed and jiggled together. Chapter 109: Mobys Dick Chapter 2: R-18

109 Moby''s Dick 2 R-18

Natalia stopped her constant screaming and begging as she started to hyperventte, get wet, and drool in anticipation of the reveal of Moby''s Dick. She had been waiting to take a peek at his mighty spear for so long that she forgot the situation she was in. It was the only thing she wished to see before dying and she was about to finally witness it with her own eyes. As Jayden finished unbuttoning Moby''s pants, pulling them down with her tongue out in anticipation, it showed his ck boxers showed a massive stick protruding from it as it seemed to bepletely hard already. Then, she held tightly onto his boxers with both hands as she pulled them down revealing Moby''s hard, throbbing cock. Natalia''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets, forgetting about everything that was going on around her. All of her worries and pain were gone and reced with pure bliss as she focused solely on Moby''s holy or in this case, demonic sword as it was the most beautiful thing her eyes had everid upon, making her cry tears of Joy. However, sadly, that pure, naive, ignorant bliss could notst for long. "Ooo! I see that you recently shaved! Someone had been anticipating this! No matter how many times I see it, It always never fails to impress me! Have you measured that thing!" Jayden asked, licking and biting her lips as she started to y with his balls, flicking them side to side like she was ying tennis. Natalia''s happiness was extremely short-lived as she noticed that the world''s most precious treasure in her eyes waspletely out of her reach and was in the hand of another slutty, filthy woman. Her tears of blood began to fall down her face at an even faster pace as her will to live immediately returned as she had a new goal to strive for. "GET AWAY FROM HIM! HIS COCK SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALL MINE AND MINE ALONE! IT SHOULD BE ME UP THERE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, trying her best to move and grab her treasure only for it to not work once more which made her lose her mind even further. "First things first, what do you mean " No matter how many times I see it"? Do you transform into me on a regr basis just for that? And it was 8 inches and a half was thest time I measured. Who knows, it might have grown even bigger by now!" Moby said in a boastful tone witch made Jayden chuckle, ignoring Natalia''s screams as he felt a tingle in his balls of steel that hurt a little but surprisingly felt really good. The feeling was unlike anything Moby ever felt before. Jayden''s soft, tender hands going up and down his cock was unlike anything he felt in his life, one of the best feelings ever. It felt so good in fact that when he tried to refuse the urge to moan in pleasure his body would not listen at all. "Ooo! It seems like you are really enjoying this! I only just got started! Prepare yourself for more pleasure than you have ever experienced before!" She said with a flushed red face, putting her mouth on the top of Moby''s cock as she began to lick the tip of it, surprising Moby. "Ohh Yeah! That feels great!" Moby praised her, ignoring Natalia''s screams that had just gotten louder by many decibels. The feeling of Jayden''s tongue swimming, licking and wrapping around his tip made him feel pleasure like he never experienced before. The Feeling of a woman''s wet mouth and saliva was surreal and made his cock twitch and throb even harder. Then, as soon as she finished with the tip, she moved her mouth even further beyond, as she eventually swallowed nearly all 8 and a half inches of his cock before bringing her mouth away as saliva dripped from Moby''s hard dick. "Hmmm¡­ Is that precum I taste in my mouth? I guess it''s expected since this is your first time! Time to bust out my moves while making you bust a nut!" Jayden said with a smile, sucking Moby''s dick at a fast speed using abination of her hands and mouth. ''Fuck! A doublebo attack! I am not sure how much longer I canst!'' Moby inwardly cursed as he was dying of pleasure. As Moby''s dick was being sucked, he felt his knees grow weak as his face turnedpletely red, his entire senses pulsating with pleasure. ''Fuck! Why am I being so weak! I can''t let her y with me like this! I am the master here!'' Moby thought, grabbing onto Jayden''s head, forcing her to suck him deeper to the point of sucking his entire cock as he thrust his hips into her mouth, forcing her to choke on his cock as she desperately tried her best to breathe with tears of joy falling down her face. "THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!" Natalia screamed from behind them only to be ignored by the couple that was clearly having too much fun. After a few minutes of hardcore oral sex, Moby felt like he was reaching his limit. ''Fuck! Why now! I can''t do it now! I can''t cum now! I refuse to let myself be known as Moby Kane, the 1-minute pleasure demon lord!'' Moby inwardly cursed, letting go of Jayden''s choking euphoric face to take a breather. "*Cough* *Cough* *Cough* Hmmm *lick* you are much better and more daring than I ever thought! I''ve never given a blow job that felt that good and made me feel like such a slut! But believe me when I say that it was just the beginning for the pleasure I am about to make you feel!" Jayden said in a seductive voice, quickly grabbing Moby''s cock giving him no time to rest as she wrapped it around her big, voluptuous tits, stroking it up and down using them making Moby shudder at how good he felt. He felt his dick melt between the tworge, soft balloon-like balls as he began to drown in pure euphoria. "How big are those things?" Moby asked with his eyes wide open in curiosity. "Well, I am a G cup and my measurements in centimetres are 102, 58, 90," Jayden said with a wink as she started to suck and stroke Moby''s cock as she was titty fucking him at the same time. ''Oh no! It''s a triplebo! This feels too good to be true! To survive I need to cut off all feeling to the second half of my body but that would be admitting defeat! I will hold out my best to survive! I refuse to be known as the minute man demon lord!" Moby made up his resolve as he started to tease Jayden and go on the attack. "Is that all you got! I thought you were an expert!" Moby mocked her with a smile on his face. "Nope! Not even close!" Jayden said with a delish grin, letting her mouth go from Moby''s cock in order to talk before going on the offensive once more, jerking him off even faster than before as she started to use more and more of her super speed. ''Fuck! I provoked her too much! She''s gone turbo mode! I don''t think I canst another 30 seconds like this!'' Moby inwardly cursed. "Shit¡­ This feels so good! I think I am gonna cum!" Moby screamed in pleasure, ignoring Natalia''s constant screaming as it now sounded like nothing more than romantic music. Jayden did not respond to Moby and instead started to even further increase the speed of her sucking and titty fucking making Mobye even faster than he expected. "I am cumming!" He screamed, blowing his massive load inside Jayden''s mouth, so much so that it started to overflow. Jayden let go of Moby''s cock before swallowing his entire load in one gulp as she began licking the residue of her face with a lustful look in her eyes. "Yum! That was tasty! That sure was one massive load! I am impressed that you were able tost that long even when I jerked you off at super speed to make it seem like you came fast!" Jayden said with a chuckle. "Th-there is moreing!" Moby said, releasing a high velocity cum shot onto Jayden''s face and massive tits making her chuckle and lick them off her skin that made Moby hard once more. However, a small part of the cum shot missed Jayden andnded right in front of Natalia but still outside her reach making her stop her banshee-like screaming and stare at it. ''Th-that''s Moby''s cum! The drink I always longed to taste! And it''s right in front of me! I NEED IT! I NEED IT!'' She thought like a lunatic, trying her best to use every fibre of her being to move and taste the cum of the person she loved most. "Jayden¡­ Like you promised, you gave me pleasure like I never felt before! So! Now it''s my turn!" Moby said with a smile, pushing her onto therge bed behind her. Then, he jumped on top of her like a wild animal, lifting up her skirt, revealing her juicy, slim thick thighs that were covered by her thigh-high socks making her flushed red face smile and lick her lips in a seductive manner. Then, he grabbed Jayden''s panties, pulling them right off before throwing them behind him in the air, somehownding straight on top of Natalia''s face making her roar and scream in outrage as she struggled to get them off her face. Underneath her panties was the holy grail, her pussy, something that Moby had yet to see in person until this point. "You like it don''t you?" Jayden said with a cute giggle, ying and rubbing her already wet pussy. At that moment, Moby couldn''t control himself as he began by going in and vigorously licking Jayden from the top of her left thigh high as he formed 3 fingers out on his right hand while using his left hand for better positioning. Without any hesitation at all, he stuck all 3 of his fingers into Jayden''s pussy in an aggressive manner, vibrating his fingers really quickly as he brought them in and out of Jayden''s pussy at super speed, using his agility stat to its full extent and for what it was truly meant for. "OHH FUCK YESSSS HARDER DADDY!" She moaned a high pitched cry that sent shivers of excitement and euphoria down Moby''s spine. ''I don''t know any proper technique for these things but it seems to be working! I am so d that I put so many points in agility! It is all paying off now! Every stat point spent there was well worth it just for this alone!'' Moby smirked as he moved up from licking her thigh high''s to looking at the skin right beside and under her pussy that was increasingly getting wetter and wetter. "Your smell is driving me absolutely wild!" Moby said as he started to lick her even more vigorously than before. "Don''t say stuff like that! It makes me even hornier! And stop going so fast! Ahhhhh! I THINK I AM ABOUT TO CUM!" She moaned out loud in pure happiness. "No! I don''t think I will!" Moby said with a devilish smile, going even faster and more aggressive than before as he added a fourth finger to the mix, making Jayden''s moans even louder and her pussy even wetter. Then, suddenly, he stopped fingering her right as she was about to cum making her disappointed yet still let out a sigh of relief. Then, as soon, as his fingers left, his mouth came charging in while his hands were now used to spread Jayden''s slim yet thick legs out of the way. "AHHHH! THAT FEELS SO ORGASMIC MOBY! DEEPER! FASTER! HARDER! GIVE ME ALL YOU LOVE DADDY!" She moaned out loud, grabbing Moby''s head and pushing it even deeper and tighter in her pussy. Moby used his tongue and began to vigorously suck on Jayden''s beautiful pussy, finding it super hot when she pushed his face into it as it meant that she liked it and longed for more. He maneuvered his tongue inside her pussy as deep as he could, literally eating her out as he also sucked furiously like he was sucking on the best scoop of ice cream in his life. "I-I can''t take it anymore! I AM CUMMING!!" Jayden moaned as she released her juices all on Moby''s face drenching it all in her cum as she was still holding Moby''s face tightly close to her pussy. Then, they dropped andid there on the bed, heavily panting as they both looked at each other with a smile. "Not bad at all for a virgin," Jayden said, still heavily panting as her legs felt super weak. "Hey! You''re technically still a virgin too! And what do you mean "not bad"!? You were moaning so hard and loud it was insane! Now we''re even! Are you up for a round 2? But this time, we actually fuck for real..." Moby said with a delish smirk on his face. "Ha! You''re on!" Jayden replied, licking her lips and biting her tongue with a horny look in her eyes. "GET THIS FILTHY SHIT OFF ME!" Natalia roared in outrage and pain as she struggled to get Jayden''s panties off her face as she was forced to watch her have sex with the love of her life through the holes of Jayden''s panties. Chapter 110: Mobys Dick Chapter 3: R-18

110 Moby''s Dick 3 R-18

"Why don''t you take off my thigh-high socks? Don''t they get in the way?" Jayden asked with a smile. "Well, to be honest, I think you look even sexier with them on. Something about them just makes me even hornier than before," Moby responded with a smirk, feeling up her thick thighs. "Speaking of looking sexier, take off that shirt of yours! It''s not fair that I am the only one topless," Jaydenined,pletely ripping up Moby''s school shirt to show his chiselled six-pack abbs that had been honed through many years of non-stop training. "Ooo! Hot!" Jayden said with a seductive smile, running her hands down his abbs before licking them, ignoring Natalia''s growing craziness in the background. Then, as she was doing it, Moby tightly grabbed her hips, going down to her fat ass before bringing her closer to him as he began to feel her up. "You know, I can transform my body in any way you like! Just ask and you shall receive!" Jayden said with a wink as she stopped licking Moby''s abbs. "Fuck no! I love you just the way you are! You''re absolutely perfect! Why would I want to mess with perfection!" Moby said with clear passion and conviction in his voice, turning Jayden''s face into a red colour that was even brighter and warmer than the sun. "NOOO!! MY BODY IS BETTER! MY TITS ARE BIGGER THAN HERS AND MY ASS IS FATTER! ARE YOU BLIND!" Natalia roared in hysteria behind them only to be ignored once again, driving her even crazier. "Well! Now that we are finished with dessert! Time for the full course meal!" Moby said, picking Jayden up by her ass, throwing her t on the bed. "Oh! I see what you''re doing! Yes! Put it in! I''ve been waiting for this moment!" Jayden said, biting and licking her lips while ying with her wet ass pussy. Moby smiled as he held his long, thick stick of meat, slowly bringing it closer toward''s Jayden''s pussy, his body filled with excitement and anticipation. As Moby''s dick neared Jayden''s vagina, Natalia saw her life sh before her eyes. Moby''s magnificent cock was going to prate another woman. He was about to lose his pure, innocent virginity to a slut that was undeserving of his love. While she, the person most deserving, and only person deserving of it was watching it all unfold, powerless to do anything to stop it. Moby ignored Natalia''s incessant screaming as he gently put in the tip of his cock into the horny, blushing and heavily breathing Jayden. "M-MOREEE! PUT IT IN MORE! I CAN''T WAIT ANYMORE! I NEED IT ALL NOW" Jayden moaned in anticipation. "Hahahahah! You asked for it!" Moby said with a devilish smile on his face as he grabbed Jayden by the hips, thrusting all 8 and a half inches of his cock into Jayden''s extremely tight pussy, making her shudder in pain and pleasure as her head flew back and as her hands began to tightly grasp the bedsheets. The feeling of Moby''s throbbing, long, thick hard cock inside Jayden''s extremely tight pussy was even greater than he ever imagined. His cock was being wrapped and crushed by her tight pulsating pussy making him feel like he was in heaven from the amount of pleasure he was feeling. "AHHHH FUUCK!!" She let out a sexy moan that rang throughout the entire room. ''NOO! I can''t let this go on! As long as I am alive and draw breath! You will stop this! His cock doesn''t belong there! It belongs to me and only me! My sweet little Moby! What has this worlde to! Jayden Griffith needs to die NOW!'' Natalia inwardly thought, finally managing to get Jayden''s panties away from her face as she tried her absolute best to move towards the fucking couple in front of her. As Moby finished aggressively thrusting his cock into Jayden''s pussy, he noticed that there were drops of blood flowing down from there and around his cock making his moment of pleasuree to an abrupt end as he began to grow slightly concerned for her. However, when he looked at her face, it looked like she was having the best time of her life, her tongue out with drooling down her face. Moby did not want to disy any weakness as he wanted to show her who''s boss. So, he hit a big mental ''Fuck it dood'' as he removed his penis from her pussy only to shove it back in even harder than before. "OHHHHH YESS DADDY! THAT FEELS SO GOOD!" Jayden''s high pitch moans resounded around the room. "With a wave of my finger and a flick of my dick, one thrust from me will kill you quick. So spread them legs and show me what''s within, spread them wide and let me deeper in!" Moby said as he repeatedly thrusted his cock in and out of Jayden''s pussy with a devilish grin. "AHHHH FUUUUCK! Now is not the time for poetry and references! You''re making me even hornier!" She moaned as she struggled to even breathe with such arge cock going in and out of her pussy, neatly hitting her womb every time. Jayden somehow managed to move her weak legs and wrap them around Moby''s waist pulling him closer in as he continued to fuck her in missionary with a devilish smile on his face making him go even wilder than before as he watched Jayden''s tits bouncing around aggressively in front of him. With every thrust of Moby''s cock Natalia lost a part of her soul and made a greater resolve and sense of urgency be clearer in her head. "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Natalia screamed as her teeth started to show wide cracks from how much she was clenching her teeth while her entire body was so sore from her relentless efforts of trying to move. Nothing on her mind was more important than her current gaols, she was willing to risk everything just for a chance to stop them. Then, after what felt like an eternity of torture, she managed to move her right arm 1 centimetre which made her extremely happy and filled her with more hope than she had ever felt in her life. It was like a crack in the ceiling of the depths of hell that let out a small, brilliant light of hope. ''You''re too cruel! Giving her false hope like that!'' Avilia died ofughter from inside his head, only to be ignored by Moby who was having too much fun. Chapter 111: Mobys Dick Chapter 4: R-18

111 Moby''s Dick 4 R-18

He released his throbbing cock from the beast''s den and swooped right in with his mouth, lifting her up with his super strength, eating out her wet pussy while feeling her big ass once again making her moan in pleasure as Moby had gotten even better at doing it than the first time. Then, after a few minutes of eating her out like she was a full course meal, Jayden pushed Moby away from her,ying him out on the bed sheets before hopping on top of him using all of her weight. "Time for me to take control!" Jayden said with a smile, slowly stroking Moby''s still hard throbbing cock before gently putting the tip in her pussy, dropping down on it with all her weight, forcing the whole thing into her body all the way up to her womb making her moan with pleasure. At this point, Moby had regained most of his stamina as he enjoyed the feeling of his cock being jumped on and Jayden''s big tits jiggling in front of him that he grabbed and fondled with both hands making her moan even louder. "YES! y with me harder! I am your little slut!" She moaned with her tongue out, increasing her speed. "Yeah, that''s right! I am your master and you are my little slut!" Moby said with a devilish grin, pping her big round ass making her moan and ride him even faster. Moby and Jayden then moved on to do multiple positions as Natalia started to try harder and harder, starting to move more little by little.?They went from doggy style, holding her blue hair back to reverse cowgirl as Jayden twerked on his cock before ending up in missionary once more. "Fuck yeah baby you''re so fucking hot it''s unreal," Moby said with a pleasure-filled face, going turbo mode in the movement of his hips and the thrusts of his cock. "FUUCCKK! Do it! Do it now! release it all inside me! I am about toe too! Let''s do it together!" Jayden cried out, rubbing her pussy as Moby''s cock was still rushing in and out of it. Moby was indeed reaching his limit, he really wanted toe. He no longer cared about ousting her. Plus, the thought of him cumming inside her made him extremely horny so he decided to go along with Jayden''s amazing proposal. "You asked for it! Here I cum!" Moby cried out releasing his creamy white substance all inside Jayden''s pussy that let out her wet cum, mixing them both together. "AHHHHHHH!" Jayden moaned louder than she had ever moaned before as she opened her pussy wide to see all thee flowing out of her it like a river. She then took her finger, putting it in her pussy, grabbing a bunch of cum, ying around with it before eating it in one gulp. "My dick is big, it''s reallyrge, when you touch it''s supercharged, I will soon be stroking at a fast pace, so take this shot right in your face!" Moby said with a smile on his face, releasing the rest of his bottled up cum straight on Jayden''s face and tits as Natalia shrieked behind them like a wild hyena. "I told you to stop rhyming like that! Your poetry is making me even hornier than before! And I just came! GIVE ME THAT!" Jayden said, licking the cum on her face and tits before grabbing Moby''s still hard cock, quickly stroking it up and down. "Oh no you don''t I will make you feel good too!" Moby said, pulling Jayden down with him on the bed as theynded in a 69 position. "The first one to make the other cum is the winner! You down?" Jayden said with a smile, ying with Moby''s balls. "You''re on! Bitch!" Moby said with confidence, getting a head start as he started to eat her ass and pussy out while fingering her faster than any vibrator using 3 fingers due to his high agility, making Jayden moan in pleasure leading her to wrap her tits around Moby''s hard cock, sucking it and stroking it in super speed as a counter-attack. ''I can''t let them win!'' They both thought in unison as they even further increased their speed and aggressiveness. Natalia finally managed to crawl a single step forward making her extremely happy yet at the same time literally about to explode from pain and anger from what she was seeing. She could not bear to watch her one and only love cum so hard one more time for another woman, she didn''t believe that her heart and soul could take it if he did. So, it made her work even harder than ever, ignoring the extreme pain ravaging through her body every time she tried to even move. Then, she heard the dreaded words she feared yet knew wereing. "F-Fuck! I am close to cumming!" Moby moaned. "Ne-no! Please have mercy daddy! AHHH! Please slower and less aggressive! I can''t lose to a virgin boy!" Jayden moaned in pure euphoria. At the moment, every fibre of Natalia''s soul was telling her to move and put a stop to it but her body would not at all listen. She used every drop of her energy and even more, trying to sacrifice whatever she could just for the chance of moving a single step. "GGGGGRRRRR!!!" She screamed, foaming from the mouth and clenching her teeth so hard to the point they exploded and broke out of her face. Her legs began to move as she crawled a few steps in front of her, her arms out trying her best to reach Moby who was still really far away. Then¡­ All of a sudden. *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* The sound of multiple cracks apanied by many moans filled her ears as an insane, unbearable pain ravaged her system. She broke everyst bone in her body all at once as she looked at her deformed arms with eyes of horror and defeat. She used everyst drop of her energy leaving her with absolutely nothing left. Her eyes became blurry as she dropped down on her face. There she saw the figure of 2 peopleughing and giggling at her as her hearing began to be extremely muffled. Thest thing she saw before she ckout was Moby''s white cum stain right in front of her, making her beg and long for it as her final wish before death. Calling upon every fibre of her being, she somehow managed to stick her tongue out for a chance to have a taste of the white demonic drink. But sadly, her tongue was only mere millimetres away from Moby''s cum meaning that it waspletely unreachable to her, making her cry tears of blood and curse her entire existence before goingpletely unconscious. Chapter 112: Dead On The Inside Chapter 1: R-18, Rape, Necrophilia

112 Dead On The Inside 1 R-18, Rape, Necrophilia

IMPORTANT NOTICE! ************** "MOBY! DON''T LEAVE ME! JUST LET ME HAVE ONE TASTE!" Natalia''s screams echoed and bounced off the walls of the small, dark, dirty, stone almost dungeon-like room she was in. "W-where am I! Am I dead!? Where is Moby! Is he still with that slut! MY HEART CAN''T TAKE IT ANYMORE! WHY CAN''T I JUST KILL MYSELF!" Natalia screamed at herself as she struggled to move a single muscle from the wooden chair she was sitting on, even though she was not tied up. "Finally awake I see¡­ Took you long enough¡­" She heard an extremely familiar voicee from the door of the room. "M-moby¡­ d-did youe to save me¡­" She managed to mutter in a low voice when she noticed that the love of her life was standing only a few meters away from her. "Hahahahah! You can''t be serious! Even after all that shit you went through you still think that he came here to save you! How pathetic can you be! "Jayden mocked her,ing up from behind Moby with a smirk on her face. "Y-you¡­ S-stay away¡­ I can''t take this anymore¡­ Please¡­ I beg of you to just kill me¡­ If I weren''t a demon now I would have definitely died from stress and rapid ageing long ago¡­ aren''t you satisfied yet¡­ How much longer do I have to bear this¡­ My hope and will to live has faded away long ago¡­ Me asking if my love was here to save me was nothing more than a rhetorical question¡­" Natalia responded, delving deeper and deeper into her madness and depression. "Well, I am d you understand the position you''re in! I just came here to give you a little present before we part ways for the next 5 days or so. You should be grateful that you even get to see my face before then! Like I promised, she is all yours! You can use her as your training dummy and test subject as long as you make sure to make her suffer extreme, unimaginable pain and make her constantly cry out in despair and agony. I wish you good luck, Dr. Abby! You are now in charge!" Moby said with a devilish smile. "D-doctor Abby¡­" Natalia managed to mumble before staring straight into Moby''s beautiful shining purple eyes that still somehow gave her butterflies in her stomach. The first time it happened it was soul-crushing but the ones that followed were even more painful as she was being forced to watch the scene of Moby and Jayden fucking over and over again in her head which grinded that crushed soul of hers into dust until she was nothing more than an empty husk without a conscience as she tried and failed to lick Moby''s cum stain before going unconscious for thest time in the seemingly infinite loop of pain and agony. Them, after what felt like many years, she was finally back into that same wooden chair as before, still unable to move. "Well! Shall we get started then! I made an entire list of things that I wanted to test out!" an enthusiastic voice came from beside her. Natalia slowly turned around to look for where the sound wasing from only to see a beautiful red-haired girl with a ponytail wearing apletely whiteb coat, holding a folded piece of paper that reached the ground from its sheer length. Natalia did nothing other than stare straight at Abby''s excited visage withpletely dead eyes and pale skin before finally letting out a few words that interrupted Abby''s ramblings. "Do whatever you want¡­ I don''t care anymore¡­ Nothing will faze me at all¡­ Not even any pain in the entire world¡­ Do your worse," Natalia said in a monotone low voice. "WHAT! I didn''t even get started and you''re already like this! My lord must indeed be an expert! But, I will need you to show some sort of pain or emotions for my experiments! I can''t disappoint my lord like this! So, let''s test out the validity of your ims and fix that dead I don''t care attitude of yours!" Abby said with a smile, tightly holding Natalia''s head who had absolutely no reactions before using her fire ability to burn off Natalia''s entire face. The fire ravaged her entire skin turning them charcoal ck before the scarlet mes Immediately burned off everyst strand of her hair leaving herpletely bald. The mes eventually reached down to her forehead, incinerating her eyes alongside her eyelids before doing the same to her nose that began to smell the stench of her burning skin, her mouth that tasted her cooked skin cells, and ears that were hearing her skin sizzle to a crisp. However, even though all that pain, Natalia just sat there, seeminglypletely unphased by what was going on around her as she did not struggle to move or scream during the entire process as her face became nothing but a scared, ck and pink ball,pletely featureless. "Shit! She is indeed one hard nut to crack! I need to make her scream in agony if I want to properly do my research! Assistant! Can you please heal her for me!" Abby asked. "Yes of course! "Dr" Abby!" Jayden said with a chuckle, transforming into Alli, her team healer beforepletely healing Natalia''s face only for them to once again see herpletely dead eyes and pale skin. "If burning her won''t work then what about this!" Abby said, pulling out her long, ck and red scythe from her inventory that invoked 0 emotions from Natalia. However, even after seeing Natalia''s dead, unmovable face, she did not give up. Her lord had faith and trusted her, aplete rookie to conduct the torture all by her self and with Jayden''s help as he did not want to join them as he knew that Natalia would definitely get off at something like that,pletely ruining everything. He only left her with the small gift of his nightmare skill before leaving her for the next 5 days that he has control over her. The reason why he didn''t use the skill earlier was that Natalia''s mental fortitude was too strong for it to work at its full effect. Even if she was his servant, he still needed to put her in a vulnerable state of mind for the skill to fully work as intended, making it as painful as possible. Abby filled the de of her scythe with her scarlet mes before stabbing Natalia in several of her important and none important internal organs with searing and piercing pain. However, even after stabbing her none stop in virtually every spot of her body, even when he shoved it up her ass and vagina, she was stillpletely calm and detached, only coughing blood and barf when she needed to. "Why is this so hard! Just scream and cry in agony! Is my technique really that bad! At this rate, I will never be able to properly torture my family!" Abby screamed in anger, shing off all of Natalia''s limbs in a blink of an eye, as Natalia was still unphased and gazed back at her with her hollow, dead eyes. "Calm down Abby! It''s not your fault! You''re doing great in fact! It''s just that she is a weird case. All that you need is a way to shock her back to reality and then you could go back on as normal," Jayden said, healing Natalia''s wounds,forting Abby with a smile on her face. Abby nodded at Jayden in understanding, calming her nerves before talking to Natalia once again in a somehow even harsher tone than before. "Okay! Listen here you little slut! I''ve been saving this torture method towards the end of this torture session but you forced my hand! That''s why I will be doing it now instead!" Abby said in a cold voice, releasing stinky, rotted goblins,1 white and 4 ck out of her storage ring. Natalia did not care at all for what was going on in front of her. She was not at all worried, scared, or surprised at all, still looking at Abby with dead eyes which greatly irritated her. "Get the hell up from the chair!" Abby ordered, forcing Natalia to stand up as Moby gave authority onto Natalia''s actions to Abby and Jayden as well. Without batting an eye or being surprised, Natalia stood up looking more like a zombie than the actual zombie goblins standing behind her. "Go to the corner over then and lie on the ground," Abby ordered making Nataliaply in a zombie-like manner once again. "Go get her! Prate her every hole! Make her beg and cry out for mercy! Go absolutely wild! Eat her if you want I don''t care! Anything is allowed as long as you don''t kill her!" Abby ordered in a deadly cold tone making all 5 of her goblins pounce on Natalia and her sexy body with smiles on theirs and her face and no hesitation, their penises glowing purple due to the demon energy Abby provided them with in order to have a proper erection in their undead state. 2 goblins jumped and grabbed Natalia''s arms as they began to nibble and eat her thumbs like they were chicken fingers and 2 others went straight for her massive boobs, sucking and ripping them apart with their mouths. Even through all of that, Natalia was still unphased even when being eaten alive by a horde of undead, her eyes stillpletely devoid of colour. Then, Grunk, the final goblin to join in spread Natalia''s legs far apart before aggressively thrusting hisrge, undead cock into Natalia sending a wave of immense mental and physical pain throughout her entire body, colour returning to her previously dead eyes. "AHHHHHHH! NOOO! THISS CAN''T BE HAPPENING! ANYWHERE BUT IN THERE!" Natalia screamed in absolute horror as the reality of everything began to sink in. The sudden feeling and realization that her virgin pussy that she had been saving for Moby''s cock the entire time was being prated by someone other than him, let alone an ugly and disgusting beast was enough to shock her back to her senses as the extreme pain of being raped and eaten alive began to sink in. She tried her best to fight back or do anything to stop them. However, it was with no avail as she felt like she was being restrained by those same invisible chains as before. "HAHAHAHHAHA!! It worked! Now the real fun can begin! Don''t stop my little gremlins! Go even harder!" Abbyughed enthusiastically as she was finally getting what she wanted. "Great Abby! You finally made her crack! This shit is too hrious! She definitely deserved this and even more! I really wished that Moby could have been here to witness it with his own eyes!" Jaydenughed her ass off as she noticed the goblins eating and raping Natalia faster and more vigorously than before as their little giggles of joy resounded around the room. "AHHHHH! STOP IT! THIS CAN''T BE REAL! I NEED MY MOBY BY MY SIDE! JUST KILL ME PLEASE! JUST HAVE MERCY!" Natalia cried out in absolute pain and agony as she had already lost most of both of her hands and tits as her previously virgin pussy was being stretched and pounded by Grunk, making it bleed profusely but not get wet at all. Then, after 15 minutes that felt like days or weeks of non-stop torture at the hands of the undead, they suddenly stopped as Natalia was almost dead. She lost all of her limbs except for the arm with her watch from being eaten by the goblins along with her ass and most of her face like her eyes, mouth, ears and nose. The moment they left her, Natalia stop screaming and for some reason felt a huge sigh of relief before noticing a familiar-looking green light on her body, healing most of her wounds, making her curse her entire existence and shudder in fear, not even trying to attack Jayden as she knew that it would be of no use as she counted the seconds that felt like forever before Jayden finished healing all of her injuries. "Are you ready for another round!" Abby said with a devilishugh that sent shivers down her very core. "But this time, this guy is joining in on the fun!" Abby said with a fiendish grin from ear to ear, releasing a massive, bearded, muscr, ck goblin that nearly reached the roof of the decently tall room, his extremelyrge purple glowing sword on full disy with a smile on his face. "S-s-someone please save me¡­" Natalia managed to mutter, peeing and shitting her pants at the same time inplete horror of the horny-looking, gigantic undead goblin in front of her. Chapter 113: Dead On The Inside Chapter 2: R-18, Rape, Necrophilia

113 Dead On The Inside 2 R-18, Rape, Necrophilia

IMPORTANT NOTICE! ******************* 5 dayster¡­ "Test 112, Hydrochloric acid. Let''s see how it goes..." Abby said, as she started to slowly pour a liquid out of arge bucket onto Natalia''s already beyond unrecognizable face and body which made her entire system begin to melt and burn even more, revealing the bloody pinkyers underneath the mainyer of her skin, her facepletely devoid of life. "What the hell! She''s been like this all day! Did I break her again?? I still had a few more things to test! Goblins, get her!" Abby ordered, making the goblins rape and eat Natalia''s body from every hole for the 5th time that day. However, just like all the other times, Natalia kept that same reactionless and unmovable dead look in her eyes. Even when her face, organs, and every limb in her body was being eaten. And, when she was being prated by the goblin kings and his minions through literally every hole in her body, from her vagina, ears, mouth, and ass all at once, she did not once shudder or make a sound. It was like they were torturing and raping a dead body that was not actually dead. Over the past 5 days, Abby had been testing out a bunch of her torture experiments on Natalia which included testing out her subus powers as well, just like her lord asked her to do. She did everything from her being raped and eaten alive by filthy undead, making her do extreme self-harm to herself, peeling her skin off with a rusty knife, cooking her in boiling oil, slowly breaking every bone and organ in her body, testing out various different chemicals, testing various torture contraptions such as the iron maiden, and many, many more painful experiences all the while taking notes on which method inflicted the most pain and suffering as to use them for when she finally does the same to her family. Abby was able to do this none stop only due to the school break that they had for the next week as there were no more curfews, allowing students to haveplete freedom to go and do whatever they wanted. It was absolutely perfect for what she was doing as it would be a massive inconvenience otherwise. As the days went by, Natalia began to lose her mind and sense of self, slipping back into the empty shell she was once again. However, this time, nothing that Abby tried to do helped Natalia regain her vigour and will to live. Even when she ordered her goblins, including the king to rape and torture her which worked the first time but not at all the second and third time. "Calm down Abby, you''ve done enough¡­ There is nothing more that you could do¡­ A person''s soul could only bear so much before bing unrestorable, turning to dust. Trust me, you did great! Moby would be proud! I am so happy too! Seeing her suffer so much after all the shit she''s done to me puts me in a good ce of mind! Don''t worry, I have seen enough, I''m satisfied!" Jayden said with a smile, calming Abby down making her slightly embarrassed. "Yeah¡­ You''re probably right¡­ I was just scared that this might not have been what my lord intended so I got a little carried away. Plus, I might have gotten a little too excited to test out all these torture methods as I imagined my sister''s face on top of Natalia''s for most of the time I was experimenting on her. This has been a very good learning experience. I have learned a lot! I am extremely grateful to my lord for giving me the opportunity to do this!" Abby said, facing Jayden with a bright smile that illuminated the otherwise dark room and atmosphere. "Goblins! I order you to Stop! You are about to kill her..." Abby ordered her goblins off before storing her goblins and the rest of her long list of experiments into her inventory. "We should tell Moby that our job is finished! I''ll let hi¡­" Abby said, before being interrupted by the sound of ppinging from the dudgeon room''s door. "No need! I am already here! And from what I can see you guys did an amazing job! I just wish that I could have joined you but that would have just made your jobs even harder¡­ I only have 2 hours left on my absolute control over her. After that, she would be able to be free once more, meaning that she must be dead in the next 2 hours or else we will have a big problem on our hands." Moby said with a smirk, entering the room before looking at the half-eaten, barely recognizable Natalia. "T-thank you for such high praise my lord! expect my report about everything that transpired within the next few days!" Abby said, kneeling on the ground, making Moby nod at her with a smile. "Jayden, can you heal her? I need her to have the use of her hands for what I am about to do," Moby asked, leading her to smile and nod before healing Natalia''s wounds by transforming into one of the weak healer maids in her house. "Look at you! So pathetic! I am surprised you weren''t excited to see me or something when I went in! Did you enjoy my present? How were thest few days? Do you still remember me? I am Moby Kane¡­ The "love of your life." Don''t tell me you already forgot about me! Was your love really that shallow! Ahahahah!" Moby mocked and teased Natalia as she was being healed by Jayden, crouching down to meet her at eye level, staring into her pale face andpletely dead eyes that were utterly devoid of colour. Then, Moby used his mind-link with Natalia to check what she was feeling at the moment, a skill he had nearly forgotten about, only for it to show up as nothing but a gray, static nothingness, something that Moby had never seen before, making him chuckle. "That''s totally amazing! Abby! You have far exceeded my expectations! I can finally touch this bitch without her getting turned on and bing horny!" Moby said, kicking her in the stomach before punching her in the face, making her fall face-first on the ground, a single tear falling down her face that was not seen by anyone else as her face was facing and kissing the dirty and bloody dungeon floor. "Now! I need you to write in your handwriting exactly what I tell you! Will you do that for me?" Moby said with a devilish smile, pulling out a pen and paper from his inventory before ordering her to write. The sight of Natalia''s empty husk of a body doing precisely as he willed her to do, exactly like a puppet was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He felt extremely happy that he got his revenge and made her pay for her actions yet slightly sad at the same time as he couldn''t keep her as his little puppet doll to do and follow his everymand. His time of absolute control onlysted for a week making it impossible. After a few minutes, Moby finished telling her exactly what to write before he gave it straight to Jayden, telling her to covertly deliver it to the Xane Mansion in the most secret and anonymous way possible. "Sure thing! This is pretty easy! it won''t take long! You can count on me!" Jayden said with a smile, taking the letter out of Moby''s hands before walking out of the room, changing out of her bloody attire into something much cleaner. "Abby, you have been working hard for the past 5 days, you should take a rest!" Moby said to Abby with a smile, putting his hands on her shoulders. "It''s okay my lord! I ample¡­" Abby said before getting cut off by Moby. "That''s an order! Overworking yourself has many downsides! Physically, and mentally! I bet you haven''t had much sleep for the past few days. Why don''t you go have one now?" Moby said in a friendly voice. "You are far too kind my lord! I will take a short nap then immediately start on my extremely detailed report! I am so lucky to serve such a fair, kind, and caring lord!" Abby said, wiping the tears of joy off her face before leaving the room leaving the sighing Moby and the dead-looking Natalia who was still nkly staring at him all alone. "Now, I need you to make a call¡­ Before you die, I need you to make yourself useful by giving me some XP and taking out that huge nuisance that fucked up my ns and nearly got me and my demon family all killed¡­" Moby said with a devilish smile from ear to ear. Chapter 114: Besties Stick Together!

114 Besties Stick Together!

"OMG, Natalia is that you! I haven''t seen you in forever! Where have you been!" Becky said from the crowd on the sidewalk, at the sitting Natalia in the distance who lookedpletely dead and devoid of life. "H-hey¡­ are you okay? Are you sad that you weren''t able to kill Jayden Griffith and get the love of your life to like you back? Don''t worry! I am sure he will like you eventually! Never give up! And, by the way, are you okay? You don''t look so good¡­ Do you need any help?" Becky said with a concerned smile, taking a seat beside her. "Oh-oh me! Nah! I am okay! I am just really tired and half asleep that''s all! Please don''t mind my appearance. And, as for Moby Kane, I already got over him. And I don''t really care about killing Jayden Griffith anymore either." She replied in a normal tone of voice that did not at all reflect her appearance. "Oh-okay¡­ If you say so¡­ You seemed pretty obsessed from before! I am d that you are alright now!" She said with a smile. "I heard that you were heavily poisoned from falling in a goblin trap. I hope that you are okay!" Natalia said with clear concern in her voice. "Ohh! That? Don''t bother! As you can see, I ampletely fine! Fully healed!" Becky said with a chuckle. "By the way, where have you been for the past 5 days? I have tried contacting you only to receive nothing back. I even tried to call your house to no avail as well. Do you want to talk about something?" Becky said with concern, looking straight in Natalia''s dead gray eyes. "Heh...Well, it''s a long story but my family abandoned me for going against their wishes until I "learned my lesson." So, I have been roaming and living on the streets ever since." Natalia casually replied with an awkward chuckle. "WHATT!! YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING ON THE STREETS FOR 5 DAYS!" She stood up, screaming out loud, grabbing the attention of everyone passing by. "S-sorry, I didn''t mean to blurt that out loud¡­" Becky said, sitting back down in embarrassment. "*Sigh*, Yes, I have been living on the streets, getting involved in all kinds of shit to survive¡­ It''s a tough life¡­" Natalia replied. "What the hell! You know that I am always here for you! You could have asked me to help you and take you in! We are besties after all! I have been living with my family for the past week so I could take you there until the problem with your family is resolved! I am sure they would not mind!" Becky said in clear outrage. "N-Natalia¡­ You have always been there for me in my times of need, always defending me at school¡­ So please, let me help you in your time of need as well¡­ I beg of you to listen to me and let me help you¡­" Becky said, tears flowing down her face. At first, Becky started the conversation mostly concerned about her own safety. She thought that she was ignoring her because she was mad at her, putting their friendship in jeopardy which would make her a huge target at school once again. She was scared that she provided her with the wrong information about Jayden and that was why she was unable to kill her and get Moby Kane, making her extremely mad in the process. So, she tried to do her best to damage control, acting as nice as possible in order to maybe salvage their rtionship. However, as she started to talk to Natalia more and more, she started to realize that she was not mad at her at all and was instead, having an extremely hard time in life as proved by her pale looking face, dead-looking eyes and shabby looking attire. It made her realize that she had been acting really selfish, treating her best friend like nothing more than a tool than an actual person. Natalia had done so many things to help her survive at school while only asking so little in return. Plus, for as long as she had known her, she had been nothing but an honest and amazing friend, all up until she met and fell in love with that Moby Kane guy which didn''t diminish all the good that she had done. She felt really stupid for her actions. It made her heart crack and fall in pieces to see that the person who had helped her so much was in such a bad state, full of pain and agony while she only thought of herself. "Hey¡­ Natalia¡­ I am sorry for everything¡­ You have been nothing but an amazing friend to me and I acted really selfishly and wasn''t there for you in your time of need. I am really d that you moved on from Moby Kane which I think was for the best. After all the rumours about him getting a really strong ability, his poprity has skyrocketed immensely, who knows, he might even have his own fan club by now¡­He''s a no-good trouble making manwhore! You don''t need a guy like that! If he doesn''t like you back then it was his loss! He didn''t deserve your love! You have done so much for me and I have done so little back¡­ So please, allow me to help you just this once,e live at my house¡­ Just until you get the problem with your family resolved, my heart can''t stand seeing you like this, in such a morbid state..." Becky spoke in a shaky voice, tears still running down her face. Natalia in front of her who was previously dead-looking had a slight change of expression as her eyes became wide open before she hugged Becky with clear passion. "You were indeed a great friend¡­ A better friend than a filthy slut like me deserves... Sorry for using you during the exam¡­ I now realize I shouldn''t have done that... I was the one who nted that trap you fell in¡­ Not Goblins¡­ It was my fault that any of this was even happening¡­ I have no choice in what I am about to do... I am sorry...." "So¡­" "Die¡­" She whispered in her ear before Becky felt a piercing pain in her stomach, looking down only to see a knife firmly nted in her gut with blood dripping and gushing out of it like a river. "W-why¡­ Why did you do this¡­ After everything I''ve done for you¡­I thought we were supposed to be¡­ friends..." Becky said with blurry vision, looking at the face of the crying Natalia in front of her before everything went nk. "MURDER! This girl just killed someone!!" a passerby that witnessed everything that transpired screamed before running away as fast as possible, leading the crowd around him to move and follow his lead. "Heydy! Bold of you to just casuallymit murder in front of me and such arge crowd! You''re under arrest! If you try to resist I will take you down by force and increase the sentence and severity of your crimes!" A police officer that was in the crowd said, slowly approaching Natalia. "Heh¡­ Well¡­ Finally... This is the end¡­ I can finally die¡­ Oh sweet, sweet death¡­" She said in the most bliss she had ever felt in her life, her mind and brain stillpletely broken before pulling out a button from her pockets, putting her hand over it about to press it. "HEY! LADY! Are you even listening to me! Come quietly and I won''t beat your ass to a pulp! You''re lucky that I am one of the nicer police officers! Now get your ass..." The police officer continued rambling as Natalia didn''t listen or pay him any heed, as the entire world around her looked like aplete blur and sounded like nothing more than static. "Goodbye, Moby Kane¡­ I will never forget you¡­" She said with a mellow smile on her face, tightly clenching her fists, tears running down her face, pressing the button that led to a huge explosion for the many bombs hidden on her, leaving absolutely nothing behind of her and Becky''s corpse that was stillying on the ground next to her,pletely dead with the knife still nted firmly in her gut. Chapter 115: Good News / Bad News

115 Good News / Bad News

"Jayden, is it true that the butler cooks most of your meals and is your head chef? Every time Ie here I always have the best food in the world!" Moby asked, using his mind link, taking a bite from arge chicken drumstick. "Well yeah! Of course! He''s been cooking for me for as long as I can remember! Turning him into a demon would be great but I am not sure how he would react so I would not risk it." Jayden replied. "By the way, is Alex still visiting his family home?" Moby asked while still stuffing his face with food. "Yeah, I think he should being back sometime today or tomorrow. And, speaking of family visits, do you want to join me on my visit to my main family mansion tomorrow! I want to introduce you to my family! I am sure that you would get along well!" Jayden replied with a smile. "Well¡­ If you say so¡­ I guess I''ll go¡­ I would rather have your family''s blessing and approval for being with you rather than have them against me¡­" Moby said with an awkward chuckle, leading to Jayden getting really excited. "Abby, do you have any ns for the next two days? Moby asked Abby who had been acting more quietly than usual. "Well¡­ My family invited me to a dinner party to celebrate my new record-breaking performance. However, I declined their offer of course. I know that they must have some sort of n to fuck with me. Or it might just be a trap by my sister who got angry that I broke her record. Or, it might be that now that they know that I am very strong and can achieve great things, they want to make up with me and pretend like nothing happened which I would no way in hell agree to! I would say that they could all die in a hole for all I care but such a death would be far too lenient and merciful." Abby said with clear disgust in her voice before bing all wide-eyed. "Oh! I am sorry for my tone my lord! I meant no disrespect! I just got carried away when I talk about my¡­" Abby apologized before being interrupted by Moby. "SHUT UP!" He roared using his mind-link, smashing his hand on the table, startling both Jayden and Abby as they had never seen him talk to them in such a tone. "You don''t need to apologize! I will not eat you alive or scold you for acting natural and revealing your true emotions to me! You don''t need to hide it bottle it all up inside! However, I will scold you for constantly trying to put up an act in front of me! I care about you and I want to share in your burdens! Even if I am your superior, I want you to act natural around me and not hold anything back! We are friends and family now after all!" Moby said in a serious voice. "Please consider and take my advice to heart, don''t misconstrue my words. I by no means hate you! Quite the opposite actually! I said what I said for your own good. This environment is different from your family house so treat it as such! Those fuckers who traumatized you will still pay!" Moby said with aically evilugh, trying to bring up Abby''s mood. "Don''t worry my lord¡­ I am not sad or mad at you¡­ I understand what your intentions were full well¡­ I know that you care about me and had my best interests in mind¡­ I am just sad that I did note to such a realization sooner as old your truths and kind words hit me like a truck as I started to feel a mixture of happiness and sadness about how much you guys really see me as a part of your family¡­ Don''t worry! I am okay now! And I will try my best to take your advice to heart! You don''t have to worry about me!" Abby said, wiping away her tears before giving a big, bright smile and a thumbs up to the rest of the group. "Good! Anyw¡­" Moby said, before being interrupted by a barrage of notifications. \u003c System alert \u003e \u003c Your servant has killed a high E rank enemy! \u003e \u003c +5000 XP \u003e \u003c New Quest Complete!\u003e An Angel''s Wish ------------------------------ Details: Complete the dying wish of the former human and new angel, Neia Spud. Part 1: Conditions toplete: Kill Natalia Xane in the cruellest, most brutal, most humiliating way imaginable. Make her suffer a very slow, brutal, humiliating death and make her pay for all the pain and suffering she has inflicted on others. Time limit: 2 week Reward: Angel''s Blessing skill level 2 ------------------------------ ************************** [ Angel''s Blessing [ Passive ] (Level 2) ] A blessing bestowed upon a person by an angel with apletely pure heart of gold. Effects: Holy energy resistance +20% Health +20% Energy regeneration +20% ************************** ''Hahaha! Exactly as nned! She blew herself up! Now the police and school can''t salvage any remains of her body! I am not sure how a demon body differs from a human body but I am positive that there are many differences if they look in-depth so I can''t risk it! They must not know about the existence of us demons! Plus, they have no major leads to us as no one saw Natalia when she entered and left the mansion other us, we made 100% sure of it! Even if they find a small lead somehow, we can always just get past the lie detector test easily!'' Moby thought with a smile. "Hahaha! Well fam we did it! Natalia is no more! She got what she deserved for all the shit she''s done! Now let usmence the celebrations! No tears or depression allowed here! Now let''s have some fun!" Moby said, addressing his family with a smile and cup in hand as they cheered in celebration as well. ************************** A few minutester¡­ Xane family mansion. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "My lord! My lord! I have an urgent matter to discuss! It''s from your daughter!" A servant banged on the door in panic. "Come in¡­" Arthur Xane, Natalia''s dad responded. "My lord! It''s a letter from your daughter! I think it''s extremely important! Why else would she send a letter instead of a message on her phone!" The servant said, holding a dirty white letter in his hand. "Well¡­ It''s about time! Did she get bored staying at her friend''s poor shabby house and now wants to beg me for her forgiveness to let her back? Or is she actually owning up to her actions? Time to find out!" He said with a smile, swiping the letter from the hands of his servant before opening it up with no hesitation at first, which dissolved into extreme nervousness when the letter was finally in his hand. "Dear father, you had been nothing more than a great guy to me. Although it was true that you did pamper me a little too much, it was all because you really cared about me. Or at least that was what I thought at first. You threw me out of the house with no hesitation at all just because I broke a pile of metal. It made me realize that that pile of metal was indeed more precious to you than me, your very own daughter. For the past 5 days, I have been living on the streets, with no money, no shelter, all cold and alone. I tried to contact my best friend, but when she found out that I had been kicked out and abandoned she just left and treated me like trash, not even batting an eye. It''s funny, isn''t it? All of my friends only liked and respected me due to my family''s power and influence, not because they liked me for who I was. While I was on the street, I got involved with a lot of gangs that randomly found me and took me in due to my nice-looking body¡­ They tortured and raped me every day, taking away my phone as well so I couldn''t contact you even if I hated your guts as my school watch was only able to call fellow students. After many days of non-stop rape and abuse, I somehow managed to escape. I am writing this letter now to tell you that I am going to kill myself¡­ I can''t take it anymore! Life is not worth living to me anymore! It''s all filled with nothing more than pain and misery. I managed to steal some explosives from the gang that kidnapped me and I will be using them to blow myself up so so you won''t even have to see me, or my body again, just like you wanted. I will also be taking that bitch of a best friend that betrayed me in my time of need with me. If you are reading this right now it means that I am most likely dead. Goodbye¡­ Forever¡­ You sad excuse for a fucking father¡­ Hate¡­ Your abandoned daughter¡­ Natalia Xane¡­" Arthur read, enthusiastic at all the praise at first before his face twisted and turned into something much sadder and uglier, a river of tears falling down his face and on the piece of paper under him as he began to severely hyperventte. "I-I didn''t mean for any of this to happen¡­ I never abandoned you¡­ My poor little girl¡­ My pretty little Natalia¡­ All I said was that you were not allowed in the house for a little¡­ I didn''t disown you¡­ Why did this all happen¡­ My heart¡­" Arthur mumbled to himself, shaking like crazy, tears still running down his face. "My lord¡­ What happened¡­ Do you need any¡­" One of the servants said before being interrupted. "HEY! ALL YOU FUCKERS LISTEN UP! GO OUT AND LOOK FOR MY DAUGHTER! IF SHE IS NOT FOUND IN THE NEXT 15 MINUTES IT WILL BE YOUR HEAD ON A PLATTER!" He ordered, like a crazy person, looking at all the concerned looking servants behind him. Then, suddenly as the first group of servants left, another servant came rushing in the room at extreme speed with a pale face. "What is it now!! Why the fuck are you not out looking for my daughter with all those other useless, good for nothing idiots!" He bellowed in extreme anger, tears still running down his face, still clenching Natalia''s letter in his shaky right arm. "U-u-umm¡­ M-my lord¡­ I am sorry to say this but¡­ She¡­ She¡­ She is already dead¡­ She blew herself up in the middle of Roristo Parc leaving nothing behind, her and her ssmate Becky¡­" The servant nervously answered. As soon as he heard those wordse out of his servant''s mouth, he immediately felt weak in his knees, falling down abruptly on his ass with a beyond shocked expression on his ghost-like face. "I lost everything¡­ My wife¡­ And now my daughter¡­ I have nothing to live for¡­ I am a failure¡­ Why must I be so stupid? It was just a stupid hunk of metal¡­ Why did I even care about it¡­ To the point of kicking my daughter out..." "Don''t worry¡­ La, Natalia¡­ I will atone for my sins¡­ with my life¡­ I hope you forgive me¡­ I will be meeting you in the afterlife¡­ My family¡­" He said, pulling out a pocket knife, as he went to stab himself before being restrained by his servants begging him not to do it. "No my lord! Don''t do it! It wasn''t your fault!" They all tried tofort him and hold him back. "LEAVE ME BE YOU FUCKERS! JUST LET ME DIE AND SEE MY FAMILY AGAIN!" He roared like a mad man, pushing and shoving everyone that tried to stop him. Chapter 116: A Family Gathering

116 A Family Gathering

"Breaking News! Arthur Xane, leader of the massivepany, "Exylus" one of thergest weapon and armourpanies in the country, has sadly passed away. The reason ording to his servants was suicide due to his only daughter, Natalia Xane, who killed herself. She had died by blowing herself up in the middle of Roristo Park along with one of her friends, Becky Raynere. The only lead given about the reason for such a suicide was by a letter that was confirmed to be Natalia''s handwriting stating that it was due to the abuse of local gangs. A police investigation had already started about the matter yesterday and so far, nothing solid had been found. We will update you on everything relevant to the subject if anything new arises," The Tv reporter said. "What the fuck! Why did this happen! I just bought $10,000 worth of Exylus stock yesterday! They were reported to be one of the hottest and fastest-growingpanies! Why the fuck is this happening!" A man said, spitting out his morning coffee that he was having in his local coffee shop. "Fuck! I need to sell my stocks ASAP!" Another man said, throwing money on the front desk before rushing out of the store, leaving his coffee on the table. *********************** Meanwhile at Jayden''s mansion, "Moby! Are youing or not! We are leaving in the next 10 minutes! The butler is already in the car!" Jayden screamed to Moby from far away who was still having his morning breakfast and watching TV. "We will update you on everything relevant to the subject if anyth¡­" The news reporter said before Moby turned off the TV. As Moby was watching the tv report about Natalia''s death, Avilia''s words about how turning into a demon can distort the mind yed once more in his head. However, he shoved those thoughts to the back of his head,pletely ignoring them as he found them stupid and unnecessary. "Coming! I just need a little bit of time to get ready! What should I wear? A suit or something?" Moby screamed back. "Yeah! That would probably be for the best! I got one ready for you already! It should be on the bed in my room! Me and the butler will be waiting for you in the car! Don''t take too long! We don''t want to show upte!" Jayden yelled. "Okay! I''ll be there in a bit!" Moby yelled, back, rushing over to Jayden''s room through the long, wide hallways, startling the servants who saw him as he made a gust of wind as he passed them by, revealing the panties of the many female maids making them cover it up and scream in embarrassment. ''The servants had been looking a lot happier in recent days, I wonder if it is due to Jayden''s change of attitude and less bossy nature¡­'' Moby thought with a smile as he passed them by. ''How! This fits me perfectly! I never told her my exact sizes and measurements! How did she¡­'' Moby thought before figuring it out, making him let out a small chuckle. Moby immediately left the room and sprinted towards the front door, finding it slightly harder due to the unconventional clothes and footwear. As he neared, the door, he saw Abby, smiling, patiently waiting for his arrival. "I wish you good luck on your trip my lord!" She said, with a smile, bowing. "Are you sure you don''t want toe?" Moby asked. "Don''t worry about me! I have a lot of work to do with my report and research I did the other day! Plus, I am a?little nervous to visit her family home¡­ I have a bad experience with such ces¡­ It reminds me of my own home in some way." Abby responded. "Hey! What did I tell you from before! You need to loosen up and try and get over your past! You should join us! It will be a really good learning experience!" Moby said with a smile. "If you insist my lord¡­" Abby nervously replied. "One second! Stay right there!" Moby said, dashing away only toe back a few secondster with a beautiful red dress in hand. "This is Jayden''s. I think it''s a dress her parents gave her as a present a few weeks back, I am sure she doesn''t mind you using it! Try them on! There is no servant around here and you should be able to put them on fairly quickly using your inventory," Moby said, handing the long red dress over to Abby. ''My lord chose red again, So, he does indeed think it looks the best on me¡­'' Abby thought with a smile as she had started to loosen her thoughts and hatred on the colour red over the past month. Abby grabbed the dress out of Moby''s hand, waiting for him to turn around before swiftly switching outfits. "So, how does it fit?" Moby asked with a hint of excitement. "Well¡­ If I am beingpletely honest, It''s a little short, loose in the chest and tight on the hips. But, I can work with it¡­ It does not look too bad. You truly have a good fashion sense my lord!" She said with a smile leading to Moby giving her a nod of approval. Then, they both went out of the mansion together and ran straight to the limousine where Jayden was waiting. At first, she was confused about why Abby was there as she thought that she didn''t want toe but when Moby exined to her everything she was very enthusiastic about hering along. For the first half of the ride, the group was just having a casual conversation using their mind-link, confusing the butler like usual. However, when the radio came on to a channel that was talking about Natalia''s death, his head started to hurt once more as Avilia''s words rang in his conscience. "My lord! Are you okay! Should we go see a doctor! Should we cancel the meeting!" Abby asked with clear concern in her voice. "Babe, if you''re not feeling well just tell me¡­" Jayden tried tofort him, holding his hand that was clenching his head. "Heh¡­ Don''t worry about me, it''s nothing¡­" Moby said, brushing it off like it was nothing, going back to his previous joyful self. After 1 hour more of driving, they finally reached the Griffith family mansion. From the windows of the limousine, they were able to see the entire outside of the mansion, leaving them looking at it in absolute astonishment. It had a big wide gate leading to a garden filled with many different nts and bush sculptors, arge, almost castle-like facade with a huge front door that had the Griffith family crest that looked like was worth billions on its own. It looked very simr to Jayden''s personal mansion only at least 5 timesrger. "We''re here. And, we brought 2 extra special guests with the young miss," The butler said, stopping at the front gates, talking to a microphone. [ ess Granted, Wee to the Griffith family mansion, we hope you enjoy your stay. ] A robot-like voice said as the front gates immediately lifted up by themselves. ************** Meanwhile, inside the mansion. "Listen up you maggots! The young miss hase for a visit today so you better be prepared! I know a lot of you are newbies and don''t know exactly what to do so I will repeat myself again!" "First! do exactly as you are told with no hesitation at all! Expect a barrage of orders! Many might bepletely unreasonable but do them anyway!" "Second! Do not even show a hint of negativity in your voice or face whatsoever! If the young miss wants to beat your ass then let her beat your ass like you were the happiest goddamn person on earth!" "Third! Whenever shees near you, always bow and ask her if there is anything you could do, or offer her something!" "Fourth andst but not least! Never make direct eye contact with her unless she specifically asks you to! She finds it extremely annoying when you do! Speaking of annoying, I have sent you all the rules along with other extra rules to keep in mind to your special watches!" "If you have any questions now is your time to ask! The young miss should be here any second now!" The head servant said, leading to absolute silence and nervous looks from the rest of the servants. "You better be prepared! Many of you will lose your jobs, that is an inevitable fact¡­ But! If you follow all the rules your chances will be extremely reduced so keep that in mind. Now, get to work!" He added, making them nervously start cleaning around therge entrance of the mansion. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "Young miss Jayden Griffith has arrived," Jayden''s butler said from the other side of the door. "Shit! She''s here faster than I expected! Everyone, take your positions!" The head servant screamed, making all the other servants panic as they stopped what they were doing and lined up one next to the other making arge path in the hallway between them, sweat running down each and every one of their faces. The head servant took in a massive gulp, stealing his resolve before opening the door, he was new to the Job and had only met Jayden once before where he was almost fired for identally putting milk in her tea. He had worked too hard to get to where he was at and he was not about to let some spoiled brat make him lose it all. "Oh! Young miss! You have grown quite a lot since thest time I saw you! You look more dazzling than ever before!" The head servant said with a bow, not daring to even look at her face. "Oh! Alfred! It''s been a while since I''vest seen you too!" Jayden responded with a smile. "Umm¡­ Young miss¡­ My name is Albert¡­" He instinctively corrected her before cursing his entire existence as he expected himself to be scolded and screamed at for talking back. "Eh, Albert, Alfred, same thing! Sorry, I forget... Anyways, can you lead me to my father! I have something extremely exciting to tell him about," Jayden said with a smile. ''D-did she just apologize to me or am I imagining things?'' Albert thought in confusion. "Uh¡­ Yes! But of course! I will lead you to him right away! He is with the other guests in the main dining hall. And, speaking of guests, are those your friends behind you?" He nervously asked. "Yes, of course they are! I brought them with me today for them to get to better know my family. Treat them like you would treat me," Jayden said, looking back at Moby and Abby who casually waved towards him. "Well, follow me and I will lead you to your father, young miss," Albert said, showing the group in as they followed right behind him. There they found 2 long lines of maids and servants that spanned almost farther than the eye could see, bowing in unison all at once to Jayden''s arrival. The group walked by the long line of servants as they began to admire the many decorations and art on the wall, it was almost like they were in a museum, the attention to detail was absolutely impable. Jayden and the group could not see the faces of the servants but all of them were nervous and scared shitless, begging for dear lord for them not to be chosen by Jayden. After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the end of the line of servants making them all sigh in relief. When, suddenly, Jayden stopped in ce making them all tense up once more. "Hey, you!" Jayden said, pointing at a female maid towards the end of the line, making the other servants sigh in relief that it wasn''t them that was chosen. ''Fuck! Why did it have to be me! I just got this job! I have kids to feed! Fuck! What will she ask me to do? Lick her dirty shoes clean? Maybe be her footstool? Or, maybe, god forbid, bing her personal servant for the day! That would 100% get me fired!'' The maid inwardly panicked and cursed her existence. "Hey, can you please get me a drink of water? We forgot to bring water in the limousine and I am quite thirsty," Jayden said, making all the other servants'' eyes almost pop out of their heads in shock, including Albert. ''D-d-did she just say, "PLEASE," ''they all thought in unison as they were unable to believe their ears. "Yes! Of course young miss! Right away!" The maid sprinted away as fast as she could. ''Why the hell are they all so scared of you?'' Moby asked Jayden in confusion, using their mind link. ''Well, remember how I used to act before we met and got to know each other?'' Jayden asked. ''Ye, kinda¡­'' Moby replied, remembering their first encounter. ''Well, that''s why! But you taught me how to be a good leader, I don''t need to be an asshole all the time like I was before¡­ I kinda cringe at my old self looking back now. Back when I was a bossy dick head, all alone???'' She said with an awkward chuckle. ''Eh, forget about it! That''s now all in the past! What matters most is right now! And I would be lying if I said that you were not my ideal kind of girl at this moment,'' Moby enthusiasm, trying his best tofort her. ''Heh, thanks for that but I promise you I ampletely fine!'' She replied with a cute chuckle. For the next few minutes, the group continued walking down many halls, passing many flights of stairs until they saw a huge, luxurious door in the distance that was almost the same size as the front door. "H-here is your water young miss!" The clearly panting and exhausted servant said as she found them midway to the room, handing Jayden arge cup of water. "Thanks a lot! You can go back to your job now!" Jayden said with a smile, quickly drinking the water in one gulp before handing it back to the maid. "Thank you very much¡­ You are far too kind young miss," The maid said with a bow, taking the cup and walking away. When the group finally reached the door, Moby noticed that Jayden had an excited look on her face which made him also happy. Even from the other side of the door, they could clearly hear the many loud sounds of people talking and eating on the other side. Albert then immediately opened the fancy door, revealing the inside of the huge dining hall. Therge room was lit by a massive chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, the walls were a golden colour, clean smooth and elegant while the floor was made out of gold and white marble that had patterns that included the Griffith family crest. In the middle of the room was a very long andrge, white dining table surrounded by many old, and young people that were eating the many mouth-watering meals found on top of it. At the end of the table was a handsome middle-aged man that looked like he was in around his mid-30s. He wore extremely fancy clothes and had a well-kempt blue beard along with long hair that reached down to his shoulder. In his hand was arge cup that he held while talking cheerfully to the other guests around the table. Next to him was an equally beautifuldy that looked no older than 20 years old, her smooth looking ck hair that reached down to her bosom shined the light from the chandelier making it extremely beautiful, like the man beside her, she had an extremely happy face as well. Beside them was one empty seat, most likely reserved for another important guest. "Well! Attention all guests! My daughter has finally arrived! Everyone give her a big round of apuse and congratte her on her second-ce rank on her first exam!" The middle-aged blue-haired man stood up with his hands open before pping with a proud look on his face, leading the rest of the guests to do the same. Jayden stared as the tens if not hundreds of guests stood up all at once, pping at her achievement making her smile and feel slightly embarrassed. Then, from the middle of the crowd beside who Moby assumed was Jayden''s father, he spotted an extremely familiar purple-haired young man. ''Alex!? What are you doing here!'' Moby asked him using his mind link. Chapter 117: Plan Failed...

117 n Failed...

"Also, let us show a big round of apuse to her teammate and team leader Alex Hart! Son of my good, might I even say best friend Joseph Hart! He led the team to victory!" Jayden''s dad announced, making everyone turn to look at Alex who nervously smiled and waved to the crowd. "The filthy, greedy, Reid family might have gotten a new record with first ce just likest year but I am sure that the results will change for the future exams!" Jayden''s father added, making the crowd cheer even louder. "Also, it seems that my sweet little daughter has brought 2 guests with her! Treat them with the utmost respect! They are the esteemed guests of my Griffith household! Any form of disrespect towards them would be like disrespecting me! Now,e here my sweet little daughter! I left a seat wide open for you!" Jayden''s father said with a smile. Jayden smiled and casually walked past all the important guests at the table, Moby and Abby walking behind her noticing all the mean looks hidden under the smiles of the many guests until they finally reached the location of Jayden''s parents. "Hey¡­ would it be possible for you two to move to another seat for my daughter''s guests? I didn''t expect her to bring people with her¡­" Jayden''s father whispered to the guests sitting directly to the left of him in a low voice, leaving Alex and his parents alone on his left side, not asking them to move. "Why of course, there is no problem at all," An old man said, leaving the seat with his wife, looking at Moby and Abby with a hint of disdain. "Thanks for letting me sit with my friends, father! And why did you say all that stuff! You are kinda embarrassing me!" Jayden said like she was a child. "Haha! Don''t worry about it! You deserved this! Also, is it just me or you look even more dazzling than before! You''ve grown so so much! You really do take after your mother," Her father said, patting her head. "Darling! I haven''t seen you in so long! How was school? Give mommy a big hug!" Jayden''s mom said, standing up and hugging Jayden so hard that she almost couldn''t breathe. "Thanks mom¡­ But I think you are gonna kill me¡­" She said, making her mom stop hugging her, taking a seat with a smile. "Hahah! Don''t be silly dad! I am not into stuff like that anymore! These two are my new best friends! I brought them here today because I hoped to introduce you guys to each other!" Jayden said with a smile. "Wait¡­ REALLY! My little girl is finally making friends! I am so very proud! This really does fill my heart with joy¡­" He said, small tears running down his face, tightly grasping Jayden''s hands, her mother behind him feeling the same emotions. "Hello there! My name is Mason Griffith! Thank you so much for being friends with my daughter! I know that she could get a little feisty at times so please be patient with her! Between you and me, she''s never had any actual friends in years so you guys are really doing me and her a great favour! Also... If I find out that you are only using my daughter for selfish gains or anything of the sort I promise you it won''t end well for you..." Mason said to Moby, whispering thest part. "Dad! I heard that! Don''t threaten my friends! They are really nice people that care and value me for who I am! I''ve known them for 2 months now and not once did they ever even attempt to use me for their personal gain!" Jayden said in outrage. "Sorry, sweety¡­ I am just concerned over you¡­ There are many bad people in the world that would not hesitate to ruin your life¡­ Take Arthur and his daughter¡­ I was going to invite them to the party only for them to die yesterday¡­ The Xane family was a great business partner to me and I really hoped you and Arthur''s daughter could be friends. But, his daughter got mixed up with the wrong people like in gangs and ended upmitting suicide which led to Arthur doing the same¡­ I don''t want such a thing to happen to you as well! I don''t even want to imagine a reality such as that happening to you¡­" Mason said, hugging Jayden tenderly with tears falling down his face. "It''s okay dad¡­ Such a thing would never happen to me¡­ And I promise you that my friends are nothing like that¡­ They are very important people in my heart just like you and mom," Jayden said, hugging him back with an awkward chuckle and a slightly sad look in her eyes. Moby had absolutely no idea why, but when he hears the story about Natalia''s death, his head starts hurting from Avilia''s words, making him slightly angrier, pushing them aside as he viewed them as nothing more than stupid thoughts. And, luckily, this time he managed to keep his pain and emotions under his poker face as to not agitate anyone around him. "Well¡­ Sorry for my earlier harsh words or if I might have scared you¡­ I was only being cautious for my daughter''s safety. My name is Mason Griffith, it is nice to meet you," he said with a smile, reaching his hand out for a handshake. "Hello, my name is Moby Kane. I understand the situation that you are in and I do not me you at all for your words and actions. If I were in the position that you were in, I would have done the same. Your daughter is a very nice person and an amazing friend, I am so happy that I met her and I could not imagine my life without her," Moby said with a smile, firmly shaking Mason''s hand. Moby deliberately chose to leave out the part where he and Jayden were dating as they have yet to go public with it and he thought it would be best if Jayden was the one to announce it to her family instead of him which might have seemed a little out of ce. ''Kane? I have heard of his family name before¡­ I think he was on the same team as Arthur''s daughter for the exam¡­ Or was it from some other ce? From his watch, he seems to be a B- rank this early on in the school year so I assume that he is from some uing family I never heard of,'' Mason thought. "So, you were on the same team as Arthur''s daughter¡­ How did she act like the week before she decided tomit suicide¡­" Mason asked in a heavy voice. "Uh-uh umm¡­ Well, until her death, she was extremely cheerful and full of hope, never giving up on her dreams and aspirations no matter what¡­ I am not sure what made her want to choose to kill herself. Even in the toughest of situations when most of our teammates died, she always somehow found a way to staypletely positive and cheer the group up. She was a true inspiration to us all," Moby said with a sad voice. At first, Moby was talkingpletely out of his ass to bullshit his way out of the question. However, the more he talked the more he started to find some truths hidden in his words which made him really concerned and made his head hurt once more, causing his head to go into turmoil as he barely managed to keep it all hidden under his poker face, sweat running down his face. "Oh, I see¡­ That''s very unfortunate¡­ at least that gives me some sort of closure, the news of her''s and Arthur''s death was truly devastating to me and my wife who just got to know Arthur only a few months ago," Mason said with a sad smile. "Well, how about you young miss! That red dress looks lovely with your red hair! I can''t help but feel like it looks familiar¡­ And, Is your hair dyed or natural? *Ahem* Anyways, it''s really nice to see that my daughter has another girl to talk to!" Mason said with a smile, putting his hand out for a handshake. "Yes sir! it is indeed natural¡­ My name is Abby Reid. Your daughter and I have been good friends for a little over a month! I am honoured that I got to know her. It honestly changed my life!" Abby said in an extremely stiff and formal voice, bowing before shaking his hand. "A-A-Abby Reid!? Like from THE Reid family? What are you doing here? There should have been another party at the Reid Mansion to celebrate your first ce win on the exam! And why would you be friends with my daughter!" Mason said in astonishment. "Sir! I declined their offer of course!" She said with a deep bow. "Well, if my daughter says that you are one of her best friends I see no reason that she would lie to me about it. I sincerely apologize for talking bad about your family in front of such arge group of people. It''s just that my family and the Reids have been rivals for many years now. I never in my life expected you two to be friends¡­I will be more careful with my words next time and I sincerely apologize," Mason said in a sincere tone of voice. "No! Not at all sir! I found your words describing my family quite fitting, I encourage you to go on with the insults. That was my main reason for declining their invitation after all. Also, sir, if possible, keep what I told you a secret," Abby replied to Mason with a nervous smile. "Oh¡­ Okay¡­ that is no problem at all. I never knew that even the Reid family''s own youngest daughter despised them almost as much as I do!" Mason said with a chuckle in a slightly confused tone, patting Abby on the back in a friendly way before they both sat down where they once were. Then, Jayden''s mom stood up to go greet Moby and Abby as well. "Hello, you two! It''s nice to see that my daughter has such lovely friends, I will keep the introduction short as my husband has already said most if not all I wanted to say! My name is Rachel Griffith and it''s really nice to meet you two!" Rachel said with a smile, shaking both Moby''s and Abby''s hands before taking a seat. "Now that the introductions are out of the way I have something extremely important to ask you. I am sorry but your friends need to stay out of this discussion. Joseph, you and your son shoulde to join our conversation, it''s time!" Mason said with a smirk, motioning them to listen in, making Joseph and his wife extremely excited. "Oh, hey Alex! How''s it going!" Jayden waved at Alex who just waved back at her in a friendly manner. ''So far so good!'' Mason and Joseph thought with an evil smile. "Well¡­ how did the exam go¡­ I see that you two are a lot more friendly than before," Mason said, waiting for an answer in anticipation. "It went really well! Me and Jayden worked pretty well together! She even managed to get to C+ rank of power from the intense fights on the!" Alex said enthusiastically, leading to Jayden nodding in agreement. "Soo¡­ nothing else?" Joseph added. "Well, we did be friends again¡­" Jayden said. "Friends? And nothing more?" Mason continued. "Wait¡­ where are you going with this¡­" Alex asked in confusion. "Weelll¡­ we were thinking about you two maybe getting married!" They whispered in a low voice, not letting anyone else hear. "What!!" They both blurted out at once. "Wait!! It was you two! You were the reason that we were on the same team wasn''t it!" Jayden blurted, pointing at the two smiling fathers. "Huh, well, of course! What are the chances that you two who used to be former friends and potential lovers ended up together out of the many hundreds of groups?" Mason said with a chuckle. "What!? Did you set us up for a date in the middle of an exam!!" Alex said in embarrassment. "I wouldn''t say "set you up" I would just say, we gave you a small push to see what happens," Joseph said with a chuckle. "So! What will it be! Do you guys like each other!? Do you want to get married? Don''t be shy and let us know your true feelings!" Joseph and Mason added, waiting in anticipation for an answer, clenching their sweaty fists together nervously. "NO! I REFUSE!!" They both blurted in unison without any hesitation at all, making the excited faces of their parents turn all sour. "Well¡­ we tried our best my friend¡­ we tried our best¡­ maybe someday¡­" "Ye-ya¡­ at least they became friends again and don''t hate each other¡­ that''s a plus¡­right?" They said, trying tofort each other. "Huh? Wait? Are you not going to force us into a marriage like all the other important and noble families?" Jayden asked in confusion. "Huh? Fuck no! Now why would I do that! Anyone that marries their children off against their will for political or financial reasons is justplete scum! I would never do such a thing! I think I am also speaking for Joseph as well! We both advocates of true love!" Mason said in a serious tone, leading to Joseph nodding in agreement. "Well, father, to tell you the truth¡­ I already have a boyfriend and someone I love dearly, not as some stupid pet like all the other times. He was the person that changed my perspective on things and gave me fun in my life along with other things to live for and look forward to!" Jayden said, her face as red as a tomato. "What! really!? I am so happy for you! Why didn''t you say so! Why didn''t you bring him with you? I wanted to meet him!" Mason said with a mix of happiness and disappointment. "Huh? You''ve already met him! He''s right there! Jayden said, secretly pointing at Moby who was enjoying a juicy steak, pretending like he was unable to hear their entire conversation. "Him! Really! That''s the guy! Well¡­ He is strong for his age with decent manners and I guess he does look pretty handsome¡­ But, I can''t let you marry him just yet! Me, Alex and Joseph have known each other for many years and that was the reason I wanted the marriage between you two if you agreed to it. I wanted it to be with someone I really trust. I need to get to personally know him¡­ I know I might sound bossy and unreasonable but I promise that it''s for your own good¡­"?Mason whispered in her ear, expecting her to go on a tantrum. "Yes, of course, I understand. That ispletely reasonable," Jayden replied in a serious tone,pletely startling and catching Mason off guard. "Hey! Son! You need to find some kind of love or else you would grow up lonely and alone! You''re making your handsome face go to waste! Why don''t you ask that girl out over there, isn''t she one of your friends?" Joseph said, hinting towards Abby who was eating a pizza using a knife and fork in the most sophisticated way imaginable. "Stop it dad! I''ll find love when it finds me so don''t worry about it! I won''t grow up alone!" Alex said with slight annoyance, making Joseph burst out inughter. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud smash was heard on the long table, startling everyone around that was whispering "WHAT!! That country bumkin nobody is mistress Jayden''s Boyfriend! That''s outrageous! I am more worthy than a shitter like him!" A young, chubby man around 16 years of age stood up and blurted in outrage before his father butted in, grabbing him by the head making him sit back down. "I-I am sorry for my son''s rude behaviour lord Griffith¡­ I will give him a good beating when we get back home I promise you that! O-or we can do it here in public to show what happens to people with no respect at all¡­ So please have mercy on us¡­" A chubby old man said with a deep bow, holding his son''s head making him bow just as low. "Fuck, it seems someone overheard our conversation and leaked it out to the whole room¡­ Why am I so stupid as to not go into another room before discussing such an important topic¡­" Mason muttered to himself as he felt a huge migraine growing in his head. Chapter 118: Be

118 Be

"Albert! Show them to the door!" Mason ordered in an aggressive voice. "Yes Sir," Albert said with a bow before disappearing from the ce, leaving dust in his wake before suddenly appearing behind the chubby old noble and his son, dragging them by the hand towards the exit of the room. "NO! Please have mercy my lord! It was an honest mistake! Please have mercy!" He screamed with tears in his eyes as he was aggressively dragged on the floor along with his son. "Why are you so stupid! I should have never brought you here! You ruined my life! You will be disowned as soon as we get home!" The chubby old man said, punching his son''s scared face so hard that he lost multiple teeth. "HOLD UP!" Moby screamed, grabbing everyone''s attention. "I like how that kid was talking! I say you should be more lenient to him, future father-inw. We should give him another chance," Moby announced with a smile. "Huh? So, did you have something else in mind?" Mason asked with clear curiosity and anticipation. ''Father inw? I will be the judge of that!'' Mason thought with a smile. "I say we put his ims to the test! I propose we make a bet! If you can beat me in a fight I will forgive you and pretend like nothing happened. But, if I win, you will be kicked out of the house and give me half of your entire worth!" Moby announced in confidence, making the crowd go silent and wide-eyed as they were not at all expecting such a proposal. "HALF! Are you crazy! Now why would I do that!" The old man replied in anger without any hesitation at all. "Oh! I see that you are not willing to cooperate. Or are just too pussy to ept?! Take him away and out of my sight!" Moby ordered, making Albert drag them both away once more. "W-wait!! Fine! I agree to your terms! However, I have only one condition. I get to choose what arena the fight will be fought in!" The chubby old man said, making the entire crowd whisper amongst themselves with smirks on their faces. "I also have another question, what is your power level? My son is at 15,160. It would not be a fair fight if one party is much stronger than the other now would it?" The old man said with a smirk. "I am at 12,240," Moby confidently replied. "Hahahahah! Within the 3000 power level range! It should be more or less a fair fight! I ept your offer!" The old man said with an arrogant and amused smirk, getting up from the ground, him and his even more amused son. "Heh! I see what that sly old fox is doing!" "Ya! That''s no fair! I almost feel bad for the little kid! So naive!" "Why don''t we do a bet amongst ourselves? I can organize it! I''ll put 50 grand on Leon!" "20 grand on Leon!" "I like rooting for the underdog and I have a lot of extra money so I will do 100 grand on the new kid!" "Will this be okay, father inw? Will you allow this wager to go on?" Moby said, turning to Joseph with a confident smile. "Hey! Kid! Do you understand what you are doing! Spencer''s kid Leon has been undefeated in the small ring arenas for the past 5 years! His Ability is too good for the environment! You don''t stand a chance! Even people with a power-level higher than him still lost in the smaller Arenas! I rmend that you retract your statement! It will be slightly embarrassing but trust me when I say that the embarrassment will multiply if you challenge him and lose after talking so big! Trust me, this is for your own good! Don''t be a greedy and naive child! I expected better from my daughter''s boyfriend," Mason whispered in his ears trying to convince him to stop the match. "Hahaha! It''s okay, father inw! I have confidence that I am going to win!" Moby whispered back with a bold smirk. "Fine! But it''s your funeral! I wanted to test out your strength in battle and your personality and arrogance so this is a good way for me to do it!" Mason replied back with slight annoyance that his advice was being ignored. "Attention everyone! I, Mason Griffith will authorize this wager!" Mason announced to the crowd making them roar in excitement. "I will now announce the rules! This will be a 1 vs 1 fight that will take ce in one of the many arenas I have in my estate that will be chosen by Spencer and his Son ording to the agreed-upon bet.?Each fighter will be given standard none magical equipment from my personal armoury as to make the fight as fair as possible! The fight will have no time limit and have no ring outs. The victor will be decided when the opposite party is unable to fight! I will personally be the referee of this match so don''t try cheating or any underhanded tactics or else I will shove¡­ Sorry, I meant I will show you the door and never allow you to enter my mansion again and I will make it a promise and a mission to myself to ruin you for the rest of your life! Does anyone have any questions?" Mason announced in a serious voice, making the entire room go silent. "Also! As for those setting up bets, I have no gripes with that. That''s always how things have functioned in my house. But, and that''s a big But. If something goes wrong or you lose all your money, don''te crying to me!" Mason said, making the crowd nervous before making them really happy and excited once again. "Spencer, which arena do you choose?" Mason asked with a serious look in his eyes. "Arena E2," Spencer replied with confidence. "Hahahhaha! Of course! As expected!" "You guys betting on the underdog are stupid! Leon has never lost in that arena!" "Hey! Don''t call me stupid! I am just betting for the underdog for fun!" The crowd started to whisper amongst themselves. "The match will start in 30 minutes! Please follow Ryan, he will lead you to Arena E2 where you will patiently wait for the match to start," Mason said, pointing at Jayden''s butler who was standing straight as an arrow beside the main door. "As for our twopetitors, follow Albert who will lead you to the armoury to choose your preferred weapons and armour. That will be all!" Mason said before sitting back down at his seat to take a breather. "You two! Follow closely behind me!" Albert said to Moby and Leon as he exited through one of the side doors of the dining hall. "Hey! Moby! Are you really sure this?" Jayden asked Moby with concern in her voice, using mind-link. "Ha! Please have no fear! It might seem like I have a clear disadvantage but trust me when I say that I know what I am doing! I did my research..." Moby replied with confidence. "Oh! Also! Bet all your money on me! Ask your dad for 1 year in allowance extra or something and put it all on me! You too Abby and Alex! Bet as much as you can on me! Trust me when I say that we will be filthy rich!" Moby said with aically evilugh. "Okay, we''ll do it! But you better win or else I will make you owe me all the money I am betting and more!!" Alex said in a yful tone. "Same here!" Jayden agreed. "I am sorry my lord but I only have $500, will that be enough?" Abby nervously asked. Everything was going exactly as nned, his entire family agreed to bet on him, the underdog. At this rate, he might be able to win 500,000 to?1,000,000 dors from 1 fight alone which made him really excited. The entire way to the armoury, Leon, Moby''s opponent kept on talking shit about him and about how much he was going to beat the shit out of him which started to really get on his nerves. "Hey! Whatever your name is stop ignoring me! Am I really that intimidating?! Why won''t you even tell me your name!? Don''t think that by hiding it, it will save you some face when you lose! Just watch me! I am going to beat the shit out of you in front of everyone, including Jayden making her see how much better I am than you! Then, I will pipe her from the back so hard while making you watch as my little new pet dog! Giving me another chance was the wors¡­" "Can you please be quiet¡­" Moby said, interrupting him with an ominous smile, a vein bulging out from his forehead, his eyes glowing purple and staring straight into Leon''s soul, sending shivers down his spine for a split second as his body was telling him that whatever he nned to do was a bad idea only for it to fade away in the next moment. ''I don''t get paid enough to babysit people like this¡­'' Albert thought with a long sigh. "Heh! You don''t scare me!" Leon kept following Albert like nothing happened until they finally reached the armoury. The room was gigantic, filled with many different weapons and armour lined up in rows and shelves for as far as the eye could see. As Moby looked around at the various armour and weapons, he noticed that a lot of them looked really strong and cool which really existed Moby. However, when he used his energy sense to check if there was any special or magical armour, it came back with 0 results which slightly disappointed him. ''Damn, all of this armour is standard armour¡­ I am scared to find out how the actual magical armoury looks like¡­'' Moby thought, slowly inspecting all of the weapons and armour to see what he would choose. "Listen up you two! You will only have 20 minutes to choose and try on any armour you want! If the time is up and you didn''t find anything I''ll find one myself and make you wear it!" Albert told the two who were still inspecting the armour, making them nod in understanding. 25 minutester, Arena E2¡­ "LAST CALL TO MAKE A BET! Leon or the new kid! ce your bets now before it''s toote!" The person collecting all the bets screamed to the masses who were all having a cheerful conversation before Mason started talking, making everyone go silent. "Attention everyone! It''s the moment you''ve all been waiting for! The Fighters have finally arrived!" Mason announced making the entire crowd cheer, sitting in an upper stand with his and Alex''s family, along with Abby, and spencer who had an evil smirk on his face. "On the left we have the undefeated champion of the small E2 arena! Leon Dave!" The crowd roared cheering as he entered the small arena, hands in the air in celebration like he already won. "Hey! Kid! You better win! I bet good money on you!" "Hahahaha! What are you even worried about! This is a guaranteed victory!" "Kick his ass, Leon!" "And! On the right side, we have my sweet little daughter''s boyfriend, Moby Kane!" Mason announced, making the crowd go silent and whisper. "W-wait! Come to think of it it''s my first time hearing his name¡­ What family does hee from? Kane? Have you ever heard of that?" "Nope, never have¡­ Maybe it''s some sort of new uing family¡­" "WAIT! I recognize his name! Moby Kane! One of the most hated guys in military school Z-7! I heard rumours say that he was an orphan F rank that was taken by Jayden Griffith as a pet, not a boyfriend! Also, I heard rumours say that he got a new ability from the exam and that''s how he got to B- rank! That man is a fake! A lucky, filthy F rank orphan and nothing more!" A young man in the audience said, making the rest of the crowd roar in outrage. However, before the crowd got too riled up, Jayden interrupted, standing up and addressing the crowd bellow with extreme rage in her voice. "Who the fuck said that! You are lucky that I don''t have your tongue chopped and fed to the dogs! He''s not a fake! He is my boyfriend! If anyone dares to talk shit like this again be prepared for me to make your worst nightmare be your reality! That''s all! You may now continue!" Jayden screamed, making the entire crowd go silent. Chapter 119: Balls of Steel

119 Balls of Steel

"She''s growing up so fast¡­ *Sniffle*" He muttered to himself. "I will be exining the rules once again so listen up! There will¡­" After a few minutes of exining the rules, the twobatants were ready to start the match. The short, blonde-haired, fat, Leon was wearing spiky heavy armour and seemingly no weapon at all was staring daggers at Moby who at this point, was still ignoring him as he felt extremely happy listening to Jayden''s speech. Moby wore a standard set of light armour to prioritize mobility over defence like his build entailed. However, his choice of weapon was a little odd to say the least. Instead of using his usual preferred weapon of choice the katana, he used a metal shield instead. "Now! If thebatants are all ready, I will count down to start the match!" "5" "4" "3" "2" "1" "Match Begin!" "Ha! It finally started! Do you really think that shield can save you from me! Don''t hold your breath! When I am done with you, Jayden would notice how much of a cooler guy I am than a puny orphan like you and dump you for me! Her pussy must be so sweet! I bet you never even got a taste of it!" Leon mocked with clear arrogance. "You sure have balls of steel, don''t you?" Moby retorted, his eyes staring daggers into Leon''s soul. "Yes, I do," Leon replied with a smirk, inting his body and armour into the shape of a ball of spiky steel that towered almost 10 meters in height. ''Heh, I expected this¡­ but it looks even stupider than what I read about¡­'' Moby thought with a smirk. Of course, Moby did not go into this matchpletely blind, he did his research. Over the 5 days when Natalia was being non-stop tortured, he was not sitting on his ass doing nothing. Instead, he was training and doing research on abilities he found on the marketce. One of those abilities was called "Ball of Steel", an ability that transforms the user into a gigantic ball of Steel that is still as flexible and bouncy as rubber. It still allowed the userplete movement while in the form but itcked the ability of proper vision while in the form, opting the user to sense energy signals instead which was very impractical in many situations. However, in such a small andpact arena, Leon would be able to quickie bounce of the walls at random and in quick session, aiming to hit Moby every time with him definitely not being able to dodge or predict the direction of the balls bounce as he would haveplete movement control. However, for every match he had partaken in, it almost always needed much less than 5 minutes as most matches ended in 30 seconds to 1 minute. That was he was so confident and why he chose such an arena for the fight to take ce. Of course, Moby did not find this information all on the inte as most people like to keep the powers of their abilities a secret from the public. However, there existed a secret, exclusive site that listed many abilities and their weaknesses that Moby found all thanks to Ryan, Jayden''s butler. Before Moby even proposed the fight, he used his "inspect" skill on Leon to see who he was going up against and if he wanted to challenge him. That was why he was so confident. *************** Name: Leon White Race: Human Ability: Level 6 Ball of Steel Power Level: 15,160 Hp: 150/150 Mana: 230/230 Strength: 355 Agility: 410 Endurance: 521 Intelligence: 230 Mind: 0 *************** The weird thing that Moby noticed about his stats was that he had 150 HP instead of the standard 100 that he had seen on every other human prior which made him think that there had to be some exceptions for humans'' HP stats depending on either their power level, abilities or another factor that he had yet to consider. Inparison, Moby''s new base stats were as follows. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Level: 50 XP to next level 10,400/50,000 Power Level: 12,240 Hp: 180/180 Demon Energy: 339/339 Demon Energy regeneration: 212 Demon Energy/Hour Strength:291 Agility: 372 Endurance: 222 Intelligence: 339 Mind: 100 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** ''Avilia, set a mental timer in my head for 1 minute and 30 seconds,'' Moby ordered her to do. ''Huh! What the hell do you think I am!? Siri? I am the first demon lord, Avilia Graymore!'' Avilia retorted with slight annoyance. ''Just do it! It''s hard for me to fight and keep track of time all at once!'' Moby quickly replied as he saw his opponent begin to prepare his attack. ''Fine! But you owe me one!'' Avilia replied with a smile as she sat back in her metaphoricalfy chair to enjoy the fight, popcorn in her hands. Leon began rolling straight at Moby like a bowling ball only for Moby to easily dodge like he was nothing. "Hah! I see that you did your research! My first attack is always slow so I can build up momentum! Most people attack me blindly thinking they have a free attack only for them to be crushed or blown away by my indestructible shield!" Leon taunted, surprising Moby who was shocked to see that he could still talk in his ball form. "But! Even if you know how my ability works, it still won''t save you from the rest of my attacks!" Leon screamed, jumping up with incredible force, heading straight for the still cheering crowd that was not at all startled by such a move, only to be blocked by the forcefield around the arena, bouncing him back to Moby like he was a rubber ball. Leon was still going incredibly slow in Moby''s eyes which still allowed him to dodge and react in such a small andpact area. When Leon missed Moby once again, he used the momentum from his bounce to the ground to boost himself to the audience once again only to be bounced back to Moby at almost twice the speed, Moby still managing to easily dodge due to his high speed and better senses. "I am impressed that you couldst this long! But, sooner orter you would be crushed by my mighty ball!" Leon screamed like a lunatic as he continued bouncing continuously. The more that he bounced, the more speed he got, and the more speed he got, the closer he got to finallynding an attack Moby which seemed like only a matter of time. When, suddenly, one of Leon''s attacks finally connected, hitting Moby in the shield as he barely managed to dodge, cracking it, which made him inwardly curse while at the same time making Leon and the crowd celebrate. "Hahahahha! This is what I''ve been waiting for! Get his ass, Leon!" "Grind his bones to dust! I paid good money to see you whoop his ass!" "That shield can''tst for long, it''s only a matter of time! Poor kid never stood a chance! I almost feel bad for him! Hahaha!" "Come on new kid! I want an upset! I would be even more filthy rich if you win!" The onught of attack continued as Moby used his shield to barely manage to block and dodge the attacks, his shield bing more and more damaged until it was finally destroyed. ''Fuck! Avilia! Is time almost up!'' Moby asked in panic as he did not at all expect what happened. ''Hehe, Almost!'' Avilia yfully replied making Moby inwardly curse as he tried to dodge Leon''s attack only for him to be deeply shed right across the chest by one of the spikes protruding from the ball, making him grunt in pain and spit out a mouthful of blood. "YES! End it my son! Show this arrogant prick who he was messing with!" Spencer screamed from the crowd, only to receive a deadly stare from Mason who was standing right next to him. "Heh, heh, I-I am sorry my lord, I just got a little carried away¡­ You know how parents are when they want to support their own children right?" Spencer said with an awkward chuckle, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. "Shit! I told the kid it was a bad idea! But he didn''t listen¡­ My daughter even convinced me to pay her some of her allowances in advance to bet on him... Arrogant people like that should note near my daughter. They will only bring her trouble," Mason muttered to himself as he prepared to call the match. Jayden, Abby, and Alex who were sitting right behind him were all waiting with baited breaths, hope still in their eyes as they had faith in Moby to turn things around. Especially Jayden who had the urge to tell her father to call off the match but decided not to as to respect her boyfriend''s wishes. For the next two attacks, Moby managed topletely dodge them by mere millimetres of him being hit, his heart racing and his face sweating as he used every fibre of his being to dodge. "I got you now! There is no ce for you to dodge hide!" Leon screamed, bouncing off the wall, rocketing straight for Moby much faster than ever before, the crowd screaming and getting even more excited as they knew in their heart that the match waspletely over. ''Fuck! Avilia! Is it time yet!'' Moby inwardly screamed. ''Ahhhhhhh¡­ YES! IT''S TIME!'' Avilia excitedly replied, getting caught up in the moment. ''FINALLY!'' Moby replied with a smirk on his face, looking at the hurling spikey ball in front of him with a glow in his eyes. *Crash* "Moby! No!" Jayden screamed with tears in her eyes. "Haha! That''s my boy!" Spencer celebrated from the stands. ''Fuck! That was a heavy impact! I hope he''s not too injured or else my daughter is gonna kill me,'' Mason thought to himself, looking at therge dust cloud where the impact was. "I am hereby dering the winner as¡­" Mason said, before biting his tongue mid sentence. Chapter 120: Balls of Steel 2

120 Balls of Steel 2

The entire crowd stared at what happened in astonishment, some even with their mouths wide open in shock. They did not want to believe their eyes. From their angle, there was no way in hell Moby could have predicted and reacted in time to dodge Leon''s attack that was speeding right towards him faster than it had ever done before. However, there he was, standing right in front of them,pletely unharmed and ready to fight. "Hey! Jayden look!" Abby said, nudging Jayden who had her hands covering her face. "No! I don''t want to!" She said, being stubborn. "No, Jayden! Actually look! He''s okay!" Abby said, nudging her once more. "Huh... Hahaha! Of course, he''s okay! I wasn''t worried at all!" Jayden said with a nervousugh. "You should have more faith in your boyfriend! Unlike you, I knew that he was going to be okay 100%! No way my lor- I mean¡­ M-Moby¡­ went into this fight blind and unprepared!" Abby said with confidence. "Hey!?Don''t mock me! I-I had full faith in him too!" Jayden nervously replied. "That was very impressive! Did you guys see the way he dodged that attack at thest second!" Alex said, leaning forward in excitement. "N-no¡­ it all looked pretty blurry to me, especially with all the dust¡­" Abby replied in confusion. "Huh? What dust? There was barely anything there¡­ looked pretty clear to me¡­" Alex said with a chuckle, making Abby look at him with wide eyes filled with skepticism. Instead of going for consecutive attacks, Leon chose to bounce all by himself in the corner of the arena as to not kill Moby by continuously attacking which would have gotten him disqualified and maybe even killed by the head of the Griffith family and his daughter. However, he kept bouncing to keep his momentum and speed until the match was called, just in case of the small chance that he missed. So, when he heard the head of the Griffith family stop mid sentence as he was dering his victory, he felt a slight feeling of fear before it faded away into a sense of relief. ''Shit! I am so d I didn''t stop bouncing! That would have been really bad! I can''t believe I missed him! I''ll just end it quick! I only have 3 minutes and a half or so time left in my ball form,'' Leon thought. "Consider yourself lucky you little shitter! God has blessed you with another chance! I somehow missed my finishing move! But, trust me when I say that my next attacks will not be missing!" Leon screamed like a lunatic rushing straight at Moby once again. "Heh, That could never be true¡­ I have been condemned by the gods¡­" Moby said, dodging his high-speed attack like it was nothing at all, a wide smirk on his face. Then, he bounced off the walls once more, attacking Moby from his blind spot only for him to dodge again, almost like he fully predicted the trajectory of his attack and knew where it wasing from. "WHY THE FUCK CAN''T I HIT YOU ANYMORE! STAND STILL YOU LITTLE BUG! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" Leon screamed with immense frustration, continuing his onught of attacks only for every single one of them to be effortlessly and gracefully dodged by Moby who kept a visible smirk on his face. Of course, this was all part of Moby''s n. He knew that once he activated his "eyes of sin", he would be able topletely dodge and predict all of Leon''s attacks due to abination of the extra power boost, sense boost, and future sight that it provided him. The big problem with using his "Eyes of Sin" was the extremely high demon energy cost at 2 demon energy/second. ording to his calctions, If he used no other skill that needed demon energy, he would only be able to sustain his "Eyes of Sin" for around 3 minutes and 30 seconds which was much lower than the 5 minutes that Leon could sustain his ball form. So, in order to win, he needed to survive Leon''s onught of attacks for the first 1 minute and 30 seconds in order to make him run out of his ball form before he ran out of his "Eyes of Sin". That was the reason for the timer that he told Avilia to set. And, it was the reason why he chose a mixture of a shield and light armour as to have good mobility with the ability to block when things got bad, which he did not at all expect to happen as he thought that Leon needed more time to reach his maximum speed which was the reason he almost lost. So, he was extremely d he chose to bring it anyway. He also opted to choose to hold off on using his eyes of sin first and surviving the rest naturally as he ounted for the time that Leon needed to reach his full speed in the beginning, giving him maximum survivability instead of trying to withstand thest 1 minute and 30 seconds which Leon would have been at full speed, giving Moby a virtually 0% chance to survive. Moby could have also tried to brute force his way into beating Leon. However, that strategy was notpletely full proof as he had read about how incredibly tough the ability "Ball of Steal" truly was. Even if it worked, he did not want to risk it. He did not want to use his demon energy on something he was not even sure of, which would have made him definitely lose if it didn''t work. ''Fuck! How is that little bug still standing! No way he could have dodged thatst attack!'' Spencer inwardly cursed, clenching his teeth in anger and anticipation. Chapter 121: Balls of Steel 3

121 Balls of Steel 3

"Y-yeah, he really does¡­" Mason replied, still unable to believe his eyes. For the next few minutes, the crowd stared at the fight in awe andplete silence, at how the tides of the fights suddenly shifted with the introduction of one skill, how graceful and effortless Moby''s moves looked, sweat running down their face with a bad feeling running down their spines and in their wallets. "What the fuck are you doing Leon! Do you know how much I bet on you! You better not lose!" "Stop ying around and crush him already! Your power level is so much higher! What the fuck is your stupid ass you doing!" "If you lose, I swear I will take my money back by force from the other half of your worth that you are not betting! This is insane!" ''Fuck! What the hell is going on! At the start of the fight I was ying and tossing him around like he was a ragdoll but now I can''t even seem to touch him! Shit! I only have 30 seconds left! My life is ruined!'' Leon inwardly cursed, sensing that his impending defeat is near. Spencer, Leon''s dad, was watching everything from the stands almost ready to shit himself as his expression had changed by aplete 180 when Moby started using his glowing eyes. Not only will he lose half his worth, but he would also lose his rtionship with the entire Griffith family, and, he would be hated by the many rich and nobles who had bet good money on his son to win and would spite him for losing. ''F-fuck¡­ I am done for¡­'' Spencer inwardly cried as he saw the entire world crumble in front of his face, Mason, who was towering over him staring at him with a smile. Then, suddenly, as 30 seconds past and Moby had dodged Leon''s final barrage of attacks, he had finally transformed back into his human-sized state, holding his knees, heavily panting with buckets of sweat running down his entire body. "Huh...Huh¡­ I¡­ Give¡­. U¡­." Leon said, trying to resign before he saw the face and glowing eyes of an absolute demon, like he was taking a peek into the depths of hell itself when he looked into them, making him stop his words mid-sentence out of absolute horror before simultaneously shitting and pissing himself. He stared at the demon''s spiky metal fists that lifted up and bolted towards his face like it was a blur with him not able to do anything about it as it made contact with his face at incredible speed. "I am hereby dering the winner as¡­ My daughter''s boyfriend, Moby Kane!" Mason announced, not being able to even believe his own words "Whaaaatttt! Fuck! I lost 100 grand on this shit!" "Haha! Losers! I am so lucky and d I bet on the underdog!" "No way this is real! Leon has never lost! And now he lost to an orphan nobody that had a much lower power level? I am having a hard time believing this!" "Yeah! That''s it! This match must have been rigged from the start! I should have expected as much!" "I want my money back! The fight was totally rigged. Maybe it was just a n by the head of the Griffith family to make his daughter''s boyfriend look good in front of everyone!" A young, brave soul screamed. What followed was a disy of strength and authority, unlike anything Moby had ever seen before... All of a sudden, a loud rumbling noise was heard from the upper stands where Mason Griffith was spectating the fight. An aura and tentacles of shadow flowed and surrounded the arena making it hard to see and even properly breathe making many of the frightened, pale-faced spectators try their best to grasp for air, piss and shit themselves, and be unconscious. Then, on top of the stands, a man surrounded in a full set of raging shadow armour, daggers in hand, with ominous glowing white eyes announced, making his voice echo into the souls of all the frightened, ghost-like spectators that dared not to talk or even take a step. "How many times did I tell you this you sorry excuses for nobles! If your bet goes wrong don''te crying to me, or me me right out of your ass. If you have any gripes with the results of the match then me it on yourselves for betting on the wrong person! Does anyone have any questions or want to object?! I would be d to hear them out!" Mason''s almost otherworldly voice resounded around the room making the entire crowd go silent. "Good¡­" Mason said, transforming back into his previous state, removing his aura from around the arena before taking a seat back in his chair. Abby and Alex who were standing right behind Mason''s disy of his authority felt power like they never felt before, making their faces sweat profusely, even if the shadowy aura was not affecting them most likely due to the fact that Mason did not have the intent of using it on them. ''T-that sure is some power¡­ Just like all the other powerful people I try to inspect, It shows up with nothing but question marks¡­'' Moby thought, cold sweat running down his face, swallowing a mouth full of saliva. ''Yeah¡­ I guess he is pretty strong,'' Avilia nonchntlymented making Moby even more frightened of Mason''s power than before. Seeing his strength up close was frightening. However listening to Avilia describe him as "Pretty strong," when she disregarded professor Leo''s strength like he was a bug was a true testament to how powerful the head of one of the most powerful families in the country if not world truly was. Chapter 122: Pussy!

122 Pussy!

"Okay¡­ Spencer, you lost the bet¡­ You know what that means¡­ Now pay up and leave!" Mason said to the ghost-like spencer who was on his knees next to him. "P-please my lord¡­ Have mercy¡­ It will never happen again¡­ I promise you¡­ This was all one big misunderstanding..." Spencer said, a river of tears falling down his face, crawling over and kissing Mason''s shoes like he was a dog. "Get the fuck away from me you dirty pig! I don''t want your germs on my shoes!" Mason said in disgust, kicking him in his fat stomach with such immense force that it broke several bones and made him feel like his soul left his body. "Take him away men! The sorry sight of this pig disgusts me!" Mason ordered, looking down at the unconscious Spencer in disgust. "Hey, Brandon¡­ Would it be possible to call off the bet? I really need that money!" "Were you the one that rigged it! Scammer!" "Just call it off man!" People startedining left and right to Brandon Nier, a tall, ck haired middle aged man, the person who set up the bets. "Everyone calm down! I''ll think of something!" Brandon nervously said, trying to appease the masses. "Father¡­ That kid down there disgusts me¡­ He''s so weak yet he thinks of himself so big! Not to mention that he is an orphan nobody! Such a man does not deserve to be with the beautiful young mistress of the esteemed Griffith household. It should have been me!" Said a young man with an uncanny resemnce to his father, with clear disgust in his voice, walking down the steps of the stands. "Wait! Damian! Don''t do anything rash! I beg you! Don''t be stupid or else I''ll make you regret it!" Brandon screamed at his son who seemed to be not listening to him at all, trying his best to stop him by force only to be blocked by the massive amount of people trying to ask for their money back. "Hey! New kid! My name is Damian Nier, part of the esteemed Nier family! That was some match! Imend you for it! But how about we make another bet? It seems like you were hiding your powers and have taken us for fools! You had the perfect counter to Leon''s ability! So, how about you challenge me instead to prove your worth! If you win, me and my family will double whatever money you made. But, if I win, you will return all the money you won with an extra 50% to all the people that bet, and, you would be kicked out of the mansion to never be seen again! So, what will it be!" Damian screamed at Moby from the crowd, clear arrogance and confidence in his voice, making the crowd go wild in excitement. "Yeah! Challenge him! Prove yourself new kid!" "Do it or you''re just a pussy who only takes fights he knows that he was guaranteed to win!" "20,010!" He replied, puffing his chest out in confidence. "Your power level is almost 8000 more than mine! How the hell would that be a fair fight! I have no reason to ept your challenge! I am not retarded enough to do it!" Moby confidently replied. "Ha! Well, it''s not my fault you''re so weak! That''s how life is, nothing is fair! How can someone like you be strong enough to protect young miss Jayden in her time of need!? Pathetic!" Damian replied. "Stop your yappering! I am under no obligation at all to ept your challenge! Now, pay me my bet money and leave me alone!" Moby said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Pussy! Just challenge him! What''s wrong with that!" "No balls at all! And you call yourself a man!" "EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Mason shouted, making everyone in the stands stop talking. "If that was your own son being challenged by a person a whole 8000 power level stronger than him, would you let him participate!? Would you scold them for not wanting to fight when they know they are walking into a losing battle? A true warrior chooses their fights wisely! They are no coward for avoiding fights they clearly know they are going to lose! If anyone has any objections! I would love to hear them!" Mason shouted to the still silent crowd before sitting down. ''What the hell! Fight him pussy!'' Moby heard Avilia''s voice ring in his head, something he did not at all expect to hear. ''What! Are you crazy! I am 100% going to lose if I do! Even if I use my sin mode, I think I would only be equal or maybe slightly better than him. And there is no way in hell I am revealing my sin mode in front of such arge audience under any circumstances!'' Moby replied with no hesitation at all. ''Those are just petty excuses! What kind of demon lord runs away from a fight! Especially when the opponent is talking such mad shit about you!'' Avilia said in an angry tone. ''Well! How do you expect me to win this bet? Can you give me some special power? Pull something overpowered out my ass? Because if not then I don''t see how I can do this!'' Moby replied with clear annoyance. ''I don''t know! You figure it out! I am not giving you shit!'' Avilia replied. ''Then I am not fucking doing it! I would rather be a pussy than a dead and broke demon lord!'' Moby retorted. ''Uggghhh! Fine! I will give you some incentive to do it!'' Avilia said in frustration. \u003c System alert! \u003e \u003c New Quest Received!\u003e STOP BEING A PUSSY! ******************************* Details: Stop being a pussy and start thinking and acting like a true demon lord! Win the bet against Damian Nier and be even richer! Conditions toplete: ept and win the bet with Damian Nier Time limit: 5 hours Rewards: +300 stat points to the user. +150 stat points to the user''s servants Skill "Air Steps" +1 level Skill "Drain" + 1 level ******************************* Chapter 123: Not a Pussy!?

123 Not a Pussy!?

''Damn you Avilia! What have you done! You are making my brain hurt on what to do!'' Moby inwardly cursed only for Avilia to reply with aically evilugh. He tried his best to stay calm and collected from the outside but from the inside, his head was spinning in circles trying to process everything. Luckily, the quest waspletely optional, leaving no downsides to not doing it . However, the temptation was getting to his head, making him think of ways that he could possiblyplete it without revealing his sin-mode. From before, Moby had already given up on the bet with Damian as he was already satisfied with his original bet. However, the temptation of the new quest was getting to him, making him think in ways he didn''t know he could, all for the sake ofpleting it. 300 stat points and 2 level ups on his skills that he knew take forever to level up was too good to pass up on. On the outside, he looked very calm with a nk expression on his face. However, on the inside, there was an entire warzone going on as he tried to squeeze his brain out of as many ideas as he could. For what felt like an eternity but was only a few seconds, Moby thought long and hard about what to do to the point where he felt his brain was malfunctioning, not paying attention to anything that was going on in the outside world. When, suddenly, an evil, genius n popped up in his head, making a devilish smile appear on his face. It something that involved the new freedoms and rules from the school break and a new skill that Jayden gained from her evolution. "Hey! Kane! Why are you ignoring me with that look in your eyes! Will you not change your mind and prove yourself to me?" Damian screamed at the nk-faced Moby, waiting for an answer only to be ignored for the third time in a row. "Uggghh! Fine! Be like that!" Damian screamed, giving up and walking away in embarrassment and anger. "Fuck¡­ What a pussy¡­ Grow a backbone!" Damian muttered to himself. "Hey! Damian! Where do you think you''re walking off to?" Moby screamed at Damian with a visible smirk on his face, making the entire crowd stop talking shit to listen. "Huh? What do you want now? Are you gonna mock me or something?" Damian said, turning around. "No! Not at all! I changed my mind! I ept your challenge!" Moby announced with clear confidence, shocking the entire crowd as they were not able to believe their own ears, their jaws dropping to the ground in shock. "PFFFFFF! WHAT!" Mason screamed, almost falling off his seat, spitting out the drink in his mouth. "Hahaha! Moby Kane! I have truly misjudged you! You are a true honourable warrior through and through! Let us have a good fair match!" Damian said with a smile on his face. "Yes! We have ourselves a bet!" Damian replied, also with an innocent smile on his face. ''Heh¡­ Sucker!'' They both inwardly thought with a devilish smirk. "YESSS!! It''s actually happening! You sure have some balls kid! Imend you for not running away!" "Hey! Can we reopen bets! I want to add on to my original bet!" "This is gonna be good!" "Wow¡­ I was not at all expecting that¡­ Should we maybe propose a nerf or a restriction on Damian as to make the fight more fair?" Joseph suggested to Mason as he too was still in a state of immense shock. "No¡­ I will not make any restrictions¡­ They already agreed to the bet and Moby did not propose any¡­ This will be a good lesson to him. A lesson in what happens when one get''s too arrogant.?I thought that he was smart and cool-headed after he effortlessly beat Leon but now I take that back¡­ I am sorry sweety but it seems like you have chosen the wrong boyfriend, people like him will only bring you trouble¡­" Mason said to the extremely wide eyes and shocked Jayden behind him, who waspletely not paying attention to his words as she was in a mind-link conversation with Moby. "Moby! What the fuck are you thinking! You know that there is no way in hell that you win so why did you challenge him and change your mind so suddenly and quickly!" Alex screamed at Moby using the mind link. "Yeah! This is bad! Why are you acting so rashly! Now you will be banished from the house and be in heavy debt! You could have just walked away with all the money! So, why didn''t you? Why do you want even more? Is there something on your mind?" Jayden asked, still unable to process what just happened. "Everyone calm down! I am sure my lord had a well thought n in mind when he did this! He would never go blindly into such a thing!" Abby said with clear confidence, trying her best to calm Jayden and Alex. "Yes! Abby is indeed correct! I have a n to win! So hear me out! Jayden, this might be a little hard on you but trust me when I say that the results will be well worth it!" Moby said, unable to contain his excitement. *************** "Hahahahah! That''s so evil, cruel, and fun! How the fuck do you alwayse up with this shit!" Jayden said,ughing her ass off as her expressionpletely changed from her prior worried and serious self. "Truly genius! As expected of the amazing mind of my lord and future king of all demons!" Abby said with a devilish smile. "Good! I never liked the Nier family, they were always a deceptive, greedy family filled with nothing but scum! They deserve what''sing to them!"Alexmented. "This will be easy, hard, and tough at the same time. But, in the end, it will be all worth it¡­" Moby said with a distorted smile. "Attention all spectators! A new match and bet has been officially dered between Moby Kane, and, Damian Nier! The rules will be the same as thest fight and it will be taking ce in the same arena in the next 35 minutes so all spectators, please wait patiently in your seat! Now, will both fighters please follow Albert to choose your new weapons and armour! He will be waiting for you at the main exit of the arena! That will be all!" Mason announced to the crowd, making them go absolutely wild in excitement. Moby walked through the almostpletely destroyed arena that was being reconstructed on its own as he could not help but admire the power and utility of the mana crystals in the arena before he finally reached the exit of the arena, Albert patiently waiting for his arrival. "I am extremely impressed by your victory over Leon but, I will give you one word of advice. Back out now and save yourself the humiliation¡­ It''s for your own good¡­" Albert said, looking at Moby with a serious expression. ''And for my own good¡­ When he loses, the young miss will be furious and throw a tantrum¡­ A-and, knowing my luck, I would be one of the many casualties and end up losing the job that I worked so hard for¡­'' Albert inwardly continued his thought with little to no hope in his eyes. "Don''t worry sir! I know exactly what I am doing!" Moby replied with a confident smile. "I better hope so for your sake!" he snarkily retorted. ''And for mine¡­'' he thought with a bad feeling in his stomach. "Damian should be down here shortly. In the meantime, let this servant heal your wounds! We can''t let you fight in an injured and drained state now, can we? Emily! Come here and heal his wounds, and share your mana with him as well!" Albert ordered as a tall blue-haired girl wearing a maid outfit who was only a little shorter than Moby emerged from behind the exit door. "Yes sir!" She replied in a serious tone. "Okay! Now stand still! My ability allows me to heal and share my mana at the same time!" Emily said, going to heal Moby only for him to nervously and almost instinctively back off, making her extremely confused. Chapter 124: Goddess or Demon?

124 Goddess or Demon?

''Huh? Why are you trying to help me? You were never really the type to do that¡­'' Moby asked in confusion. ''Well, I am purposely trying my best not to read your mind regarding your n. I want you to surprise me and show me what you''re made of! So, I''ll be damned if you get stopped by such a stupid reason as this!'' Avilia replied. ''Wow! Thanks a lot! That''s so sweet of you!'' Moby responded with a smile only to be ignored by Avilia. "Heh, Sorry¡­ I just get really nervous when I get healed!" Moby said to Emily who was trying to heal him, rubbing the back of his head with an awkward chuckle. "Umm¡­ Okay¡­" Emily awkwardly said, quickly healing his wounds faster than he had seen anyone heal, before slowly walking away to heal Leon who was still in the pile of rubble behind him, his facepletely unrecognizable and even more disgusting to look at than before. A few minutester, Damian finally arrived, respectfully bowing to Albert before looking at Moby with a friendly smile. "Took you long enough¡­ Now, both of you follow me!" Albert said, turning around, leading them to the armoury to choose their standard equipment. "Hey! Kane! I am really d you took up my challenge. When I first challenged you I had no idea that you would actually ept it! I was just trying my best to shoot my shot since my father was in deep shit because of your bet. Yet you proved me wrong! But, Sadly, you should be prepared to lose everything¡­ Your life will bepletely ruined¡­ However, at least you won''t be known as a coward!" Damian said with an amused, loudugh. "Heh! We''ll see about that. Don''t grow too confident!" Moby replied with a confident smirk, making Damianugh even harder. ''Why am I getting this weird feeling of deja vu¡­'' Albert thought, looking at the 2 kids talking behind him. After the group was halfway to the armoury, Damian felt a weird tug on his leg that really startled him and almost made him trip over and fall. "Who was that! Was it you!? Don''t fuck with me or I''ll beat the shit out of you even harder when we fight!" Damian bellowed, making Albert and Moby turn around and look at him in confusion. "Calm down¡­ I didn''t do anything¡­" Moby replied, raising an eyebrow before turning around and walking away. "Kid, stop your incent screaming and follow me or else I''ll have to drag you by force!" Albert said in a menacing tone before turning around and walking away as well. "Don''t fuck with me! I know it wa¡­"?Damian screamed before feeling a small tug on his leg one more which startled him even more as now he knew that it wasn''t Moby that did it. ''Huh!? What the fuck is that! Wait¡­ there is only one family I know that has a shadow ability¡­ Could it really be...'' Damian inwardly thought, trying his best not to alert the other two in front of him. Then, suddenly, the hand let go of his leg, motioning him to follow its lead in an alluring manner before slowly disappearing past a corner. "Hey! Mr. Albert! I am extremely sorry but I really need to go to the washroom! No way I can fight like this!" Damian said to Albert, trying to look as convincing as he could. "*Sigh* Fine! But don''t take too long! The armoury is just up ahead of us in this same hallway. You can''t miss it. We will wait for you there," Albert calmly replied. "Thank you so much sir! I promise I won''t take too long!" Damian said with a respectful bow before bolting away past the next corner, the same ce where he saw the hand. As soon as he turned the corner, he saw the same shadowy hand as before that motioned him to follow it once more before disappearing again, making Damian pursue it one more. The same scene continued ying over and over again, Damian following the shadowy hand through many hallways until he reached the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There he saw exactly what he thought. He saw the girl of his dreams, the most beautiful girl in the world in his eyes that only seemed to get even prettier. And, not only was she beautiful, she was powerful and filthy rich as well. In fact, she was the only reason that he even wanted to attend the Griffith family party and the only reason he decided to challenge Moby?Kane in order to show her how much better than him he was. That same girl was standing right in front of him like she was a damsel in distress, waiting for her knight in shining armour toe and save her from her boredom. "Oh! Damey! You finally came!" Jayden said with a cheerful smile, waving at Damian who just stood there with a flushed red face, slowly walking towards her. "Soo¡­ Where you the one that called me here?" Damian asked with a nervous look. "Hehe! Of course, it was me silly! Who else would it be!" Jayden said with a cute chuckle that sent butterflies down his stomach before he shook it off. "Waitt¡­ Is this some sort of trap? Are you trying to pull something on me to stop me from beating you''re little boyfriend!? Well, it''s not going to work on me! I am not that stupid!" Damian said, regaining hisposure and walking away, making Jayden pout with disappointment. ''Fheww¡­ I actually almost fell for such a simple trick¡­?I''ll get herter¡­ but now is not the time¡­'' Damian thought, walking away, trying to calm himself down. Then, suddenly, as he was halfway across the hallway, a few meters away from where the sad-looking Jayden stood, he felt something super soft hit his back before he saw two arms wrap around his chest, catching him byplete surprise as it was something he did not at all expect. "NO! It''s not what you think! I am not trying to trick you! I actually really, really like you! That Moby Kane guy is no more than a sex toy for me! I feel absolutely nothing towards him! You are the only person that I ever liked! You are everything I ever wanted in a man! Strong, handsome, funny, and with a good family background! I have been observing you from afar for many years and now I have finally grown the courage to finally talk to you and let you know my feelings! But you just walked away instead! A-are you trying to break my heart¡­" Jayden screamed letting her heart out with clear passion in her voice, tightly hugging Damian like her life depended on it Damian''s face instantly became redder than a tomato as he could not believe what was happening. Everything that he heard sounded too real and from the heart to be faked even though he still had a hard time believing his own ears as his minid began to grow really excited as Jayden''s huge breasts pressed against his back and her soft arms held him tighter. He immediately disregarded all those thoughts of doubt that he had only a few seconds prior as they were reced with 2 thoughts. ''Wow, her breasts feel so good!'' And, ''D-does she really like me back! Why am I so stupid! I almost ruined it all,'' "J-Jayden dear¡­ Did you really mean all of that¡­" Damian nervously managed to mutter. "Yes! Of course! I really meant all that! I would never joke about something like this!" Jayden replied, hugging him even tighter making him gopletely rock hard. "I-I like you too¡­ I also had my eyes on you for a really long time¡­ You are honestly the most beautiful and ri-, kind girl I''ve ever seen¡­" Damian nervously confessed his love back. "R-really! That''s great! I-I am so happy to hear that Damey dear! Since you epted my love for you, I wanted to ask you for a favour¡­" Jayden said with a smile, still hugging and not letting go of Damian. "Go right ahead! I''ll do anything for baby!" Damian replied with no hesitation at all. "I want you to beat up that little sex ve of mine in front of everyone in the Arena! Once you beat him, you would no doubt gain the respect of my father and the respect of all the spectators! Then and there I will denounce Moby Kane as my boyfriend and announce you as my new one right after! Maybe even ask you to be my husband if things go really well!" Jayden said in a cheerful tone. "Haahahahhaah! Is that all! That''s too easy! I''ll dly do that! I now understand that you truly never even liked that kid! Today is the best day ever!" Damianughed with joy, Jayden joining hisughterter just as enthusiastic or maybe even more. Then, suddenly, Jayden stopped hugging him and tightly grabbed his hand, starting to run forcing him to follow. "Hehe, follow me! I have a present to give you before your match! Some little motivation from me to you," Jayden said with a cute chuckle. As soon as Damian heard Jayden''s words about a "Present" and "Motivation" his mind started to go wild thinking about what it could be making him even more excited than before, as he followed Jayden''s lead with no questions or hesitation. They ran through the empty hallways until they reached the universal washroom, Jayden dragging him inside with a smile on her face, making Damian really want his predictions and thoughts to be true. "In here!" She flirtatiously said, dragging him into one of therger luxurious looking stalls, letting go of his hand. "So! Honey! What kind of present did you have in mind?" Damian?said with a lustful smirk. "Hehe! Don''t act stupid silly! You know full well what the present is! Now, unbutton your pants and show me what kind of trooper is hiding underneath! I can clearly see that it''s already gotten really excited!" Jayden said with a lustful gaze in her eyes which made Damian go absolutely crazy, it was almost exactly like how he imagined it in his mind only somehow was even better. "I thought you would never ask!" Damian said with a smile, removing his belt and unbuttoning his pants, not even stopping to ask why Jayden didn''t offer to do it for him. Then, he pulled everything down in one fell swoop to reveal everything thatid underneath. "Wow¡­ T-that''s¡­ umm¡­ nice¡­." Jayden said, trying her best to act excited at what seemed like a big fat mushroom. "Well! If you like it so much why don''t you have a taste! I''ll be the judge of how good your present is when you are finished!" Damian said with a smile, pointing at his mushroom-shaped mini spear. "Hmmmm¡­ Don''t mind if I do!" Jayden said with a cute chuckle, putting her hands out ready to grab his dick. ''Wow, this can''t be real! I am actually doing it with Jayden Griffith! This is the best day of my life!'' Damian thought, closing his eyes as he prepared himself to feel the time of his life as his dick was about to be sucked by a literal goddess. However, when he thought he was going to feel heaven from his dick, he felt absolute hell instead as an intense pain ravaged his entire bodypletely out of nowhere. He let out a scream of pain as he immediately opened his eyes only to look at the stump of where his dick once was, gushing out litres of blood, spraying it everywhere. Then, his attention focused on Jayden Griffith who had 2 bloody daggers in her hand, a smile that looked like it was ripped out of the depths of hell on her face, crouching down on the groundughing like a demon. Then, before Damian got the chance to react and take in everything that happened, he felt an intense pain in his guts as both of Jayden''s daggers stabbed right into him, making him cough up a mouthful of blood on Jayden''s face before falling down on the ground as he felt like he was losing consciousness. "Why-why did you do this... I thought you really liked me¡­" Damian said tears in his eyes, still not believing everything that just happened as he felt his life slowly slip away. "Huh? You still don''t get it? Are you retarded? I tricked you! Why the hell would I like your stupid ugly ass and pathetic shrimp dick? Moby is infinitely better than you,paring you to him is like the worst of insults! Taking someone byplete surprise is such an easy way to kill! Even if they are stronger than you they can''t fight back if they never see iting! You should have seen the look on your face when you thought that I was actually gonna suck your disgusting cock only for it to be chopped off!" Jayden said with a devilishugh. "Y-you bitch! I bet you''re doing this so you can help your boyfriend win the bet! But, I can''t tell if you''re stupid or retarded but you seem like both to me! If I am not there to fight there will be no bet! Also! Don''t think you can get away with this! I know that most of our watch''s features are disabled because of the break so the death rm wouldn''t work and that there are no cameras in the washroom but there are definitely cameras on the outside! They will see you and me walk in with only youing out! Even if you made sure that there was no one in the area around us and you shove my body in a storage ring to hide it, you''re busted! This will be the end of the Griffith family! Not even your father could get out of such a scandal! His own daughtermitting murder on a guest in his house! So,ugh while you still can you filthy whore!" Damian screamed with thest ounce of strength he got left. "Hahaha! Are you sure about that?" Jayden said with a devilish smile, bending, turning, and transforming, doing something so unpredictably scary that it made Damian die early from absolute shock and despair. Chapter 125: Unwinnable Fight Chapter 125 - Unwinnable Fight 30 minutester, arena E2... "Hey, Jayden, what took you so long? The match is about to start!" Alex said to Jayden who just entered the stands above and took her seat. "Hehe, sorry, that bathroom break took a little longer than I expected," Jayden replied back with a nervous chuckle, looking at the arena below her where Moby and Damian stood, ready to fight. "I am still really worried about the fight¡­ I really hope Moby will be okay¡­" Jayden added, turning more serious. "I agree¡­ I really hope he had a n in mind or knew what he was getting himself into¡­ Fighting someone so much stronger than him is so reckless¡­ I have no idea how he ns to win but I will be cheering for him all the way!" Abby said with clear worry in her voice. "Yes, I agree¡­" Jayden said, putting her hand on her heart, looking down at Moby who was stretching before his fight. ''Hmph! Good! She made it back in time for the fight! Now she will see her boyfriend lose and find out that he is a bad influence on her! What kind of idiot epts a challenge from someone who has almost 8000 power levels higher than them! He will have to learn his lesson the hard way!'' Mason thought, just about ready to dere the start of the match. Damian and Moby stood face to face, staring daggers at each other with a fearless smirk that made Damianugh at how confident Moby looked. Damian wore a standard set of light armour thatcked a weapon as he did not need one for the type of ability he was using. Moby on the other hand wore the exact same set of armour that he worest time. However, instead of a shield he now had his trusty katana back, his preferred weapon of choice. "Listen here all you people! I will win and give you your money back! This arrogant prick doesn''t stand a chance!" Damian announced to the crowd, putting his hands up in the air like he was already dering victory, making them cheer for him enthusiastically. "Put on a good show! Don''t make it too boring!" "Teach him a lesson! I want my money back!" "I bet extra money on you! You better win! Hahaha!" "Good luck new kid! You''re really gonna need it!" "You are truly my saviour son! Go beat his ass and boost the honour of the family!" Damian''s dad screamed from the crowd, making his son look back at him with a confident yet almost ominous smile. Moby did not care for all the cheers that praised Damian while insulting him as he already knew that the oue of the match had already been decided before it even started, it was only a matter of time. So, Moby just confidently stood in his ce with a certain yet slightly heavy smile on his face, waiting for the match to start. "Attention everyone! The match is about to start! Since I had already exined the rules of the fight during the prior match so I will not be repeating myself! The unexpected match between Moby Kane and Damian Nier will be taking ce any second now so be prepared! Now, If both fighters are ready, I will count you in!" Mason announced, looking at Moby and Damian who just simply nodded back. "So, without further ado! I will count you in!" Mason said, making the crowd lean forward in their seat in anticipation. "5," "4," "3," "2," "1," "Match start!" Mason screamed, announcing the start of the match before taking a seat back in his chair. As soon as the start of the match was announced, Damian did not hesitate to reveal his ability and take the offensive. Out of his back grew 6 sharp spider-like legs made out of red energy as he began to move them around like they were alive and like they were an extension of his own body. His ability was called, "Insectus". It allowed the user to manipte many sharp insect-like limbs to attack and maneuver around as the limbs were more like an extension of his own body. The number of maximum limbs dependedpletely on the ability level. And, since Damian''s ability was only at a level 7, he was only able to use and manipte 6 limbs which was still very strong. At his level, the insect-like mana limbs only had a maximum range of around 2.5 meters. However, they were very strong, fast and durable which more than made up for it. Damian dashed straight at Moby, boosting himself with his limbs with incredible speed, attacking him with all 6 limbs forcing Moby to immediately activate his "Eyes of Sin" in order to dodge. "That move again! It was very impressive the first time I saw it but, it won''t be as effective on me!" Damian said with a smile, dashing towards Moby who had a serious look on his face. Damian who looked like he was having too much fun unleashed a barrage of attacks at Moby who was forced to block them with his sword or dodge. However, despite his efforts, a few attacks still hit him as Damian was simply too fast for him to react to, even with his eyes of sin, making him slightly bloodied and battered. The energy drain of his eyes of sin was immense and if he wanted to use any other skill it would lower its duration. However, to win, he had to use everything in his arsenal and try his best to end it quickly. As a fatal looking attack swooped down towards Moby''s chest, it was suddenly blocked by some mysterious, almost mystical looking purple energy, making Damian almost instinctively back away. Then, out of Moby''s back emerged 6 insect-like limbs that were made out of the exact same energy that he used to block Damian''s attack which made the crowd gasp in astonishment. "Is that his true ability?! Does he have the same one as Damian? Was he holding back in his fight with Leon!?" "What kind of ability is that!? I think it might be slightly different!" "That purple mystical energy??? Is that a newly discovered ability!? First, it was the eyes now this as well! Who the hell is this kid!?" ''This kid keeps impressing me more and more, I might have to ask him more about that unique ability of his. But, sadly, such a technique changes nothing. The power level difference is still too much for him to win,'' Mason inwardly thought. In reality, what Moby did was not an ability at all. Moby''s control over his pure demon energy had grown to such an extent that he was now able to almost perfectly mimic Damian''s "Insectus" ability. With it, he nned to counter Damian''s tentacles in order to go in for a closer range approach as Damian waspletely weaponless. "Hahaha! Do you think mimicking my ability would do you any good!? Don''t make meugh!" Damian screamed, rushing towards Moby, thrusting his insect limbs towards him only to be blocked by Moby''s pure demon energy that began to form cracks. This gave Moby a massive opportunity to strike. He used the momentary sh to demon sh into an extremely close range of Damian, making him unable to bring his limbs back in time to block as they were tangled up in Moby''s pure demon energy. "Finally got you! Now get fucked you arrogant bitch!" Moby screamed, infusing his sword with pure demon energy, shing straight at Damian''s chest with all of his strength, clenching his teeth with a smile on his face, making the entire crowd go wide-eyed as what happened was something they did not at all expect. "Haha! I don''t think so!" Damian screamed with a devilishugh as Moby felt his attack being suddenly and abruptly stopped by 2 daggers that Damian pulled out when Moby was not paying attention, making Moby''s face turn intoplete anger and disappointment. Damian then lifted and pushed up with his 2 daggers, startling Moby and putting him off bnce, revealing his chest that he proceeded to sh with both of his daggers, making deep wounds before kicking Moby away with incredible force towards the arena walls, causing him to grunt in pain and cough up a mouthful of blood. The sudden and abrupt turn around of the situation made the crowdugh and cheer with amusement while Jayden, Alex, and Abby gasped and had extremely worried faces in the stands above. "So! After talking so big that''s all you''ve got! You disappoint me! This is even easier than I anticipated! I almost feel bad! Hahahah! This is going to so much fun!" Damian said with an amusedugh, looking straight at the dust and pile of rubble that showed Moby''s piercing purple glowing eyes, the dust hiding the wide devilish smile on his face. Chapter 126: Unwinnable Fight 2

126 Unwinnable Fight 2

Despite his injuries, Moby dashed out of the dust cloud to go on the offensive, using his demon energy ws tobat Damian''s ability. "Heh heh,e on! That''s it! That''s the face of anger and desperation I was looking for!" Damian screamed with an amusedugh, blocking all the iing attacks from Moby''s ws before countering with an attack of his own that Moby barely managed to dodge before another energy limb came up and punched him in the stomach forcing him to grunt in pain but not give up his attacks as Damian chuckled maliciously at him. Moby and Damian continued shing over and over again, Moby always on the losing side, taking damage little by little each time. A sh on the knee, a wound on the shoulder, a scar on the cheek, and many other minor wounds littered his body that eventually built up into an immense pain, making him heavily pant and grunt in frustration as he was getting absolutely nowhere with his attacks, falling on one knee due to all the umted injuries. It was almost like Damian was just ying around and toying with Moby, not even bothering to use his full strength as he seemed to be having too much fun ying around with him like he was a toy. "Hahaha! Yes, Damian! You put on a nice show! Now end it!" "You showed him whose boss! Finish him off!" "Yes! That''s my son! That''s the way to do it! Ahahaha," Damian''s dad cheered for him enthusiastically from the stands. "You wanted me to put on a show! I gave you a show! And I will now end it! This little arrogant weakling will finally be put in his ce and be ruined for life!" Domain screamed, addressing the crowd, punching the air above him dering his victory before focusing his attention on the clearly tired and injured Moby. "Moby! I know that you can do it! Never give up!" Jayden screamed at him from the stand above, making Moby look up at her with his glowing purple eyes only to see a clear worried expression and tears in her eyes along with Alex and Abby who were sitting beside her just as worried. ''It''s okay my daughter, it''s for your own good, this is thest time that you will be seeing him¡­ You don''t need a trouble maker like him in your life my dear¡­ He will only drag you into unwanted trouble due to his arrogance...'' Mason thought, looking at Jayden with a heavy heart. When Moby saw the faces of his distressed friends, he immediately regained his lost vigour, tightly gripping his sword, slowly limping towards Damian with an angry look on his face. However, when the attack was about to hit him, he immediately disappeared from his ce which greatly startled Damian as he did not expect such a thing due to Moby''s heavily injured state. When he looked down in front of him, he saw something he did not expect at all. Before he knew it, Moby had already been standing in front of him, his sword glowing with an astounding amount of mystical purple aura, shing towards his chest with immense force and a look of tremendous resolve on his face. Damian''s calm and collected facial expression immediately shifted into something much fiercer and uglier than before as he tried his best to block Moby''s attack. However, he was already toote as Moby caught himpletely off guard which didn''t give him enough time to react. "This is what you get by toying with me and taking me lightly! Which arrogant prick will be put in his ce now!?" Moby screamed loud enough for every in the arena to hear as his demon energy enhanced sword pierced through all of Damian''s armour and flesh, creating a deep, almost fatal sh mark across his chest,pletely knocking him out. ''WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED! HOW THE FUCK DID HE LOSE!'' Where the thoughts of everyone in the crowd, Mason and Joseph included. "This is bullshit! What the hell! This ispletely rigged! How the fuck did he lose!" "Brandon! You sly little bitch! You told your son to lose on purpose didn''t you!" "Yeah! Are you trying to scam us! Give us our money back!" "Hahaha! Losers! You should have bet on the underdog! I never actually thought he was going to win but I am so d I bet on him anyway! haha! I am going to be even richer!" "Wawawa what! Please calm down! This wasn''t supposed to happen! I had no intentions of making him lose or rig the fight! Use a lie detector on me I don''t care! I swear I am telling the truth¡­" Brandon Nier nervously said, trying to appease the angry mob as even he still could not believe what was happening. ''... What did I just see¡­Did that stupid little prick really just lose by holding back and toying with his enemy¡­ How lucky is this Moby guy¡­ What the hell¡­'' Mason inwardly thought, his mind malfunctioning from what he just witnessed. "HE WON! HAHAHHA! I knew he could do it!" Jayden celebrated, jumping up and down in excitement with Abby while Alex was still sat in his chair with a smile on his face, trying his best not to burst out inughter. "Hey! Dad! Are you not going to announce the winner of the fight?" Jayden asked Mason who had apletely dumbfounded look on his face, making him snap out of his thoughts and back into reality. "Oh yeah, I still need to do that don''t I¡­" "The Match is over! Moby Kane has defeated Damian Nier with a powerful and unexpected deep sh to the chest that caught him by surprise!" Mason announced to the crowd, making them go even crazier than before. However, unlikest time, no one dared to object or voice their opinion towards Mason Griffith as they did not want a repeat of what happened to them thest time they did so. However, they still could not hide the discontent and angry looks on their faces. "*Sigh* I know you all have many thoughts running through your mind at this moment. First things first. No, Moby Kane did not cheat or use any underhanded tactic, I made sure of it myself, he won fair and square. Second, Damian only lost because he toyed too much with his enemy and let his guard down! Take this as a lesson in why not to be arrogant! I will make sure that all bets are 100% upheld! I hate when people make ims and talk big, making bets only to not follow through on their promises. This was indeed a very intense and entertaining fight! If you have any concerns regarding anything, please don''t be shy and ask away!" Mason announced to the crowd with a smile on his face, making them go absolutely silent, holding in all their bottled up emotions. "Son! What the fuck are you doing! You had him where you wanted him but you threw it all away! You fucking disgrace! You ruined everything!" Brandon screamed like a lunatic at his clearly unconscious son, tears falling down his face. Moby stood on the battlefield,pletely battered and heavily panting. He used almost everyst drop of his demon energy to do his final attack. Of course, he pretended to be unable to fight in front of his opponent in order to give him a false impression, only for him to speed upst second and go in for a finishing move when his opponent least expected it. However, in this case, his opponent fully expected it¡­ Even though Moby just won and put his hands up in victory with a smile on his face, he could not help but inwardly feel extremely sad as he stared at Damian''s unconscious body on the ground. However, for his n to work it had to be done, no matter how much it pained his heart to do what he did. It was the only path to victory. \u003c System alert! \u003e \u003c Quest Complete! \u003e STOP BEING A PUSSY! ******************************* Details: Stop being a pussy and start thinking and acting like a true demon lord! Win the bet against Damian Nier and be even richer! Conditions toplete: ept and win the bet with Damian Nier Time limit: 5 hours Rewards: +300 stat points to the user +150 stat points to the user''s servants Skill "Air Steps" +1 level Skill "Drain" + 1 level ******************************* Chapter 127: Mad Lad 1

127 Mad Lad 1

Healers were immediately sent down to tend the wounds of both of the injured fighters, one of whom was celebrating while the otherid on the groundpletely unconscious. Damian was quickly healed and soon regained consciousness, making him look around with extreme confusion. Then, when he was told about the results of the match by the healers, it was like he could not believe his ears as he looked around him in shock and disbelief and at all the spectators that were cursing and threatening his name. When he looked around, even more, he noticed the already healed Moby celebrating his victory which made his anger boil even more immensely. "What the fuck did you do! You must have cheated! I''ll fucking kill you! I refuse to ept that I lost!" Damian roared, rushing to attack Moby in a state ofplete rage, only to be stopped and held back by his own father who had walked down to the arena. "What the hell are you even doing "s-son"! Are you trying to disgrace me and the family more than you already had!" Brandon yelled, pping Damian''s face really hard making him lose a few teeth, calming him down slightly, making Moby shudder at the sight but, he held himself back as to not intervene. Brandon then turned over to look at Moby with an intense murderous gaze that he just brushed off before dragging his son out of the arena by force in order to save face. As soon as he dragged Damian out of the arena and out of sight of everyone, he was ready to teach him a proper lesson, lifting his hands to hit his still angry yet frustrated son before he felt a small touch on his shoulder. "What the hell do yo-" Brandon said, biting his tongue when he noticed who he was talking to. "Master Griffith has ordered me to escort you to his chambers in order for you to uphold your promised bet. Now follow me¡­" Albert said in a calm voice, turning around, walking in front of them. "Y-yes! Of course sir!" Brandon said with an awkward smile, following quietly behind Albert, him and his still angered and annoyed son. Brandon tried his best to suppress his nervousness anger, and distress as he slowly and patiently walked down the long and luxurious hallways of the mansion behind Albert until they reached arge, blue and gold door. "In here, lord Griffith is expecting you¡­" Albert said, opening the door before walking away, making Brandon gulp arge amount of saliva. "L-lord Walrond¡­ I was told I was meeting with Lord Griffith instead¡­I am here as requested," Brandon said in a scared, nervous voice, kneeling down on the ground, bowing down. However, unlike his father, Damian just stared at Ryan''s annoyed, menacing and imposing demeanour and looks with absolute shock, so much so that he forgot that he needed to bow down. "What the hell are you doing! Kneel!" Brandon whispered to Damian in panic, pulling him down on his knees with one tug. "Well, Mr. Nier and Mr. White¡­ I am sure that you are well aware of how bets work in the Griffith household¡­ They will all be upheld¡­ I am sure you were not expecting to see me. Lucky for you lord Griffith is too busy celebrating with his daughter to bother with scum like you so that??s what I am here for," Ryan casually said, taking a puff of his cigarette before blowing it back in the air. "Y-yes of course sir! R-right away!" Spencer said in a clearly scarred voice, pulling out a check and writing down the exact amount of money he owed before handing it straight to Ryan who inspected the check. "Seems real enough¡­ You can now get the hell out of this mansion! As per the bet, you are nowpletely banned from ever setting foot into this mansion or associating yourself with the Griffith family ever again. Now scram!" Ryan ordered in a cold voice, pointing at the door. "R-right away sir¡­" Spencer said, kneeling once more before awkwardly walking out the door only to be escorted away by 2 servants. "Now¡­ Mr. Nier, it''s your turn to pay up. And, you may not be banished from the mansion like that other guy. But, I would rmend you to leave as soon as you can¡­ A lot of people here really hate your guts and want you dead¡­" Ryan said with a smile, making Brandon sweat profusely, gulping down a mouthful of saliva. Brandon walked out of the room extremely relieved that nothing too bad happened. He had heard stories of how terrifying the great hitman Ryan Walrdond and be. So, in his opinion, he got out of it rtively okay. However, he still ended up paying over 50 million dors over to Moby and all the people that had bet for him, all out of his own pockets which made him extremely furious once again as it was almost all of his remaining money. He held back the urge to beat the shit out of his own son and disown him on the spot but he decided against it as to not ruin the reputation and image of his family more than it already did as he and his still shocked looking son were both being escorted out of the mansion by two servants. "Thank you for escorting us all the way to our car," Brandon said with an awkward smile, making the servants look at each other weird before turning around and bowing, before walking back towards the mansion doors. Brandon kept on smiling towards the servants who were walking away until he could no longer see them, making sure they didn''t hear a thing. "Now¡­ Damian my "son"... Get in the damn car¡­" Brandon mumbled in a low yet angry voice. "Father! It was just one unlucky mistake! I''ll surely ki-" Damian said before being interrupted by his father''s almost demon-like scream. "SMALL MISTAKE! That small mistake just ruined my fucking life! There are no retakes! It''s toote for that now! And don''t you ever call me father again! From today on you are no longer mine! Now don''t make me repeat myself! Get in the damn car before I shove you in the trunk and force you in!" Brandon screamed like aplete lunatic, his face turning red, bullets of high-speed spiting out of his mouth like a machine gun. Chapter 128: Mad Lad 2

128 Mad Lad 2

"When we get back home, I''ll teach you a lesson you will never forget before I throw you out on the streets where you belong! I held back the urge to beat the shit out of you at the Griffith mansion as there were probably cameras outside and if they see me hitting you like that it would embarrass and make me look even more stupid in front of everyone¡­ Just you wait until you see what will happen to you when we get back home¡­" Brandon said with apletely crazyugh, almost like he had already lost his mind, making Damian sweat profusely before a face of pure horror appeared on his face, not even saying a word as he knew it would only make it worse. After an extremely quiet and ominous 30-minute car ride that felt more like forever, they finally reached the small Nier family mansion. "Get the fuck out of my car and go wait for me in your room! I need to go get some shit ready before I beat the fuck out of you! So, count thest seconds of your pathetic existence while you still can! Oh, Also, don''t you dare tell any of this to your mother! If you do I will not only kill you but also her as well!" Brandon said like aplete phycopath as soon as they arrived, making Damian get out of the car before punching him in the side so hard that it broke his side ribs, forcing him to cough up blood and stumble, letting out a cry of pain as he struggled to move inside the small mansion. "Oh honey! You''re back already! I thought the party was going tost a little longer! I hope you and my little cutie had fun! Me and the chefs cooked some pasta in anticipation of your return but it''s still not ready yet. I am not sure if you''re still hungry as I think you ate a lot during the party so I can save it forter!" Brandon''s milf-like wife said from the kitchen when she noticed that her husband hade back home. "Not now honey¡­ I have many things to do first¡­ Save it for dinner okay?" Brandon said with an ominous voice and an extremely disturbing look on his face that his wife didn''t pay attention to. "Oh no! Sweety! Are you okay!? Should I call the healer over?" Damian''s mother said, looking at Damian who was limping past the entrance of the kitchen, making Brandon look back at him with a murderous gaze. "Hahaha! What are you talking about mother! I ampletely fine! I just got a few scratches from a practice match I did at the Griffith family mansion!" Damian said with a genuine soundingugh and a bright smile on his face, making his father''s murderous gaze go away as he went to the basement of the house. When he entered his fairlyrge room, he mmed the door behind him and took a deep breath before inspecting the room for any possible camera''s or things of the such, finding absolutely nothing. However, during his search, he found a few pictures of Jayden Griffith that made him inwardly cringe, resisting the urge to crumple them up and throw them in the trash. ''Fhe! Finally, I can take a breather! The coast is all clear! That strike to the side he did hurt like a bitch! And I am sure that he held back a lot in his punch¡­ I never expected him to get so crazy and lose his mind as much as he did¡­ He''spletely lost it¡­ He''s far beyond saving at this point... It''s absolutely great! He deserves it! I can''t wait to see tomorrow''s news! hahaha!'' Jayden thought, transforming into one of her healer maids to heal the immense pain in her side. ''Acting for so long sure is tiresome and straining¡­ But, at least it all worked out fine¡­ Fine for the most part¡­'' Jayden thought, thinking back to when she saw her butler earlier in the day when Brandon had to pay off the bet and her fight with Moby. ''I don''t have time to waste! I need to do this quick!'' Jayden thought, pulling out Damian''s dead body from her inventory that she hadpletely healed prior. Then, she proceeded to punch his dead body in the side with a tremendous amount of force, exactly where Brandon punched her in the side to make it seem as real as she could. She then transformed back into Damian before pulling out a standard dagger from her inventory to put his fingerprints on it before slitting the throat of Damian''s dead body infront of her, letting out a loud grunt and scream using Damian''s voice making echo throughout the entire house before transforming into a wisp and flying away. As soon as the scream was heard around the house, Damian''s mother immediately got a bad feeling in her stomach, dropping the pot of hot pasta that she was holding all over the ground before rushing up the stairs as fast as she could. "Damian dear! Are you okay! I came as soon as I hear-....AAHHHHHHHHHH," Damian''s mother said, entering the room with apletely worried look that quickly turned into absolute horror as she screamed a loud, piercing shriek that echoed throughout the entire house and area around. Then, out of nowhere, from behind her, the figure of a tall, ck-haired man with an amused look on his face entered the room, looking like aplete maniac, "Hahahaha! What a lucky bastard! I didn''t expect him to actually have the balls to kill himself! He deserved so much worse! I was almost ready to show him my surprise and he went ahead and done that¡­ What a shame¡­" Brandon said from behind his crying wife like a deranged lunatic, making her look at his demon-like smiling face with somehow, even more fear and horror than she had before, making her let out another terror-filled scream at the top of her lungs. ''Damn¡­ That''s a really loud scream! It''s safe to assume that they found the body! My job here is done!'' The wisp-like Jayden thought in a somewhat cheerful and relieved mood, flying in the air back towards her mansion to meet up with Moby and the rest of her friends. ''Moby! It''s done! But promise me you will not pull anything like this anytime soon! Even if we were only pretend fighting, I felt like I literally lost a part of my soul every time I insulted you or hit you!'' Jayden reported to Moby with a serious voice. ''Good job dear! You did great! Even much earlier than we needed! Your other self should expire in around 22 hours so you still had plenty of time! And, Your acting skills were absolutely wless! And yes¡­ I also felt the same way every time I was forced to hit or insult you, even if you were in the skin of that arrogant prick¡­ However, it was the only way that I could think of to win that bet¡­ I promise that I''ll try not to do this again and save it only when we really have to. But, on the plus side, we are now filthy rich without needing to beg your father for a shit ton of money which he would have probably not agreed to. I should now definitely be able to buy a good ability now!'' Moby replied with a smile. ''Hehe, yes, that is very true! I''ll help you search for some good ones when we get back home after the party!'' Jayden said with a cute chuckle. ''Sounds like a n!'' Moby replied with augh, looking forward to future events. Chapter 129: End of the Party

129 End of the Party

To him, at first, it seemed impossible but after thinking long and hard he noticed many things that he could use to his advantage in order toplete the quest. The first was what the quest itself was asking from him. It did not ask him to win the fight but to instead win the bet which was much more doable in his eyes and gave him hope that it could bepleted. After that, Moby thought long and hard thinking of many different factors in order to make sure that there was the lowest chance of failure. The major factor was the ability to kill without the schools being notified due to the break. Many students went home to visit family during the break or sometimes went to certain locations in order to train.?Many of those locations were top-secret to the families, something that they did not want the military to know about. The watches tracking feature is only said to work after curfew or when a student died but the families don''t want the military to know the locations of their secret ces even if their son were to die which was why the military was pressured intopletely disabling the tracking feature on the watch for the entire week of the break, even upon a student''s death. That main idea was the basis of Moby''s n. And, with the introduction of Jayden''s new skill that she discovered from her new evolution during the break, Moby''s n was starting to form ande together. Her skill was that she was able to create a clone of herself that was only 10% of her strength and the skill could onlyst for 24 hours. Moby''s n went as follows. First, he needed Jayden to seduce Damian, luring him somewhere in the house that had no cameras before killing and healing his dead body, storing it in her inventory where it would not age. Abby would use her wisps to scout out the area around, keeping towards the ceiling in order to avoid any cameras, to make sure that no one wasing. So, in the case of such an urrence, she would go and distract them and notify Jayden to finish faster which luckily did not happen. Jayden would then transform her original body into Damian, and, make a clone of herself. After that, she would clean up all the blood from the bathroom using her inventory, making sure not to miss a single drop before walking out of the washroom talking to herself with Damian extremely mad like he got a prank pulled on him as to not look suspicious on the cameras. As for the fight, it had already beenpletely nned out from before. However, Moby and Jayden stillmunicated with each other using mind link the entire way. So, Moby decided to kill two birds with one stone. If the entire fight looked like Damian was toying with Moby, nobody would ask or be suspicious about why Damian wasn''t going all out which was a good way to mask Jayden not having full power and control over her new ability. Also, it resolved the problem of how to make the fight believable that he won against someone that had a power level over 1.5 times higher than him as it is very usible that Damian grew too arrogant and took him lightly, allowing him to take him out when his guard was down and when he least expected. In the end, everything worked out fine and nobody thought anything suspicious of the fight. However, the truly hard part was that Moby and Jayden were forced to hit each other with the intent to inflict pain in order to make the fight as authentic as possible which was very tough on their souls. However, in the end, they decided to do it anyway. The final part of the n was seemingly the easiest but proved to be more dangerous than anticipated as Moby did not expect Damian''s father, Brandon, to go as crazy as he did, to the point of wanting to kill or torture his own son. The n was when Jayden got home, she would fake a suicide using Damian''s body before running away, leaving 0 evidence or leads of her involvement. To her fortune, she was lucky enough to receive just enough time toplete the n before Brandon showed up in the room to give her a beating and possibly even kill her. Now, Jayden had already flown back to the Griffith family mansion, making her clone go to the bathroom where she would transform out of her wisp form, dispelling her clone before going back to the party to meet up with her friends. When she entered the wide, luxurious ballroom where all the guests were, she noticed that Moby was being surrounded by a hoard of rich nobles, something that her clone hadmunicated to her from before so, it was something that she fully expected to see. "Mr. Kane! That was an exceptional performance. Ipletely misjudged you, you are indeed a man of absolute honour! Thank you so much for giving 10 million dors back to us, you did not have to do that but that was very generous of you! You are a very kind soul indeed! Not like all those other greedy gremlins of your generation," "I second that opinion! Your ability was out of this world! It was not like anything I have ever seen before! If you allow me to store it in an ability crystal, I''ll be willing to pay you a few billion dors!" "Don''t listen to him! Whatever he wanted to pay you I''ll do double!" The crowd kept bombarding Moby with many questions and praises, something Moby did not at all expect. He expected to be scorned and make enemies out of the many rich and noble families for making them lose a lot of their money. That was the reason why he decided to give 10 million dors of his winnings back to guests that lost the bet as a gesture of goodwill. He now slightly regrets his decision but he did not want to take any chances. He absolutely did not want to make enemies out of so many rich noble families. Especially in his current state, even with the protection of the Griffith family. However, it seemed like the nobles immediately jumped at the chance of monopolizing on a new, potentially overpowered ability that they had witnessed twice during both of his matches. Moby guessed that most of them had probably nned to do the same thing even if he had lost the bet. If anything, they would have much preferred it if he had lost which would allow them to offer him the deal while he was down, poor, and depressed which would have increased their chances of sess exponentially. "No, sorry guys, I do not n to sell anyone my ability no matter what the offered price is! I n to make this ability my signature, something exclusive to me and my future family," Moby said, rubbing the back of his head trying to calm down the crowd in front of him. Abby and Alex were both on the balcony discussing various things including how relieved they were that the n worked out well, with Joseph, Alex''s father, taking a quick peek at them every now and then with a proud smile on his face to make sure that all was going well for his son. As for Jayden and Alex''s mothers, they were having a seemingly simple conversation in the corner of the ballroom on a 2 person table. The other guests were all having casual conversations with each other, taking up arge portion of the gigantic ballroom. Jayden walked through the crowded room, trying her best to reach Moby,pletely ignoring or rejecting all the people that tried their best shot at hitting on her even though they knew full well that she had a boyfriend. "Jayden my little honey bun! You''re back!" Mason said, greeting Jayden as soon as he noticed that she had returned from her washroom break. "Hi dad! Did I miss anything important while I was out?" Jayden asked Mason with a smile. "No, you missed nothing important¡­ However, I have a very important thing to discuss with you about¡­ In private. I always try my best to be honest with you and I do not n to stop doing so anytime soon¡­" Mason said in a serious tone, looking into Jayden''s slightly confused eyes. "Sure dad, I know that you always want the best for me. Talk to me about anything," Jayden responded with a smile, making him nod back to her before leading her to one of the empty balconies. "So¡­ I have been thinking about this new boyfriend of yours¡­ I really tried my best to like him but I just can''t seem to do it. He is far too arrogant and reckless. At first, I thought that he was not that bad. I liked his fight against Leon as he outsmarted him and bested him with his powers while at the same time getting a lot of money in the process. I respect that. To be honest, if I were in his ce, I would have done the same. However, his fight with Damian waspletely reckless and made his arrogancee to the spotlight. It was such a stupid move to do. However, he still won due to sheer luck because his opponent made the grave mistake of greatly underestimating him, allowing him to take him out while his guard was down. The fight could have ended very differently if that were not the case. This leads me to believe that he will be a bad influence on you and only drag you into unneeded trouble due to such arrogance and recklessness. Even if he does truly love you¡­" Mason said in a very serious tone, looking straight into Jayden''s eyes with a heavy look. Jayden listened to her father''s entire monologue with a nk expression on her face before letting out a casual chuckle. "There are no idents¡­" "It was not luck at all. I know Moby better than anyone else and I can assure you he had a n. He never goes into anythingpletely blind. That''s just the type of man he is, and part of what I really like about him¡­" Jayden responded with a bright smile, looking up at the calm, yellow, slightly cloudy sky. "I...I am going to take your word and trust you on this¡­ Even if I still find it hard to believe, I will trust your judgement. I was just really worried about you as your father, that is all... I might just be going a little too hard on him. Maybe he did have a n and I just did not pick up on it¡­ He might not be such a bad influence after all. For the entire day so far, you have not been acting normal at all. Normally you would have voiced hundreds ofints and had many servants fired for even looking at you the wrong way. In my opinion, the change is surely for the best!" Mason said with a cheerful chuckle, making Jayden join him as well. "I wonder¡­ was he the one that caused that change in you? The dates add up¡­ It can''t be a coincidence right?" Mason said, looking at the expansive garden under him. "As I said before, there are no idents¡­" Jayden said with augh, making her fatherugh as well. "Anyways, you should enjoy the party while it''s still going on! It was supposed to be a party to celebrate your great achievements after all! The dance part will start very soon! Why don''t you go back in and dance with your boyfriend before the party ends? It would definitely be a fun romantic experience. Also, I''ll be sure to talk to him before the party ends. Don''t worry! I won''t threaten him or anything! I just want to better know what kind of person he is¡­" Mason said, looking at Jayden with a smile. "Thanks a lot dad! You''re the best! I love you! Well, I''ll go do that now! Thank you so much for trusting and having faith in my words!" Jayden said with a smile before running out of the balcony to go find Moby. ''I know that I spoiled her way too much which made her think she owns the entire world. I just couldn''t get myself to punish her at all... But, I am d that my little girl is not like that anymore, She sure has grown up quite a bit in such a short amount of time¡­ I am so happy to see that.., Moby Kane¡­ was it really you that inspired such a change in my sweet little Jayden?'' Mason thought with a calm smile, starring at the m sky from the balcony. Chapter 130: End of the Party 2

130 End of the Party 2

Jayden was an expert dancer who had memorized many dances while Moby had near-zero experience at all. So, Jayden tried her best to help Moby get used to dancing as she guided him through all the steps in a way that would not embarrass him in front of everyone. They definitely noticed the jealous and expectant eyes directed at them but theypletely ignored them as they only focused on each other instead as it was supposed to be something romantic. Alex and Abby who were on the balcony disregarded the dance and decided to continue their conversation, ignoring all the people that tried to ask them for a dance. Especially Alex who people 100% knew as a very important person. While they were still in the middle of their conversation, Alex was called over by Joseph who asked him if he was interested in Abby, telling him to make his move before it was toote which made him promptly ask his father to leave him alone before walking away from him and back to the balcony, making Joseph chuckle in the process. As the dance and party ended, and the families were preparing to once again go back home, Moby was surrounded by the same crowd asking him to sell him his ability which made him decline all of their offers once again, no matter how much they offered. He even received manypliments and thanks from the very few people that bet on him to win as he made them a decent chunk of money due to his seemingly 0% chance of winning and theirrge gamble. Some were even willing to sponsor him and give him financial support if he agreed to sign a contract with them which he also declined even though it was a very tempting offer. In the end, he knew that most if not all the rich nobles just wanted to get their hands on his "ability" for their own personal gain. And, to maybe suck up to the new potential husband of Jayden Griffith and possibly even the next head of the entire Griffith family. "Hey! Moby! My dad just said that we could stay here for a bit longer in order to spend more quality time together without the hassle of all the guests! He also wanted me to tell you that he will be waiting for you in Arena 2E, the same one that you fought in earlier in the day," Jayden said to Moby, dragging him out the crowd that was leaving and into somewhere more open. "Alright¡­ sounds good I don''t mind staying here for a little longer. But why is your father calling for me? And, do I need to bring anything with me?" Moby asked Jayden with slight confusion. As Moby walked to the arena all alone, he was thinking about why exactly he was being called to an arena before the answer hit him straight in the face, making him slightly nervous. As Moby entered the arena, he saw Mason Griffith wearing his normal suit standing in the middle with a smile like he was expecting him toe. "Moby Kane! You''ve finally arrived! You really impressed me during yourst two fights! You managed to win against two people that had a much higher power level than you with immense confidence! Even if one of them seemed like extreme luck. I am well aware that you had only just received your ability around 2 or so weeks ago and that you have yet to use it to even a fraction of its full potential which means that you will only grow exponentially from now on! Abilities take many years in order to master and properly use and the amount of mastery that you showed for the use of your ability was exceptional! So, I decided to test out your strength for myself and challenge you for a small spar. You know what they say, fists speak louder than words!" Mason said to Moby with a gentle smile. What Mason said was exactly what Moby expected to hear. Although he was a little nervous about sparring with him, he could not help but feel very excited. This was the first time he had ever fought someone so far out of his league so he wanted to see how hepared to him in his current state. And, he wanted to see what a potential world-ss power was like. He also noticed something in his speech that did not add up in his mind. ''If it takes so long to learn and get used to a new ability, how is Jayden able to casually copy people and their ability with a moderate amount of control in only a few seconds,'' Moby thought, before realizing that the answer must have been that it was just part of her doppelganger powers to have a certain degree of mastery over the ability she was copying. "I will dly spar with you, future father inw! I am well aware that you are not very fond of me because of my "recklessness" but I will prove to you that I am not that kind of guy! I never go into anything headfirst as I always have a n in mind when approaching everything in life. I learned that the hard way," Moby said with a smile, taking off his formal clothing, storing them in his inventory before putting on his school uniform instead. "Aren''t you going to change clothes too?" Moby asked in confusion as he did not expect Mason to fight with his suit on. "Now why would I need to change my clothes if you will not be able to hit me anyway?" Mason asked, looking at Moby in clear confusion. "Now, let me exin the rules of the match, if you are able tond one punch on me I will do you one favour! But, if you can''t hit me by the end of 30 minutes you will do me a favour instead. You will have full control and use of your ability while I will only use my physical prowess instead which means that I will not have any use of my ability. How does that sound?" Mason asked with a smile. As soon as Moby heard Mason''s proposal, he hid the urge to smile really widely andugh really hard as he already thought of a seemingly wless n in mind. "I agree to those rules. But, I would like to propose a few adjustments¡­ I would like to change it so I have to hit you once in the next 60 seconds instead of 30 minutes and, that I will then instead get 3 favours instead of 1! How does that sound!" Moby said with a confident smirk that made Mason''s eye sockets almost pop out of his head when he heard it. ''What the fuck! Jayden I am sorry for doubting you but this new boyfriend of yours is literally far beyond retarded and reckless! This just proved it! I can''t support him being with you! Does he think that this is a joke? Arrogant pricks like this that think they are hot shit even in front of someone hundreds of times stronger than them are absolutely ridiculous! There is no other way to look about it!'' Mason thought as he could not believe his own ears. "You sure sound confident! For your own good, I hope you can back up those words of yours! All you are doing now is the same arrogance and recklessness that you disyed during your fight with Damian, how do you expect to convince me that you are not what I think you are with what you just said! Are you just trying to piss me off? Do you understand who I am kid?" Mason said to Moby, staring deadly daggers into his eyes with a hint of killing intent that made Moby shudder but not flinch as he was 100% confident in his words. "We will see about that future father inw!" Moby replied with a confident smirk. "Hmph, well, I will start the countdown for the match right now with a 1-minute timer just like you requested! Be prepared because this will be thest time you are going to be calling me "future father inw!" Mason said in a cold tone and a deadly stare, sending shivers down Moby''s spine, making cold sweat run down his face that kept a confident smirk on it. Mason then brought out a remote from his storage ring, setting a countdown and timer on the screen above before putting it back, not even bothering to take up a fighting stance like Moby in front of him. ''This kid is pissing me off! He still keeps that smirk on his face! He actually thinks he can win! I will make sure that he doesn''t! That smirk will be wiped out of existence when he loses in the next minute! I am sorry Jayden but this guy is not it!" Mason with clear annoyance. "5" "4" "3" "2" "1" *BEEP* The match had officially begun and both parties still stood exactly where they were, no one moving even a single inch. Mason was just waiting with his hands behind his back, staring daggers at the still smiling Moby waiting for him to make a move. When, suddenly, not even 10 seconds into the fight, Mason felt a fist-like bump and scratch on his face that tickled more than it hurt which made him really confused for a few seconds before he realized what had just happened, making himpletely speechless as he face went nk while his mind spun in circles like it was about to malfunction. ''W-what the fuck just happened¡­ D-did I lose¡­'' Chapter 131: The Shadow of Death...

131 The Shadow of Death...

"W-wait what!? how!?" Mason blurted in surprise, still unable to believe what just transpired. "I just did this," Moby responded with a smirk, using his devil''s hand before surrounding it in a shroud of purple demon energy as he made it slowly be more visible in order to sell his story, making Mason even more shocked than before. "So, the attack was just my energy, but I made it so weak that it became pretty much invisible to the naked eye. I figured this attack out earlier in the day and found out that it was pretty useless seeing how weak it was. So, I never actually expected to use it! And when you set up the rules of the spar, I knew that I could use this new skill to win so I upped that bet because I was certain of victory! So, what do you think? Not bad right?" Moby exined with a smile. "PFFFFF! Hahahaha. You know what kid, Ipletely misjudged you! It seems that you''re actually pretty smart and you don''t go in everything head first. You kinda remind me of myself back when I was your age! Twisting things more in your favour when you know what you''re doing is in your favour. I apologize for all earlier rudements. We started off on the wrong foot. I think my daughter has chosen well!" Mason said with a smile and bow that really startled Moby. The head of the Griffith family was bowing to him for an apology, it was something he could not imagine in a million years. "No no no, please raise your head future father inw, I do not deserve such praise," Moby said in a panic, making Mason lift his head and chuckle in a friendly manner. "Anyways, you won the fight fair and square. So, I now owe you 3 favours, ask anything that your heart desires and it shall be done!" Mason said in a cheerful tone. In truth, Mason was not actually going to give Moby any favours from the start as he had no ns of losing and just wanted to gauge his strength and determination in a fight. But, since he lost and was so impressed by Moby''s performance, he decided to go along with the wager. "Okay, for my first favour, I would like to ask if there exists a ck market for abilities?" Moby asked in anticipation. "Huh? Why would you want to know such information?" Mason asked in surprise as Moby''s questionpletely threw him off guard. "I just want to know if it exists so I can browse it to see if there were any abilities that look or act close to mine," Moby exined. Moby listened intently to every word that Mason spoke as it was allpletely new to him. However, he did not stop pushing for his favour. The more he learned about the ck market the more interested he became. "I understand the dangers of such a thing but I promise you that I do not n on using it for anything other than to just browse. I already have a good unique ability so I have no use in buying any," Moby said with a chuckle. "Okay, I will tell you the website. I will trust you with this. In your case, checking it out and just browsing will be fine. The website has some insane security that doesn''t allow even the government to break through it to see all the buyers and sellers or to just shut down the site," Mason nodded. "Thank you so much, future father, inw! For my next favour, I would like you to bless and ept my rtionship with your daughter. I do not ask you for marriage as I believe that it is ultimately up to you to decide such things. I truly really love your daughter and could not imagine my life without her," Moby said with a respectful deep bow. "Hahahahah! That''s it?! Don''t worry about it kid! I already epted your rtionship with my daughter!?You kinda wasted a favour on it! Well, toote to take it back now!" Mason said with a chuckle. "In my eyes, I do not see it as a waste at all, I am just trying to show you how much I deeply care for your daughter. She and I have gone through many hardships and good times together and I wish for us to stay together for as long as possible," Moby said in a calm tone without hesitation. "I understand¡­ Thank you for caring so much for my daughter, it makes me happier than you can even imagine. She has been alone because she had pushed away everyone else in her life and now she has so many good friends and even a proper lover. I was just scared that maybe she chose the wrong person as shecked a lot of social skills and experiences but it would seem like I was the wrong person all along," "Anyways, what is your final favour?" Mason asked with expectant eyes. "My final favour is that I want to see a glimpse of your true power! I have never met anyone as strong as you and I want to gauge how far away I am from catching up." Moby said in a serious tone. "Huh!? Are you really sure about this?" Mason asked in absolute bewilderment. "Yes, I am 100% sure! And, I would also like to know what power level you are if possible," Moby asked with clear excitement. "Heh¡­" "I have no power level," Mason said, seemingly teleporting in front of Moby, causing a massive crater in the wake of his step before punching towards Moby with such immense force and speed that his fists looked like a blur. His white eyes had shadows leaking out of them that made death feel like it was in the air with a smile on his face, he looked like the true shadow of death. Moby stared at the blurry fist ripping through the air and blotting towards his facepletely unable to react from its sheer speed alone. No matter how he looked at it, Moby was starring straight at his death. However, he still did not give up as his will to live and instincts screamed at him to dodge. To his luck, he was unable to dodge but Mason''s fist stopped mere millimetres away from his face, sending him flying away towards the nearest wall at unbelievable speed. From the force of his punch, the wind pressure managed to even pop the defensive bubble around the arena and break many things in its path even though he did not touch anything. "I know you can''t hear me but I am really sorry kid, but you asked for it, I''ll call a healer to heal your wounds and help bring back your consciousness. An-" Mason said before being unexpectedly interrupted. "Old man! Who are you calling unconscious! I-I ampletely fine, just a few minor scratches that''s all," Moby said, limping out of the dust cloud with a bloody face, holding his right arm that broke from the impact. ''Just so you know he was holding back quite a bit, if he wasn''t you would have been dead or might have even exploded on the spot,'' Avilia exined to Moby in a calm tone. ''Well fuck me sideways, I have a really long way to go if I even dream to catch up to him. That was absolutely insane. Now I really wonder how strong you were when you were a demon lord¡­'' Moby responded, still in a state of shock trying to endure all the pain ravaging his body. ''Stronger than you can imagine¡­'' Avilia responded with an ominous yet confident smirk. ''This kid keeps impressing me more and more! I thought for sure no one at his strength level and age would be able to stay conscious from that attack. Not from the pain but from the extreme horror and fear of facing absolute death in the face. Also, his 3 favours were not that bad. I fully expected much worse like asking for arge sum of money or asking for Jayden''s hand in marriage. The more I talk to this kid the more I like him more and see part of him in my younger self¡­ You have chosen very well my sweet little honey bun, I should have never doubted your words,'' ****************** Moby, who was now fully healed, and Mason entered the living room where everyone else was,ughing at each other jokes that leaned a little on the darker side. "So, why did the guy with no arms and no legs fall of his bike?" Moby asked with a smile, trying to hold in hisughter. "I don''t know¡­ Why?" Mason asked in confusion. "Because he got hit by a refrigerator!" Moby responded, making Mason spit out his coffee. "PFFFFFFFFFFFF!!! I was not expecting that!" Mason responded, holding his stomach trying his best not tough. If it weren''t for the clear age difference, it looked like they were best friends. The rest of the family was sitting on the couch watching TV as they waited for Moby and Mason to return and all of them were shocked to see how Moby and Mason were acting to say the least. For the rest of the night, the family spent the entire time chatting and cracking jokes while ying some VR video games that Moby had never tried before which felt ultra-realistic and more fun than he ever expected. At one point, the topic shifted towards how Moby and Jayden met which Jayden then told her father, "I will exin it to youter but not now dad!" It was around 7 pm when the group decided to finally go back home. As they were leaving the door, Mason stopped Jayden before whispering in her ear. "You have chosen a good boyfriend! I am so happy for you," Which she then snarkily replied with a chuckle saying, "I know," Alex was not able to go with Moby, Jayden, and Abby as he had to go back to his family mansion which the group of course did not mind at all. During the somewhat long car ride home, Moby could not stop thinking about his encounter with Mason and how much stronger he was than he expected. What bothered him, even more, was a statement that he made that made little sense in Moby''s mind. ''I have no power level. What is that even supposed to mean? Does he mean that his power level is so far off the charts that it can not be read??? Moby thought, trying his best to exin and make sense of Mason''s words as he did not get the opportunity to ask him. While Moby was still in deep thought, Jayden interrupted him and asked about what he and her father discussed which he then proceeded to tease her saying that he told him that if he cheated on her that he would personally tear him to shreds. "Wait, did he really say that!?" Jayden asked in surprise. "Nope, he didn''t actually say it but I am sure that it was an implied statement," Moby replied. "Good! I don''t want him to tear you to shreds! Because that job belongs to me if such a thing happens!" Jayden said with an aura of death surrounding her, a wide smile on her face. "Heh¡­ Good thing that such a situation that will never ever happen right?" Moby said, rubbing the back on his head making Jayden chuckle before proceeding to exin to her and Abby everything that had transpired, making Jayden slightly annoyed at her father for injuring Moby and Abby praising him for his strategies and unbreakable resolve like usual. When the group got back home, they immediately went over to Jayden''s PC that she had in her room in order to do some... shopping. Moby was the only person in the group that still did not have an ability and it was finally time for him to choose one. In fact, the only reason he fought and went through all that trouble nning was in order to gain enough money to buy a good ability as it would stick with him for his entire life. Moby immediately pulled out the small piece of paper that had the address of the ck market site and instantly went to it. He did not bother looking at normal auctions and markets like Qbay as most of those abilities were not to his liking. He wanted something that fit and blended well with his pure demon energy as to not attract too many questions, But, now, he thought that he was able to broaden his horizon as he had a fairly new "ability" that has yet to develop and has seemingly endless possibilities. And, since it ispletely unique, nobody could question him at all and no one would suspect that he got his ability from the ck market as he would mix it with his own skills. At first, he was going to buy a pure speed, strength, or defence enhancing ability or a mixture of the three which was immediately scrapped as it would be too nd and not versatile at all. Stretching was another ability he scrapped as it would be way too obscure to fit with the rest of his skill set. Basic elements such as wind, earth, and water, basic sound maniption, small gravity control for support, weak astral magic, ability to rotate the body 360 degrees to form a drill, the ability to buff allies, healing, all of those abilities and many, many more werepletely disregarded by Moby when he looked on the legal websites. He wanted something that can flow and fit with his current move set while adding a lot to his arsenal. He also avoided support based abilities as he was not the type of person to do that as he found the support role extremely boring and frustrating. Plus, what kind of demon lord would want to have a support based ability? As Moby logged into the ck market, he was immediately greeted by arge list of many, many, new abilities that he could not find on the legal websites. The only problem was that they were 10s if not 100s for times more expensive. Moby began scrolling up and down at all the new abilities trying his best to find a good one with Abby and Jayden in the back trying their best to give him advice. Toxic/poison abilities, Spikey extending tail ability, multi healing ability, iron skin ability, limited time invisibility, much stronger legs or arms, Web creation, strong psycho/telekinesis, were some of the few abilities that he scrolled by during his browsing session. After an hour or so, he had seen every single ability on the site and had narrowed down his options to 3 that fit in his budget of 200 million dors. During his entire search, he was unable to find even a single fire ability, lightning ability, or blink ability no matter how hard he looked which proved indeed how rare they were and how no one was able to illegally get one. Or, that they are just out of stock. It was a little sad since blink was one of the main abilities Moby was looking for as he thought that it was very overpowered inbination with the rest of his skill set. The 3 abilities Moby narrowed his search down to were as follows: *************************** Heart of Ice The ability to create and move ice out of nothing but the user''s own mana. The user will be able to bend and move the created ice and already existing ice to his heart desires. Experts of the ability can also control the temperature of the ice and use it in the other 2 states, gas and liquid giving them full control over water. Cost: $170,000,000 *************************** *************************** Radiant Soul The ability to manipte and create light at the user''s will using mana. The ability also allows light to be formed into strong beams and to even be created into energy based objects and weapon that have some solid properties. Cost: $185,000,000 *************************** *************************** Dimensional Shift The ability to teleport to any marked location, the farther it is the more mana it will cost. The maximum amount of marks the user can have at the start is 5 and will grow more as the ability is progressed. Once the amount of marks exceeds the maximum, the oldest mark will be removed to make room for the new one. Cost: $195,000,000 *************************** Chapter 132: New Ability!

132 New Ability!

Then, he decided to go on FireWatch, the leading video sharing site at the time in order to see some real-life examples of each skill in action. From the many videos he found and watched about each ability, he was very impressed by all of them. However, he found that 2 of them were more versatile than the other. However, it made his choices that much easier to narrow. The light ability, "Radiant Soul" seemed to possess the most destructive power out of all of the abilities due to the powerful lightsers but itcked the versatility of the other 2 abilities. The only versatility he saw in the light ability was enhanced speed and the capability to blind targets. And, from what he saw, the ability was mainly offensive and severelycked in the defence department. At first, Moby was interested in the light ability as he thought that it might help him unlock something with his angel''s blessing as light and holy sound very simr. However, Avilia exined to him that light and holy have nothing to do with each other as light was nothing more than an element like the rest. However, there was indeed a ss of holy magic that was "light holy" magic that Avilia doubted would have anything to do with the "Radiant Soul" ability. As for the "dimensional shift ability", he was thoroughly impressed more than he expected to be. Users of the ability had daggers and throwing knives that they had imprinted with their abilities prior to the fight as they threw them everywhere on the battlefield allowing them to teleport to any point they desired making it extremely unpredictable and versatile in the right hand. Some even opted to throw their daggers at their enemy before teleporting to their daggers when their opponent dodged allowing them to perform surprise attacks that worked almost every time. They also used the ability to dodge attacks, tactical retreats, as well as to disorient the enemy. At a nce, the ability was just a worse version of blink but, Moby saw potential in it more than blink ability ever could. Unlike blink, dimensional shift enables the user to cover a muchrger distance instead of short bursts of small teleports which makes it even more unpredictable as they would not see iting. This can also apply to things Moby might have to do in the future. If he killed someone, he could always teleport far away as soon as he confirms the kill in order to have a much lower chance of being caught in the act. The ability would also be good for infiltration and setting up traps. If the user sets a mark on someone they would be able to teleport to them at will as long as they have enough mana and as long as the mark is still active. For trapping, all that he needed to do was lure an enemy to an area where he had a mark ced allowing him to teleport and sneak attack them without suspecting a thing before quickly storing the body and teleporting out. As for infiltration, he would be able to send a dummy into a building before teleporting inside for easy ess. The one thing Moby was unsure of and did not know was if the ability allowed the user to teleport other people and objects with him, or have the ability to teleport objects or people without him. No matter how much he looked, he could not find anything that gave him a concrete answer. Heart of Ice, the final and cheapest ability was one that Moby really liked and found very versatile. When he was watching videos, he saw people employ many techniques such as creating ice weapon sending them towards their opponent, a trail of ice spikes, balls of ice, using ice steps for more verticality, ice shields for defence, and many, many more. From what he had seen, the users of the ability were not able to control the water inside a person''s body to freeze them from the inside out. But, they were still able to freeze them from the outside if they get stuck in an attack or if the user made direct physical contact with their body or stabbed right into them with their de. Some even froze the area around them to give them the terrain advantage against their opponents who were sometimes helpless against it. Also, no matter how hard he looked he was not able to find a single video showing someone with the "Heart of Ice" ability be able to control or create water in a state that was not ice. This made Moby think that either that use of the ability was super weak and not very viable on battle or that it is so rare and hard to do that only 1 or 2 people in the world could do it. Or, it might have been that the families that own the ability do not want many videos spreading around that might help show weaknesses in their abilities. For Moby, it was extremely hard to choose between the heart of ice and dimensional shift abilities as they both definitely had their uses, strengths, and weaknesses. Abby suggested "Heart of Ice" for it''s more well rounded and destructive nature while Jayden suggested to go with "Dimensional Shift" for its versatility in and out of battle. However, in the end, Moby went with "Heart of Ice" for it''s greater destructive power, potential, and versatility in battle. He also wondered that if with enough practice, he would be able to fly by creating ice wings or by surfing on a block of ice that he controlled to float with his ability. Plus, it had many less ring weaknesses than the other abilities, including dimensional shift. With only 5 teleportation markers to start out with, it would be extremely easy to predict exactly where the user would teleport making the ability its user''s worst nightmare if they have no idea what they were doing. Also, "Dimensional Shift" did not seem suited for a sword user like Moby and required a more fast and agile weapon like a dagger in order to better catch their enemy off guard. Although Moby is proficient in almost every type of weapon, his true skills and masteryid in the sword which was something he continued wanting to use. "Add to cart¡­ and¡­ purchase!" Moby said with a smile, leaning back on his chair to wait for his order to arrive on the teleport pad. "I still think that you should have gone with the other ability but in the end, they were all good choices so you could not go wrong with any of them," Jayden exined. "Yes, you are right. To be honest, I am still extremely conflicted. I wish I could have chosen both of them but that is sadly not possible. But, I just feel like I am choosing the best thing that would fit with my fighting style as I feel like "Dimensional Shift" is more suited for people who use daggers, just like you.?Plus, I now have an extra 30 million dors that I did not spend out of my budget like I would have with the other 2 abilities so that''s a big positive right?" Moby answered with a light-hearted chuckle. "Yes my lord! I believe that you have chosen well!" Abby cheered with a smile on her face as her lord followed one of the first suggestions that she had ever provided him. Then, all of a sudden, the teleport pad began glowing a bright white glow before a medium-sized glowing icy blue crystal appeared on top of it with a paper to its side which was probably the fake license thates provided with it. Just looking at the ability crystal made Moby more excited than ever before. He had been waiting for a very long time for this. No longer would he be the only person in his group thatcked an ability. Plus, now he would have apletely new pool of energy that would help him dish out more attacks and from what he knew and seen, abilities provide an immense power boost to the user, not just in the form of a superpower but with a physically stronger body as well. Moby focused his attention on the magnificent icy-blue crystal, slowly picking it up before closing his eyes trying to absorb it into his body. Not even 10 secondster, the ability crystalpletely disappeared from his hand and vanished into thin air as it waspletely absorbed by Moby who was once holding it. As the ability was being absorbed into Moby''s body, he felt a rush of immense power slowly enter his system making him feel like he was a person high on a mountain of sugar that felt like he could obliterate mountains in a single punch. He felt the mana from the crystal enter his veins and infuse into his blood which felt very soothing as he became one with the essence of cold. ''Damn¡­ that was much easier than I expected¡­ Definitely 1,000,000 times better than demon evolution that''s for sure¡­''?Moby thought, waiting for the inevitable barrage of notifications to appear. [ System Alert! ] [ The user has gained the ability Heart of Ice ] [ New skill unlocked! ] ************************** [ Body of Ice ( level 1)?] Due to the user''s ice ability, their body is now enhanced and more powerful. Effects: +120 strength +85 agility +110 intelligence +90 endurance ************************** [ System Alert! ] [ The user''s ability has mixed with their draconic blood and has unlocked the "Ice Dragon" Skill tree! ] [ New skill unlocked! ] ************************** [ Freezing Time (level 1) ] The ability to make time go slower in the eyes of the user allowing for faster reaction times and opportunities to attack, dodge, analyze and counter. Effects: Time slows down by 10% Cost: 5 demon energy/second + 5 mana/second ************************** [Skill upgrade!] ************************** [ Angel''s Blessing [ Passive ] (Level 2.5) ] A blessing bestowed upon a person by an angel with apletely pure heart of gold. Effects: Holy energy resistance +25% Health +25% Energy regeneration +25% ************************** Chapter 133: A Demon Lords Confession

133 A Demon Lord''s Confession

"Hey, baby... are you okay? Answer me!" Moby did not hear or pay attention to what his family members were saying as he stared at the barrage of notifications in front of him, his mind running around in circles while his face waspletely nk trying to take everything in. Some of the notifications were things hepletely expected like the "Body of Ice" ability that raised his stats. But, everything else was entirely unexpected. Like, how his ability mixed with his draconic blood unlocking an entire skill tree that already had its first skill unlocked which allowed him to slow downtime. He did not know what the skill did exactly or how it would function but he was very excited to find out as it could be extremely useful despite its ridiculously high mana and demon energy consumption at 5 mana and 5 demon energy every second. The skill "Freezing Time" was the first-ever skill he saw that consumed a mixture of demon energy and mana which made hime to the conclusion that it was because the ability got mixed with his blood. This also made him wonder if he had chosen the "Dimensional Shift" ability, would it have given him a dimensional dragon skill tree or a light dragon skill tree if he had chosen "Radiant Heart". However, it was now toote for him to change his mind and he would be lying if he said that he wasn''t happy or satisfied with what he had he had seen so far of the ice dragon skill tree. This also made him think about if he was able to unlock more elements and dragon powers in the future by possibly learning other elements or things of the sort. Moby''s dragon powers were shaping to be more powerful and useful than he expected if his new skill tree was anything to go by. It made him more intrigued about their origins and other powers but he knew that Avilia did not have the answers. However, this added more onto the surprise and unknown element that slightly excited him to delve deeper into his dragon powers. He also remembered that Avilia promised him that she would reveal more about her past to him if he did well on the exam which he believed that he had well aplished. This would allow him to better understand how the other realms functioned and how she rose to power. And, the story might contain some hints and clues about his dragon powers and possibly maybe his parents which made him really anxious to hear her out. For the past week, he had been to busy to ask Avilia to tell him about her story and give him his reward but he nned to do it today right before he went to bed as he would be extremely busy once more as school would start again. However, out of everything that had just transpired, there was one thing above all that shocked and confused him more than anything else. ''Hey, Avilia, can you help a fellow demon out? Do you have any idea what just happened?'' Moby asked in confusion. ''Nope, no idea, I am not even surprised at this point. My mind had been blown too many times in the past 2 weeks than my entire life span which is really fucking long so I am convinced that nothing can faze me at this point. My knowledge of draconic demons is very limited just like I said before. They are an extremely rare species of demons that don''t really like to show themselves too often. I have only ever seen and met a few of them and I was not able to find out anything important about them. Many of them were just disguised as regr civilians and lived their lives like normal while others were symbols of terror that hid or lurked in the shadows,'' ''As for these ability things, I never heard of them until I came to this world and became conscious. It is all new to me. I have no clue in hell about what they might be. All I knew was that a demon body waspatible with one. So, from what I''ve seen from you just levelling up that angel skill by half a level, I am inclined to believe that they might be angel rted but at this point, I am notpletely sure as it is just Purely spection. The world has changed so much in the past million or so years. I am not the most reliable source, all I can tell you is how it was for me back in my hay day as demon lord which kinda annoys me at times at how stupid and useless I have be. Hell, I can''t even move and, you are the only means ofpany and entertainment I have.'' '' I, the once great and all-powerful demon lord, am pretty much nothing more than a source of power, a nagging voice and an ancient demon encyclopedia in your head that has some pages missing.'' '' I would be lying if I said that I wasn''t jealous of you. Every time you hang out with your friends ande up with your silly little plots it reminded me of how I used to act like with all my friends who turned into my close, loyal subordinatester on once I became the demon lord. Living inside your head with only you to talk to is a pretty lonely existence.'' ''At first, I found it all entertaining watching you kill little insects and did not care much if at all and focused solely on moulding you into a proper demon lord but now I have started to grow more jealous¡­ I am starting to miss my old life¡­ I guess those feelings were just buried deep within me and I only realized them as I watched you and your character evolve more and more... I am a pathetic demon lord, aren''t I?¡­ I wish I knew your true emotions towards me but for some reason, that is the only thing in your surface mind that I can''t read no matter how hard I try...'' Avilia said, getting sadder and sadder as she spoke, something that Moby thought came out of nowhere as it was the first-ever time he heard her have such emotions. In Moby''s head, Avilia had always been the most cheerful, outgoing person that he knew and he had no idea that she was feeling the way she did as it did not even cross his mind. He thought of her as some sort of deity that was above everything but it seemed like she too had proper emotions as well. He should have expected as much, if he was in her position, sealed for thousands if not millions of years away from the people he knew and loved in the mind of a stranger, unable to move, he would have felt the same way if not much, much worse. Moby cared very much for Avilia and was very appreciative of everything that she had done for him and he wanted a way that he could properly express his feelings to so he took his time to think before formting a response. ''No! That is not true! You are a lot more than a nagging encyclopedia in my head and a source of power! I won''t lie to you, sometimes I did use you that way when I needed to know something demon specific and I did sometimes find you annoying when you reserved some information to your self on purpose. But, in the end, I understand that you only did that because you wanted me to use more of my brain and not rely on you for everything which has turned me into a smarter thinker overall. I knew that you were trying your best to train me into bing a demon lord and I always enjoyed yourpany. Even though it might be awkward knowing that you are always looming over my shoulder no matter what I do, I could not imagine my life without you and your help. If you were not there for me I would have definitely lost my way and ended up either dead or crazy at this point, even if I still had the system. So, in the end, I am extremely grateful to you.'' ''Thank you so much for everything you have done for me thus far and probably in the future, first demon lord Avilia Graymore...'' ''Your soul still exists and alive so, there must be a way for me to give you another body for you to live in right? Seems easy enough! I promise that I''ll do my best to do that for you! It''s the least I could do to pay you back for all that you have done for me!'' Moby said to her with a smile. ''I really appreciate the sentiment and kind words, I really do¡­ But, trust me when I say that it''spletely impossible to do. I bound my soul to that ne and it is now in turns bound to you instead. I am now part of you and my only purpose is to pass down my powers before my consciousnesspletely fades away. This is how the item was designed. No matter what you do there is nothing to change that. At first, it was meant to be for demons who had already gotten an unbelievably immense amount of power which would have allowed me to easily transfer my powers to them in a shorter span of time before fading away. But, in your case, a person who was only a weak human when we first met, it would take a far, far, longer time for me to finish transferring my full power to you,'' Avilia exined in a still sad tone. ''Impossible? HAH! Iugh in the face of impossible! You thought that demons could not be blessed by an angel but I proved you wrong! You thought that a sin demon and a draconic demon hybrid was something never before seen and impossible but I proved you wrong! I have already broken the impossible 2 times in the short span of 2 weeks! Plus, like you said, a lot has changed in the time when you were dormant! I am sure I can find a way to give you a proper body before you fade away! Believe it!'' Moby said in an overly enthusiastic tone that made Avilia chuckle. ''Hahaha! Yes, that is true! Prove me wrong then little boy! I will be patiently waiting for you toplete your promise!'' Avilia said with a chuckle. ''I am sorry about all of that, you caught me in a very rare moment of weakness but I am all better now! I will continue to judge you on your path to bing demon lord so don''t think that I will be going easier on you from now on just because of what happened! Choosing a worthy sessor is still my top priority! But, thanks a lot, Mr "Iugh in the face of impossible," your corniness has yet to disappoint and not make meugh!'' Avilia continued with a loudugh. ''Hey! I was just trying to he¡­'' Moby said before being interrupted. ''Oh, and I didn''t forget about your reward for doing well on the exam. I will give you my final evaluation and rewardter on today. I was just waiting for the most opportune moment to share it which I feel like is right now before you go back to school. Oh, and by the way, you should really snap back to reality. I think your family members are going to go crazy, especially the redhead who is crying, shaking you really hard and about to dump an entire bucket of ice-cold water on you to wake you up,'' Avilia said with a chuckle before fading away. ''Wait what the fuck!'' Moby inwardly cursed in surprise before snapping back to the real world as he was too focused on everything else going on with his new ability and Avilia. "No! Abby! It''s okay! I ampletely¡­'' Moby yelled out in panic as soon as he snapped back. However, by the time he did, it was already toote as his face got sted by a bucket of freezing water that got him all wet. Though, surprisingly, he felt almost no cold at all like he would usually expect when he gets hit by arge bucket of freezing water. [System Alert! ] [ New skill unlocked! ] ************************** [ Ice Resistance (Level 1) [Passive] ] Due to the user''s ice ability, they are now more resistant to the cold. Effects: +40% cold resistance. ************************** ''Damn, I really should have expected such a skill, it does make a lot of sense...'' Moby thought, looking at the notification before focusing his full attention on the crying Abby in front of him. "M-my lord! You are okay! I am so happyyyy! I was so worried about you! Your face had stayedpletely nk for over 3 minutes and did not move no matter what I did and I got extremely worried! I am sorry about the ssh¡­ I just did what I thought was right, I will ept any punishment you see fit!" Abby, said, tears still running down her face which made Moby feel extremely bad. "I tried to tell her that you were having another one of those long thinking moments of your but she wouldn''t listen¡­" Jayden said with a sigh, making Moby read her emotions only to find out that she too was also worried. "It''s okay Abby! I know you did what you did because you were worried and not out of malicious intent so it''spletely fine and even encouraged! Good job Abby! I like the initiative!" Moby said, putting his wet hands on her shoulder with a smile. "Th-thank you my lord. I do not deserve such praise! I will try my best to continue to meet and exceed your expectations!" Abby answered nervously at first but turning more seriously towards the end. "Allow me to dry you off my lord, you arepletely wet. It''s the least I can do," Abby continued, creating heat in her hands before reaching out towards Moby. "No! Wait! Don''t dry me off! I have an idea I want to test!" Moby said with a smile, putting his hands out to motion Abby to stop before trying to control the water on him using his ability. He focused long and hard, trying his best to do abination of different hand movements in order to move the water. However, in the end, he made himself look like a fool doing so, making Jayden and Abby look at him in confusion. ''Fuck! Why can''t I control the water! This is much harder than I thought! But, I guess they did say that only top experts could do it so I really should have expected as much¡­'' Moby inwardly cursed, struggling to move even a single drop of water from his wet body. "Ummm¡­ My lord are you okay? Do you need help with something?" Abby asked in confusion. "If you are constipated and need to take a shit go right ahead, the washroom is down the hall and directly to the right. You should know where it is¡­" Jayden said in a serious tone, pointing at the door before bursting out intoughter. "Ha! Ha! Very funny! I am just trying to see if I can move water with my ability but it seems like that is way too advanced for me at the moment," Moby replied to Jayden, giving up on moving the water. "I''ll just try and do this instead then!" Moby said, focusing on the water, trying his best to freeze it. "Hahaha! It''s working! It''s working! Look guys it''s really-..." Moby celebrated as he saw that the water was slowly turning into ice to the point that itpletely froze him in ce in a small sheet of ice, making him unable to talk as his teammates stared at him with a nk expression, Abby super worried while Jayden was trying her best to hold back herughter. Chapter 134: Purple Ice

134 Purple Ice

However, when she heated her hand about to touch Moby, the ice surrounding him suddenly began to crack before itpletely shattered off into many tiny and big chunks and shards. "Heh, Don''t worry about me I ampletely fine!" Moby said with a nervous chuckle, making all the shattered pieces of ice float around him with seemingly minimal effort. "W-wow! That''s amazing my lord! When I first received my ability, It took me almost an entire week to even be able to get to use any of it as it was way too hard. And, you are already proficient at it from the start!" Abby eximed in surprise. "First thing''s first, you must have been like 5 when you got your ability so it is a much greater age gap so it is natural that I would get the hang of it better than your younger self. And, second, calling me proficient is a very big stretch, even what you see now is very draining on me and requires my full concentration¡­ None of my demon powers were this hard to learn. If anything those came to me very naturally¡­" Moby said, cold sweat running down his face as he forced himself to keep the ice shards afloat. "That is true¡­ I did find it very odd that I got the hang of my necromancer powers so quickly with little to no training¡­" Abby pondered. "Yes¡­ I agree, even though it was a little harder on me because I needed to better be able to adapt to other people''s bodies. But, after a little practice, I got the hang of most of it¡­ Especially after my evolution, it just made things so much easier." Jayden added, also deep in her own thoughts. ''The reason for all of that is because a demon''s specialization is easy to pick up on with the basics and they are held back in order to better suit the user''s strength. It is pretty much ingrained in your DNA and very being. That is why transforming into a demon greatly helped your demon energy maniption and uses. That is why demons received such a big, instant power boost to their strength and their skills whenever they evolve. These abilities are very different, it''s like you are training your body to use a power that it was not designed or meant to have,'' Avilia exined, making Moby thank her with a smile before exining what Avilia had just told him to the rest of his group. "Hmmm¡­ I see¡­ That does make a lot of sense actually¡­" Jayden said, putting her fingers on her chin. "Ummm¡­ My lord¡­ How long will you keep carrying those ice shards around you¡­" Abby asked with concern as she noticed Moby''s extremely sweaty and tired face. "It''s okay, don''t be frustrated, it takes many years for people to get ustomed to their abilities so what you did just now was not that bad. Personally, at the age of 3, it took me only 3 days to finally use my ability for the first time which was extremely fast for my age. However, I never really bothered to get stronger as I thought that if I was ever in trouble, my family would protect me. The only thing I did training wise was a few lessons with my father and butler every week which included the basic uses for my ability and how to properly use a dagger. So, other than that little training that I was forced to do, Icked any kind of effort to get stronger and improve myself. That was why I was only a D rank when we first met. If I had trained properly and cared about getting stronger, I would have no doubt gotten to at least B-, maybe even B+ rank in strength as I was seen as a shadow ability prodigy. So, anyway, I got a little side-tracked but what I am trying to say is that you are already doing pretty decentpared to a "Prodigy" and it will take time for your ability to fully develop and allow you to tap into your full potential," Jayden exined. "Hahaha! Well, good thing that you didn''t train and stayed rtively weak. Because if not, then I would have still been your pet, under your leash since you would be so much stronger than me. And, we would have not gotten to where we are today!" Moby said with a chuckle. "Yeah¡­ I guess you''re right¡­" Jayden giggled back. "Anyways, I need more time to experiment with my ability. So, I''ll be heading to your arena for more space and as to not mess up your room," Moby said, heading towards the door of the bedroom. "I doubt that you could do damage with that ability of yours even if you wanted to. And, even if you could, it would rebuild a split secondter anyways," Jayden teased him. "Yeah, yeah I get it. But, one question, do you have any living thing that I can experiment on?" Moby asked with a serious yet devilish face. "I don''t have any on hand and I don''t really want to use any of the servants so the next best option is to order an animal online with the extra 30 million we still have," Jayden proposed. "Well, I want to save that money for emergency situations and to buy new materials so I can craft us some new sets of armour. If you can buy a huge, ugly, magical beast for cheap then I might consider it," Moby replied. "Okay then! That''s not a problem at all! I am going to go off to search for pet rats or something for you to test on. I''ll let you know when I got it! Have fun training at the arena!" Jayden said with augh, walking off to herputer. "My lord, I can always give you a few of my undead, would that suffice?" Abby asked Moby with her usual serious stare. "I would preferably want something with blood. Maybe if you had something like a vampire summon it would work. But, even if you did I would not use such a valuable vampire summon just for some measly experiment such as this," Moby exined making Abby bow. "Yes my lord, I understand¡­" Abby said, looking straight at Moby''s face, something she had sometimes been too ashamed or shy to do which made Moby feel a hint of extra happiness. "Abby,e with me, I need your help if anything goes wrong and as a helper," Moby said to her with a smile, motioning her to follow him as he headed straight for the door once again. "It would be an honour, my lord! I will not let you down!" Abby said extremely cheerful and full of joy, running behind Moby as he went straight for the empty arena. After a few minutes of walking across therge hallways of Jayden''s mansion, passing by a few servants that were doing their chores greeting a few of them with a simple hello, they finally reached therge blue arena with the Griffith family crest engraved in the middle which was a ck raven with a dark, shadowy auraing out of it in a cryptic yet elegant way. "Okay! Time to test this shit out. I am almost certain that this will work. But, If it doesn''t work then I ampletely fucked," Moby said to Abby using his mind link as he began to stretch his body about to begin his training/experimenting. "Abby, stand right there and watch a master do his job!" Moby said with clear confidence in his voice and a smile on his face. "Y-yes! Of course my lord! I will be watching very carefully!" Abby said, leaning forward with stars in her eyes and excitement on her face. Before Moby tested out what he wanted to test out, he still needed to assign the 300 stat points that he gained frompleting Avilia''s quest. He decided against assigning his stats as soon as hepleted the quest in order to see the power boost that he gained from his ability so he could better assign his stat points to his needs depending on what stats he gained from it. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 7 Ice Level: 50 XP to next level 39,400/50,000 Power Level: 19,290 Hp: 188/188 Demon Energy: 529 /529 Mana: 279/529 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 353 Energy/Hour Strength: 471 Agility:?557 Endurance: 372 Intelligence: 529 Mind: 100 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** The first thing that Moby noticed about his stats was that his ice ability was a level 7, something that he still did not know what it exactly meant other than how it is weaker than 8 and stronger than 6. He also noticed that instead of specifying the full ability name as "Heart of Ice", the system only showed it as "Ice". So, it made Moby want to believe that the system was not able to differentiate different variations of the same element or type of ability and only put them under one name. This confirmed to him that the ability shown on a person''s stat sheet was not 100% exact and was more of a general description of the ability''s overall skill set and other things of the such. As for his stat distribution, Moby ended up spending 60 points in strength, 100 points in agility, 60 points in endurance, and 80 points in intelligence bringing his power level all the way up to a mouth-watering 19,290 even without any gear to speak of. He managed to boost his power-level up by almost 8000 in the span of only 1 night, something that he had never expected to happen when he first decided to go with Jayden to visit her family. He was confident that he could have defeated Damian with little to no difficulty with the amount of power he gained as he felt on top of the entire world when the rush of energy just rushed throughout his body. Agility was still a top priority for him even with his new ability as it was the perfect fit for his fighting style. From what he had seen and heard, ice was a very defensive ability. However, Moby nned to use it very offensively and slightly defensively at the same time by using it with his own style of fast and unpredictable movements meaning that endurance was still the least of his prioritiespared to strength. However, what did suddenly be more important in his eyes was the intelligence stat. Now, instead of it only being used for demon energy, it was now also used for mana as well. By raising his intelligence, he was raising 2 very important stats making it worth almost twice as much as before if not more. His energy reserves had pretty much doubled which would in theory allow him tost longer and spam more of his moves. However, in his current state, using mana would only slow him down in battle as he was still not used to it at all which was exactly what he nned to train for right now. Moby closed his eyes and focused long and hard trying to visualize arge shard of ice being formed in a dark void. He visualized the ice crystals slowly expanding from the edges until it finally reached Moby''s desired shape. Then, he imagined his demon energy slowly enveloping all of it as it raged on until itbined with the ice giving it a dark purple colour and aura surrounding it. This was what Moby wanted to test out. If his ice was purple unlike how his ability was supposed to be, nobody would suspect him of buying it off the ck market and ssify it instead as part of his own ability with little to no suspicion. However, if it was the same colour of blue ice like the original ability, then it would have been extremely suspicious and would have warranted arge investigation that Moby definitely did not want to deal with. So, if his technique worked, then he would not have anything to worry about. However, if it was not the case and it failed, then he would be forced to hide it like his "Sin Mode" and would have to only use it when he really needs to which he might do anyway as to keep the element of surprise on his enemies. It was now the moment of truth, although Moby was confident that it would work he was still notpletely sure. So, Moby opened his eyes to see if his visualization worked¡­ "Damn¡­ That''s ah¡­ A lot smaller than the one in my head but at least it''s purple like I wanted¡­" Moby thought, trying his best to stay positive and excited about an ice shard that was barely even the size of a toothpick. "WOOOWWW! You did amazing my lord! Purple Ice! As expected of the great Moby Kane, future king of all demons!" Abby said with even bigger stars in her eyes, staring at the purple tooth pick-like ice shard floating in the air 1 meter above Moby''s head. ''But it''s just a small toothpick¡­ there is nothing impressive about it¡­'' Moby thought in confusion, looking at Abby''s clearly exited figure in the distance. Then, suddenly, Moby felt a huge sneezeing his way, something that had started to happen much less often ever since he became a demon. ''Shit, there still must be some water or ice in my nostrils or something¡­'' "Ha¡­ Ha¡­ AHCHOO!" Moby sneezed out loud making a small beam of pure demon energy emerge out of the small ice shard, hitting the side of the arena with little force that caused virtually 0 damage, making Moby so shocked that his mouth almost dropped on the ground and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Curse you my lord!" Abby said in response to Moby''s sneeze as she had learned the hard way what would happen if she said it the other way. "And, what was that? You shot out an energy st out of your ice shard! Truly a mind a cut above the rest! I don''t think anyone else could havee up with such a technique! Truly genius! As expected of my one and only lord!" Abby said in excitement, clenching her fists together, fighting the urge to start jumping up and down like a child. ''H-huh¡­ What the fuck did I just do¡­'' Moby thought in absolute astonishment. Chapter 135: Poor Rat...

135 Poor Rat...

In the right hands, what Moby had just discovered could be extremely deadly and versatile. It allowed him to shoot out pure demon energy from his ice shards by focusing it on the tip, charging it up before releasing it out as a st. If he could sneak an ice shard behind an enemy and shoot it out, he could easily take them out by a surprise attack. And, if he is able to surround his opponent with many ice shards, he could aim it directly at them with a near 100% uracy as it would be extremely hard for them to dodge. Also, if an opponent dodged an attack he could follow it up with a demon energy st in the direction of their dodge, catching them off guard, making it a much harder time for them to survive. Those were only some of the few use cases that he had thought of off the top of his head which made him extremely excited for the future, when he would have better mastery over his still young and maturing ability. However, those would only work depending on a few criteria. How many ice shards he could shoot from at once, How much was the cost of such an attack, and, how far he could control the ice and how far he was able to st his demon energy out of them. So, he tried his best to form another shard of purple ice just like before, closing his eyes imagining its creation before opening them to find out that he had created another one. Now he had 2 ice shards floating in front of him which was extremely draining on him both mentally and physically. He then focused his demon energy into both of the ice shards, shooting out weak sts of demon energy that did little to no damage due to how small they were and how inexperienced Moby still was at handling his new powers. *p* *p* *p* "That was excellent my lord! You are improving so quickly!" Abby cheered at him from the side which sounded more like she was mocking him. Yet, knowing her for as long as he did, he knew that it was definitely not her intensions to do that as she 100% believed in her own words. The next thing Moby did was try to move the ice away from his body to see the distance of control he had over them. Next, was the moment of truth, if he was able to shoot out his demon energy from the ice shards at such a distance. He tried his best to focus his demon energy into the tips of the ice shards before firing them out like before. However, when he tried to do it, it did not work at all which slightly worried him. So, with thest drops of his remaining mana, he brought the ice shards closer to him, testing it out at certain intervals until he found his maximum firing range. ''3 meters¡­ At least it still works at such a range¡­ It''s still a work in progress, it will get better over time,'' Moby thought, trying his best to stay positive. Moby checked up on his mana and demon energy to see how much he used. From what he felt, his mana should be pretty muchpletely depleted and his demon energy should have a decent chunk taken out of it. ''7/529 mana and 377/529 demon energy¡­'' Moby thought, inspecting his energy reserves. The chunk of consumed demon energy was far greater than he expected at 152. And, it was only for 3 small sts of pure demon energy. If the sts were any bigger, he was certain that his energy reserves would be emptied in a heartbeat. Along with the decently long charge up time and Moby''s inexperience with his ability, it was one of the major drawbacks of his new technique. Moby assumed that it was the cost of transferring and infusing his demon energy into the ice shards instead of just firing it out of his own body like he usually did. However, unlike other things in his ability, he was not sure if and how he would improve the transfer process in order to make it as efficient as possible as his demon energy was not as young and immature as his ice ability. All that Moby could do was try his best to train and hope it works out in his favour which he had faith in as he has the power of the first demon lord at his disposal. The next thing that Moby wanted to test out was the new skill that he gained from the ice dragon skill tree, "Freezing Time". The effect says that time slows down by 10%. However, other than that brief description, he still had no idea what it exactly meant and would trante in abat-rted scenario. "Hey! Baby! Will this thing do?" A familiar voice came from the entrance of the arena. It was of course none other than Jayden. And, what was beside her could only ever be described as absolutely hideous. It was a massive, muscr, ck rat that stood at around 3 meters in height. Around its mouth was a muzzle and a leash and its entire body was restrained in chains that did not allow him to fight back even if he wanted to. Its stench made the entire arena reek of the smell of shit but somehow even worse as Moby''s enhanced senses were quick to pick up on it. When Moby used his inspect skill on it, he found it to only be a D rank beast which did not pose a threat at all. "It seems like your back already¡­ How much did that thing cost you?" Moby asked Jayden, hoping that she did not spend too much as he nned to craft and buy new sets of armour for his entire family. "It was only around $1000, Ratmen don''t really give any valuable materials so it was pretty cheap. I just ordered him and went to pick him up from the nearest teleporter that supported living creatures before I came here. Even if it smells like ass, it was pretty funny having him around! You should have seen the looks on everyone''s faces as I casually walked with this thing, It was hrious," Jayden replied. "$1000¡­ that''s not that bad," Moby nodded as he was happy that not much money was spent. For now, to get rid of the awful smell, Moby decided to do what he wanted to test out with the Rat first instead of his "Freezing Time" skill. "GRAWWR" The beast roared in a muffled voice, trying it''s best to get out of its restraint. "He''s all yours!" Jayden said with a smile, kicking the rat-man all the way to Moby''s location. Looking, at the ugly 3-meter tall beast in front of him, Moby was not at all scared or intimidated. If anything, he just wanted to get it over with so he could get rid of the awful odour attacking his nose. Currently, Moby was still out of mana and somewhat low on demon energy so he used "Nature''s Stimtion" to regain them,pletely ignoring the roaring crazy beast in front of him for 4 minutes straight before opening his eyes, ready to start his testing. The first thing that Moby wanted to try out was if he was able to freeze people or beasts from the inside out, something that he saw nobody in the FireWatch video do. But, something that he decided to test anyways just in case as every living creature had water in their blood. So, Moby tried it out from a close distance, not touching the still struggling beast at all. ''Failure¡­'' He thought with a hint of disappointment before moving onto the next experiment. Moby tried to do the same thing, but this time, he made direct physical contact with the ugly, disgusting beast, something that he did not want to do but did anyways for research purposes. For this attempt, Moby saw a small sheet of purple ice slowly begin to engulf the rat-man until after around 30 seconds, itpletely covered its stomach area in a sheet of purple ice. However, the ice was only on the outside and had no effect on it from the inside and from its inner blood stream, something that Moby fully expected. For now, what he did was way too slow to be used in actualbat and it was way too costly, using up almost half of his mana to do so. The next thing he wanted to test out was what would happen if he stabbed right into the rat-man before injecting his sword into it with his icy, demon energy-infused mana to see if it would end up any better. Out of his inventory, Moby pulled out his trusty ck and purple novice demon katana before stabbing right through the rat-man''s chest making it cry out in pain with a muffled voice as it began to struggle even more. Then, out of the wound in the rat-man''s chest, a thin, purple sheet of ice began to form and expand until it covered half of his entire chest and neck in the span of only 20 seconds, much fast than when he was just touching it with his bare hands. Also, from around the wound, he did notice some internal damage to the rat-man''s innards around the area of the stab which was a very promising sign in Moby''s opinion. Moby only had 1 more thing to test out before he could finally kill the rat-man. However, he needed to once again use his "Nature''s Stimtion" to restore his lost mana as his ability was way too inefficient and mana consuming in its current state. "Hey, Abby, do you still have that bucket that you used to dump water on me a few minutes ago?" Moby asked Abby who was spectating his movements with clear focus. "Y-yes my lord! I put it in my inventory! Here you go," Abby replied, pulling out a red bucket from her inventory before handing it to Moby with a bow. "Thank you," Moby casually replied with a smile before going to the nearest of the many water fountains in the arena, filling it up all the way with water before shing it all over the rat-man. Then, without even touching it, he lifted his hands up and focused on freezing the water on the rat-man which turned out to be a huge sess. In the end, he was able topletely freeze its entire body in a thin sheet of ice in the short span of 20 seconds. And if it was only 20 seconds to fully freeze it without any contact, he would have undoubtedly frozen it much faster if he actually touched it. And, not only did it freeze faster, but it also consumed less mana. This made mobye to the conclusion that freezing water was much faster and more efficient than creating ice out of nothing like he did before, which did make sense in his head and from a theoretical standpoint. So, in a more moist environment and, if he got his opponent wet, he would definitely have an advantage which was a good thing to know. "I am done with you. You served my purpose, now die," Moby said, in a casual tone, punching the frozen beast so hard that his ice body shattered into a million pieces. [ You have defeated a high D rank, rat-man] [+ 500 XP ] Now that Moby finished what he was doing, wiping his hands before putting the icy, shattered remains of the rat-man in his inventory, telling himself that he would throw it outter, he focused his attention on the original thing he wanted to test out, his new "Freezing Time" skill. "Hey, Abby, can you spar with me for a little bit? I need to test something out. Also, Jayden, I need you to stand a little farther back and spectate the little spar for me," Moby said with a smile, looking at his two family members that were casually talking to each other while they spectated Moby experimenting and killing the rat-man. Chapter 136: Time is Freezing

136 Time is Freezing

************************** Name: Abby Ried Race: Demon (Necromancer) Ability: Level 7 fire Level: 57 XP: 30,240/56,000 Power Level: 18,720 Hp: 150/150 Mana: 514/514 Demon Energy: 514/514 Strength: 541 Agility: 451 Endurance: 366 Intelligence:514 Mind: 90 ************************** What he saw did not surprise him even in the slightest. Abby was a whole 6 levels above Moby because of the sheer amount of goblins she had killed during the exam, receiving all the XP from them while Moby only received half. However, even still, her power level was lower than Moby''s due to all the extra stat points he received from the questpared to his family members. But, it was still in the range to make her extremelypetitive and give him a big run for his money. "So, Abby, do you agree to spar with me?" Moby asked his question once again, pateintly waiting for a response from her. "Yes! Of course my lord! Do you want me to use a weapon? And, should I go all out?" Abby asked in a serious and stiff demeanour. "Yes, I want you to go all out, Just don''t use your ability or demon powers, it will a pure sh of des," Moby exined with a smile. "Of course my lord! Even if I am fighting you, I promise to not hold anything back!" Abby said, pulling out her long ck and red scythe from her inventory, walking up to the arena, taking a fighting stance waiting for the start of the spar. "Hey, baby, you said that you wanted me to spectate the fight, do you have something specific that you want me to look out for?" Jayden asked, a little confused as she was going to be spectating the spar whether he asked her or not. "Oh, nothing in particr, I just wanted to make sure that you watch closely," Moby replied with a smile, taking up a fighting stance with his katana still in its sheath, his hand hovering over the hilt. "Okay, I, I was going to do that anyways but okay¡­" Jayden casually replied with a shrug of her shoulder. "Okay Abby, we keep going until we have a clear winner, don''t be afraid to hurt me," Moby exined to her once more, making sure that she does not hold anything back, making her nod really hard as a response, a serious almost predator-like expression on her face. "Okay, Jayden count us in!" Moby told Jayden as he still was in his fighting stance. "He he, don''t worry, I gotchu fam," "3" "2" "1" "Start!" Jayden yelled, signalling the beginning of the match. As her de quickly elerated towards his face, he unsheathed his sword in one quick motion, sliding across the side of Abby''s scythe redirecting her attack making her hit the ground beside him, leaving her wide open for an attack. Moby went for a kick straight to Abby''s exposed side. However, to his surprise, she used her scythe that was still stuck on the ground to dodge and boost herself over Moby like she was pole vaulting, catching himpletely off guard as she went for another attack, lifting her scythe up in the air above her before smashing it down at Moby once again but from directly above him. "Holy shit!" Jayden eximed from the side as she did not at all expect Abby to take the upper hand against a martial arts expert like Moby. Moby did not expect what Abby did at all. Without his ability and demon powers, he doubted that he would be able to dodge her attackpletely unscathed. So, it was the perfect time to test out his new skill. Moby activated his first-ever ice dragon skill "Freezing Time". As soon as he did, his vision suddenly became shaded a hint of dark purple and everything around him instantly began to slow down, including Abby''s iing attack which gave him just enough time to dodge. As he sidestepped to dodge Abby''s attack, he noticed that unlike everything around him, his movements werepletely unhindered as he still remained at his full speed allowing him topletely dodge Abby''s attack however only barely. From Abby''s perspective, as she smashed her scythe towards Moby, he suddenly moved unnaturally faster than what she expected, even at his slightly higher power-level. Before she knew it, Moby was already behind her with his katana pointed straight at her heart. "I-I surrender¡­" Abby slowly said in shock, dropping her weapon in defeat. "The match is over! Moby Kane won!" Jayden announced, still unable to believe what she had just witnessed. Moby''s movements had all of a sudden unnaturally gotten much faster and sharper as he was able to do things much more meticulously than before. "That... That was so amazing my lord! I knew that you would be able to easily defeat me but I tried my best anyway just like you asked! You are truly an inspiration and proof that I have a lot to work on!" Abby said with stars in her eyes, praising Moby just like usual. "You actually really surprised me. That move of yours was absolutely crazy good, something I did not at all expect! I also noticed that you are now a lot better at using the scythe than thest time I saw you! I am really proud of you! You nearly mastered such a hard andplex weapon like the scythe in such a short span of time is truly astounding. Your hard work has paid off well! " Moby told her with a bright smile. "No no no! It was all because I had an amazing teacher! Also, I practice all the techniques and styles you showed me every day. Plus, I had a lot of time to practice in real-world scenarios during the exam which had greatly improved my skills as well. This was all thanks to your teachings, thank you so much¡­" Abby said with a deep bow and passion in her voice. "No! No! Don''t be like that! You are giving me too much credit. Like I said, this was all because of your hard work, all I did was show you the basics and you evolved and incorporated it into your own style of fighting," Moby responded in a serious tone. "Thank you for all your kind words¡­ I do not deserve such a kind-hearted lord and¡­ F-friend like you¡­" Abby said, still in a bow, mumbling the word "friend" as she was not used to seeing her lord and saviour as one of her friends. ''What kind of conversation is this? They should both learn how to properly take apliment,'' Jayden thought, hearing the conversation in front of her that she had heard many times before. However, it never failed to make her think about how silly they sounded arguing about such things. "Hey! Moby, what was that thing you did? Were you holding back the entire time or did you just cheat because I am really confused," Jayden asked, determined to find an answer. "He he¡­ Well¡­?about that¡­ The only reason I wanted to spar was to test out a new skill I gained from getting my ability," Moby exined, slightly embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head. "Sooooooooo, what you are telling me is that you cheated correct?" Jayden asked, trying to get a better grasp of the situation. "Well¡­ yeah¡­Kinda..." Moby awkwardly responded. "That''s pretty cruel of you to do¡­ How do you think Abby feels that you robbed her out of her-?" Jayden said before being abruptly cut off. "That''s amazing my lord! What new skill was it? I really want to know! Also, Jayden, don''t be rude! I am sure that lord Moby would have been able to dodge that attack even without the help of the skill and he just wanted to test it out in that scenario because he thought it was ideal!" Abby said in excitement. "Ha ha! I am d that you saw through me! You truly understand me very well!" Moby said with augh. ''FHEWW! I just dodged a massive bullet¡­ I really should have thought that through more¡­'' Moby thought, feeling immense relief. "Of course my lord! Like I said! I take a mental note of everything you do and say in order for me to learn and maybe one day be worthy of being your right-hand woman!" Abby said with a bright smile that immediately turned flushed red only a split second afterwards. "N-no! I am sorry! That came out wrong! By "right-hand women", I meant like "right-hand man" but with "woman" instead of man or something ¡­ I don''t know what I was thinking... I am extremely sorry for the misunderstanding¡­" Abby nervously apologized making both Moby and Jayden die ofughter. "Hahaha! You worry too much! Of course, we knew what you meant," Jayden exined, slowing down a bit as she saw Abby let out a small chuckle of relief to her response. "Anyways, what is this new skill of yours?" Jayden asked, calming down almostpletely as she focused her attention on Moby''s new skill once more. "Well, the new skill is called "Freezing Time". From the name you can probably assume what it does. The skill allows me to slow down time by around 10% for a heavy cost of both mana and demon energy. I had no idea what that exactly meant so I wanted to test it out in battle. I had a few theories of my own. The first was that it slowed down time in a bubble around me and that people from the outside spectating would be able to notice. The second was that it just slowed down time for me and my opponent but I kept my thinking and perception. And third and what I think is more possible is that it slows down time for the entire world around me, allowing me to have the ability to move freely and unhindered by the slowing of time. So, did you notice that anything like that happened?" Moby asked Jayden and Abby. "When I was spectating, all that I noticed was that you had suddenly be faster and your movements much sharper and more precise than before. I noticed no slowing of time at all¡­ It is probably all in your perception of things or it only applies to your body¡­ I don''t know... Something like that. I am just spewing random shit out my ass at this point," Jayden exined. "I agree with Jayden. I noticed nothing weird about time other than your movements suddenly bing faster. It is a good subtle ability that not many people would notice or seeing. It is truly an amazing skill!" Abby added. "Hmmm¡­ I see¡­ Thanks for the info guys¡­ I think that should be enough training for today¡­ it has all been really tiring, even with my demon anatomy. We should probably get some rest. School starts again tomorrow after all," Moby said with a yawn. "True¡­ I barely had any sleep this week due to all that shit with Natalia. Sleeping right now sounds like a dream," Jayden said, yawning as a result of Moby''s contagious yawn, walking towards the exit of the Arena. "I wanted to craft some new sets of armour with the extra money we got but I guess I will save that for tomorrow since we have plenty of time before school starts¡­" Moby said in a tired tone, storing his katana inside his inventory before slowly walking towards the exit of the arena with Jayden. Then, as he reached the exit, he noticed that someone was still missing. "Ummm¡­ Abby, are you noting too? Jayden did get a guest room for you and you barely even used it. You''ve been working really hard this week and you could really use a rest¡­ Trust me, good rest is just as important as training, and you really need it. I am very worried¡­ The makeup that you wore hid the bags under your eyes pretty well but now I see them clear as day. I am only saying this because I care about you. Sleep is good for you both physically and mentally," Moby exined with clear worry and concern in his voice, watching Abby who was training with her scythe and doing push-ups in the middle of the arena. Abby listened intently to Moby''s every advice as she held back her initial words and reaction of saying, ''I promise that it''s fine my lord! Don''t worry, I will sleep very soon, right after a little bit of training!'' Instead, she epted Moby''s words and let aside her fears of being too weak and useless for him, being left behind by future, possibly stronger subordinates as she knew that he indeed really cared about her. She still could notpletely get past her fears of scorn and abandonment but she was slowly heading in the right direction to heal her mental scars, just like how her physical scars had also healed by Moby. "Yes! You are of course right my lord! I wille right away!" Abby said with a cheerful chuckle, hopping off the arena to join her family, making Moby smile brightly as they all walked to their rooms. Then all walked down the long, expansive hallways, passing by the many servants who were also headed to their rooms to sleep until they reached the big guest room, where Abby was staying. They said their goodbyes and goodnights as she entered her room with a happy yet nervous smile, holding the urge to cry at how happy she had been feeling for the past 2 months. Moby and Jayden then headed straight for Jayden''s bedroom as they both shared the same room and slept together. They both entered the room, mming the door behind them before brushing their teeth, taking a shower before changing their clothes to go to sleep. As they bothid in bed, Jayden decided to make one suggestion that Moby would have beenpletely crazy to decline. To remember thest night that they would sleep with each other for a long time because the curfew was being once again reinstated once school started, Jayden suggested to have one quick round of rough, hardcore sex until they copsed of fatigue. Moby of course epted. And, that "quick" round of sex ended upsting an hour as they both copse on the bed heavily panting with flushed red faces. Sex was something they had not done ever since their first time with Natalia spectating which made it feel really different. Better in its own ways and worse in others. But, all in all, they did notin as each other''spany was all that mattered in their eyes. After cleaning up the mess that was made on the bedsheets that was caused by both parties, they both decided to finally go to sleep. "Good night baby¡­ See you again in the morning¡­" Jayden said with a cute chuckle, looking at Moby that was sleeping directly to her right,?still sending butterflies down his stomach. "Good night to you too babe¡­" Moby replied back with a smile as they both closed their eyes and went to sleep. ''HEY! DICK HEAD! WAKE YOUR ASS UP! This is not the time to sleep now fool! You fool! Moby Kane, future king of all demons! It is now time I reveal my reward to you and exin my back story and a decent amount of what I know about the Nether, mortal, and celestial realms,'' Avilia screamed in his mind with immense enthusiasm. ''Holy shit Avilia! I was awake! I was about to ask you about it before you just scared the fuck out of me!'' Moby replied, still in a state of shock. ''Shut up! Stopining! I can easily keep it to myself if I really wanted to! So, do you want to receive your reward or not!'' Avilia immediately retorted in a serious yet snarky manor. ''Yes! Yes, I do!" Moby immediately replied in a serious yet desperate tone of voice as he was really, really wanted to know more about the truths and realities of the world around him. Chapter 137: Origin

137 Origin

"In the beginning, there existed the 3 realms, the Nether world, celestial world, and the great void in between that is now known as the mortal world¡­" Avilia continued before being unexpectedly interrupted by the still really excited Moby. "Wait, why was the "great void''s" nameter changed to the mortal world?" Moby interrupted Avilia with great interest in his voice. "Because everything that lived here was weak as shit and easily crushed with minimal effort! Now, stop interrupting and let me finish my god damn story!" Avilia immediately retorted with a slight hint of annoyance as she was starting to really get into what she was saying. *Ahem* "Anyways, as I was saying¡­" "The Nether world is very simr to your own with many differents and such. The only difference is that it is much smaller and far denser in demon energy and that it existed on apletely different ne than this one," "It was a world much more toxic, darker, and gloomier than your own with demon beasts, bugs, and regr demons such as me and you that look pretty simr to humans were the living creatures that existed and littered the entire realm. It was also a more "magic" based kind of world than this technological world that you live in today," "For almost as long as history could remember, demons fought against the angels and gods in a battle to be able to control the great void that lied between both realms. That fightter evolved into something much more. Intoplete hate and animosity between demons and gods that felt almost instinctual," "The great void was a veryrge and expansivend, mostly filled with useless space and rock. However, there were somes with living life forms and very strong and useful ores and materials giving both demons and angels a good reason to invade. Demons because they wanted to expand their territory and have more to kill to get stronger. And, angels and gods, also to expand their territory and to convert the many races into worshipping them, interns giving them power," "Unlike the Celestial realm with a high concentration of holy energy and the Nether realm that had a high concentration of demon energy, the mortal realm had an equal bnce of demon and holy energy not giving each side any advantages like they would have if they fought in their own respective territory," "Differents housed many different tribes and ns, some really small, weak, and insignificant like the one I was in and ones that were big enough to have their own cities and sometimes kingdoms where all types of shenanigans went down," "Although the tribes hated each other''s guts and fought for supremacy, they both shared a bigmon hatred for angels and gods, setting their hostility aside in order to fight them before turning on each other whenever they had the chance," "Demons travel betweens and long distances using special dimensional magic very simr to the teleporters you have in your world. This type of magic was only known by select few demons and certain ones that spent the time to learn it as it was not a race-specific skill, just like your inventory. However, some races did have a higher affinity for it making it much easier to learn and faster and more powerful when used," "Usually, each tribe had at least 1 demon that knew dimensional magic in order for them to better navigate," "On the other hand, the celestial world was not filled with manys like the Nether and mortal worlds and was instead onerge in that housed everything on it," "I have only ever visited the celestial world once and it was a very light-filled, cloudy, cheerful ce with many inds just floating in mid-air of a cloudy pink void where the many cities and civilizations lived. They had a much more structured and orderly way of life unlike the purely barbarian-like behaviours of the demons at the time. The normal angels were ruled by the many gods, ones that own their own territories and the many archangels that were under them, although there were a few on their same level like Douma, the strongest archangel during my time," "To my knowledge, the gods were mostly on good terms with each other and agreed to join forces in order to take down the demons that wanted to kill all of their worshippers and invade thends that they had already established in the mortal realm, at least that was how it appeared like to me, I could still bepletely wrong. Also, they agreed to have a more or less equal split of worshippers, all but one. Zaione, God Of War, was also the strongest god at the time and ruler of all the gods. He was the one that kept bnce and everything under control between all the gods. He was also the one that received the most worshippers and faith out of all of them as he was the one who discovered the existence of the mortal realm in the first ce, giving him a head startpared to all the gods that followed himter on. "Luckily for the angels and the rest of the lower gods, again, only to my limited knowledge about the subject, Zaione was a righteous ruler that barely overused his powers and used it mostly to keep bnce between some of the gods and the animosity between each other," "The angels were the first ones to have discovered the mortal realm and the demons only came to it around thousands or so yearster, possibly more than that but nobody really knew. When the demons found and wiped out their first-ever civilization in the mortal world, it triggered a reaction from all angels and gods, marking the start of the seemingly never-ending great seraphodemon war," "By the time that demons had reached them, the angels and gods had already umted a very good amount of faith and holy energy from their many worshipers, making them almost on par with the average demon," "The keywords were "almost on par". The average demon was still stronger than the average angel and the average high level greater demon was still stronger than the average god or archangel. However, the war was even and stood at a standstill as the angel army was much, much more organized than that of the demons that worked all alone or in tribes making them easier to fight," "Eventually, the tides of the war would shift in favour of the angels and their growing strength, nning, and organization while the demons only grew more dysfunctional and less in numbers due to all of their infighting¡­ Plus, the angels had a slight number advantage as they, once again, had much less infighting, both during the war and before it," "The war was in a dire state and the demons were all on the verge of being wiped out losing control of the mortal realm which would give the angels a power boost, most likely also giving them enough power to be able to invade the Nether world despite the power nerf that they would receive," "This event made the legendary dragons, one of the strongest, if not the strongest demon at the time, feared all around the Nether world toe out of hiding to join the war in order to help the demon race survive. Or so that was what the average demon perceived." "Not much was known about the dragons as they lived hidden amongst the tribes and cities disguised in their regr, non transformed demon form, while some, along with other dangerously strong demons lived on very exteriors that nobody darede near due to the immensely dense amount of demon energy surrounding it and the aura of absolute terror, death and mystery. "Dragons were able to do this as they were rumoured to not only gain power from killing and negative energy but also from age, making them one of the calmest and least aggressive type of demon by far. So, making theme out of hiding to join the war efforts and save the entire race was a very big yet unexpected deal," "Many rumours surfaced about why the dragons joined the war but nobody knew¡­ Nobody knew until I asked them when I went to them to invite them to join my new demon nation that would unite the entire race under one banner and ruler which they swiftly declined," Avilia said before getting cut off. "So! What did they say? Why did they join the war? I really want to know!" Moby interrupted her once again as he got really excited about her talking about dragons. "Stop interrupting my train of thought! I''ll get to that part when I go more into personal detail about my life! So shut up!" Avilia bellowed making Moby go quiet once again. *Ahem* "So, as I was saying, Although there had been other strong races of demons that participated in the war, the arrival of the dragons was the thing thatpletely changed it. They were more than able to push back the angel army, they were able to give the demons the upper hand in the war for the first time in possibly millions or maybe even billions of years. Many gods, archangels, and dragons were in from battles and exchanges between each other until the dragons backed off due to them losing too many of their numbers as they already fulfilled their part and more, once again going back to hiding, giving the demons the upper hand but not as much as before," "Around that time was the first time that young, little weak peasant me ever witnessed a real dragon while I was walking back to my tribe with buckets full of water from the sea of ghana, as it was flying above in the crimson sky, its scaly red glory glowing on full disy, roaring loudly in the sky as it went back to its own den on a faraway. At that time and even still, I consider it to be the most amazing and most memorable thing that I ever witnessed in my short yet, long life¡­ It really lifted my spirits during a very dark and depressing time," "After the dragons left the battle, the demons discovered something thatpletely broke the fundamentals of the world and shifted the tides as well. The discovery that certain types of really strong demons could turn living creatures in the mortal realm into their demon servants," "This was more important than you might imagine. Demons live for thousands to millions of years and have a really low rate of pregnancy meaning that birthing new demons was a fairly rare asion. So, being able to suddenly create arge amount of seemingly loyal servants out of nowhere was a big game changer and was somethingpletely unexpected by the angels that could not do the same unless the mortal had a pure heart of gold, like that Neia friend of yours," "Oh! About that, I have always wondered how old you were!" Moby asked, interrupting Avilia one more time. "Don''t you think it''s rude to ask ady for her age? And if you really want to know, I was only at the ripe young age of 2,823 years old when I died which I guess is fairly long for a fetus like you!" Avilia replied with in conviction. "What the fuck! You are 2,800 years old! You call that young?! You are just a shrivelled up old hag!" Moby said, trying his best to hold in hisughter only to end up in absolute failure. "Yes! That is still very young for a demon! Plus, many demons don''t even live long enough to hit that age do to all the fighting and killing so I actually consider myself really lucky!" Avilia replied with a hint of anger and annoyance, trying her best to defend herself. "I now imagine you as a short, gray-haired old hag masking her voice with demon energy to make you sound young and sexy!" Moby added, stillughing. "True¡­e to think of it, I never really showed you how I looked like did I? If you allow me to use 1000 of your XP I would be able to project to you an image of how I used to look like when I was still in my prime, right before I died," Avilia said with clear confidence in her voice. "How do I know that you aren''t going to scam me and show me a younger picture of yourself or, maybe even a hotter demon, like one of your friends or something?" Moby said in a joking manner. "I swear it will be me so give me your fucking XP to let me show you my young, hot, image before I continue my story! Oh, and before you do, I''ll have you know that I was known to be hotter than even many subi and was hailed as not only the demon queen but also the beauty queen so you better prepare yourself! Maybe you would even simp for me instead of that girlfriend of yours!" Avilia said with a loud, boldugh. "First things first, even if you were the most beautiful existence in all of the 3 realms, which I highly doubt, I would not simp for you or fall in love for that matter at all! I am a 100% faithful man! Take that measly 1000 XP and show me how you look you old bag of bones!" Moby said with a smile on his face and no hesitation at all. "Hahaha! Well! You asked for it! Here it is! Now simp for me!" Chapter 138: The Raceless Demon

138 The Raceless Demon

From the ck darkness of his closed eyelids emerged a sh of blinding purple light. Out of it appeared a beautiful and fair youngdy. Her hair was a silky smooth purple that had an ominous glow and fell down to her bosom. Out of the top of her head emerged two, sharp devil-like purple horns that looked simr to his own only much longer with some demonic runic writing written on them. She had bright purple eyes that had nearly exactly the same look as his eyes of sin, only with a much moreplex structure and a brighter glow, including the red pupils in her eyes. Her luscious red lips, long eyshes, and rtively thick eyebrows emphasized the beauty of her face and the rest of her features such as her clear, slightly pale skin. From underneath her faceid a golden ne around her neck that looked identical to the one that he used to wear before it was crushed. The only difference was that it did not have his family motto engraved on it like he remembered. Even further below she wore a magnificent set of tight, slightly revealing armour, more intimidating than any set of armour he had everid eyes upon before in his life. It was a mostly ck and purple set of heavy metal looking armour that had demonic engraving and patterns all over it with skull-like shoulder pads. Due to it being so tight, it was very clear to see and admire her hourss figure with a narrow waist and wide hips, it also made it easier to see how big and voluptuous her breasts were that were nearly bursting out of her armour. From her back were a pair of purple and ck demon wings that spanned over 2 meters in length that looked dangerous yet still had a level of elegance and beauty to them. From what he saw, he estimated her to be around 5 foot 10 inches in height, only 2 inches shorter than him which not bad at all. For her pose, she just stood there in a casual manner with a snarky smirk, exactly like how he imagined her facial expression to be most of the time that he talked to her. The keywords were "If he had never met Jayden". Moby was a loyal man and would never waiver no matter the odds and challenges thrown his way and that was no different. Looks might be important but personality was even more important and he was not about to leave Jayden for any other girl in the world, no matter how beautiful. Jayden was already more than beautiful enough for him with a good personality to boot. Especially leaving her for a girl such as Avilia. A girl that has no body and lives in his head as a system to judge and help get him stronger, although he did promise her to be able to eventually find her a suitable body and a safe way of transferring her into it. "Damn¡­ I know that you can read my mind so I won''t lie or hold anything back¡­ You are indeed the most beautiful person I have everid my eyes upon. BUT! I will definitely not simp for you as I already have a beautiful girlfriend of my own!" Moby replied with confidence as Avilia''s projection suddenly and abruptly disappeared. "Hahaha! I knew it! No one can resist my charms! I''ll take it! It seems like you are a very loyal man indeed. I respect that but at least you are honest in saying who looks better!" Avilia said with a cheerfulugh. "Okay! I get it Mrs, beautiful demon milf, just get back to the story!" Moby replied with no hesitation at all. "Hey! Who are you calling a milf! Like I said, I am still very young for a demon so I¡­" "Eh, fuck it, whatever, I am not even gonna bother¡­" "Back to the story¡­" Avilia said with a long sigh. "I was part of the Graymore tribe as you could probably assume from myst name. The tribe lived on an extremely small called Etna" that not only housed my tribe but multiple other ones as well," "Inparison to most other tribes and ns across theher world, mine was definitely amongst some of the weakest and was one of the tribes that never dared set foot in the great void to fight the angels and maybe find some extra mortals to kill," "My home, Etna was a very red, rocky, desert-like with very little nts and vegetation. Luckily, my tribeter managed to find a river of red liquid that was not blood that weter named, "The Sea of Gehenna"," "Out of my entire tribe, I was both the youngest and weakest out of all of them as I was born rather "special" to say the least," "I was the only one in the entire tribe that was born very weak, without any specialization, or anything unique to me. It was almost like I waspletely racelesspared to the many different races that existed in my tribe that ranged from quinces all the way to warlocks. This was due to me being a demon of sin, something that no one knew even existed at the time, that only received their powers and skills only once they evolved from a lesser demon to a normal demon. The only reason you ever even had any skill to speak of before your first evolution was because I was nice enough and generous enough to gift you with them out of my own powers. This includes your mind skills, eyes of sin, nightmare, and devil''s hand skills." "Anyways, I am getting kinda off-topic," "Like I was saying, every day without any exceptions, I was mocked, made fun of as weak and disabled by my entire tribe. At times they even contemted outright killing me for power as I was seen as nothing more than a waste of space that leeched off the power gains of the rest of the tribe," "If it weren''t for my parents who were considered one of the strongest demons in the entire tribe, I would have been dead long ago¡­ Although they were not allowed to do it very often, they were nice enough to let me have a few kills on demon beasts as they got it down to one strike for me to finish the job. This gave me a little bit of power but nowhere near as much as all the other kids in the tribe. Nevertheless, I was so d that I had been gifted with such caring, kind souls such as then, I was truly fortunate as they were definitely not like the average demon," "Just like you I was beaten and tortured every day by all the demon children only on a much, much,rger and more painful scale¡­ Avilia Graymore, the disabled, useless waste of air that did nothing but leech off others and their power gains. They mostly did it in secret but sometimes in public where the adults would join in the mockery and beatings until my parents came to save my life," "Unlike you, I did not have my negative emotions absorbed as I spiralled down into deep sadness and depression, even contemting killing myself. However, I would always stop myself from doing so every time as to not upset my kind hearted and hard working parents¡­" "The day when I was saw that crimson dragon flying over me in the sky as I was carrying water from the sea of Gehenna all the way back to my tribe, I was suddenly filled with hopes and motivations of one day being just as strong as that dragon and burn down all that opposed me in one fell swoop. It was like it saw me struggling so it flew down close to me to give me motivation. I swore I was even able to see a smirk on its face and a nod towards me before it flew away at unbelievable speed.I could no longer just sit alone, epting my name and fate as a "disabled demon". I decided to fight my fate and take revenge on all those who had wronged me," "So, during the few nights that my tribe went to sleep, I would always sneak out to go hunting the much stronger and really dangerous wild demon beasts all on my own, trying my best to iste them out of their pack before sneak attacking them with a rock, the only weapon that I had ess to, for a seemingly easy kill. Then, after each kill, I would hide and bury the corpses underground as to hide them, trying my best to leave no trace or leads at all," "As for my empty bed, I did not worry much about it as my tribe rarely ever woke up or patrolled during the night. My little dirty hut where I slept all alone in the cold was somewhere that even fewer people visited, but I decided to fill my sleeping bag with a bunch of rocks to make it seem like I was still there just in case of the off chance that someone actually took a peak inside," "Little young me was scared shitless for more reasons than one. The first, and most worrying reason was that if I was somehow caught hunting without permission of her tribe, it would be seen as no more than treason and I would be no doubt executed for my crimes, even my parents would be useless in doing anything about it despite their high status in the n. And, second, was that the beasts were far, far stronger than me and every time I went hunting I would have an extremely high chance of death, even when fighting one with sneak attacks as who knows what could go wrong. Plus, it some times took more than one sneaky strike to kill even the weakest of beasts making it even more dangerous than I first anticipated," "However, luckily for me, I only ever had problems killing beasts a few times but out of all of them, I still came out extremely battered and barely alive which was well worth it in the end¡­" "I kept on doing this secret hunting for many years, slowly feeling myself get stronger with every session, ignoring all the anger and pain that was bottled up within me as the kids of the tribe still beat the shit out of me as I did not want to reveal my true powers until I was sure that I was able to kill everyst one of them¡­" "The tribe did notice the sudden slight decrease in demon beasts but it was not noticeable enough for them to assume that anything extremely unnatural was going on so they just went on with their lives. If anything, they just assumed that it was probably an opposing tribe that was lurking nearby" "Then, one day, as I was training and killing beasts during the night, much more casually and more easily than before as I was much stronger than I was when I first started, not feeling the need to sneak attack anymore, my luck had suddenly run out. I was caught by one of the tribe kids who had woken up to take a piss, only to randomly stumble on me fighting a good few miles away from the main camp," "He saw and spectated me from a distance, hiding behind a rock watching me easily kill all of the demon beasts with nothing other than my bare feet and arms, a devilish smile on my face as I smashed and destroyed everything in my path pure vigour," "He could not believe his eyes. Me, the disabled leech was somehow able to casually defeat all of those low-ss demon beasts that he or even the strongest kid in the tribe who was at the time hundreds of years older than me could not kill. It was absolutely mind-blowing," "So, he?tried his best to escape and get back to the tribe to inform them about what he had just witnessed," "However, I was able to spot him as he carelessly fled out in the open, not suspecting me to see or catch him from such a distance. However, due to the use of my "Energy Sense" which was very simr to the one you have but only my own creation that I had developed to determine the energy signature and strength of magical beasts so that I did not attack anything too out of my league, I was easily able to spot him and gauge his power, giving me the okay to attack him as he was much weaker than I was due to the training and hunting I did during the past few years," "Anyway, long story short, I ended up catching up to him before he was able to reach the tribe, beating the shit out of him despite him being ava demon and me having no such specialization. At that point, my base strength and speed was already more than enough to outmatch him in every way to the point that he never even stood a chance," "As I picked up his nearly unconscious body by the head with one hand like it was a basketball, I was ready to deliver the final blow to end it. I had nned to kill him and bury him, making it seem like he strayed too far away from the tribe''s camp and ended up being eaten up by the many demon beasts that were lurking in the area. However, for some strange reason that I can''t for the life of me remember, I injected him with my demon energy. That was undoubtedly one of the best decisions of my life¡­" "By doing so, I was able to override his mind and demon energy stream with my own, allowing me to haveplete control over his every move like he was my own puppet, exactly the same as your control over your servants. I then finally found my power that was seemingly not there at all¡­ I was able to override another demon''s demon energy flow and force them to follow my every will andmand¡­" Chapter 139: Trashs Revenge

139 Trash''s Revenge

"I ordered the boy I got under my control to invite the other kids over to have turns "beating me up" one by one in private until I grovel on the ground and beg for mercy. At first, they found the idea a little odd. But, in the end, they decided to go with it anyway as they were convinced it would be a fun time¡­" "Every time one of them woulde, I would beat the shit out of them before injecting them with my demon energy to take full control over them. I would also beat my self up heavily to make it seem like it was working and to encourage more kids to join only for them to be defeated as well," "In the short span of 1 day, I was able to take full control over every single kid in the tribe, beating the shit out of all of them one by one, telling them to act like they had won and destroyed me before sending them back to tell the next person to go and meet their doom. At that moment, I felt more alive than ever before, seeing the once arrogant and proud faces of all those kids that used to beat me up and torture me every day turn into a face filled with despair, crying and grovelling on the ground, was indeed a pleasant site and filled me with immense satisfaction." "However, that happiness and satisfaction had its limit and could notst forever¡­" "While me and the kids were having our little game, the adults had went hunting and came across another tribe of demons¡­ They both fought very vigorously causing many casualties on both sides before they backed off¡­" "Out of the many casualties, my parents were one of them and my good mood was absolutely ruined and took aplete 180 degree turn. Even though I had full control of everyst kid in the tribe¡­ What was the point of victory and revenge if my parents would not be there to share in the glory, the only people that ever helped me out when I was in need" "During the funeral, I noticed the many deadly res of all of the adults, looking at me like I was nothing more than a dead b of meat. I knew my parents were the only reason that I was even alive and that I did not have long to live after the funeral. So, I did not have time to properly sob and greave for their deaths as I myself was at risk of joining them very soon," "So, I had to act quick,ter that night, I ordered the son of the tribe leader to lure his father out to a cave as he imed to have found a rare looking item. There, all the kids that I had under my control, including his own son, sneak attacked the leader, who was barely even above the rank of a lesser demon, when they least expected, stabbing them over 50 times before they knew what even happened despite the immense strength difference, allowing me to have the chance to turn him into one of my loyal servants as well," "That night, I had st torturing the tribe leader for fun, watching his face of disbelief as I beat the shit out of him with him having no idea why he could not move or even speak as all the tribe children stared at the spectacle in absolute horror, once again, including the tribe leader son who could not stop screaming and begging me to let his father be which I found pretty hrious as even when I used to beg and plead, he would do absolutely nothing," "I managed to get a lot of vital information out of the elder, the first of which was that they had nned to kill me the next morning in front of the entire tribe as a demonstration of what happens to weak and useless leaches like me. He also admitted that although he did not want my parents to die as they were strong warriors and important to the tribe, he was not entirely sad as he was finally going to get rid of scum like me, which led to me torturing him even harder," "The next day, ording to my will, the n leader decided to overturn my death sentence and leave me be for a little longer as to respect the death of my parents who were strong, proud warriors that fought for the tribe''s survival and even if it would be beneficial for me to die, it would have been extremely disrespectful to them and their legacy," "That idea received an immense amount of scorn and ridicule from the rest of the tribe as most of them opposed to the decision. But, in the end, they agreed to it as their children seemed to have been happier than usual, probably from beating me up, the tribe''s useless trash can so they decided to let me live for a few more weeks to a month at most," "Next, over the next 4 days, with the help of the tribe elder, I was able to lure out and take down all of the adults in the tribe with minimal trouble due to the leader''s strength and authority," "I was then officially the leader of the entire tribe, me, the new leader, Avilia Graymore! The looks on their faces were priceless when I gathered them all up and ordered them to prostrate before me with looks of anguish and defeat on their faces," "If I was being honest, I wanted nothing more than to kill all of them on the spot for all that they have done to me but I fought the urge to do so in favour of ruling over them as I noticed that every time they killed something, I would receive half of all the negative power they got from killing as a bonus, making me gain strength at an incredible amount of speed with the only catch being that every time I would kill, all of them would receive an extra half of my negative power gain which was not a big deal at all and could be used to my advantage if I yed my cards right ¡­" "Later that day, as my entire tribe was still fighting beasts while I sat back and got free "XP" I notice that my grasp on one of my subordinates was starting to slip away. That one being theva demon kid that was the first person that I made into my servant," "I waited patiently until Ipletely lost my grip of him only to find out that I had also lost my control of him as well. When he noticed that he had his own free will again, he could not believe it as he tried his best to blend in and act naturally like he was still under my control, that sneaky bastard thought he could trick me but I was well aware of his antics," "So, naturally, I caught him and beat the shit out of him once more in front of the entire tribe before trying to inject him with my demon energy once again. However, to my surprise, no matter how many times I injected him, he would not bend to my will like all the other times, like he hadplete immunity which was exactly the case. So, I ended up executing him swiftly to gain power for myself," "This made me figure out a crucial weakness in my power, I was only able to have full control over a demon for an entire week before my control period ran out. And, once a demon is injected with my demon energy once, he would growpletely immune to it if I tried it again," "This meant that my control over all the other kids would run out the next day which would be extremely bad as I doubted to be able to take all of them out at once. And, the day after that would be even worse as the former n leader would snap out of my control and no doubt tear me to shreds," "So, I needed to kill and get rid of every single person in my entire tribe in a way that would be the most beneficial to me and give me the most power. So, after a little bit of thinking, I decided to do the best thing I could think of¡­" "Later that same day, I ordered my tribe to go searching the entire area around until they spotted that same tribe that they had fought the other day only for them to find them after a few hours of searching. I then ordered my tribe to go on a full-on attack, going to war with the other tribe when they least expected it," "The battle was very bloody and gory, guts and organs flying everywhere as the screams of kids and adults dying in agony resounded around in the air. I of course was just waiting on the exterior of the tribe''s vige, spectating the entire fight from a far just enjoying the XP shower as my presence in the fight would be too risky and would not even change the final oue by that much in the first ce. I did however enjoy picking up a few rocks, chucking them at the opposing tribes in order to distract them and give my army the advantage, I even managed to get a few kill steals! Hahaha!" "It was the perfect n¡­ I would be able to kill my entire tribe while at the same time killing the other one that was responsible for killing my parents," "In the end, they had almostpletely wiped each other out, there were only 3 people left alive in my tribe, including the elder and only 4 remaining from the other. All 7 of the remaining warriors were extremely tired and injured, allowing me to go and take them out with minimal effort which was exactly what I did¡­" "Thest 2 warriors remaining alive were me, and the n elder that was dying and bleeding out on the ground. So, I did him a favour by grabbing his heart and ripping it out of his body, killing him in one fell swoop as I smiled in his face like a true demon¡­" "I remembered his final words clear as day, as they had only just happened yesterday¡­" "W-what the fuck are you¡­ You are a demon amongst demons¡­ How could a little weak, useless bitch like you do all of this¡­ If only I had the ability to move, I would squeeze your brains and tear you to shreds if I had the strength to¡­ What kind of power do you even have! AVILIA GRAY-... Those were hisst words before I ripped his heart out and separated his skull from the rest of his body using only 1 hand¡­" "After I killed him, I felt an empty feeling inside my head, something I knew the exact meaning of but did not expect to happen at such a young age. Most demons would sometimes take 100s to even 1000s of years to reach that point and I managed to do it in a fraction of that time due to my ability to make many servants," "It was my evolution¡­ Like you would assume, it was the most physically painful thing that I ever experienced. It was pretty much the same thing that you went through so I won''t go into detail," "When I evolved, I unlocked a multitude of skills including the devil''s hand, pure demon energy maniption, eyes of sin, nightmare, air steps, drain, and many more that I do not want to tell you as to not spoil the fun! I want you to find them out by yourself and be able to experience their strength first hand. Plus, it''s fun to see your reaction to all the fun new skills you will unlock in the future. I sure get pretty excited whenever you unlock one of your new ability skills or dragon skills! Dragons have always fascinated me!" *Ahem* "Anyways, I am getting a little off topic, back to the story¡­" "After everyone had died, I was the only one left, so I scavenged all the houses and dead corpses, managing to find the strongest sets of armours and weapons, which in the end, what I ended up choosing was a katana, the same weapon as you and a light set of naga scale armour¡­" "That was my beginning, my origin and the start of my journey as demon lord¡­" Chapter 140: A Demon Lords End...

140 A Demon Lord''s End...

"In that same month, I was able to conquer my entire home, Etna," "I tested out my ability on demon beasts only to find out that it also worked without a problem. And, with a hoard of demon beasts by my side, I was able to easily take out everyst tribe on the with minimal difficulty," "Out of everyone, I left a few of them alive as my loyal servants, making them bend and submit their will to me as I ruled them with an iron fist, keeping them even after my 1-week control over them was over. I needed a few normal subordinates, not just a few beasts that I control for 1 week before killing them off," "One of those subordinatester became my best friend, Chehera, a subus and future sin of lust, " "I don''t want to go into detail on how we met as I will save the stories of how I met all the sins for another time," "Anyways, when everyst demon on the had died, I noticed that there was a big problem. My dumb ass forgot to keep a person that knew dimensional magic alive which meant that we werepletely stranded on Etna with no way to escape from it," "However, that did not make me give up or lose hope of my dreams and ambitions, if anything, it made me work even harder. For the next few days proceeding that, I trained long and hard with Chehera''s help to try my best to learn dimensional warping magic to travel from to which ended in failure. But not inplete failure, in fact, it was one of the most revolutionary moments in demon history," "Instead of learning warping dimensional magic, I discovered how to make a dimensional pocket space that allowed me to store whatever I wanted which made my life much easier in so many ways," "And, not long after that, right before I was about to lose control of all my servants and beasts, I had finally been able to learn dimensional warping magic, even though I was never the best at it," "Question! Since you had dimensional warping magic and I am your sessor, it is only natural for me to be also able to learn such magic as well, correct?" Moby asked with excitement, stars in his eyes as he interrupted Avilia once again. "Well duh! Obviously! Stop asking stupid questions and let me continue my story!" *Ahem* "So, after I learned warping magic, I travelled from to, easily conquering all of them one by one, my demon army growing stronger the more''s I conquered to the point that I had many loyal servents that bent to my every will, even without my powers of injecting my demon energy into them, I was starting to form a new tribe,ter known as the Graymore tribe thatter evolved into a n beforestly turning into a household," "On my journey of conquest, I learned many things, to know who your true friends are¡­ Out of all of my servants, I only had 8 that I was able to soften up to and be friends with. However, when it came time to choose the sins, it turned out that I chose the wrong sin of pride as that man betrayed me and mounted a full-on revolution against me, all because I was the reason that his entire n was wiped out and he never forgot the grudge against me. It was a very tough fight as he managed to rally most of my troops against me due to their hatred," "However, in the end, I still managed toe out victorious, but only barely and at the cost of a lot of my military power which was pretty devastating. You must choose your friends wisely, trust me, I learned that the hard way, pay attention to everything. Although me and pride seemed like really good friends, it was not at all the case because I was too blind to pick up on it and it cost me dearly," "The second lesson is that you must actually be a good ruler, not ruling with an iron fist, forcing people to do whatever you want, that is how you start a revolution against you. If I had just acted just, and normal to my subordinates, the revolution would have probably never even happened as I would have had the public''s support. Of course, that does not mean that you can''t flex your authority but be mindful of your actions. And that was what that incident made me do and realize," "Anyways, enough of the sappy life lessons, you probably knew all of that," "So, eventually, one day as I was sleeping in my small pce on one of the biggests in theherworld, Sebas, I received a call from Estelle, the sin of envy that there was a huge army right outside of the castle," "And, when I looked outside my window, what I saw was indeed an entire demon army that spanned for even longer than the eye could see. The army seemed to be lead by many greater demon generals that had the banners of their own respective n and tribes which I found really perplexing as rarely do ns ever team up together," "However, even with their extreme numbers advantage, I was still confident I could beat them as I told Estelle to not worry at all," "As I approached their army expecting to be attacked, everyone in the entire army ended up prostrating themselves to me instead, something that greatly startled me beyond what you could even imagine," "They all asked me if they could join my n and if I, one of the strongest demons at the time, could lead the newly formed demon alliance, that was by the way formed out ofplete desperation because the dragons would note to save their asses this time, into battle against the angel and god forces that were dominating in the mortal world and are knocking on the door to theher world," "From before, I decided to steer clear of the mortal realm as I heard that it was a losing battle and had a near 0 chance of survival as the angels were immensely powerful and outnumbered us greatly. It was only a ce for the stupid and foolishly brave to go to meet their doom," "However, with this new army, I was finally able to go to the mortal realm and push the angel forces back, gaining more strength in the process, which was exactly what I did," "Me and my new army marched into the mortal realm like we owned the ce and fought the angel and god forces to a standstill. I even managed to tie Zaione, God Of War, the strongest god at the time in a fight after I evolved even further beyond a greater demon from all of the angel killing, the first-ever demon, at least to my knowledge, to be able to do so." "And before you ask, no, I will not reveal what this evolution was, it was something pretty unique and you will get it when you get it!" "So, anyway, due to my new immense power boost, we started to push back the angel forces. Also, this made more random, weak and strong demons decide toe out of hiding and join the fight. It was the first and only time in history that we demons fought together as one united force to destroy amon enemy. We only had a few cases of demons killing other?demons for XP which was very good to say the least as there are always expectations to everything and having so few people do it was an absolute win." "For many many long, long years of fighting, I became the general and leader of the entire demon army that I unified under my n and name, making everyone behave despite all the arrogant demons that had objections which was no doubt a great achievement by me. At the moment in history, I was the only demon that was followed by arge majority of the race with near full consensus and low opposition." "And with my leadership and expertise, we managed to force the Angels and gods into a standstill, no race-winning over the other. So, in the end, me and Zaione, God Of War, decided to sign a treaty and deal. Other than a few expectations, the rules were that no demon was allowed to set foot in the mortal realm and also no angel was allowed to step into the mortal realm making each realm just keep to their own as to not give the other race a clear advantage," "I looked back to my army and noticed how all if not most of them were in shambles and have nearly reached their limit for how much they could fight. So, I decided to sign the treaty as I thought that I was doing the right thing," "At first, I thought that I was going to be cursed and betrayed by my own army and followers but instead, I was hailed as a hero. The hero that single-handedly ended the seemingly never-ending great Seraphodemon war," "And with that, I was crowned as the first-ever demon lord of theherworld at the young, young age of 1928. I would be lying if I said that I was not extremely happy and felt really aplished and determined to rule over the entire realm as well as I could with my immense amount of strength," "On Sebas, one of the biggest founds in the Netherworld is where I built the great country of Graymore, the first, and most important country of my many that will soon toe as it was known as the royal country," "Soon, the entire was filled with countries, kingdoms, and cities making it the central and most important in the entireherworld, where all the major shit happened. It also happened to be the most popted with around 60% of the race, excluding beasts, living on it," "I made new rules and reform to make things fairer to all, making police and things of the such enforce the rules, something that the public did not like at first but, they eventually grew ustomed to it. We needed to abandon our pure barbaric roots. It would make it easier to rule and control the poption while at the same time reducing the chances of revolts or revolutions," "However, it was always in a demon''s nature to grow stronger, and if killing was not legal and is very punishable, how would they be able to get stronger. So, I formed something called an "Adventurer''s Guild" where they form groups and explore the many, many unexploreds in the realm, reporting to us what was going on there while killing the beasts for XP. It was a win-win situation. And, just like I thought, it became a big hit with the demons who wanted to grow stronger," "My goal as demon lord was to unite and rule over all of the demon tribes as for there to be 0 to no outliers for me to worry about as I conquered and destroyed all the ones that refused to submit under my will. All but the dragons who were an exception..." "When I went to the dragon, as I was invited, to ask them for their cooperation, I was very surprised to say the least. The amount of gold and treasure on that blue was actually insane. It was like they were hoarding it all for no reason which felt extremely weird," "When I asked them to join my demon nation where I would protect and give them many benefits, they immediately decline without any hesitation saying that they are fine alone and want to keep to themselves which I thought was pretty respectable. And, when I asked them about why they joined the fight against the angels back in the day, they responded kinda weirdly like they did not want to tell me the answer. But, from what I was able to piece together, it had something to do with an egg and their new king being born or something along those lines," "And, when I asked to go see the baby, my request was immediately rejected without a second thought as they did not trust me around him at all," "So, I left the dragonpletely empty-handed other than that they won''t participate in my affairs from the outside and keep to themselves which was I guess better than nothing, Now you understand why I know so little about the dragon race¡­" "Anyways, I ruled over theher world for the next 1000 years or so, only having major problems a few times with groups of terrorists, cultists, and traitors constantly popping up frequently around the nation which was easily resolved by even me personally sometimes." "However, what came next was something I did not at all expect¡­" "Out of nowhere, many angels and gods descended from the skies above, raining magic on all the civilians bellow¡­ They had broken our treaty of none aggression and to leave the mortal realm alone¡­ They managed to do it before I could as I had nned to attack them in the next 10-50 years which was really unlucky," "I had a few spies?patrolmen always in the mortal world, constantly patrolling just in case and to report to me if anything suspicious was going on, I would always receive feedback and reports daily using mind link and nothing seemed to be out of ce so, I had no idea what was going on and how as I was not notified anytime before the attack," "I could only assume that my patrolmen were traitors or threatened. Either way, I knew that I was fucked," "In the short span of 2 hours, almost 1 third of Sebas''s poption had beenpletely wiped out," "Despite the fact that we demons were supposed to hold the major advantage in the Netherworld, the angel''s were for some reason on par or even in some cases stronger," "Iter found out that it was because they had been gaining an immense amount of faith energy the entire time from all of the mortals that had not forgotten about them and from their breaking of the treaty-making me realize how dumb or manipted my patrolmen were and how stupid I was for allowing it as I did not pay enough attention to it because I focused on other things like politics and training, not to mention my hobby for crafting and many other things," "I had no idea and could not fathom at the time that the seemingly righteous, pure and innocent angels and gods would pull such a thing on me and break our treaty, even before I got the chance to¡­" "Long story short, me and the seven deadly sins fought back the angels and gods as they were still beating us due to their strength, and numbers advantage this time around, not forgetting their sneak attack. And this time, I was somehow losing to Zaione, God Of War, on my own turf despite me being equal to him on an equal ying field only 1000 years prior," "As I turned back and looked at the struggling and nearly dead bodies of my still struggling friends and the faces of all of my servants and civilians trying their best to run away. I could not just wait idly by as I watched everything I had built up and created crumble and being burned down to the ground," "So¡­ I chose to do the ultimate sacrifice for the survival of my nation and people¡­" "I flew recklessly straight into the heart of the enemy army, taking out everyone and everything in my path only to be stopped by Zaione and his duel wielded swords," "That was when I executed my final trump card¡­ I overloaded my body with all the surrounding demon energy, including my inner energy, until I exploded in a big Magnificient explosion of demon energy. The st was sorge and powerful that it immediately killed Zaione in an instant along with many, many, other gods and angels that were around him in the vicinity which was over half their army¡­ allowing my troops to finallye out victorious. And, before my soul waspletely destroyed, I managed to use a personal secret technique to seal it and all my powers away into my ne that I saved from being vaporized in the st, the same one that ended up in your possession." "And before you ask, yes¡­ I blew myself up for the sake of my people¡­ I am kinda weird right? Hehe¡­ I guess things change about you when you start feeling a ruler''s responsibilities¡­Plus, a lot of my friends made me loosen up a little and act more casual and open-minded!" "Trust me, I was not always like this! In fact, I was always really serious back in the day! I am not the same person that I was when I first started my journey but I would like to argue that I am just as cruel!" Avilia said with a loud heartyugh. "So, there you go kid, that is a general summary of my life''s story just like I promised! If you have any questions don''t be afraid to shoot them my way!" Avilia said in a sad yet cheerful tone as she began to think back on the days that she was still alive. Chapter 141: Novice Questioning

141 Novice Questioning

"Thanks for that but it''s all in the past now, all I can do now is keep those memories precious and look forward to the future. Anyways, just ask me your questions and I will answer depending on what you asked," Avilia said in a calm, yet sad tone. "Ummm, okay, so¡­ Is there a limit to the number of people in your household that you can share XP with?" Moby asked, trying to make the best of the opportunity and squeeze as much information from Avilia as he could. "Hahaha! Just like many other things, I am not answering that! You should just wait and find out!" Avilia replied with augh. "Okay, second, you said that the sin of pride betrayed you. Does that mean that you killed him?" Moby asked. "Well, no shit I killed him, tortured the fuck out of him too, all in public to show people what happened when you fuck with me," Avilia replied with no hesitation at all. "So, does that mean that you no longer had a sin of pride? Were you down one sin? Can you reassign a sin if one of them died?" Moby continued with the second half of his question. "Well, of course, you can rece a sin but there is a specific procedure you go through like all the other ones. I of course reced the old sin of pride with a new, much better and more loyal one. Anything else?" "Yes, you mentioned that you had visited the celestial realm once, when was that? I don''t remember you mentioning it," Moby asked. "Oh! That, the demons and gods signed 2 separate treaties, one was signed in the Nether world and the other was signed in the Celestial world. As you can assume, I was there to sign the treaty in the Celestial world so I managed to see a few glimpses of whatid there but not very much. Also, I did indeed feel like my powers were weakened in the Celestial Realm so the treaty was signed just at the entrance of the realms as to avoid sneak or underhanded attacks while the other was weakened. I just didn''t mention it in my story because I did not find it important and did not think you would really need that information but I guess I was wrong," Avilia responded with a casual chuckle. "Also, you never mentioned how one travels between the 3 realms. You made it sound really easy. And if that was the case then wouldn''t the humans have already discovered the existence of the 3 realms?" Moby asked. "This time, both angels and demons had set it up so that the portal between the dimensions would notify the other party when someone enters or exits through them while they both kept in closemunication in order for what happened to never repeat. The angels also agreed to give us majorpensation with angel ves and powerful treasures that they agreed upon," "Anyone caught entering or exiting a portal without authorization would be deemed as heretics and be immediately hunted down and executed. And, around that time was when I went into my deep slumber in my ne, stored in a high-security vault in the middle of the demon lord''s castle ording to my wishes, waiting for the day that I will train and mentor the future demon lord and pass down my strength to whom I deem worthy." "The next thing I knew I woke up around the neck of a little crybaby human, trying to kill himself. I found it weird that I was stuck around the neck of a human as I was in the mortal realm where it was supposed to be illegal. It made me wonder how I even got there and if someone had stolen my ne. That''s why it was weird for your parents to have it. There are still many questions that I wanted to be solved but I decided to ignore those for now and focus on seeing if you would make a good demon lord and things of that sort." "Even if I wanted to find the answers now, it would bepletely impossible. First, I have no idea where the current portal to theherworld is as they have probably changed the locations. Second, even if I did, I have no idea of what theher world''s state is and I would not tell you where it is or make you go there as you as still farrr too weak to do anything against many of the demons. Plus, once you enter, even if you are not killed by the many demons, the angels would be notified of your entry and hunt you down instead. It is far too risky right now." "Also, both portals are usually really hidden, maybe behind some spells, crystals or arrays to hide it further or to deter intruders, on remote and far away ces, making it nearly impossible to find unless they were unimaginably lucky. That''s why the humans don''t know where they are and probably never will," Avilia exined. "I see¡­ okay,st 4 questions. do you think that the angels have gotten to earth and are getting faith energy from humans? Am I rted to any of the dragons that you have met in the past? Have you ever met an ice dragon? And, do you think that mana rted powers are the powers native to the mortal world, just like how demon energy is native to the Nether world and holy energy is native to the Celestial world." "As for mana, I don''t know its origin. I really did found it very obscure. I don''t know if you are rted to any of the dragons I met and no, I don''t think that I have not met an ice dragon before. As for if the angels and gods are getting powers from humans I am also not sure about. The way they gain power is very hard to spot unless you really look at it very closely." "Only a few certain religions and faiths have connections to them and the few ones that do are very hard to tell unless you are standing in the middle of them. That was why we demons just outright killed anyone and anything that had any faith or religion as we did not trust anything rted to the subject just to be sure," "I am not sure if any of your earthly religions are angel rted so I just told you to stay clear of all of them just in case. Do you have any other questions?" Avilia asked like she was starting to feel tired. "No, thanks a lot for everything, you must have had it pretty tough, all of that information will prove useful to me the day that I finally enter the Nether world. I am really d that I have you in my life, I am not sure what I would do without you!" Moby said with a smile as he felt like he squeezed her for as much information as he could. Plus, he did indeed feel bad for her and her unfortunate past, including her waking up in apletely different era and an unknown world not knowing how her people or even close friends are doing or if they were even alive. Moby liked Avilia and thought that she was a funny, and nice person to be around. So, he promised to do his best to not let her down. Both in keeping her goodpany so she doesn''t get bored, and to finally go to the Nether world to see how it is, not to forget about him also promising to find her a new body. "Hehehe! Look who finally decided to simp for me! I knew that I was impossible to resist!" Avilia said with a cute chuckle. "Hahaha! Yeah, dream on! Even if you are pretty hot for an old bag of bones, I would never simp for you!" Moby responded in a yful manner making Avilia reply by saying "Suuuureeee" as sheughed even harder. "So, anyway, I have got to go to sleep, I need the rest from all the work I have been doing for the past week. Plus, I need to wake up early to do my daily quest and make new armour and weapons with the 30 mil extra I have, all before school once again starts" Moby said with a yawn. "Yeah¡­ sleep would be nice¡­ I have not yet slept once since we first met because I had too much on my mind. But now I feel much better¡­ So, good night¡­" Avilia said in a tired voice, before goingpletely silent. "Good night to you too¡­" Moby said with a smile, closing his eyes as he was slowly bing more excited for the future as today was by far one of the most eventful days in his entire life. Chapter 142: Browsing the Store

142 Browsing the Store

Moby woke up from his deep sleep feeling more refreshed than he had ever been in the past 3 weeks. He looked over to his side, looking at Jayden''s beautiful face who was wearing a nearly see-through nightgown as she slept like an angel. At least that''s what he tried to tell himself. In reality, she was sleeping on one hand that was extended outwards, drooling on her arm and pillow making Moby chuckle at her less than pleasant sight. ''She must have had it pretty tough for the past few days, this must be her first good nap in a while, I can''t really me her,'' Moby thought, looking at Jayden with a smile before standing up to stretch his rtively stiff and tired muscles before leaving the room. He decided to do his daily quest before anything else in the morning. And, he of course did not decide to do it inside the bedroom as to not wake up Jayden so he headed to the arena where he couldplete it in peace. On his way there, he surprisingly found a decent amount of servants already up and about, greeting him with a bright smile and a deep bow as he passed the hallway making him admire their immense dedication for their jobs. He also thought about what weapons and armour he should buy with his remaining 30 million dors that he did not spend on his ability. A part of him wanted to save the money for an emergency or to save up for even better equipment as when he buys them, they would bepletely useless as he would not be able to resell them as they would only work on demons. In the end, he decided to go for a mixture of both, saving a chunk of his money and spending the rest, all depending on the armour''s effectiveness for the price. He opened up his crafting menu and began to browse through therge selection of weapons and armour, most costing in the 100s of millions which were way out of his budget and a few even in the trillions or "Undefined" which really boggled Moby making him ask about the ludicrous pricing and theck of many cheap armours. ''Well, the ones in the trillions and undefined most likely require a one of a kind material that is almost impossible to find in the mortal realm or that they just don''t exist in this realm and are exclusive to theher world. I learned crafting and got my skills from theher world after all so it is only natural. Some of the ingredients that are used can be found in both of theher and mortal worlds, although the ones in theher world are usually, at least from my experience, much easier to find and obtain which would interns make them much more expensive." ''Yeah¡­ That makes a lot of sense, I was actually thinking the same thing but I just wanted to be sure,'' Moby said with a smile. ''Your wee¡­'' Avilia replied with an audible yawn. As Moby entered through the front door of the arena, eyes casually closed while still chatting with Avilia, he suddenly heard a loud scream. "MY LORD WATCH OUT!" a voice screamed towards Moby, making him open his eyes only to see arge, crimson fireball sting in his direction, making him inwardly panic as he flexed his neck to the side as wide as he could, making him barely dodge it. ''Shit, that was too close,'' Moby thought, sweat running down his face as his face was almost burned hard. When he looked up, he noticed that it was non-other than Abby who had woken up even before him to do her training. "L-lord! I sincerely apologize, I had no idea you wereing!" Abby said, running down from the stage to apologize and greet Moby with a deep bow. "Eh, don''t worry about it. All''s well that ends well. Plus, it wouldn''t have hurt that much anyway so put your head up!" Moby said with a smile. "Yes! Of course!" Abby said, immediately following orders in a stiff manner. "So, how long have you been training here for?" Moby asked with curiosity. "I have only just arrived here around 15 minutes ago. I of course took your advice and decided to sleep early to get a good night''s sleep. And I have to say, it did wonders for my overall image and energy! I have been a workaholic for so long and ever since I became a demon, I only worked harder as I had hope of finally bing stronger again and as I had more stamina and suffered less sleep rted health problems. Thank you so much for looking out for me my lord! I will try my best to rest every now and then as per your advice and suggestions!" Abby said with a heartfelt smile. "I am d to hear! Continue working hard! I expect great things from you!" Moby replied, putting his hands on her shoulder, making her feel extremely happy and proud of herself. "Y-yes my lord! I promise I will not disappoint!" Abby firmly replied, looking into Moby''s eyes with clear resolve. Moby then told Abby that he was going to work out for a bit before leaving the arena and she should just continue what she was doing like he was never there which she of course agreed to. Moby quickly finished his daily quest, assigning his 3 stat points into intelligence in order to better use his new ability, bringing it from 529 to 532. Then, as he had extra time, he trained his new ability by testing out a few things, finding minimal sess on some parts whilepletely failing others. All in all, he felt like he had a very long way to go. And, he felt that he was very slowly getting the hang of his ability as he got a little better and morefortable with it the more that he practiced. He also decided to have another training session with Abby for her to show him her new skills with the scythe and for him to teach her a few new things that she may or may not have known. Teaching her only did confirm once more that Abby really did improve, both in her own style and in the fundamentals. How she beat him when she caught him by surprise was a result of that improvement. After Moby felt like he had done enough training, he left the arena, leaving Abby alone in there to train as she insisted that she wanted to stay and practice the new scythe techniques that he taught her. After leaving the arena, choosing to wait a while longer to have his morning breakfast, Moby decided to take a quick shower before returning to Jayden''s room, only to find out that she was still fast asleep despite all that time. It was now the perfect time for him to upgrade and buy new equipment from what he had seen earlier in his browsing session. He also wanted to do it alone as he understood each of his teammates'' builds better than themselves due to his inspect skill, meaning that his teammates would not do him that much help in choosing a certain set of armour. Plus, he wanted to keep it as a secret, for now, to surprise his teammates with a brand new set of weapons and armour the next time they met. The main weapons that caught his attention and considered buying so far were the following, ------------------------------------- Ice Stick An Icy forged katana that is so weak that you might as well just wack them with a stick. +80 strength +10 mind Special effect: +15% ice/cold damage Special effect: +5% slowness for every connecting attack, effectsts for 0.2 second Cost: 2 Ice lillys (500,000 dors) 1 ice giant nail (10,000 dors) 1rge Ice Beetle horn (600,000 dors) ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Rookie Illusion Daggers Daggers usually used by beginner demons that specialize in shapeshifting or illusion based magic. +70 strength +20 Agility Special Effect: Daggers that are thrown can be immediately teleported back to their owner''s hands. Special Effect: Boosts the strength of illusions and allows the user to duplicate the daggers at will to create imaginary daggers to distract and confuse the enemy. Cost: 2 Griffin ws (750,000 dors) 1 ck krutonij ore (400,000 dors) ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- Newbie Necromancer Scythe The bare minimum weapon a necromancer can have without being clowned on and bullied. +90 strength Special Effect: 10% of total damage per hit dealt to an enemy will be healed back to the user (10% life steal). Special Effect: Buffing spells on undead are 15% more effective. Cost: 1rge great orc horn (1,000,000 dors) 1kg Jehu Obsidian (200,200 dors) ------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- The poky back scratcher A spear that is mostly used by knights and warriors, or anything that requires closebat. +70 strength +10 agility +10 intelligence Special Effect: +20% piercing damage (Shields and tough armour). Special Effect: +10% Attack speed Cost: 1rge troll tooth (400,000 dors) 0.5kg Rayru Iron (700,100 dors) ------------------------------------- Chapter 143: Novice Frostborn

143 Novice Frostborn

The weapons also had many useful and interesting abilities that well-matched and aided the strengths of their respective race. In his case, his sword increased his cold/ice damage by 15% as well as another extremely powerful effect that allowed him to slow down his enemy''s movements which can be extremely overpowered and abused under the right circumstances. The best part was that even though their costs might have seemed really high, they were actually much cheaper than other weapons identical to it in strength found on the web. And, from what he saw from the armour sets, he felt like the trend of good, "cheap" equipment would continue. ------------------------------------- Novice Frostborn gear A set of armour usually worn by young or really weak demons that specialize in cold or ice-rted magic and abilities. ------------------------------------- Novice Frostborn Cloak +30 strength +30 endurance Cost: 1 medium Ice Beetle shell (250,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Frostborn Shirt +30 endurance +15 strength +15 Agility Cost: 1 medium Ice Beetle shell (250,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Frostborn Gloves +30 strength +30 endurance Cost: 1 medium Ice Beetle shell (250,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Frostborn Pants +30 endurance +30 agility Cost: 1 medium Ice Beetle shell (250,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Frostborn Shoes +30 endurance +30 agility Cost: 1 medium Ice Beetle shell (250,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Frostborn Ring +30 mind +90 intelligence Cost: 1 Snow Sapphire (300,000 dors) ------------------------------------- Full set bonus: Demon based skills and abilities are 5% more potent. All Ice based magic cost reduced by 15% All Ice based magic are 5% more potent. ------------------------------------- The novice Frostborn armour was the only set of ice/cold rted armour he could find that fit in his budget. The effect that reduced the cost of ice magic and the effect that made his ice magic more powerful were really strong and useful indeed. However, he had no idea if it would also extend to his ice ability which was mana based instead of demon energy based. However, Moby was willing to take the risk as he believed that the effect would extend to him as well due to how his ability mixed andbined with his demon dragon powers. Moby slowly walked over to Jayden''s PC that was in the corner of the room, booting it up, logging in, before navigating to Qbay to look for the materials to craft his sword and armour. From before Moby was aplete amateur on how to use and navigate on a PC but over the past few days when he was doing his ability research, he had gotten more used to it and became a lot morefortable. Not to his surprise, he found that none of the materials that he was looking for were being sold on Qbay, probably since it was mostly used for more casual and cheaper items to buy. So, he navigated to the official online market where individual people and guilds would be able to sell their own magical equipment, crystals, and materials. It was the ultimate shopping hub for anything magic rted, except for ability orbs/crystals. At first, other than the ice giant nail, he was not able to find any of the materials that he wanted, making him extremely disappointed, telling himself that he would need to wait and be patient for them toe back in stock. However, he persevered and looked even further, making himself d that he did. To his surprise, all of the materials that he wanted were listed in the "Luxury decorations" section of the website that, like the name suggested, had many items and materials that were meant to be used as purely cosmetic or only provided minimal power boosts for their cost and rarity. This really confused Moby, making him question why these materials and ingredients that he needed were listed as useless cosmetics that provided no benefit before he came to the best conclusion that he coulde up with. ''Humans must not have found the benefits of these materials as their effects only work on demons or that they could not find the right recipe or crafting technique,'' Moby thought. ''I think that both of those statements hold some truth. Anyways, this is pretty beneficial to you, if humans were able to use the full extent of these materials there would be no way that they would be worth so cheap, the price would have no doubt skyrocketed,'' Aviliamented. ''Yeah, you''re right, I am really d. I want to spend as least as I could,'' Moby replied, rubbing the back of his head with a chuckle. Moby took his time trying to find and buy from the lowest sellers, making a few materials and ingredients sell out as he was probably their only customers in potentially weeks or even months, making him feel pretty lucky that he found enough in stock to craft his full set of Novice Frostborn armour. He added all the materials to his cart as he took a good look at the total price for his full set of armour and weapon. \u003c $2,895,000 \u003e A full $235,00 above the estimated price that was provided by his system which he ultimately did not care about. The set of armour and weapon was way too good even for the increased price and was still well within his budget as he had a total of $30,000,000 saved up. If he spent $3,000,000 on each of his family members sets it would only be a total of $12,000,000, giving him $18,000,000 leftover for other purposes that might arise in the future which was perfect for him. Plus, the stronger armours that Moby found in his crafting menu were a lot more expensive and would exceed his budget by a sizeable amount. So, he did the best he could for a bnce of power and extra funds. Moby immediately clicked the "Proceed to check out" button and logged onto Jayden''s PayPod ount that she had encrypted for more secretive buying, the same one that had all of his bet money and the same one that Jayden had shared her password with because she trusted him. Then, he paid for all of the materials as he looked over to the teleport pad beside theputer, waiting for his order to appear. Not even a secondter, a blinding sh of light appeared on the teleport pad beside him, making him greatly panic as Jayden was still sleeping not too far away from him and the light was bigger and brighter than he remembered. He was afraid that he would wake her up early due to his carelessness so he used every ounce of strength in his body to erect a thin ice wall in front of Jayden''s bed to block the light from reaching her and to cast a shadow on her. That small, thin ice wall used up over a third of Moby''s mana and took him incredible mental and physical strength as it was the biggest chunk of ice that he had created to date, making him extremely proud of himself as it was the panic and pressure that pushed him over the edge. When he noticed that the light had faded away, he melted and removed his wall before looking at the materials on the teleport pad, the many shiny, light blue hard looking beetle shells, the shimmering and memorizing Snow Sapphire, the long,rge, sharp, light blue snow beetle horns, and,st but not least, the ice giant nail that looked bigger and more disgusting up close than in the pictures. He looked at all of the materials with a smile, putting his arms out towards them as he closed his eyes and began to imagine the design of his armour set before he confirmed what he wanted to craft. In the next second, all of the materials suddenly disappeared as they hadpletely transformed and moulded into a new set of armour that was already worn and equipped by Moby. It was a set of luxurious-looking metallic armour that felt really light stretchy and flexible at the same time, making him feel like he was wearing light cloth armour instead. Just like he expected, as soon as he dawned the armour, he felt an immense rush of energy flow throughout his entire body making him feel more energized and powerful than before. He wore a slightly gold embroidered mostly ck with a small purple patterned and engraved chest te. Decentlyrge and somewhat spikey ck and purple shoulder pads that did not at all hinder his movements duet to how flexible and light there were, sharp, metallic gauntlets that matched the same colour scheme and had small spikesing out of the elbow pads, a fancy looking, ck on the outside and purple on the inside, cloak that had a cape and hood for better stealth and for extra defence, metal leggings that nicely matched the aesthetic of his chest te, and, metallic boots that had small spikesing from the top and matched the same colour scheme as the rest of his armour. For his weapon, it looked like a standard ck katana that looked like it was forged with high-quality material. However, what made it unique was that the de had a runic purple pattern on it that gave off an ice ominous glow that literally sent shivers down his spine. The sheath was a sleek all-ck that blended very well with his cloak, just like he wanted. For his ring, it was a slim, sleek light blue ring that wrapped around his left index finger. The ring also turned purple with no glow every time he used any of his demon energy which Moby thought looked really cool. All in all, Moby was happy with the look he went for and the power boost he received. At first he was skeptical about crafting a set of metallic armour as he thought that it would be extremely heavy and hard to move in which would have greatly restricted his movements. However, Avilia convinced him that it was not the case as she was an expert crafter that had the methods and skills to be able to create heavy defensive armour that felt the same as light armour. He was d he decided to trust in her words as he was beyond impressed with what she was able to do. Plus, in his opinion, heavy armour looked far better and more intimidating on him than light armour and a lot more fitting for his position as the future demon lord. Also, this time, he decided to design his armour much fancier as he had much more money and was not required to hide his power and look poor to sell his lie. He needed to dress ording to his new status that had probably been spread everywhere ever since his visit to the Griffith family the other day, as a B rank, Jayden Griffith''s boyfriend, and as someone who won a decent chunk of money. While his armour was equipped, Moby was slowly getting closer and closer to reaching the status of A-rank, making him feel really excited even though he knew that he was still far weaker than the top-ranking students, or even the top first years in the school. Moby''s new stats with his armour on were now the followings: ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 7 Ice Level: 50 XP to next level 39,400/50,000 Power Level: 23,990 (19,290 + 4700) Hp: 188/188 Demon Energy: 619/619 Mana: 619/619 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 413 Energy/Hour Strength: 626 (471 + 155) Agility: 632 (557 + 75) Endurance: 522 (372 +150) Intelligence: 619 (529 + 90) Mind: 140 (100 + 40) Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** Chapter 144: Crafting Finished

144 Crafting Finished

Now it was the time to purchase his teammate''s equipment. Luckily, the choice was pretty easy to make as there were not many options to choose from due to theck of cheap, lower-level items in his crafting menu. ------------------------------------- Novice Illusionist gear A set of armour usually worn by young or really weak demons that specialize in illusion or shapeshifting magic. ------------------------------------- Novice Illusionist Cloak +20 strength +10 agility +30 endurance Cost: 2 medium leshy horns (256,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Illusionist Shirt +30 endurance +5 strength +25 Agility Cost: 2 medium leshy horns (256,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Illusionist Gloves +30 strength +30 endurance Cost: 2 medium leshy horns (256,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Illusionist Pants +30 endurance +30 agility Cost: 2 medium leshy horns (256,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Illusionist Shoes +30 endurance +30 agility Cost: 2 medium leshy horns (256,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Illusionist Ring +30 mind +90 intelligence Cost: 1 Dream stone (300,000 dors) ------------------------------------- Full set bonus: Demon based skills and abilities are 5% more potent. All illusion based magic cost reduced by 15% Shapeshifting and transformations are 15% more adaptable. ------------------------------------- This was what he had chosen for Jayden''s armour as although it was listed as slightly more expensive than his own, it was clearly the obvious choice for her with his current budget. The only thing he was not sure about was the part about transformation adaptability which he could only assume meant that Jayden would be able to get used to and adapt faster with the new body and abilities of her new transformations which was extremely good and useful as it was the biggest downside to her demon powers, that she was in a foreign body with a foreign ability making it harder to fight well. ------------------------------------- Novice Necromancer gear A set of armour usually worn by young or really weak demons that specialize in necromancy or undead rted magic. Novice Necromancer Cloak +20 strength +10 intelligence +30 endurance Cost: 2 medium Ork bones(249,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Necromancer Shirt +30 endurance +5 strength +25 Agility Cost: 2 medium Ork bones(249,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Necromancer Gloves +30 strength +30 endurance Cost: 2 medium Ork bones(249,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Necromancer Pants +30 endurance +20 agility +10 intelligence Cost: 2 medium Ork bones(249,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Necromancer Shoes +30 endurance +30 agility Cost: 2 medium Ork bones(249,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Necromancer Ring +30 mind +90 intelligence Cost: 1 dark orichalchum ore (300,000 dors) ------------------------------------- Full set bonus: Demon based skills and abilities are 5% more potent. All Necromancy and undead based magic cost reduced by 15% The range in which the user''s undead are allowed to exist is increased by 20% ------------------------------------- The armour that Moby chose for Abby was, of course, the only necromancer rted one that he could find that did not go over his budget and it was really good to say the least. Unlike Jayden''s armour that had a bigger emphasis on agility and his armour that seemed more bnced and a little mind oriented, Abby''s had extra intelligence instead which was really good for her race as she would have to be constantly buffing and healing her undead while she was in battle, consuming arge amount of demon energy in the process. The extra bonus was, just like the other armour, a cost reduction in its respective element and magic type plus another bonus which a range boost to how far her summoned undead were allowed to be from her. It was something important for a necromancer as they would be allowed to spread their army farther and, in some cases, be used to stay farther back while they let all of their undead to do the heavy lifting. However, Moby felt like Abby would not use the range boost in such a way as she was a very upfront and aggressive fighter despite her being a necromancer that would usually do the exact opposite. ------------------------------------- Novice Dark Knight gear A set of armour usually worn by young or really weak demons that specialize in knight rted magic. ------------------------------------- Novice Dark Knight Helmet + Cloak +30 strength +30 endurance Cost:1 Night Steel ore (314,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Dark Knight Shirt +30 endurance +20 strength +10 Agility Cost:1 Night Steel ore (314,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Dark Knight Gloves +20 strength +40 endurance Cost:1 Night Steel ore (314,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Dark Knight Pants +40 endurance +20 strength Cost:1 Night Steel ore (314,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Dark Knight Shoes +20 endurance +40 agility Cost:1 Night Steel ore (314,000$) ------------------------------------- Novice Dark Knight Ring +30 mind +90 intelligence Cost: 1 ck Ruby (300,000 dors) ------------------------------------- Full set bonus: Demon based skills and abilities are 5% more potent. All Knight based magic cost reduced by 5% Vision and perception +5% Recoil/self damage reduction +15% Passive health regeneration +10% Maximum health +10% ------------------------------------- And, as the final piece of equipment, he chose the novice dark knight gear set for Alex. Alex had been practicing, trying to get a hang of his demon powers ever since he became a demon and, for some reason, he seemed to be having little sess, only managing to use a few skills with less than optimal energy consumption and skillfulness, at least ording to him. Moby was still not sure what the Knight ss had as skills and powers as Alex had yet to tell and show him because he wanted to wait until he had full mastery over his powers. However, from the set of armour that he saw, he got a general idea of what the knight ss was all about. He knew that it had something to do with self-harm and damaging one''s self for power but as for the specifics he was still unsure of. He also noticed that the set of armour was more defence and attack heavy, leaving there little to no room for extra stats in intelligence. And, the armour had many more extra stat bonuses than all of the other armour although the boost was a little less for each one which still turned out to be a positive. That was probably the reason the armour costed a decent chunk more than all the other armour. However, in Moby''s opinion, it was still well worth the money and not that big of a deal for all the extra he is getting out of the armour. Now that Moby had all of his teammate''s equipment chosen, he went back on the website to purchase all of the materials and ingredients, once again finding most of them in the decoration and cosmetic sections, buying all of them at once. The total cost for all of his teammate''s armour and weapons turned out to be, \u003c $10,922,014 \u003e Which was a little more than he expected but he, once again, did not at all mind. For all of the armour and weapons including his own, the cost turned out to be, \u003c $13,817,014 \u003e over 1.8 million dors higher than he expected leaving him with $16,182,986 leftover for future purposes, plenty enough in his opinion. When he clicked the "Proceed to checkout" option on the website, he immediately used all of his powers to erect another ice wall in front of Jayden to block out the light so she did not wake up, learning from his previous blunder as he stared at the white light on the teleporter. A few secondster, a massive pile of all kinds of materials appeared on the teleport pad, overflowing onto the ground do to the sheer amount, making a loud crashing sound, causing Moby to lightly panic as he quickly checked if Jayden was still asleep. ''Damn¡­ what would it take to wake her up? Is she in deep hibernation or something?'' Moby thought, looking at Jayden''s unsightly sleeping position and precious smile. Moby then focused his attention back on the massive pile of ingredients and materials in front of him as he put his arms out wide to finally create the equipment. He closed his eyes, as he confirmed what he wanted to be crafted. Then, he spent the time to design and adjust the equipment to suit his friend''s needs as he could probably assume what kind of armour they would want. Moby also asked Avilia if she was able to create heavy armour that felt like light armour for his servants'' gears as well, exactly like she did with his, making her reply by saying, "No shit I can! Who do you think you''re talking to? I am Avilia Graymore, the first demon lord and master crafter!" Which were the exact words that he expected to hear from Avilia. When he finished designing the equipment, all of the materials abruptly disappeared, and in the next second, all of the armour he designed, which was a lot to say the least, suddenly popped up in the air in front of him, something that he fully expected so he had prepared himself to store them all in his inventory. However, something that he did not expect was that one of the armour pieces popped up above him, as there were so many things that he crafted, and dropped on his head with a heavy crash, startling him greatly as all of the armour pieces and weapons dropped on the ground making many extremely loud sounds that reverberated around the room. *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* "WHAAA!! Who''s there! What was that sound!" Jayden screamed in panic as she noticed a massive ck wall in front of her, equipping her novice demon equipment, shing the wall down with both of her daggers like it was butter. Then, she noticed an unknown hooded figure who was wearing a metallic set of armour that she did not at all recognize standing beside her PC and teleport pad. With no hesitation, she immediately reacted by turning into her shadowy smoke form, quickly approaching the unknown enemy with the utmost stealth, popping up behind him with her daggers hovering around his neck. "Talk now before I fucking kill you and feed you to the dogs, or, even worse, I''ll suck your life energy dry, showing you your worst fucking nightmare before I kill you. Who sent you here, what were you doing and nning, and how the fuck did you get in?" Jayden said in a cold, deadly voice, the look of absolute death in her eyes. "W-wait! Jayden! It''s me! Moby! Calm down! This was all just a misunderstanding!" Moby said, putting his hands up in panic. Chapter 145: Sure-Fire Tes

145 Sure-Fire Tes

"Yep, that confirms it, it really is you!" Jayden said with a cute chuckle, lightening up her tone, bringing her daggers away from Moby''s face. "What the fuck! Of course, it''s me! My voice is pretty hard not to recognize!" Moby said, cold sweat running down his face as he took off his hood, revealing his face as he was free to move once again. "Hehe, well, I could not see your face and, if I moved my hands to take your hood off I would have put myself at risk as it would give the opponent a chance to counter and catch me off guard. So, what I did was the quickest sure-fire way to see if you were real or not as I knew that I would not be able to harm you even if I wanted to," Jayden said with a chuckle. "Okay, fine, I guess it did make a lot of sense, you just shocked me a bit that''s all," Moby said, his face still sweating. ''Fuck¡­ If only she knew that if she held enough hatred and killing intent towards me she would be able to attack me whenever she wanted¡­'' Moby thought, making Avilia chuckle at his misfortune from his head. "Shock? You think you are the one that was shocked? I woke up to a loud crashing sound and the first thing I saw was a hooded man wearing unknown armour standing suspiciously beside my PC, how did you expect me to react?" Jayden asked, a serious look in her eyes. "Yeah, your right, sorry, I know I fucked up," Moby said, rubbing the back of his head. "So, anyway, what were you even doing? What was that sound? And, what is with that new set of armour? It looks dope!" Jayden asked with stars in her eyes, feeling Moby''s armour up and down with her fingers. "He he, well, long story short, I was crafting new weapons and armours for everyone as a surprise. I tried my best to not wake you up but some of the stuff fell on the ground while I was working which woke you up," Moby replied with a slightly red smile as Jayden continued to feel up his new armour. "Really! New equipment for everyone as a surprise! That''s so sweet of you! Where is it? Gimmie gimmie gimmie!" Jayden said with clear excitement in her voice. "I managed to store them all in my inventory just as you woke up, here is what I whipped up for you," Moby said, pulling out Jayden''s equipment from his inventory, putting his hands out to give them to her. "Woww! That''s amazing!" Jayden said, jumping up and down in excitement, grabbing the equipment out of Moby''s hands before immediately putting them on using her inventory. "So, do you like it? Be honest. I spent a good amount of time designing it, don''t hold back and sugar coat your opinion," Moby said, looking at Jayden with a smile, already knowing what her answer would be just from the expression on her face. "Like it!? I love it! It fits me, and my style perfectly! You do sure know me quite well! But, you know that you did not have to go through all of that time and effort to design this, I could always just use my doppelganger powers to make it into whatever I want. Plus, I would probably be wearing this disguised as my school uniform 99% of the time anyway. But, I really do appreciate the thought and effort," Jayden said with a chuckle. "Haha! Of course, I know that you would probably just wear the armour as your school uniform but I still wanted to give you something cool and unique to wear when we require armour. What kind of boyfriend would I have been if I just gave you in ck clothing and told you to just make it into whatever you wanted?" Moby asked with a confident expression on his face. "Yeah, that is true¡­ I really do appreciate the thought, thanks darling," Jayden said, hopping up to Moby, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "No problem at all, it is the least I could do," Moby replied. "So, anyway, thest armour set you gave me had a few special effects and bonuses, I assume this one is no different? I already feel like I am much stronger wearing it than thest one," Jayden asked with excitement. "So, this armour¡­" After Moby exined the special effects of the armour to Jayden, she somehow got even more excited than before. She exined to him how adapting to a new body was extremely hard and tiring both mentally and physically and how his armour would be a big help and relieve a lot of the hardship from her. Moby also handed her the new daggers he had forged for her, they looked simr to the old ones that he gave her, ck with blue, shadowy runic markings only this time they looked more elegant and expensive which was a result of Moby''s increased proficiency at using the crafting menu. After Moby exined to her what her daggers did, she decided to test them out immediately by throwing them at her wall, causing a massive dent where they crashed before teleporting them back to her hands, showing that the teleport effect was the same as her old daggers. Then, she tried to imagine her daggers duplicating, making her be able to make a maximum of 4 fake daggers in her hands making her really excited. Then, she threw all 6 of her daggers at the wall all at once, seeing that the fake ones simply vanished as they made contact on the wall while the real ones did their intended jobs. Also, after a little bit of experimenting, she found out that she could somewhat control the trajectory of her fake daggers, making them swerve and change directions mid-air which made them extremely hard to dodge even though they were fake. After Jayden finished testing out her equipment, they both decided to head to the arena where they saw Abby still hard at work practicing her scythe skills, heavy sweat running down her face. She was surprised to see him and Jayden wearing a new set of armour when Moby suddenly pulled out her very own armour from his inventory, surprising her even more, making her bow deeply, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes, thanking Moby profusely for his kindness and generosity, a step up from her saying that she was unworthy and did not deserve it which made Moby really happy to see that she was somewhat lightening up and moving away from her childhood trauma. She humbly epted the set of armour that Moby handed to her and wore it using her inventory. She wore a scaly mostly ck with red patterns half cloth and half metal armour that covered most of her body. Her equipment consisted of a red cloak and scarf covered that most of her face, a red ribbon used to tie her long hair into a ponytail, a hard, scaly chest piece that went into cloth pants that had various scaly and metal guards, elegant ck and red metal shoes that went up almost to her knees, long, scaly gloves that went almost up to her elbows. And, just like Moby''s armour, despite all the metallic and scaly materials, the armour was still fairly light and allowed her to be very nimble while wearing it. Also, although the armour did not show much skin like her previous ones, it still had a very tight fit that disyed all of her bountiful assets in a way that it was not in people''s faces but they know they exist, making her look really elegant and attractive while wearing it. Moby also gave her the new scythe that he crafted, one that was slightlyrger than the one that she had, boasting a cooler design and structure as it bent more and had more linings and fiery red runic patterns, it also had a better grip than her old one, leading it to be much easier to control, making her extremely excited, profusely thanking Moby once again, telling him that she absolutely loved the design to death and she how she would not have wanted it any other way. Moby then exined to her the effects of her armour and weapon, how she kept her life steal while she was at the same time able to have her undead farther away and how her buffing spells were now more potent and effective than before. After dealing with all of Abby''s tears of Joy and thankful nature, giving Moby a warm feeling on the inside, the group finally decided to have their breakfast before they had to go to school. After they finished their meal, they all went to have a shower and brush their teeth before wearing their school uniform, Jayden just wearing her new armour before transforming and disguising it as her school uniform, taking advantage of her doppelganger powers just like usual. While Moby was getting ready, he asked Avilia if she was able to dismantle his currently existing armour back into materials so he could resell them to make some of his money back, making her reply by saying, "Hell yeah I can, although you will definitely lose some of its value." Which was not a problem with Moby. So, he decided to ask his teammates for their old weapons and equipment, dismantling them before posting them back up on Qbay where he first found them in order to make some of his money back. However, he did decide to keep his novice demon katana as its special effect of consecutive hits causing increasing damage coulde in handy in the future, especially against slow and tanky opponents, just like that lycan he fought back during the exam. After they all finished preparing, they all went to the limousine where the butler had already been waiting for them, Jayden giving him an awkward look before it faded away a few secondster. Ever since she saw him being so aggressive and carefree when she was in Damian''s body, she never really saw him the same way. He had been her personal butler ever since she was a baby and she never even saw a hint or glimpse of that side of him as she always assumed that he was a cool-headed and well-mannered person at all times, it really came as a reality check to her. During the car ride, Moby, Jayden and Abby discussed and cracked jokes about how many fake girls would be trying to get Moby''s attention and love after they hear the rumours of his greatly increased strength and how he won a bunch of money from the bets. And they would all be those exact same girls that scorned and mocked him in the past. They also made bets about if general Ryker was still in office or had been reced or even outright fired after the disaster that was thest exam, causing them tough even harder, making the butler sigh as he still had absolutely no idea what was going on. Alex was the only person that he did not give the new equipment to so, he decided he would do it at the end of the day when they go back to their dorms. And, speaking of his dorm, it has been over 3 weeks since he had seen his other roommate, Ray, the short blue hair kid that was in the tech division. He was someone that Moby really liked and admired, one of the very few people at school that can im to be liked by Moby. it made him wondered how his exams went and how he was doing as neither he nor Alex had been in contact with him in so long... Chapter 146: The Big Entrance

146 The Big Entrance

As soon as the many students noticed him, they all instinctively backed off and stared, while whispering to each other in a low voice that was still well audible to Moby''s demon ears. It was mostly guys that were whispering about how lucky he was while the girls were whispering about the exact opposite, looking at Moby with blushed faces wishing that they been with him instead even though they were the exact same girls that shunned and mocked him only a few weeks ago. No one, not even the stronger C rank and B rank students dared to approach them for many obvious reasons, mostly due to the fact that Moby was now stronger than them. And, not to mention that it was a well-known fact that it was not a good idea to fuck with the Reid or Griffith family if they value any shred of their life. "F-fuck! It''s him! The kid from all the rumours! Moby Di¡­. I mean, Moby Kane... So he wasn''t Jayden Griffith''s pet after all...They were really dating..." "Look at his watch! Shit, the rumours are true! He''s a B rank! And a high B rank at that, he had gotten even stronger than the rumours told, he must have done some intense training¡­ His ability is also quite new so he still has a lot of room to grow¡­ It''s scary to think about¡­ He might actually be one of the strongest first years very soon at this rate," "Yeah, I heard that he was loaded from winning all of those bets! And with the backing of the Griffith family, he must be even richer than you can imagine," "Lucky son of a bitch, he suddenly stumbled on an overpowered ability and now he thinks he''s hot shit! Look! He has already begun building his harem and it already consists of one of the 2 hottest girls in school! Not to mention that they are both part of really powerful families! You saw them walk out of the same car, didn''t you? They probably just had a threesome right beforeing here!" "Hey! Are you retarded?! Shut the fuck up! Do you want to be beaten senseless in front of everyone? You are being too loud!" Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, the temperature dropped a few degrees. The atmosphere felt extremely chilly as a wave and gust of cold wind and killing intent erupted and hit everyone in the area, making everyone shiver in fear. Their fear intensified even further when they noticed the source of all the cold and peered into the depths of Moby''s cold, purple eyes and demonic smile that said, ''Shut the fuck up or else¡­'' ''Fuck, that was stressful, I used all of my mana doing that¡­ And, can''t a man just be friends with 2 girls without people getting the wrong idea?'' Moby inwardly grumbled as it was the first time He and Abby were seen together in public. It only made sense he did as it was a well-known fact that she attended the Griffith party with her friends and declined her own party held by her family which caused quite the stir. So, it would only be natural that he walked with her as well. Moby also fully expected this reaction but he wanted to quickly establish that he and Abby knew each other and it would not be weird for them to hang out, just so people don''t ask questions in the future. ''My lord, I could have silenced them for you by burning off their tongues or chopping them off,'' Abby said with conviction, trying to control a blood vessel from popping on her head as she was also able to hear all the whispers, she could not stand to hear all that nder about her lord. ''It''s okay, what I did was well enough and will shut up most of them. Just let them know that me and you are not dating and just friends and it would be fine, make it stick with them but don''t go too overboard if you know what I mean. Plus, I don''t want to be a menace and terrorize the school like all of those brain dead idiots, I have a n that will help us gain strength and it depends on keeping our image somewhat clean, or at least cleaner than most people. We are still far weaker than many of the students at school and we can''t fall behind in strength. If I want to do something big with my future, I need to graduate with high grades and a good reputation after all,'' Moby said with a smile. ''Oh! What n is it? Another big target like Natalia? Do you have someone in mind? Tell me!'' Jayden asked with clear excitement in her voice. ''I would like to also know my lord,'' Abby added with the same amount of enthusiasm as Jayden. ''Well, I am not sure about the details yet as there are still many unounted variables. It should be finalized by the end of the day. I''ll call you tonight to discuss about it just like how we did during the exam. But this time, Alex, and potentially another member will join us...'' Moby exined with a devilish smile, making Jayden and Abby nod in excitement. ''Who is this new potential member? Is it someone I know?'' Jayden asked with skepticism. ''You will find out soon enough, I am still not sure if it will work out like I want it to but I am optimistic,'' Moby replied with a chuckle. The time was already 7:55 am and ss started in only 5 minutes. After walking with his friends for a bit, ignoring the constant stares and whispers that Abby shut up just using her death re that would make any man shit his pants, Moby and Abby split up from Jayden to go to their own respective ss. As Moby and Abby walked together, the many rumours and jealous looks intensified even more as people were trying to be slick with their whispering. Moby also noticed looksing from some gang members, some well known and some from much smaller gangs. With his level of strength, he had no doubt in his mind that he would be recruited to various gangs where declining could mean big troubleing his way, especially from the bigger gangs. Chapter 147: Demon of Justice

147 Demon of Justice

"Yo, Pinhead, want to say that again? But this time, to my face?" Moby said in a cold voice and a piercing stare. "Hey! Who are you calling Pinhead?" The boy immediately retorted with no hesitation, pumping his chest out with confidence even though he was whispering only a few seconds ago. "You, dipshit, or would you rather me call you dick head? Because your head sure does look like one. So, can you care to repeat what you just said, this time to my face instead of being a little bitch talking behind my back?" Moby said with a devilish grin, taking a few steps closer, seemingly not concerned by his opponent''s bigger physique and clear confidence. "Ha! Fine! I said that you were an extremely lucky some of a bitch that thinks their hot shit just from gaining and ability and that someone should put you in your ce," The boy answered, holding Moby by the cor of his ck school uniform. "And who do you think''s job that will be?" Moby asked with confidence,pletely unphased by the boy in front of him. "MINE! Who else do you think!" The boy said, his fist turning into a drill as he went to punch Moby in the face. Then, without batting an eye, Moby infused and strengthened his fingers with a purple glow of pure demon energy, catching the drill before it hit his face using his thumb and index finger, making it stop spinning. Then, he broke the hand that was holding him from the shirt in one quick motion before kneeing him in the stomach, making him go on his knees with a cry of pain. Then, with the drill hand that Moby was still holding, he let go of it making it spin again before holding his opponent''s spinning drilling hand by the elbow, shoving it right in his face, making his teeth and several other organs rain from the ceiling, like he was a bloody fountain, including his eyeballs, making him scream out in agony as his face was grinded to shreds and becamepletely disfigured and unrecognizable from his own attack yet still barely alive. [ System Alert! ] [ You gained 6500 XP for defeating a low B rank enemy ] Therge crowd of students surrounding the exchange stared at him inplete shock, some with great interest, some with immense disgust as it was the first time ever seeing him fight. However, even with all that he had done, the girls could not stop thinking about how manly, attractive, and brutal he was. "Everyone listen up because I am only going to repeat this once, if you have something to say, say it to my face and don''t be a little bitch. If you spread false rumours about me like I am making my own harem or I am cheating be prepared to get what''sing to you. Don''t try to fuck with me or get in my way if you know what''s good for you, unless you want to end up like this guy!" Moby announced to the crowd around him, pointing at the disfigured and unconscious body of drill boy that was surrounded by a pool of blood, making some of them nod while others just started inplete silence. "Good¡­ Let''s go Abby, we will bete to ss," Moby said, casually walking out of the crowd surrounding him, making them all part like how Moses parted the red sea. "Oh, and can someone do me a favour? Get this guy to the nurse''s office, he really needs it. And, if a teacher asked you what happened don''t be afraid to tell them the exact situation, I am sure they won''t give a shit anyway," Moby said with a warm smile, looking back at the crowd behind him. "Hey! Baldskie, you heard the man! Get this guy to the hospital ASAP!" An arrogant, tall, blue-haired boy said to a little bald kid under him, pping him on his bald head making the sound reverberate before pushing him onto the disgusted, bloody body of the unconscious drill boy. "Y-yes sir¡­" The boy nervously responded, trying to pick up drill boy''s body with immense disgust. Then, suddenly, that same blue-haired boy felt a tight grip on his right arm, the same arm that he used to p and shove the kid only a few moments earlier. Then, before he even had the chance to react or say anything, his arm was snapped in half like it was a piece of dry spaghetti, making him cry out in pain. "Oops! Sorry, didn''t mean to do that! It was an ident. But look on the bright side now since you''re injured, you''re gonna have to go to the nurses'' office anyway so why not bring him with you? How does that sound? If you don''t do it I might be a little disappointed or possibly even angry if you know what I mean..." Moby said, looking down at him with a devilish smile before pping him on the head that was profusely nodding in fear with immense force before pushing him onto the bloodied body of drill boy making the bald kid doge his iing body during thest second before impact. "Uh-uh-uh-umm¡­ Thank you, sir Kane¡­ I really, really appreciate it¡­" The bald kid said, tears of joy running down his face as it was the first-ever time that anyone had ever been kind or helped him out at school, and he did not in a million years imagine it would be a high-rank student like Moby. "No problem at all, take care of your self kid," Moby casually said, rubbing his hands on the boy''s bald head before putting his hands in his pockets and walking away. ''Wow! Maybe he''s one of us? Now that I think about it, he was a weak none ability user only a few weeks ago¡­ he probably has kindness in his heart and gets angry when he sees these bullies as he was in our situation not too long ago¡­ he wants to fight back against the bullies for payback¡­ Maybe I misjudged him¡­'' The boy thought, looking at Moby''s back that was walking away in the distance with stars in his eyes like he was looking at the back of his hero, ignoring all the whispers and shocked faces around him. ''Umm¡­ I am not sure if it is my ce to speak my lord but you insisted I always share my opinion with you and let you know what I am thinking withplete honesty. So, that is what I will do¡­ Why did you save this "Baldskie". It is not like you to go out of your way to save others like this. I see no benefit from doing this. But, of course, that is with my limited mind which pales inparison to yours. I am sure that you, my lord had a n that I just could not understand or predict,'' Abby said to Moby using their mind link as they walked towards their ssroom together. ''Haha! Don''t worry, I did not save Baldskie out of the pure kindness of my heart or something stupid like that, it is just my first step on my path of controlling this school and the future of the world!'' Moby said with an amusedugh, making Abby really excited at his words as she knew that Moby was not at all joking. Chapter 148: Inner Spiri

148 Inner Spiri

Only the sound of faint whispers was heard as many of the students had an extremely stiff expression with sweat running down their faces. ''Damn¡­ it seems like the news spreads really fast¡­ impressive¡­'' Moby thought, looking at his ssmate''s faces and listening in onto a few of their conversations. Moby''s ss was undeniably one of the weakest sses in the entire school, consisting of only E ranks, D ranks, a few C ranks and 2 B ranks in Moby and Abby who were leagues above everyone else. It was not exactly a ce for them to fit in, making them outliers among everyone else. Many of the students that had insulted or attempted anything on Moby in the past cursed their entire existence and prayed that he had forgotten all the shit they made him go through. However, Moby never forgets such things and never forgives. But, he decided to leave things be for now and not go out of his way for stupid and petty revenge as they were not worth his time. Plus, he can''t be too cruel to the lower ranks in order to enact his many future ns. As soon as he heard the bell ring, he walked to his usual seat at the bottom left corner of the room, making all the kids he passed by look down in shame and fear before sitting down on his chair with a sigh. Then, as not to waste any precious time, he closed his eyes to practice his new "Freezing Time" skill with his remaining mana and demon energy until professor Leo arrived to teach the lesson. Not even 10 secondster, the sound of the ssroom door opening was heard and the familiar figure of the tall, muscr, dark orange spiky haired professor Leo wearing his usual attire of a white button up shirt with his sleeves rolled and standard ck pants. ''Damn¡­ these kids are awfully quiet today even before I came¡­ Are they still depressed about the deaths of their ssmates during the exam?'' Leo thought, looking at the ss that was usually loud and noisy that was now more quiet than a funeral home. "Okay ss, good morning. It has been a while since I havest seen you and I hope that you are doing well." "This will be a good learning experience for you all so I hope you think of it that way," "Does that sound like a n? Does anyone have any objections?" Leo asked in a cold, almost heartless voice,pletely missing the mark on why his students were acting the way they were. "No questions? Okay then good, let''s get started with today''s lesson," "So, today we will be taking a more in depth look at abilities," Leo said, making Moby listen intently to his every word as it was a great subject of interest to him as he did not have enough time to go too in depth in his research about them, looking at only the general skills and uses, making this lesson extremely beneficial and invaluable to him. "I bet you guys have been wondering many things, "Why are some people stronger than others?""How do I get stronger?" etc," "Well, the answer is reallyplex yet really simple. I am sure that by now many of you have heard this before each ability has some sort of inner spirit or beast that resides within them. We simply call these, "Inner spirits". They are almostpletely unseen spirits that reside inside a person''s ability core that is found inside of their body. The only people that can see their inner spirit is when they grow such a tight connection and bond with the user that they be almost as one. But, all of you are far, far away from that level in your current state and probably will never reach that level in your short life spans," "The stronger your bond with your inner spirit the stronger your ability will be. Also, the stronger your physical body gets the stronger your ability will be as well. That is why it is important to do both physical and mental training in order to maximize your growth speed. All of these, and many other factors are what go into your ability levels and power," "You now might be wondering how one even strengthens their ability core and grows stronger with their inner spirit. That is where the hard partes in, it is different for each person and ability, making all training methods slightly different than others." "Like, fighting in tough, near death battles will unlock part of your hidden potential, making you grow a connection with your inner spiritpletely unconsciously without you even noticing. This is just an example and of course, that does not work for everyone but it works for many people. And, the level of growth is not at all the same from person to person, even if they have the same ability." "For example in this ss, Moby Kane and Abby Reid have exponentially grown stronger from the exam due to all their hard fought encounters and body strengthening along the way, they are definitely people that benefit the most from that type of training. I am not saying that they were the only ones that have gotten stronger during the exam seeing that some of you went from D to C rank from it but, they were the ones to definitely benefit the most from that type of method of training. And, that means, for the rest of the ss, your true strengths lie in different areas," "The thing is, although they may not be too effective, there usually are some prettymon training methods that help increase a person''s mental strength with their inner spirit like meditation and things of that sort. Also, there aremon ones between abilities that families with exclusive abilities use to train their offsprings. That is part of the reason why the big families stay at the top, it is due to their secret training methods that are reserved for them and their families alone," "And, don''t worry, the military also has some secrets of their own that are reserved for high ss personnel. So, feel free to enlist with us, we are in no way inferior to them," "In future sses, we will be experimenting with what training methods suit each one of you the best. It will be one of your first steps on your long path of bing your ability core strengthening journey and by far one of the most important," "That will be the bare basic and general gist of things. Does anyone have any questions or was that all clear?" Professor Leo asked, looking at the quiet ss before smiling and saying "Good." Moby had been listening keenly to every single word uttered out of professor Leo''s mouth, with his limited knowledge and usage of the inte, all of those facts were new to him andpletely blew his mind, making his brain spin in circles as he had so many questions he wanted answered. ''Avilia¡­ Did you know about this? And if so how long?'' Moby asked Avilia, his mind still in shock. ''I''ve known about this for a while now, I am not sure why you are surprised by all of this, It''s prettymon knowledge. I am sure that all your servants know about it quite well. Like, look at red head, she seemspletely calm andposed,'' Avilia said in a casual tone, referring to Abby who was sitting in her usual seat at the front of the ss. ''Wait, what do you mean by you thought I knew? Can''t you read my mind?'' Moby asked in confusion. ''Do you really think I am reading your mind 24/7? That''s too much work and would cause me a headache. I just do it when it''s convenient for me and when I am bored, and I only look at your surface thoughts so, many things were hidden from me anyways,'' Avilia responded, shuddering at just the thought of her listening to Moby''s thoughts at all time with no means of turning it off. ''Well, anyway, I think I get all this inner spirit thing, you just form a connection with it and try to increase your bond by doing some mental stuff. I am not sure how hard this will be but I can''t imagine that it would be that hard right? Oh, and by the way, since I now have an ability, does that mean that I also have an inner spirit? Have you seen or sensed it before when it entered my body!?'' Moby asked Avilia with clear excitement in his voice clenching his fists in anticipation. ''Heh heh¡­ ummm¡­ well about that¡­ I''ve been meaning to tell you this for a while now but I didn''t know when it would be the right moment to do so¡­ well¡­ ummm¡­ how can I put this¡­'' ''Your inner spirit is kinda¡­'' ''dead¡­'' Chapter 149: Dead...

149 Dead...

''Yeah, you heard me, dead¡­ Your inner spirit is for sure dead...'' Avilia said with an awkward chuckle. ''Avilia, I need answers! How do you know all of this! How did this happen!? Why did this happen? What is going on!?'' Moby continued, begging for an exnation as he was still in a state of pure madness and hysteria. Not even in a million years did he expect to hear what he heard, he went from a mood of extreme happiness and excitement when he found out about inner spirits to that of pure madness as he felt a huge headacheing into his brain. "Welllll¡­ Let me start from the beginning¡­" ********************************************************** At the time that Moby absorbed and gotten his ability from his crystal, Avilia was just rxing in a random subspace in his head, inspecting his actions like she usually did. However, this time, she was also trying to inspect how Moby''s new ability was going to affect andbine with his body, making her really excited as it was somethingpletely foreign to her and would help her further understand the nature of these so called abilities," Yet, all of that examining only led her to be even more perplexed than she had already been... As Moby absorbed the crystal, making it disappear into thin air, Avilia sensed that a random intruder had entered Moby''s body, making her extremely surprised as it was not at all what she expected to happen. In the next second, a sh of brilliant white light emerged within the same subspace in Moby''s head that Avilia was residing in. Out of the light emerged a white wolf with an icy blue aura surrounding it, floating down from the sky in a slow yet elegant manner with its eyes closed, stretching its body and all 4 of its stiff paws when it reached the ground. From its demeanour, its entrance and from the look on its face, it wore a mixture of a look of pride, elegance and arrogance all mixed together making it seem like it thought of itself as above everything else which slightly irritated Avilia. The wolf was around twice asrge as a normal white wolf found on earth, it had beautiful and silky-smooth looking white fur that looked magnificent as it glistened in the light that was created by its entrance. Its eyes had a piercing blue glow that had a calm, somber yet magnificent aura to them. And, On its forehead, there was a symbol of arge blue snowke that had an ominous glow to it. When she sensed the wolf''s power, she noticed that it posed absolutely no threat to her what so ever. So, despite the clear arrogant demeanour of the wolf, she decided to go with a casual approach and see how things went from there. She did not want to blow her chance. She just wanted answers, answers about if they were friend or foe, about what inner spirits were and about what abilities were in general. So, Avilia slowly and casually flew to the beast in front of her who had its back turned, licking the fur on one of its front legs. "Hey! Wolf! Who are you and what are you doing in my domain? Answer me now if you know what''s good for you," Avilia said with a smile and a casual tone, standing behind the wolf who did not even notice her there. If she was being honest, a part of her really wanted that beast to be an enemy so she could have fun once more as to relive her glory days. It has been a while since she had fun killing and squeezing the life out of something. She never actually thought that she would ever get the opportunity to do so again ever since she "died". Then as soon as the beast heard her words, it got a little startled before immediately scoffing with arrogance and disgust, "Huh? Who is this? How did you get in here? What kind of fool are you? Are you seeking death? This is not your domain, it is mine! I should be the one asking you those questions! Such arrogance! Do you know who you are even speaking to with such a casual poor mannered tone!? I am Heri¡­" Those were the words the wolf said before it literally bit its tongue, stopping the words it was saying as it turned around and peered at Avilia''s devilish smile and glowing, deep purple eyes, feeling her suffocating strength and aura. However, In reality, Avilia had a friendly looking and weing smile. But, from its perspective, she was nothing more than the personification of death and absolute power incarnate in a single entity looking at him like he was a dead b of meat. The wolf immediately gasped and squealed for air with a shaky look of absolute terror and despair in its eyes, its teeth cking together uncontrobly and its legs that had begun to grow tired started shaking faster than a vibrator, not even daring to utter a single word. He cursed its own luck, stupidity and entire existence for talking down and talking rudely with such arrogance and pride to a supreme being like the monster standing in front of him, making its once majestic looking face and fur immediately shrivel up and be all wrinkly from all the stress and pressure, almost like it had lost several decades or even centuries of its life. "Who are you calling fool? Are you calling me a fool and a liar? The real question is if YOU know who you are even speaking with. I am Avilia Graymore! Former Queen of all demons! You got that? Hahaha! And, don''t worry, as long as you cooperate with me I won''t hurt you," Avilia said in a yful tone,ughing loudly at how the beast''s demeanour had suddenly switched when it took a good look at her. But, once again, the spirit''s perspective of reality was twisted and distorted, not allowing it to see the truth and reality of the situation. Instead of seeing Avilia''s casual and yfulugh, it instead saw and heard theugh of a bloodthirsty monster, getting itself ready to skin it alive, tear it limb from limb before eating it for breakfast. The wolf was just getting the consequences of its words and actions as it messed with the worst person that it could have ever messed with. The wolf felt a bad feeling in its stomach and down its spine, as it sensed that its slow yet inevitable death was very near, making its ageing process grow much faster due to the increasing stress and pressure in its insane mind. Then, as Avilia was stillughing at the spirits sorry looking state, her eyes closed holding her stomach from the pain of her ownughter when she heard the sound of flesh being pierced, followed by a loud scream filled with nothing but agony and pain as she felt a warm substance ssh on her face, greatly startling her as it was something she did not at all expect. When she opened her eyes, she saw the body of the wolf with arge, bloody, ice spike protruding from the void-like ground underneath its feet, impaling it right through the chest and heart, making blood stter everywhere, making it float suspended in the air, blood dripping from its body, with an empty look in its once mesmerizing blue glowing eyes. The icy wolf was dead¡­ It had killed itself from its own fear and desperation, not wanting to live long enough to see where its fate lied. it thought that it would have been much better and more peaceful than dying by the hands of the evil, all powerful entityughing in front of it. Avilia simply just stared at the body of the dead wolf in absolute bewilderment, Her mouth wide open as she was still not able to fathom what had just happened¡­ ''N-no way I scared it that much¡­I was holding back so much of my weakened power and I was being so nice to it¡­ What the fuck?! I still had so much shit to ask it about and now I may never again have the chance!'' Avilia inwardly cursed with extreme frustration, still trying her best to take in what had just transpired. Then, not even a secondter, Avilia observed that the body of the wolf disintegrated out of thin air, leaking an unknown blue substance that served as it''s power. That power escaped out of the subspace and was absorbed and mixed into Moby''s dragon bloodline, granting him his ice dragon skill tree. Which could have in the end been more of a benefit than a deficit. ********************************************************** Chapter 150: An Exploit at Life?

150 An Exploit at Life?

''Yes¡­ that is all correct¡­'' Avilia responded, still in disappointment. ''Well¡­ The only reasons I could think of for why the beast killed its self was that it either knew about demons and knew about your true identity. Or, it just sensed your seemingly bottomless strength and reserve of demon energy and got scared shitless as it thought it was going to die due to its previous rudeness,'' Moby said, trying to give his best exnation for the situation. ''But how!? I was so nice and casual with it!? And I hid and suppressed most of my power!? No way it was that scared of me right!? As for if he knew about the existence of us demons I have no idea as I did not get the opportunity to ask it anything but I feel like the chances of him knowing were very unlikely,'' Avilia interjected. ''Well, anyway, we will get nowhere by meaningless spection about why the beast died and what it was, we would only confuse ourselves more and go farther away from the answer. The wolf is dead and we can''t do anything about it¡­'' ''BUT! Even if we missed out on some very valuable information which is a little frustrating, I feel like this was an overall win! By killing its self, the spirit''s energy leaked and merged with my dragon bloodline giving me my ice dragon skill tree which might be more beneficial than just having the spirit around. If the spirit had not killed its self we would have probably never figured that out. Although I can''t strengthen my self by getting closer to the spirit, I can probably do it in some other way. Plus, I would say that the ice dragon skill tree well makes up for everything that happened. And, I am sure we will get the answers to all of our questions sometime in the future. It''s probably not lost forever on us,'' Moby exined with a smile, looking at all the positives of the situation. ''Wow! I never thought of it like that! I was too busy sulking about the information loss. You sure have some way of staying positive¡­ Are you sure that your old self isn''t rubbing off on you?'' Avilia said with a chuckle. ''Well¡­ anyway, this entire situation made me think¡­ other than about why my dragon bloodline would want to absorb my inner spirits powers, I thought that the reason a person was not able to hold 2 abilities is that the spirits would probably hate or sh against each other, not allowing a new one to enter. Or, because there was only space for one spirit in a person''s body. So, I thought of 2 ideas¡­ If I absorbed another ability crystal, would I be able to get another ability since there was not an inner spirit in me right now? And, if you killed this spirit, would it absorb into my dragon bloodline like the ice wolf, unlocking another skill tree for me?'' Moby asked with great excitement like he was a little kid who had just figured out an exploit to life that would bring him to the top of the world. ''I guess that might be possible¡­ But, I am extremely doubtful¡­ Even if it miraculously did work, there must be a limit or drawback to it as I can''t imagine there being a way for you to wield all the powers of the world, making you virtually unstoppable... It also all depends on if your theory is even correct¡­ And, even if it is not correct you would need to save up a lot of money once more to buy a good new ability. Think about it, if you bought a cheap ability right now and absorbed it only to turn out that your strategy only served to add a maximum of one more ability, you would be stuck with a shitty second ability for the rest of your life, something that I assume you don''t want to happen. All that I am saying is that it''s a smart strategy but don''t get your hopes up too much¡­'' Avilia said, pondering over Moby''s theory. ''Of course, I am well aware that the theory has a near 0% chance of working so my hopes are not very high. But, It is worth a shot. I will save up for another ability crystal to test this out on. I wouldn''t even lose much if at all by doing it as I could easily resell the crystal back on the market for the same price and at the worst case a little lower,'' Moby said, nodding at Avilia''s suggestion. ''Well, nevertheless, even if all ended on a somewhat good note, I still felt somewhat bad about what happened and I found out something cool, allowing me to give you goodpensation for the trouble,'' Avilia said in a somewhat apologetic tone. ''What is it! A surprise?'' Moby asked with extreme excitement, knowing full well from experience that Avilia always had the best surprises. ''It will happen when you level up! I am sure that you would be pretty hyped for it,'' Avilia exined with the mental equivalent of a wink. ''Haha! I can''t wait! I really appreciate it! I am looking forward to it! I never really thought you were the apologetic type,'' Moby said with a chuckle. ''Meh, don''t look too deep into it. It aligns with my personal ns for the future so it works in my favour too. The stronger you get the faster you will be able to get back to theher realm and the faster you would be able to find me a new body like you promised, it''s a win-win for everyone. Plus, I just absolutely hate being indebted to people as it gets really annoying and would end badly for me in the future. And don''t ask why. I just know this from personal experience due to that damned sin of greed,'' Avilia casually exined, refuting Moby''s ims. ''Haha! Don''t worry, I won''t ask, sounds like some pretty traumatic shit. I just hope that this surprise of yours will live up to how you are hyping it,'' Moby said with a chuckle and a cheerful and excited tone. ''Don''t worry, I know it will,'' Avilia responded with the mental equivalent of a smirk. ''Well, Anyway, thanks for sharing all of this with me, this conversation has been very insightful, but I now need to focus back on the ss. Our conversation was really long and I think I lost a decent chunk of it, I''ll probably just ask Abby to summarize it for meter in the day so it''s not even a big deal,'' Moby said, making Avilia nod back before he snapped himself back into reality. "And that is exactly how the ability absorbing process goes ording to the most recent findings in modern science. Does anyone have any questions before I move onto the next topic? You will be tested on this in the near future during your uing first test so be sure that you understood everything very well and that you have studied hard," Leo said, finishing his exnation. Moby inwardly chuckled at the word "test" as he knew that he required little to no study. After all, he had Avilia in his head at all times who was able to provide him with all of the answers if need be, guaranteeing him full grades on every test. Plus, even if Avilia did not agree to help him out, he was always able to ask Abby using his mind-link as the test was going. Or, he could ask any one of his servants who were not having the test to search it up and let him know the answer. ''Well, seems like I didn''t miss much if at all, Avilia already exined to me what happened to my body when I absorbed my ability in pretty good detail so Leo''s exnation would have been either unnecessary or inurate,'' Moby thought in relief. "No questions? Okay then ss, since we just finished our basic and initial ability lesson, I think that it is now certainly the time to go to the arena and finally start your ability training tobine it with your prior knowledge of martial arts and weaponbat!" Leo announced, making the entire ss celebrate as it was for many, the moment they were waiting for and a chance to prove themselves as well as greatly improve and boost their strength. Chapter 151: Ability Training

151 Ability Training

The ss immediately followed him with no hesitation, trying their best to steer clear of Moby and Abby who were walking in front of them and behind Professor Leo, keeping a good distance of at least 5 meters between them at all times as they avoided them like they were the gue. No one dared speak to them,e close to them, or even breathe in their direction from the immense fear and pressure of being in their presence, especially in Moby''s case, the same person who they had been looking down on and harassing for the past month. As professor Leo turned back to see the site of his entire ss cowering in fear from just 2 of his students, one of whom had skyrocketed in the ranks so fast that it was not even funny, now being in the middle to upper ss of all students in the entire first year, he could not help but inwardly chuckle at the familiar sight. As he looked at them, he did not at all find the view odd or unrealistic, he had seen it happen many times. When a person of lower rank soared to that of a higher position and starts to act arrogant and get back at all of those who wronged him in the past. However, usually, they only ended up being humbled by the stronger students, forcing them to bend the knee and join the more powerful gangs. Either that or they started their own gang which usually did not end too well for them. He had seen those exact 2 sights too many times to count on both hands with only a few people actually seeding. If he was being honest, even when he was still a weakling, he really liked Moby''s character and personality, he thought that he was a smart guy who worked hard to achieve his goals, not like the majority of the nobles who had been spoon-fed power and money their whole lives. He could tell that Moby achieved everything he had today with his sheer will power and determination. As for Abby, even though he knew that she was part of the Reid family, one of the richest and most notorious families in the entire country, he felt like she was different. She worked harder than every other student he had seen in many years, and, instead of unting her power and the power of her family like her sister, she was fairly quiet and kept to herself making Leo admire her as well. They were both the gems of his ss, the strongest and most skilled out of all of his students. From only the few weeks he had taught them, he knew that they would grow up to do great things. So, he hoped he does not see history repeat its self for both of them once more, especially in Moby''s case since he was not part of any important family, making him a huge target in the eyes of many. Leo told everyone to line up one against each other, making a fairly long line of students. Moby and Abby were both at the edges of the line, Abby being thest one meaning that there was one unlucky person that was forced to stand beside Moby, making him sweat profusely out of every pore, cursing his luck, wishing and praying for the moment to end. Moby noticed how scared and agitated the kid beside him was, so, he decided to show him that he was friendly and meant him no harm, to push the persona of him being a nice person. However, this only ended in him scaring the kid, even more, seeing Moby''s friendly smile as the smile of a predator ready to eat him for breakfast, making him close his eyes and stand up straighter than an arrow, trying his best to pretend that Moby was not there and think happy thoughts. ''Good grief¡­ this will be much harder than I expected¡­'' Moby thought with a long sigh. "Okay, ss! We will now start our ability training! Other than helping your basics, This is what yourst month of training has all built up to. Like you know, refining your ability core and strengthening your bond with your inner spirit requires you to increase your physical strength to a certain threshold before attempting. If we had gone straight to ability training from the first day like several of you previously suggested, it would have not ended too well for you to say the least¡­ Many of you would have failed miserably at improving your core and bonds, likey even injuring yourselves in the process." "This is how every person''s training usually is, abination of physical training until they build enough strength to strengthen their cores and bonds, then rinse and repeat. The more you go the harder it will be, and every person will have a different level of strength increase depending on many factors, mostlying down to ability and spirit type, talent, as well as luck." "The many A rank students in your grade definitely started their ability training from a young age, probably using a family secret technique or something of the sort to boost their strength. So, don''t get discouraged or feel down thinking that you will never catch up! They just had a small head start! With enough hard work and determination, you will be able to catch up and surpass them!" Leo announced, making the entire ss look at him with smiles of nervous excitement and hopeful eyes. As Moby looked around him, he noticed all the somewhat bright and excited faces of his ssmates. However, when he looked to his right where Abby was, her face told apletely different story, a look that Moby had never seen on her face other than the first day they had met¡­ despair¡­ something that he confirmed using his emotion sensing to make sure that he was not imagining things. ''Hey¡­ Abby, are you alright?'' Moby asked, trying to find out what was wrong with his friend and subordinate to better understand why she was feeling the way she was. ''O-oh my lord¡­ I am just¡­ I am really nervous about this¡­ I have not tried any ability training ever since before I became a demon¡­ at that time, every time I had tried it, I would break nearly every bone in my body and be forced to go into immediate care¡­ I tried it over, and over, and over again, constantly breaking my body just for the slight chance of it working. However, in the end there was virtually no sess in sight. So, that led me to pursue other methods of gaining strength... it led me to train my body which did not help, which then led to me experimenting with many things until I met you¡­ I-I am just scared for the same thing to happen to me again¡­ It is not about the pain¡­ far from that! I am just scared of failure and disappointment¡­?I don''t want to be left behind...'' Abby exined in a sad yet sincere voice, greatly surprising Moby and making him feel bad for her. He never expected Abby to let her heart out to him and exin her true feelings, he expected her to deny his ims as she would think of her self too lowly to bother Moby with her selfish problems, making him nag her until she finally admitted everything to him. However, what happened was not at all that case which made Moby really happy to see her self confidence grow. Yet, he was still sad to see his dear friend in such a mood. ''Hahaha! Don''t worry! That was the old you! This is the new you! You have grown so much since then! Your new and improved demon body is not at all like what it used to be! It is no longer frail and weak like before! So, it should be a different story when you try now! I have full faith in you!'' Moby said with a smile, beingpletely honest while at the same time trying his best to lift her spirits. ''Y-yes, my lord! Thank you so much for your words of confidence! I promise that I will absolutely not let you down!'' Abby said, her expression changing drastically into something more positive and serious than before, stealing her mind and resolve as the words of her lord and saviour had relit the spark in her fiery heart, vowing to try the method that had caused her so much pain and suffering, not just physically but also mentally once more. Moby just looked at Abby''s face that was full of resolve with a smile and a nod, reaffirming his previous words before looking back at professor Leo who was about to give everyone instructions on what to do. "Okay ss, we will be doing the most widely used and standard way of training, there are others but this is the one we will be mostly using in ss as almost everyone can benefit from it. Don''t worry, we will be working with other ways muchter on in the year. So, for now, we will all be doing meditation. You might be forced to see some images, maybe some test or tribtion. What a person sees and the difficulty of them all depend on the person''s spirit, personality, mental state, ability type, and a few more that I don''t have time to go into detail with and won''t really change the oue of anything." Leo exined, leading to every student giving him a serious nod in response. "Everyone sit down in a cross-legged position," Leo ordered, making everyone immediatelyply with no hesitation. "Good! Now! All of you close your eyes and, calm and clear your mind¡­" Leo ordered once more, making everyone do as ordered, including Moby who looked over at Abby with a smile before he too closed his eyes. "Focus deeply on the mana flow in your veins¡­ Now¡­ Once you find it, follow the flow and trace it back to your blue ability core that should be around the centre of your body mass¡­ once you have located it, ¡­ try tomunicate with whatys within¡­ stare deeply into it, and let your mind drift¡­" Leo said, making Moby listen intently and follow his words step by step, changing them slightly to fit more with his circumstances. In his Ability core, he noticed that instead of the blue colour that Leo described, it was a nearly perfect sphere that was coloured a mixture of blue, ck, red, and purple with all of the colours shing inside of it like a raging storm, almost like all of the colours were fighting over supremacy, making it seem almost unstable... It was a very odd sight to say the least. Moby decided to ignore the obscure nature of his ability core and did as Professor Leo suggested, neglecting the part aboutmunicating with his inner spirit for obvious reasons and opted to instead do his other suggestion of staring deeply into his sporadic ability core, clearing his mind and letting it drift¡­ After 30 seconds of nothing but staring, Moby felt like it wasn''t working¡­ Making him slightly disappointed. But, he persevered and kept on doing it for a little longer¡­ ... Then not even a secondter, he felt his vision grow extremely blurry as the orb became bigger, smaller, taller, wider, morphing into different shapes like he was extremely nauseated before he felt his consciousness slip away¡­ eventually making his vision gopletely nk... Chapter 152: ????

152 ????

He could not remember what he was doing and where he was as his mind and body still felt extremely hazy... All that he could recall was that he was in a soothing, deep sleep that felt serious yet almost heavenly at the same time. "It seems like you are finally back with us Mr, Kane, not only did you miss half the ss by sleeping, you also yawned so loud to distract every other student in the ss! Keep your head out of the clouds and pay attention! Kids like you make me sick!" The familiar voice of an angry old man entered his ears, making him look up to see who it was only for him to be hit by a pen that sted straight to his face like a torpedo, hitting him directly in the forehead right above his nose which really hurt, rocking his head leaving a red spot on impact before dropping on the ground, making him wake right up. When he gazed up with his now crystal vision, looking past all of theughing students sitting in front of him, he noticed exactly who it was that had thrown the pen, making him feel extremely bad for what he had done. It was none other than his one and only homeroom teacher, Rolf Hemmingwood. A man of average height, towering over all the young children sitting beneath with an ugly scowl on his pale, old, wrinkly face. His green eyes were like fiery slits, daggers aimed straight at Moby''s face. His hair seemed slightly greasy yet fairly maintained, tied into a bun at the back of his head making him look like a person''s grandmother. For his attire, he wore a standard yet elegant white button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up revealing his skinny, twig-like arms, an expensive-looking golden watch wrapped around his right wrist. The bottom half of his body that was covered by the metal podium where he rested his utensils on sported suave ck denim pants that were tight yet not tight enough to outline whatid underneath, well matching his ck dress shoes. With a swift wave of his hand, the marker that had hit Moby and onceid on the ground suddenly floated up before being quickly returned to his hand once more as he used his telekinesis ability to retrieve it. Moby then immediately and suddenly shot out of his seat, standing up with his hands to his hips, straighter than an arrow which did note as a surprise to anyone in the ss as they were fully expecting it. "Yeah, yeah, whatever kid, just don''t do it again!" The teacher said in a clearly annoyed voice, turning around before writing on the virtual board with his pen, continuing where he left the lesson off. "Y-yes sir! Thank you so much for your forgiveness and kind words! I promise that it won''t ever happen again!" Moby said, his expression drastically changing, sitting back in his seat with a polished smile that shined brighter than the sun, making various students try their best to control themselves from dying ofughter that Moby saw as them simply having fun during the ss which could not have been farther from the truth. "This kid keeps pissing me off more and more every day, my job is already hard enough without him¡­" Rolf mumbled under his breath, not loud enough for anyone else to hear as he continued writing his math lesson on the board. Moby immediately opened up his old notebook and brought out his pen, one of the only people in the ss not using an electronic device for note-taking and began taking notes about everything his teacher said and wrote with clear diligence and interest in his eyes. Then, as he finished his first note, he looked around his entire ss, admiring it with a calm yet cheerful expression and a deep breath, taking in the fresh air from the open window beside him that was blowing wind through his pure, deep ck hair that went down to his eyes. He wished that times like these couldst an eternity... Moby''s desk was situated at the bottom left corner of the ss, right behind the window that looked down on the schoolyard and disyed the gray, cloudy weather outside. Various drawings, diagrams and motivational posters hung from the side of the metal walls with other decorations and bookcases on the bottom. The ss had a total of 28 young-looking students around 12 or 13 years of age, 16 male and 12 female. The students wore the standard white and blue coloured uniforms of Krory Elementary School, a button-up shirt and long yet tight pants of the guys and a shirt and skirt for the girls. The quiet yet diligent students of the ss sat at the front, taking notes, asking questions, trying their best to get the highest grades while the louder, more carefree, less intelligent students sat at the back, mostly either on their phones or socializing amongst each other as they could not care less about elementary school as it was only military school that truly counted for their future. Of course, there were a few exceptions to that rule which included Moby who also sat at the back of the ss with most of the delinquents. After 30 minutes had passed, the school bell sounded, marking the end of the school day, making many students celebrate and be excited, packing their belongings before bolting out of the ss like a rocket as it was theirst day of school before their week-long spring break. "Hey! Everyone! Come back here! The bell doesn''t dismiss you, I do!" Rolf roared in annoyance, pulling every runaway student back to the ss by force using his telekinesis ability, making the entire ss sigh with vivid irritation as they sat back in their seat impatiently waiting to be dismissed by their teacher. "Okay ss, now that I have everyone''s attention, make sure to study hard during the break as I will be assigning a test on the Pythagorean theorem and properties of a triangle as soon as you get back, I will also be assigning a short, 1000 word essay about the benefits of being a country Z citizen, just to keep youpany during the break and keep your minds fresh. And, yes, before you ask, it will definitely be graded. You are now all dismissed, have a good spring break ss," Rolf said with a devilish smirk and a serious voice, making the entire ss grumble in annoyance,pletely changing their once faces cheerful that were excited for the break, no one daring to voice theirints as they knew it would not end too well for them. It was almost like he found joy in the misfortune of others. The only person that seemed unphased was Moby who thought that the teacher truly did care about them and their future, assigning them extra homework to better prepare them for military school in the future. As Moby was packing his belongings, putting them all in his backpack, he was approached by a very familiar face, mming down his hand on Moby''s desk with a smirk on his face. A slightly tanned, skinny, average height kid with blue hair, ck eyes and a few handsome features. It was of course, none other than one of his bestest, dearest and closest friends, Eric Quinn. "Hey! Moby old buddy! That was quite some show you put on during ss, it was hrious! You never seem to disappoint!" Eric said with augh, remembering what had happened with Moby and Rolf 30 minutes ago. "Thanks¡­ but I was only being honest and trying my best to apologize for my disrespect," Moby nervously replied, not even looking Eric in the eyes as he continued to pack up his belongings. "Eh, whatever you say bro, it was still funny as hell either way. But that was not the reason I came here right now. I was thinking, since I will be going on a road trip with my family during the break, why don''t we have another one of our training sessions? It would be a good way to spend ourst time seeing each other before the break! I even brought a few friends with me! After I told them all about you, they said they couldn''t wait to meet you and be your friends. Trust me, it will be more fun with more people! You know what they say, the more the merrier! So, are you in?" Eric said with a bright friendly smile to Moby. "R-really! They want to be friends with me!? I am so happy! I can''t wait! Thank you so much for all of this! I always wanted more friends! I will dly ept your invitation," Moby said with nervous excitement, smiling back to Eric with tears of joy running down his face, making Eric inwardlyugh and cringe even though he knew exactly what he should have expected from Moby Kane, the school''s biggest anomaly, the boy so happy and positive at all times no matter the circumstance that nobody had a noteworthy exnation other than he was crazy or mentally ill. "Are you okay with doing it now? Same ce as always, the yard right behind the school. I would like to ideally do it before it starts raining, I hate walking home in the rain. So, what do you say?" Eric asked, already knowing the answer before he even spoke. "Of course! I have no problems at all! Like, you know My Katana is always on me, hung around my backpack so I am ready as I''ll ever be!" Moby responded nervously yet with no hesitation. "Great! My friends will meet us there, they should probably get there before we do. So, follow me and let us walk there together, it is always safer that way," Eric said, just as Moby finished packing his belongings, standing up before nodding firmly in agreement. "Good," Eric replied, walking towards the exit of the ssroom, Moby walking behind seemingly unaware of all the amused and disgusted resing his way. As Moby walked through the ssroom door, right behind Eric, he pulled out his family''s golden ne from his pocket, looking at it with a deep smile. ''Mom, dad, are you seeing this? I am finally going to be making even more friends now! Aren''t you proud of me!'' Moby thought, trying to hold back his tears of joy. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, as he continued staring at the ne in his hand, his heart rate suddenly skyrocketed, giving him an intense feeling in the chest unlike anything he had ever felt before in his life, it was like his heart was about to explode right out of it, creating boiling blood instead of the regr blood he was all so used to. Then, that feeling of intense pain was followed up with more pain in the form of a massive headache, making him bend down on one knee holding his chest in anguish as fuzzy familiar yet unfamiliar voices and images constantly popped in and out his head, making his entire body, sweat, shudder and tremble. ''Who are these people? What are those voices? Do I know them? What is going on? Where is all of this paining from and when will it end?'' Those were the only thoughts running through Moby''s mind as his entire body and soul was ravaged with unimaginable pain and suffering, not being able to differentiate was fake or real, dream or reality. Then¡­ as quickly as it started, it suddenly ended, almost like nothing had happened... all the pain¡­ All of the voices and images??? they all suddenly going away like a snap of the fingers. When Moby opened his eyes, he found that he was on his knees, staring at the marble ground of the school with his ne still tightly in his right hand, sweating buckets and hyperventting from what had just happened to him. When he checked and felt his body, he felt like there were no injuries on it despite all of the unimaginable pain he felt, it was too surreal¡­ When he looked around, he saw all the worried faces of his ssmates who surrounded him in a circle. This also included Eric who looked the most worried out of all of them, which made Moby smile before standing up, putting his ne back in his pocket, trying his best to forget about what had just happened and look at the bright future ahead of him. He was not going to let such a thing get between him and making new friends. However, like usual, Moby got it all wrong. What he mistook as looks of worry were actually looks of pure shock and surprise. It was the first-ever time anyone had ever seen Moby in actual pain, anguish or despair¡­ even through the cruellest, and most brutal beatings and tortures he did not at all crack. But now, there he was, exhibiting all those emotions they previously thought to be impossible for him to feel, all right in front of their eyes which shocked them beyond belief with only one thought running through their minds¡­ ''What the fuck just happened?'' Chapter 153: ???? 2

153 ???? 2

"Sorry for worrying you guys, It was really nothing¡­ It must just be the exhaustion getting to me¡­ I ampletely fine see!" Moby said with augh, rubbing his entire body making everyone sigh before leaving. "It must have just been a fluke, I got hyped over nothing¡­" "Yeah¡­ I really did think he had suddenly cracked out of nowhere¡­ oh well¡­" "Maybe he''s ill or something, I don''t want to get his germs, let''s just get out of here, I want to get home before it rains. I absolutely don''t want to get sick and ruin my entire break, that would be tragic," His ssmatesmented, walking out of the ssroom, still harbouring spite towards Moby. "Have a good break guys!" Moby waved to them with a smile, only for him to be spat on by several students that did not make him change his cheerful expression as he wiped away all of the spit from his face with a tissue that he pulled out of his pocket, making everyoneugh before exiting the room which caused Moby immense joy that he had entertained them onest time before the break. "Hey, Eric¡­ are you alright?" Moby said with clear worry in his voice, still looking at Eric''s face that had been frozen for the past few seconds as he was still deep in thought about what had happened. In his mind, what had just happened was not at all a fluke, it was a sign¡­ A sign telling him that it was possible to crack the uncrackable boy¡­ Even after the strongest, and cruellest students gave their best shot at getting him to crumble as a dare from one of their friends, they were far from making him remotely feel any negative emotions which made Moby very well known all around the school. Ever since then, Moby had turned into the school''s doormat and punching bag, everyone using him like a tool for their own purposes¡­ Like he was inhuman, almost like a robot or object. If he out of all people finally managed to break Moby Kane and film him on camera, he would be famous and well known around the school as he would have done something so one else could do. And from the sign he was just given, he felt like there was hope of it actually happening, making him look forward to what was about to ur¡­ At first, he had just wanted to invite a few of his close friends to show them how good of a punching bag Moby was, taking out their immense anger on him from all the bullying they also went through for being one of the weaker students, beating him senseless without him even doing anything back other than beg for forgiveness like a foolish, broken doll. "Yeah, don''t worry about me, I was just really concerned about you, that''s all! Anyway, my friends are probably already waiting for us at the back of the school, I would hate to keep them waiting! We should really hurry up!" Eric said with a less than innocent smile, running out of the ssroom. "Y-yes! Of course!" Moby replied, running after him with no hesitation at all. "Oh, brother¡­ that kid is truly brainless..." Professor Rolf, who was still packing his belongings at his desk, mumbled with a sigh as he saw the little Moby running to undoubtedly meet grave misfortune and troubles. Moby raced behind Eric through the nearly empty hallways due to everyone wishing to go back home for the break as soon as possible, struggling to keep up due to hisck of ability and Eric''s enhanced physique. When suddenly, an immense pain ravaged his mind once more, making the blurry face of a beautiful red-haired girl appear in his subconscious, causing him to sweat profusely and breathe faster as he shook it off and continued following behind Eric, trying his best to forget that it even happened. ''What the hell are you doing my lord! I know this is not who you are!'' An all too familiar voice rang in his head, making him clutch his chest in pain and his eyes to be hazy as he struggled to keep up with Eric even more, hoping that he did not notice what had just happened to him. ''NO! Get out of my head! I am who I am, and I am going to make new friends! Whoever is doing this please stop!'' Moby inwardly grumbled, a hint of negative emotions slipping through the cracks of his soul. Luckily for him, he did not experience such a moment again for his entire run behind Eric as they both went down the stairs and out the dirty back door of the building beside where the putrid school dumpster was, leading to their entire nose being filled with nothing but the smell of rotten cheese and feces, making them both cover their noses using the shirts of their school uniform. Then, after running for a minute more, reaching an area where the smell was barely noticeable, he saw the faces of 2 unknown boys he had never before seen during his time at school, making him tense up with nervousness and excitement at the same time the closer he drew near to them. Once they reached them, both groups greeted each other with a friendly wave and a smile as Eric began to introduce Moby to both of his friends. "Sorry we were sote, there was something that had suddenlye up," Eric said, apologizing to both of his friends. "Don''t worry about it, we only waited for 2 minutes or something, it was no big deal. Anyways, is this the kid you were hyping up so much?" The skinnier of the 2 boys asked with an amused look. "Yep! He is! I am surprised that you have never heard of him before, he is pretty famous all over the school! This is Moby Kane. He is abilityless but one of my dearest and bestest friends! He has been a big help in paying for my sick sister''s hospital expenses. He is truly a kind person!" Eric said, patting Moby on the back with a little too much force which made him almost fall over, leaving a stinging feeling running down his back. "Hehe¡­ you are praising me too much¡­ I am not that famous," Moby said in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head. "Hahaha! You would be surprised how truly popr you are!" Eric said, with a loud, amusedugh. "This guy right here is my old buddy Simon, his ability is iron fists, allows him to make his hands much stronger, inturns dramatically increases his punching power," Eric said, his hands on the shoulder of a brown-haired, fat, burly, yellow-eyed kid who stood at a tall and imposing 5''3, far taller than an average 12-year-old boy. "It''s nice to meet you! I hope we can be great friends," The boy said, putting his hands out in front of him to shake the hands of the tiny inparison Moby who stood at a measly 4''8 with a friendly smile on his face. "It-it is nice to meet you too! S-Simon! I hope we can get a long well¡­" Moby nervously responded, shaking his hand with a mellow smile before suddenly¡­ *Crack* The sound of a fracture abruptly rang through everyone''s ears as Moby felt intense pain from his hand, making him grunt in pain, immediately holding his nearly broken right hand with his left as soon as they finished their handshake. "Oh! Whoops! I am sorry, I always forget the strength of my hands!" Simon said with a chuckle. "Oh¡­ Don''t worry about it¡­ It''s okay¡­ It was all an ident¡­ I understand¡­" Moby said, still holding his hurting hand with a bright smile, making all 3 kids around him break out into uncontrobleughter as no matter how many times it happened, Moby''s words never failed to entertain. "Oh god! Eric bro! You were not at all lying! When you told me about this guy I thought you were just capping but he is actually the real deal! I am actually dying! I am sorry for ever doubting you!" Simon said, holding his stomach in pain from all the excessiveughter as Moby justughed with them, happy that they were having fun in his presence as he felt their friendship grow. ''What the fuck are you doing!? Come on! Are you stupid!? They are just fucking with you! I know you are better than this! Open your eyes and fight back against these dickheads!'' A soft yet manly voice reverberated in his head, a sh of the face of a blurry purple-haired man along with memories he never remembered having, yet, at the same time, somehow remembered experiencing¡­ Memories of him and 3 other unknown faces smiling andughing, having fun as they ate at a long, luxurious dinner table. ''What is this pain¡­ what are these memories¡­ who are these people¡­ is that me? Is that true friendship?'' Moby thought, his heartbeat rapidly rising once again with sweat running down his face before finally snapping back to reality, looking at theughing and mocking faces of Eric and his future ''friends'' with a sombre yet confused look and an awkward and unsure smile. Chapter 154: True Self

154 True Self

''Do they truly want to be my friends?'' ''Are they messing with me?'' ''Was that really an ident?'' Thoughts such as those rampaged wildly in his mind as the 2 sides of him began to sh against each other¡­ One of his true self and one of his false self¡­ He could not tell what was real or fake, they all seemed all too true to him, dream and reality merged together. A migraine bigger than any other one before it sprung out in his brain, making him crumble on the ground with red bulging eyes that felt like they were about to pop out of their sockets. His heart began pounding faster than ever before as he felt every fibre of his body shudder in pain, his heart feeling like it was about to explode at any instance as he rolled over on the ground in pure agony, pain from both mind and body. When he tried to send those thoughts to the back of his head once again like he did thest time it happened, he only managed to be half sessful as many of those thoughts and doubts still lingered at the front of his mind like they were a cockroach, refusing to die and go away. ''When will this end?'' ''What is real?'' ''What is fake?'' ''I am sure they are my friends! They must be!'' ¡­ ''Right?'' Moby thought with a great amount of doubt in his heart, trying his best to give his future ''Friends'' the benefit of the doubt as his suspicions were slowly being sucked away by some unknown means that he could not see or even fathom. When he opened his eyes, he stared at the dirty gravel floor, his school uniform all muddy and wet from the rain that had begun to fall. He shook his head, regaining control of his body and mind before looking at the 3 boys standing, looking down on him from above with a devilish grin on their face that Moby could not tell was a smile of good or bad intention, as he looked at them with a mellow expression before standing up on his 2 feet dusting the mud and gravel from his clothes. During the time that Moby was still unconscious, rolling on the ground in anguish, Eric managed to ry to his friends the new change of ns he had devised, making them smile and agree with no hesitation. They were seeing big cracks in Moby''s innocent, nice guy mask and they intended to make the cracks even bigger until it shatteredpletely into a million pieces, to break both his mind and body, making them feared, famous and renowned all around the school as it would no doubt be an astounding achievement. "Sorry I made you guys so worried¡­ I was just having some exhaustion issues again¡­ Don''t mind me¡­ I promise It doesn''t really happen often," Moby said with an unsure smile, looking at the less than innocent faces of the 3 boys. "Don''t worry about it! I am just d you are still with us! Allow me to introduce myself to you! I am Raymond Klee. My ability is poison gas maniption, we are both in the same grade so we should try to get along! Nice to meet you!" Said a short, skinny, orange-haired boy who had a marginallyrger nose than usual, his left hand out to shake Moby''s hand as his right hand was still injured, an eerie smile on his face. "It''s nice to meet you too¡­" Moby nervously replied, shaking his hand hoping that everything would be fine. They both shook each other''s hand with a smile, nothing at all going bad or out of control as they both let go, making Moby breathe a sigh of genuine relief. ''I knew it! It must have all just been an ident thatst time! What was I even thinking doubting their intentions! I should really learn to be more trusting of people¡­ Humans are truly nice creatures...'' Moby thought before getting his views flipped upside down and spoon-fed to him with a side of shit. "What the fuck did you do kid! You got my hands all dirty! This is disgusting! Even my sleeves are now dirty from all this mud! How dare you! My mother works very hard to clean my clothes every day and youe along and make her work even harder!" Raymond bellowed with immense anger. At that moment, the doubt crashed back into Moby''s head like a meteorite as many thoughts flooded his mind¡­ ''Fuck¡­ it''s all my fault¡­ I should have wiped and cleaned my hands before I shook his¡­ Poor mother¡­'' ''But it''s raining¡­ his clothes would need washing anyways¡­'' ''But his mother¡­'' ''But how could cleaning something require that much effort when it''s so easy with current technologies, I even do it myself and it''s a piece of cake¡­'' "I am going to have to teach you a lesson for that!" Raymond shouted with clear excitement, ignoring Moby''s nk puzzled look, punching him in the stomach so hard that it made him kneel down and firmly clench where the blow hadnded. "Yeah! Actions have consequences you know!" Simon screamed, punching Moby in the back with his enhanced fist, making him cry out in anguish as he felt his entire body shake from the blow. "I-I am sorry¡­ I promise to make it up to you as much as I can¡­" Moby said, curled up into a ball to protect his body, fighting tears from flowing down his face. "Sorry isn''t good enough!" Eric yelled, kicking Moby in the side of the ribs, making him grunt in agony but not stop apologizing. "I am so sorry¡­ It was all my fault! I''ll clean it personally¡­" Moby mumbled, still curled up into a ball. "Fuck! you''re so dense! Don''t you get it! We were never your friends! You''re just a punching bag! A doll! The school doormat and nothing more! We just wanted something to let out our anger on! No one ever liked you! And no one ever will! You are nothing but a tool only fit to be used by others! Get that through your thick skull!" Eric bellowed with great amusement, an evil smile on his face as he kicked Moby''s back once more, making him stop with his constant apologies. "Haha! Come on guys it''s working! Harder! Harder!" Eric added as he repeatedly kicked Moby who was still on the ground trying to protect his vitals, surrounded by the 3 boys who repeatedly whaled on him with a mixture of light and heavy blows, showing no mercy in their attacks. ''Fuck¡­ why is this happening¡­ What did I do wrong¡­?Do they hate me? Did they hate me this whole time¡­'' Moby thought, his mind running in circles, unable to believe what was going on in front of him as it contradicted his entire way of life¡­ It was no longer all colourful with sunshine and rainbows, it was now grayer than it had ever been before in his life as the colours became nder, losing all of their energy and vibrance. That was when the unknown images and sounds he had previously experienced suddenly sprung back in his mind, seemingly at the most inopportune time as it was thest thing he needed at that moment was more pain and uncertainty¡­ It was all their fault for making him feel the way he currently felt after all... Suddenly¡­ a somewhat familiar, stunning, blue-haired beauty with a soft, loving smile and teary eyes appeared in his mind¡­ One of the most beautiful girls he had everid eyes on in his entire life making him think where he had seen her before¡­ ''Babe! Where is that might, vigour and unbreakable will I love so much about you! Tear them to shreds!'' The girl said in a yful yet sad tone before immediately disappearing due to Raymond''s powerful kick to his shoulder, making him groan in pain. The more he got hit, the more images and scenes began shing in his head¡­ events that he could recall but not recall¡­ Scenes of a soft, female voice in his head and a game-like interface¡­ scenes of an older Eric, armless and legless like a nugget, getting swiftly beheaded by a familiar-looking rusty sword¡­ Of a boy pooping on the ground and acting like a monkey... Of a blond teenager, choking on his own cock before eating his own feces¡­ Of a crazy white-haired girl, expressing her love to him in one instance, and her exploding body in the next¡­ Of a tall ck-haired teenager''s body dead on the ground, a knife right beside his corpse¡­ A winged, beautiful demon with purple hair and glowing eyes appearing out of the sky like a goddess, with a smirk and chuckle on her face¡­ a dinner table with 3 other people, 2 beautiful girls and 1 yful boy¡­ A kiss with a gorgeous Blue-haired beauty under the starry, purple night sky, tears running down both of their faces, burning trees in the background along with soothing music¡­ And, Finally¡­ His own face¡­ Red streaks in his jet ck hair, ck horns growing from his head¡­ Deep purple eyes that stared into his very soul¡­ glowing, shadowy, ck lines under his eyes that connected to the rest of his body¡­ A serious expression on his face that did not look too pleased. ''Wake the fuck out of your delusions and make these bitches pay!'' The demon-like version of himself screamed, sending shivers down to his very core, a glint of white light that gradually turned darker and more ominous shing in his mind, making him remember who he was truly supposed to be¡­ "Hey! Eric! Look what I found! Why don''t we make him eat this! It would be hrious! This kid would do anything if we ask him!" Raymond said with an amusedugh, pointing at a piece of dog shit on the gravelly, dirty floor. "Hahahaha! Good idea! Hey! You heard that kid? It''s dinner time!" Simon said with a chuckle, picking up Moby like he was as light as a feather, throwing him towards the piece of dog shit as he skidded across the sharp, gravelly ground. That was the moment when Moby snapped back into reality, his mind clearer and freer than ever before, opening his eyes only to see a filthy, disgusting piece of dog shit in front of him with extreme hatred and contempt in his heart... His once scared, confused and frightened eyes turning into deadly slits that he hid by looking at the ground, biding his time for the right moment to strike¡­ He used this moment to do something he knew he needed to do to win against all 3 of them¡­ It was his most sacred, most prized possession that had been gifted to him by his dead parents, but he was sure that was what they intended him to do with it in the first ce so it did not pain him in the slightest to break it. He sneakily reached into his pocket, making sure that no one around him noticed before tightly holding onto his golden family ne, smashing it into many tiny pieces, the sound masked by the moderately heavy falling rain all around him¡­ From all that happened to him today and all the pain of those memories, he had no doubt in his mind that what he was going to do was going to work¡­ And just like he thought, it did work as a familiar sound and blue notification screen appeared in his peripheral vision, just like the one he previously saw in his mind and memories¡­ Making him smile as he waited calmly for the loading screen to finish... \u003c Demon System Activating \u003e 1% 14% 23% "Hey kid! Time to eat! Eat shit! Literally! Hahaha!" Simon bellowed, vigorouslyughing as he held Moby''s head by the hair, pushing it straight towards the piece of shit in front of him, making Moby inwardly curse as he prepared himself to counter attack even though he knew he was not strong enough properly to escape or deal any real damage. 44% "STOP! I want to do something before he finally eats! To make it juicier if you know what I mean¡­ Plus I have to go anyway so I might as well!" Eric said with a smirk, suddenly intervening, making Simon extremely annoyed before catching on to what Eric meant, making himpletely on board with his suggestion. "Haha! Great idea! Too bad I don''t have to go right now too," Raymondmented with a chuckle, also catching Eric''s drift. "I feel the same¡­ Too bad, we could have added double or even triple the vour!" Simon yelled as he let go of Moby''s hair, throwing him headfirst onto the ground with an astounding thud, making him regain his bnce as he went on his knees¡­ In the next moment, he saw Eric, standing tall and proud in front of him, unzipping his pants before pissing on the piece of dog shit with a blissful look on his face that was showered by rain, Moby''s hatred growing the more and more he stared at Eric''s smug, disgusting face as he waited for the loading screen to end with bated breath. 69% 83% "Ahhhhh¡­ All done! That should add a good taste to it! Now enjoy the meal and learn who is boss! Recognize that no one has ever liked you and nobody ever will! Now break! You useless doll!" Eric screamed,ughing hysterically as Simon held onto Moby''s head once more, shoving it to the ground as he struggled to fight the immense power of his hands... 100% \u003c System activated \u003e \u003c Host has been recognized \u003e ''Greetings Moby Kane, I am your new Demon System, and I will help you apli....'' A familiar soothing, female voice appeared in his head before being abruptly cut off. ''Avilia! Quickly! Give me a little bit of your power! That''s all I need to show these fuckers the true meaning of hell!'' Moby inwardly screamed his heart out, struggling to keep his head up from Simon''s strong push, startling Avilia as she did not at all expect him to know her name¡­ However, after reading a little into his mind, she understood everything, even to the point of her understanding the true nature of herself and the world around her that was not as real as she thought upon closer inspection, making herugh her ass off. ''Haha! Fine! Take some of my power! If you can''t beat a few 12-year-olds with this much power then both me and my true self would be very disappointed in you! This should be just enough power for your body to handle, any more and your system would tear down and break, worst-case scenario would have been that you explode! I distributed it automatically to the stats you usually use! I also put notifications off to help you focus on your fight! Have fun!'' Avilia said with a smile. ''Wow! So this is the kid I decided to ce all my hopes in¡­ I would have never imagined! I hope I had made the right choice¡­'' Avilia thought, spectating the uing events from Moby''s head. Then, all of a sudden, Moby felt a rush of immense power enter his body, making arge, devilish grin appear on his face¡­ ''Finally¡­ they will now pay¡­'' Moby thought as he imagined everything he was about to do to those 3 kids standing around him with mocking and amused faces¡­ With his enhanced strength and speed, he managed to move his healing, yet really injured body away from the big, chunky Simon, making him go wide-eyed as Moby had suddenly disappeared from his view, causing him to grow confused and wonder where he went¡­ Moby had used his demon sh to instantly jump up above Simon while he was blinded from his own thick, bby arms that he used to push down on Moby''s head. "You idiot! He''s right above you!" Raymond screamed to warn Simon, making him look up towards the rainy sky above him¡­ When he did, he was only met with a burning, tight sp on his face, squeezing it firmly before it was shoved down straight to the dog shit underneath with incredible speed causing a loud bang along with small cracks to appear on the ground, the dog shit entering through Simon''s eyes, mouth, and nose. "Be careful what you wish for... Actions have consequences you know?" Moby said,ughing cynically at Simon''s unmoving body. All of a sudden¡­ Eric and Raymond had a bad feeling in their heart with massive chills running down their spines like they had just done the worst mistake of their life as they stared at theughing, psychopath-like Moby who had just let go of Simon''s less than pleasant, shit covered, motionless face that had a disturbing expression as he shifted his attention on Raymond and Eric who were standing not too far away from him¡­ He threw his bag to the side, pulling out his rusty katana with a deadly glint in his eyes, slowly walking towards the 2 shocked and motionless boys as they still could not believe their eyes¡­ "You''re next!" Moby spoke with pure, unadulterated hatred and anger in his eyes, pointing his de towards Raymond and Eric''s directions making them both inwardly curse as they prepared to fight back¡­ Chapter 155: Chapter 2: vs 1...

155 2 vs 1...

For an instant, their attention fell on Simon as they wondered if he, who wasying on the ground looking lifeless, was actually dead or not, if the out of control Moby had actually killed him. But that thought only lingered in their minds for a split second as it was the least of their concerns at the moment... They stared at Moby slowly walking towards them with weary eyes, an old rusty sword in his right-hand, anger and hatred overflowing out of the deadly slits of his eyes, an ominous smile on his face. "Fuck off you weak, Abilityless, piece of shit! Did you forget who you were dealing with? Know your ce and submit before I make you!" Eric ordered, attempting to keep hisposure and act tough, trying his best to ignore the bad feeling deep down in his heart. Even though Moby was a verypetent martial artist, in the end, he still had no ability. Abilities not only gave a person superpowers but also greatly enhanced a person''s physical attributes, allowing them to deal and take more physical damage. Without an Ability, Moby would simply not be able to keep up no matter what he did, and, he would not be able to deal enough damage against Eric and Raymond''s superior defences. They thought what had happened to Simon was nothing but a fluke as he was unprepared and caught off guard. Eric and Raymond who were now fully prepared would not be confused by such simple tricks¡­ All in all, they felt like they had a 100% chance of victory, even in sparring sessions when Eric told Moby to go all out, he still never stood a chance¡­ So, why should it now suddenly be different? "I warned you! Now die!" Eric screamed towards Moby who had not heeded his warning, continuing to walk forward with a steady pace and an even more disturbing grin, making Eric shoot out various des of visible green wind, continuously jumping back, trying to keep at a distance where he had the biggest advantage. Unfortunately for Raymond who had yet to move, that only solidified him as Moby''s first target¡­ Moby infused his legs with demon energy, using 2 demon shes in a quick burst to dodge the iing wind des as he appeared a few meters in front of Raymond, making him smile andugh. "HAHAHA! You fell for it, fool! ck haze! Attacking me head-on like a bull was the worst decision you will ever make in your life! Observe!" Raymondughed hysterically as he knew his victory was definitely assured due to the stupidity of his opponent that was seeminglypletely blinded by rage. As soon as the ck smoke hit Moby, he began to cough excessively and uncontrobly, giving off his location from inside the thick ck gas surrounding him. Raymond''s ability, at least at the stage he was in was not able to corrode the skin or cause any real orsting damage, it instead only weakened the opponent''s strength while making them nauseated and cough. The only person that was immune to the effect of the poison was Raymond himself, allowing him to enter his own gas cloud with no problems at all which was exactly what he did. With a sense of heavy relief and a confident smile on his face, he entered his own poison cloud, following the sound of coughing until he eventually reached Moby''s location, a dagger in hand ready to stab and take him out. As Raymond did this, Eric had stopped his onught of wind des as he could no longer see where Moby was as he was hidden due to the thick poison cloud that Raymond had created. And, if he wanted to fire inside the dust cloud at random, just hoping to hit Moby, he risked the chance of also hitting Raymond, something that he definitely did not want to do. For now, all he could do was wait for Raymond to get the job done, something that he undoubtedly knew was going to happen. Although Raymond''s poison gas was extremely slow and was only able to be used once or twice before he had to recharge his mana, once someone was actually caught in it, they were as good as dead¡­ In his eyes, it was virtually unbeatable! Nobody that had been hit by the attack ever came out victorious let alone unscathed and he had no reason to believe that it would be an exception in his current situation. Not even 5 secondster, Eric heard an unpleasant, high-pitched, almost woman-like screame from the poison cloud in the distance, making him smirk as he knew that it was already over. As the poison cloud began to clear and be a little more see-through, the figure of the two boys appeared, one of them holding the other one firmly by the face, squeezing hard as the other boy screamed, squirmed, and struggled to get out of his grasp, almost exactly like he had imagined it ying out in his mind. Then, all of a sudden, the boy holding the other lifted his left-hand, putting up a thumbs up, Eric recognizing it as a signal letting him know that it was now okay to attack once more which he happily agreed to. He opened his arms far out to his side, imbuing his open fists with mana that turned into wind des before throwing them out of his hands with incredible force and speed,unching a barrage of simr attacks at who he could only assume was Moby, dangling from Raymond''s fists as he tried his best to break free, struggling to breathe. With each sessful attack, arge, deep wound and ssh of blood would appear on the boy''s body that was apanied by banshee-like screams from the sinking, immense pain¡­ Eventually, the cuts on his arms and legs became deep enough for him to slice right through as Eric repeatedly hit the exact same area over and over again until, *Snap* The boy had all of a sudden lost both an arm and a leg, the limbs snapping and falling on the ground, making him squeal and squirm louder and faster than ever before as his screams pierced through the air, Making Ericugh maniacally and uncontrobly. ''Hahaha! What was I even scared of? That was a piece of cake? This kid got totally fucked! If I attacked him anymore he would be dead and I would get in trouble, plus I wouldn''t be able to prove my triumph against him! As long as he doesn''t die I should be good, he should not bleed to death like this and limbs can be easily healed after all,'' Eric thought with a clear, confident smirk. "Hey! Raymond! Toss him to me so I can take videos and pictures! Then we need to get this idiot Simon to the nurse''s office! Hopefully, she did not leave already. I saw Simon move a bit a few seconds ago so he is still well alive, only unconscious and disgusting from all of that shit! So,e on! Throw that bitch here and let me see all the damage!" Eric said with clear excitement and anticipation in his voice. Still within the hazy poison cloud and without hesitation, the boy''s figure let go of the head of the other who had lost an arm and a leg, holding him by his only remaining leg, twirling him around in a circle to generate speed before throwing him like a high-speed torpedo, his head at the front of the throw. Eric did not at all predict to receive a throw that hard, especially from Raymond who was known to be fairly weak, so he was not able to react in time to dodge as it was the least thing he was expecting. The thrown boy crashed straight into Eric''s stomach with a strong head-butt, almost like he wasunched from a cannon, knocking the wind out of him as he clenched his stomach in pain, kneeling down on one knee as the body bounced off his stomach and crashed on the ground with an impressive bang. "HEY! What the fuck was that abou¡­" Eric screamed with immense anger looking at the poison cloud that had already disappeared leaving no one there, greatly confusing him before looking down, noticing whose body it actually was underneath him¡­ Chapter 156: The Right Thing To Do

156 The Right Thing To Do

Eric shuddered in absolute horror as he stared at the dead-looking body underneath him, his legs shaking faster than a vibrator as his previous thoughts and ideas got flipped on their heads as he was unable to believe his weary eyes¡­ That body did not belong to Moby like he was led to believe, far from it¡­ It was none other than Raymond, looking skinnier than ever before,ying on the ground with a motionless, shocked expression on his face¡­ The one who came out on top of that scuffle was not Raymond but Moby, and he was the one responsible for what happened to him¡­ The thought that Moby was the winning figure never even crossed his mind as he thought victory was assured¡­ So, he decided to attack the dangling body upon being given the signal to shoot. He was still not able to ept what was going on, he clearly saw Moby being swallowed by Raymond''s poison cloud so he must have fallen under its effects. The only way that could exin this was if Moby closed his eyes and held his breath for that entire time. However, in his mind, that waspletely impossible. Even without that poison, Raymond was physically superior to Moby in virtually every way, the only thing that Moby had the upper hand in was in martial arts which would make it a slightly closer fight, with Raymond still holding an advantage. So, if Moby was both blind and unable to breathe, there should have been absolutely no way for him to win¡­ ''H-how the fuck did this happen¡­ th-th-there''s no way this can be real¡­ What kind of monster did I create¡­W-Where the fuck is he¡­'' Eric thought in panic, still t on his ass, shifting his attention from Raymond''s motionless face as it was currently the least of his worries. What followed baffled Eric somehow even more than he had already been¡­ As he began to look up in order to see where Moby was, he saw a shadow appear from the edge of his peripheral vision before he felt a sudden, piercing uncontroble paining from his stomach with an unexinable burning sensation that burnt yet did not feel hot at all, the sound of flesh being cut filling his ears as he let out an rming scream of pain. When he looked down, he saw a bloody, rusty old katana stabbing right into his stomach, making his weary eyes grow even wider than they already were as he felt his body suddenly be week, coughing up a mouthful of blood onto the sword stabbing him. At that moment, Eric lost all hope¡­ There was nothing more that he could do in his current state as he waspletely out of mana due to his previous barrage of attacks, he was as good as dead, something that he felt like he would actually be in the next few minutes¡­ Moby was simply too powerful, he had created a monster, making him unlock his hidden potential or maybe it was just that all those other times he was simply holding back¡­ Either way, he knew that he waspletely and utterly doomed¡­ ''Why did I have to mess with this guy¡­ Why is the world so cruel¡­ I don''t deserve any of this¡­I am too young to die...'' Eric thought, cursing his entire existence and stupidity, a waterfall of tears gushing down his face. However, Eric was once againpletely wrong¡­ Moby did not win by simply overpowering his opponents, he won with quick thinking and pure strategy alone¡­ Moby did not know if those memories he saw were memories of the future, another reality, or just visions of who he must truly be, all he knew was that they were very real as proved by his working system and that the girl in the ne was actually called Avilia, just like in his memories¡­ He had many seemingly random facts litter his mind, ranging from useless facts like when military school Z started and ended to really useful ones like how to properly control and manipte demon energy. One of those facts was that demons werepletely immune to poisons of all kinds, however, it went deeper than that¡­ ording to his memories, a demon''s anatomy was not the one responsible for neutralizing the poisons, it was the flow of demon energy that ran throughout their body that made a lot more sense to him. Throughout his entire childhood, he did not have a single case of food poisoning, and any poisonous substance he ever consumed had their effects still working yet severely reduced, something that he now attributed to his weak flow of demon energy. However, now with his memories and new system along with Avilia''s power boost, his flow of demon energy was far stronger than before, allowing him to fully neutralize the poison with no trouble at all. Even in his enraged state, Moby knew that if he wanted to win and get his revenge, he was not able to rush in blindly so he formted a n of attack. He first forced Raymond into activating his poison cloud, pushing Eric to stop his endless barrage of wind des that Moby was not confident in dodging, especially with his limited reserve of demon energy. He then suppressed his flow of demon energy, inhaling the poison to see its effects before unsurprising it again to only pretend to be having the symptoms of it to lure Raymond closer and give him a false hope of victory. After Raymond found him seemingly in pain, coughing on the ground, he smiled wickedly, rushing towards Moby with a dagger in hand. However, he was the one stabbed instead, right through the chest by Moby who had caught himpletely by surprise. Moby then released his sword from Raymond''s weak body before grasping onto his with an iron grip, lifting him up to where his legs would not even be able to touch the ground as he struggled to break free due to his fear, panic, and injuries. As the dust began to clear, Moby gave a thumbs up Eric who of course interpreted it as a sign to attack, not wondering why he did not speak as smoke would have gotten in his mouth and lungs. This served as 2 things, the first was to deplete Eric''s entire mana reserve, making him a more drastically easier target than before, and the second was to increase his shock factor and fear, causing him to be too scared to fight. Then, after throwing Raymond''s body towards Eric like a torpedo, surprising and knocking the wind out of him, it gave him enough of a distraction to quickly close the distance between them without worrying about any wind desing his way, using his demon sh to do it even faster. Now, Moby had Eric exactly where he wanted him, kneeling on the ground with a look of pure despair in his face as Moby''s demon energy enhanced sword was dug deep into his stomach, although it was weaker than the visible, pure demon energy he saw his other self use, it was still strong enough to cause unimaginable pain onto his opponent with the added bonus of it being virtually invisible to the naked eye. As Moby looked at Eric''s eyes and look of despair, he felt absolutely no pity, the only thought running through his mind was what the most painful, inhumane way of torture he could instill upon him before he finally dies¡­ That was the reason he chose to leave the other boys alive for now as it was their turnter... And as he was thinking, he realized the answer in the form of a memory he had witnessed from his other or future self, making himugh hysterically as he removed his sword from Eric''s stomach, picking him up by the head before infusing a good portion of demon energy inside of him. Moby would have much preferred it if he could turn one of them into a demon, his personal ve for a week before disposing of them like they were nothing, but he was not even a lesser demon at that point and his reserve of demon energy was not enough¡­ However, it was enough for the torture method he had seen in his memories, the one that sucked someone dry of their life essence before turning them into literal dust. As Eric felt Moby''s tight, crushing iron grasp on his face, he began to inwardly panic, squirming around like a little child, trying his best to breathe let alone escape as he had no mana and was simply too weak to do anything in his current state. Then suddenly, he felt an unknown energy enter through his head, slowly spreading throughout his entire body. The feeling of calmness and peace that was instilled throughout his entire body made him stop his futile escape attempts as his entire body felt at peace¡­ However, that peace did notst for long as it was reced by the worst pain he had ever felt in his entire life¡­ The light, heavenly blissful sensation disappeared and was instead reced with pure darkness as he experienced his worst nightmares over, and over again in his head¡­ However, they did not feel like nightmares¡­ No, for him they were all too real, all the physical pain, all the mental anguish that came with them were both mostly replicated in his mind but also his actual body... His blood felt like it began boiling and bubbling with the heat and intensity of 1000 suns. He felt the bones in his body form cracks making it feel like it was about to crumble at any instance. Every organ in his body felt like they turned inside out, not all at once but slowly to make it as painful and excruciating as possible. His skin felt like it was churning as his previously ck hair began to show strands of white and gray. His previously smooth skin began to wrinkle, making him look older than he actually was, even at his height of only 4''10. In his mind what was only 1 or 2 minutes felt like many weeks or even months straight of the worst torture he could even imagine. Moby stared at this entire painful process with a wide smile on his face as he was d it was working even better than he expected, he could see all of the pain and suffering in real-time as he began to witness his body agonize, break, shift and transform in weird ways. In a few seconds, he would undoubtedly be dead and he could have him out of his hair forever, getting what he deserved for all that he had put him through¡­ When, suddenly, he felt an intense pain in his head akin to a p that snapped him back into reality, making hime to his senses as he felt extremely stupid beyond belief for what he was about to do¡­ He immediately let go of Eric''s body, making it fall on the ground with a thud, small wrinkles on his skin with a few strands of gray on his head, his nose still breathing as he was just barely alive¡­ Moby almost just messed up his entire life, almost killed and doomed himself over revenge due to his furious, blinding rage and hatred¡­ He needed to stop and think about what he was about to do, something that he luckily managed at thest second before it was toote. Getting revenge did not mean throwing logic out the window, what was even the point if he would not stay alive for long right after. He needed to think calmly, logically and intelligently, If he had killed Eric just now, everyone would know that it was him, leading him to get arrested and even sentenced to death in many cases, it was just not worth it. Even if he also killed the other 2 boys, there were many witnesses that saw him go with them to the back of the school, and if they formed an investigation or just asked him with a lie detector test, there would be no way he could get out of it. He had already scarred all of the 3 boys for life, and if he wanted to kill them, he needed to do it at a better time when there would be no witnesses and no way of them leading the murder back to him. For now, he needed to leave Eric alone as anything more would just straight up kill him. He could wait for Simon and Raymond to wake up from their unconscious state to do the same thing he had done to Eric as it only worked when they were awake, but that risked him being seen by other people that could have been in the area. It risked his new torture technique being discovered and it risked him going into another fight with potentially stronger students, something that he was not confident in as his demon energy reserves were almost depleted. His best course of action would be to leave for now and striketer when the time was right, building his strength using his system in secret until the time was right, which was exactly what he decided to do. Moby sheathed his sword, looking at Eric''s shrivelled body, rain falling down on his face with pure contempt, before walking away towards his bag in the distance to grab it before nning to search the 3 boy''s belongings for any valuables before he left the area. As he was walking towards his bag, a sudden sh of white light appeared all around him as his vision waspletely consumed by it, making him panic and put his arms to his face to protect his eyes¡­ In the next second when he opened his eyes, he saw himself naked, floating in a void of mystical golden space, greatly shocking him as all he did was stare at its beauty in awe, not even taking the time to question where he was or what he was doing. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he heard a loud, deep, majestic voice that echoed throughout the entire space and shook him down to his very core. "Congrattions Moby Kane, you have passed your first trial! You have demonstrated exceptional strength, will power, intellect, strategy, andst but not least, rational thinking! I am thoroughly impressed! I look forward to your next trial to see what you will do then¡­ In the meantime this will be my farewell, I wish you the best of luck on your path to bing the demon lord!" The voice resounded before fading away like it was getting farther and farther away from him. And, before he even had the chance to talk or ask any of his possibly 1000s of questions, another abrupt, sh of blinding light consumed his entire being, blinding him once more... Then, suddenly, still, in the witness of the sh, all of his true memories and knowledge beganing back to him all at once as he knew exactly what had just happened to him with the trial. In the next second when he opened his eyes, he saw that was once again back to the familiar-looking blue gym of his military school, back in his actual, non-prepubescent body, heavy sweat running down his face from all the mental strain he experiences he had just gone through... ''I-I am back! I passed!'' Moby thought with immense relief and celebration as he felt extremely proud of himself, but still, many questions and thoughts running in his mind making him ponder deeply about what he had just seen and experienced. Then, all of a sudden, he heard the familiar sound of one of his system''s notifications, interrupting his train of thought, making him really excited to see what his rewards were going to be for sessfully passing the trial he had just gone through... Chapter 157: The Voice...

157 The Voice...

[ Hidden Quest Complete! ] ************************** Trial of the Past Details: The user has chosen to partake in a trial to test out how he could deal with and ovee their past without losing sense of one''s self in the process. Conditions toplete: Complete the trial by surviving it under the set requirements of the trial master. Time limit: None Rewards: +100 XP to Dragon skill tree ************************** [System Alert!] [Dragon skill tree level up!] [Ability Level up!] [Skill: Body of Ice level up!] [Skill: Draconic Blood level up!] [Skill: Draconic Scales level up!] [Skill: Emperor''s Roar Level up!] [System Alert! ] [New skill unlocked!] ------------------------------------- Basic Ice maniption [Level 1] (passive) The user has a very basic over control Ice, making it easier and more efficient to use and manipte using the user''s mana. Cost: It Depends... Strength +50 ************************** ************************** Body of Ice [ level 2] (Passive) Due to the user''s ice ability, their body is now enhanced and more powerful. Effects: +150 strength +135 agility +150 intelligence +105 endurance ************************** ************************** Draconic Blood [ Level 2] (Passive) The Host''s power is strengthened due to his draconic blood. All stats except for mind +120 ************************** Draconic Scales [ Level 2] (Passive) The host''s skin is hardened due to his new draconic skin. Endurance +100 ************************** ************************** [ Emperor''s Roar (Level 2) ] The user lets out a mighty dragon roar that causes strong shockwaves to ring throughout the air. Side effects may include fear and ear damage. Cost: 100 demon energy ************************** ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 8 Ice Level: 50 XP to next level 45,900/50,000 Dragon skill tree level: 2 Dragon skill tree XP to next level: 0/500 Power Level: 23,470 Hp: 188/188 Demon Energy: 612 /612 Mana: 612 /612 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 383 Energy/Hour Strength: 591 Agility: 647 Endurance: 497 Intelligence: 612 Mind: 100 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** The skills that levelled up were all of his dragon and ice-rted skills, all except for "Freezing Time" Which was still at level 1. He attributed this to the fact that his ice ability and dragon blood were now mixed into one entity so, if he trained one it would also train the other at the same time, making them connected. However, that was still just a theory but the only usible exnation he could think of with his current knowledge. When he checked his stats, he noticed that the stat change was astronomical. 120 points to strength, 90 to Agility, 80 to intelligence, and finally, 120 to endurance with no increase in mind, totalling up to 410 stats. This pushed him well over the threshold of high B rank as he was now a low A rank instead. Although the point distribution was not at all ideal for the build Moby wanted, as he wanted to go for a high agility utility build, he would be lying to say that he wasn''t satisfied. At the end of the day, 410 stats are still 410 stats no matter where they go as he could easily optimize his stat distribution at ater time. The biggest thing he had noticed was that he now gained a new "Basic Ice Maniption" skill that allowed him to control ice in basic ways, something that he didn''t even notice that hecked from before. Either that Avilia had forgotten to give him that skill upon his ability gain or that was an actual new skill. If thetter was the case, something that he was strongly leaning to, that was probably the reason why his old ice maniption felt so weak, ineffective, and inefficient. Now, with that new skill, he hoped that he would now have a better, stronger, more efficient use of his ice powers, making him really excited to test it out. The stat point and skill increases were so generous and outstanding that it felt almost like he had gone through an evolution without all of the new skills and system boosts that came along with it, it was almost too good to be true. However, he knew that he would not be able to do it very often as trials and power boosts like these would most likely be very rare. He also noticed that there was now an extra XP bar and level for his dragon skill tree located under where his normal level and XP bar were situated. Frompleting the trial, he gained a total of 100 XP towards his dragon skill tree which was exactly enough to level it up. For his next level up, he needed 500 XP, 400 more than the previous level. Those are like 5 of the trials he had just taken which were already extremely difficult. If he had to face a trial 5 times harder than the one he just had, he was not fully confident in his ability toplete it sessfully. This also matched with what Professor Leo said about how the farther one trains and refines their ability the harder and less often a person would be able to strengthen it. Then, eventually, a person would reach their limit, a certain threshold where they would not be able to continue anymore, and that some families had secret techniques and strategies to ovee most of those thresholds, keeping them always on top. That was what separated the normal people from the powerful and elites, those are the people that could break past their limits and continue to grow stronger. The experience he had gone through was very simr to what Professor Leo described. About how a person might have to undergo a test or certain conditions depending on the type and ability of their certain inner spirit. Yet, in his case, he did not have an inner spirit to strengthen his bond with like all the others, all he had was his dragon blood that had absorbed his ability, and unlike them, he was a demon and not a human. So, he assumed that he could have gone through a different experience, something unique to him which might have not been the case in actuality, the only way he would know and find out was if he asked others for their experiences. But for now, that was the least of his worries, his true concern was that majestic voice he heard in that golden space in his mind. ''I wonder what that golden space and who''s sound that was¡­ And, I wonder if that was a fragment of my own past memories or was just made up for the purposes of the trial... I went through so much shit when I was younger and I can''t remember all of it¡­ If the former is correct, that meant that I actually ate a piece of¡­'' Moby thought, stopping himself in the middle of his thoughts as he felt a bad feeling in his stomach before forgetting all about it, hoping that it was thetter that was true as he continued his previous train of thought. He wondered how was it even possible to be given a test by something that was supposed to be dead¡­ Was it somehow still alive? Or was it something else... In his mind, there were only 3 usible exnations¡­ The first, and the one he thought was most probable, was that the voice belonged to Avilia who had changed her speech using magic to make her sound like a deep, majestic voiced creature to either prank him or try and sound as cool as possible to impress him, making her the one who had set up that trial. The second was that the wolf pulled the biggest brain move by killing itself to infuse its essence with his dragon powers, interns highjacking it to make itself more powerful, something that he really wished was not the case as it was the worst scenario in his mind. And,st but not least, he thought that it might have been some sort of unknown entity, other than Avilia who was also residing in his body, something or someone that hadid dormant for his entire life and only decided to show themselves at that moment to administer that trial. Maybe some sort of dragon inside his mind which seemed extremely farfetched yet still not impossible in Moby''s mind. For now, he was able to debunk or confirm his first theory by directly asking Avilia herself if she was the one responsible. ''Hey, Avilia wa¡­'' Moby said, before being cut off by Avilia as she had already surmised what his question was going to be before he even asked it. ''No, that was not me that did that, I have no idea what even happened. I spectated your entire test and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with your actions, When you had finished your trial, for a split second, I sensed the existence of another being or entity inside your head. And, just like you, I was able to hear their sound.'' ''It sounded almost familiar yet I can''t remember where or if I was just imagining things, but I know that it definitely did not belong to that ice wolf from earlier unless it had changed how it sounded if it''s still alive in your dragon blood. I tried my best to investigate the source but as soon as it arrived it suddenly vanished, I was not able to locate it or even find anything about it. It was very elusive. And once it vanished it was almost like it no longer even existed which still baffles me to this moment.'' ''There are mysteries in your own body that even I can''t find out about, and I live here for fuck sake! I can''t even do such a simple task in my meagre state! It''s pure torture knowing that I, once the most powerful being in all the 3 realms, has been reduced to such a useless nagging voice. Until you find me a new body and a transfer method, it is up to you to figure out these mysteries and help me out until then, I really want to find out about what that was and how the 3 realms had changed before you finally be the demon lord. And interns I will give you my full support and assistance in anything and everything you need, I am pretty muchmitted to you at this point, I guess you wouldn''t make a bad demon lord. Unless you fuck up big time, I don''t see that changing,'' Avilia said, going on a huge rant that took Moby aback as he listened to everything she said with an immense concentration on her every word. He now knew that it wasn''t Avilia that administered that trial which made him inwardly panic as it must have been one of the other 2 theories he gave, not leaning to either side as he thought both ideas were equally possible. The main problem was that he did not know if that voice was on his side or not. Even though they sounded very kind and gentle, the reality could be very different. He could easily be trying to sway or manipte Moby into trusting him before trying to take over his body, something that he felt Avilia would also do before he actually got to know her and who she was. Nevertheless, all that he could do now was baseless spection as he had no conclusive lead to follow to where he could find any information. All he knew was that he gained a great deal of power from the trial and if he ever wanted to have a chance atmunicating with that unknown entity again, he would have to partake in a second trial, something that he was not sure when it would happen or be eligible for. All he could do now was train and wait until then to hopefully find his answer¡­ ''Don''t worry about it Avilia, I will definitely find out about this during my next trial. Trust me, I am even more curious than you when ites to that matter, an unknown entity in my body is not something I take too kindly to. Thank you for trusting me and for y-'' Moby said, responding to Avilia before a sudden gasp and screech enter his ears, making him stop what he was saying to see what happened. The sound hade directly from his right, exactly where Abby was sat. When he looked to see her, he saw something that he did not at all expect. Abby''s entire body was sweating in litres, much more than his own when he finished his trial, her face was as pale as a ghost, panting profusely with her eyes wide open in what looked like shock, a mixture of a twitching smile and frown on her face making her look crazy, her right hand tightly clenching her heart. It looked like she had juste out of her worst nightmare¡­ Chapter 158: A Servants Failure

158 A Servant''s Failure

When he used his emotion-sensing on her to confirm that he was not imagining things, the result only led to confirm his suspicions as it read... ''Fear'' Other than when they first met at that coffee shop that day, he had never seen her in such a state, making him extremely worried about her. She had an unbreakable will of steel and she was more hardworking than anyone else all to aplish her goals, usually, nothing would be able to faze her in the slightest. In his mind, there were only a few usible exnations for what happened. If she also went through a trial, and if it was anything simr to his own, that might have been where the problem stemmed from. The test that Moby took was about oveing his past and thinking rationally, something that he knew Abby had many, many problems and traumas from. Moby did not even know if she did take a trial or if the trial was any simr to his own, but, In the case that it was, he knew that if she indeed did take a trial, she must have failed it¡­ Either she outright ughtered her family in cold blood, leaving evidence behind of her association. Or, she had tried to fight back in a less than optimal way, leading to her getting tortured and killed in the process. And, finally, hisst theory was that in her circumstances as a weak little child, she was too traumatized, weak and fragile minded to fight back or even regain a sense of her true self and find a way out. Moby was leaning towards his first 2 theories as hisst one would have contradicted Abby''s entire character. However, there was only one way to find out¡­ ''Abby, are you alright? Speak to me, what happened? Did you take a mind trial? Please tell me¡­'' Moby asked in a gentle voice, opening a mind link between him and her. However, this only led to her not responding at all, not because she didn''t want to listen, but because her mind was too foggy and cluttered with thoughts and emotions that everything in the outside world seemed like it was but a big blur as she was stuck circling back and forth between her own emotions. Moby was able to pick up on this, as no matter how many times he asked or shouted, Abby would not respond at all which was not like her who had looked up to and idolized him for so long. This led to Moby using something that he had not used ever since the first day he turned Jayden into a demon when she was being extremely misbehaving and troublesome. Moby ran demon energy through his veins and into his eyes, activating his glowing eyes of sin, not even startling the rest of his ssmates as most of them were still meditating quietly with a few grunts of struggle being heard every now and then. Moby knew that his eyes of sin could be used to tame and instill fear in a servant''s heart to make them better behave. However, that was not the case for why Moby was using it now, he just needed a way to grab Abby''s attention without making physical contact with her like a p, to snap her out of her mind, attracting unwanted attention. So, using his eyes of sin was the best thing he could do in his predicament. As Moby stared deeply into Abby''s open yet extremely dull, shaky eyes, she suddenly snapped out of her delusions, making him turn of his eyes off sin, the fiery red colour of her pupils returning from their previous, dull, almost gray state, her body still shaking quickly as she spoke in a jittery voice. ''M-my lord, is that y-you¡­'' Abby said using mind link, trying to hold back a waterfall of tears, holding the urge to hug him tightly like he was her true father and ball her eyes out in his tight embrace. Those emotions did not stem from love, at least not romantic love¡­ She just wanted some warmth in her current dark state. However, sadly, she knew that she could not do it in such a public area, in front of all these people, so she managed to just barely hold herself back. ''Yes, it''s me, Moby... Abby, don''t worry, it''s okay¡­ everything is going to be fine¡­'' Moby replied, also holding in the urge to hug and pet her on the head as he felt a bad feeling in his heart seeing one of his closest, strongest friend in such pain. ''NO! IT''S NOT OKAY! I FAILED! Even with all of your kind words and motivations, even with all my training, effort and motivations, I still failed! I just couldn''t do it! I am a disgrace to your household! I have brought too much shame! I will fall behind in strength just like I feared and I will eventually be too weak, useless in your eyes and the eyes of others, thrown to the side like a pile of trash like it has happened every other time in my life!'' Abby screamed using her mind link, small tears falling down her face despite all of her efforts to hold theme back, taking Moby by immense surprise. As soon as Moby heard what Abby said, he reactivated his eyes of sin, making Abby shudder and quake before he said. ''No! How many times do I have to tell you this! You have it all wrong! No matter how weak you get or how far you fall behind, you will never be useless or be mistreated by me because you are more than just a tool, a servant or subordinate, you are my friend! I don''t like you just because you are strong, I like you for your personality and who you are! You think I am an inspiration to you? What a joke! You are the biggest inspiration I have ever seen! With your work ethic, determination, and resolve, you are unparalleled! So keep your head up high and think of the future! I am sure you will get past this eventually, I know you will! All you need is a better state of mind, so please, just tell me what happened so we could work this out¡­'' Moby said with clear care and passion in his voice. For as long as he could remember, this was the first-ever time he had ever seen Abby scream or raise her voice at him. This of course did not make Moby mad, that only reinforced the severity of the situation as he knew that Abby would usually never scream at him under any circumstance. ''Th-thank you so much for your words of kindness¡­ Words could not express how happy I am... I am so d that you are my lord¡­ I am so d I met you¡­ You are the shining hope in my life¡­ Every time I am down, insecure, or doubting myself, no matter how many times I do it, there you always are to prove me wrong and cheer me up¡­ if it weren''t for you I would have been long dead by now¡­ I promise I will work harder and serve you even better from now on! I will try my best to think more positively, keep my head up high, and think of a better future¡­ This will be the first time I truly disagree with you, my lord¡­ Your words are truly inspiring and heartwarming beyond what you could even imagine¡­'' Abby said, trying her best to hold in a waterfall of tears from breaking out and overflowing through the dam known as her eyes as she felt so much better knowing that despite all her failures and constant sobbing, her lord still cared deeply for her and didn''t want to abandon her because he liked her for who she was, not from her strength and achievements like everyone else in her life. This only even further cemented in her head that her lord was truly the kindest, wisest person in the entire universe which only made her loyalty and determination grow even further as she wanted to devote her life to serve him and his every will. ''I am so d to hear that you are feeling better!'' Moby said, a bright smile shining on his face as he noticed Abby''s depressed expression take a 180-degree turn. ''So¡­ I know this might be tough to talk about but I need to know what happened in your mind that made you feel the way you did. That is the only way we could figure this out and improve for the next time, so things like this hopefully don''t repeat. was it some sort of trial?'' Moby asked with immense skepticism. ''If I am being honest my lord¡­ I think that it was some sort of trial, I don''t remember what happened at all¡­ Everything was just a blur like my memory was erasedpletely¡­ However, despite that fact, all the pain, suffering, mental stress still transferred and filled my body. The only thing I could remember was my big cunt of a sister holding a firey sword with a cynical, psychotic smile on her face from repeatedly stabbing my body over, and over, and over again, turning my entire corpse into charcoal with bloody wounds littered all over my back and red skin. Only then was the only thing I remember¡­ The memory of when she decided to finally take me out of my misery by stabbing me right through my brain, cracking my skull open like a watermelon¡­ Everything that happened before that I have absolutely no memory of¡­'' Chapter 159: End of the Exercise

159 End of the Exercise

''No, my lord¡­ I have no recollection of anything other than the stabbing sensation and pain, and the look on my sister''s face¡­ Even the background around her was a blur, I couldn''t make out anything about it¡­'' Abby exined in a nervous yet firm voice, reconfirming her previous statement. Abby''s words made Moby think hard as his mind started spinning in circles. Was that supposed to happen? Are a person''s memories supposed to be wiped after a trial? But if that was the case it should have also happened to him¡­. Was he a special case? Then, as he was thinking, the answer hit him like a speeding jet, crashing straight into his brain, making him realize the most probable answer. The conclusion he came up with was that a memory wipe was only initiated if a person failed a trial in order for them not to be able to take it easier the next time, or, be able to just seed on simple and consistent trial and error. If a person could just bring their previous experiences with them on a trial, that would just defeat the purpose of it, allowing them to prepare as it would not be the same as going in blind, not knowing what to expect. So, since Moby passed the test, the memory wipe never happened to him as he would probably never retake the same trial again, making it redundant to wipe his memories. Yet, Moby found this phenomenon fascinating as he had a big theory of his own. If he failed the test and his memories were wiped, Avilia, who would always be spectating should definitely be able to let him know what happened right after he failed the trial. The only way that he could see this not working would be if the trial master had power over Avilia too, allowing him to wipe her memories of the trial as well, something that he had immense doubts about. Moby really wanted to test out his theory but, he had no ns of failing and he was not able to undergo another trial in his current state. if it happens it happens, but, he will not go out of his way to test it out. ''I understand Abby, thank you for sharing, your information has been truly insightful,'' Moby said to her with a smile, making her smile back and firmly nod in response before he turned his attention to Professor Leo who had been sitting cross-legged, his bulging thighs really exemplified, as he spectated all of the other students still trying to strengthen their abilities, patiently waiting for everyone to finish and wake up, his arms crossed with a tired look in his eyes like he was about to go to sleep. "Excuse me, professor! I have a question!" Moby asked in a loud voice to catch Leo''s attention. "Sure. Ask away¡­" Leo said with a yawn, putting his hands on his mouth with a slightly less boring expression than before. "If a person takes on a trial to strengthen their ability and fails, does that mean their memories of the trial will also be wiped upon failure?" Moby asked with interest in his eyes, like a model student making Leo, inwardly smile but not show it on his face. "Yes, that is correct. The person''s memories will be wiped but the pain of what they experienced would linger past the trial despite them having no memory of it. That is the reason why people get forever stuck at a certain level as they don''t know what to fix and why a lot of those people give up and stay where they are as they are afraid to be hurt once again when they fail. Like I said in ss, the way of gaining strength is a very dangerous one and only a few would be qualified to reach the upper echelon of power. But don''t worry, my job is to assist all of you with all my strength to be as strong as possible, trained, powerful soldiers and nothing less..." Leo exined, with a yawn and another tired expression when in reality, he was really happy and excited. Leo was thoroughly impressed with Moby''s performance during this exercise. He had fully expected him to fail as he thought that with his power level, he had alreadypleted a few trials on his own so this one would have been his limit until he trained more. However, he was fully proven wrong as he not only passed and increased his power, but he was also the first to finish out of every student, making him like Moby even more than he already did before, something that he wished he could say about Abby as well¡­ In his opinion, Moby and Abby were the perfect students with a good blend of talent and hard work and he intended to mould them into the best soldiers that he could. They were the 2 shining lights in another wise weak, dull, uninteresting ss of weaklings and arrogant students. It would not be a stretch to say that they were his favourite but he had to keep up the act that he saw everyone as equal so he could not give them any special treatment. Moby took in the information that Leo gave him, which lined up with his own, before inwardly nodding to himself. ''It seems like Abby has gotten her vigour back, the next time she takes the trial she should be able to pass it. If not then we might have to pay a visit to her sister to get her over her traumas¡­ The only problem is that her sister is a far more experienced second year that is about to enter the S rank¡­ It might take a while until we could take her down¡­'' Moby thought, before being suddenly and abruptly interrupted by a p that resounded from Leo''s direction. "Perfect! It finally seems like all of you have finished, and it''s right before lunch! From what I see from your faces, most of the ss failed but that is to be expected for your first time so don''t worry! We will be doing this exercise 2 times a month! Don''t expect to pass every time! Only through hard work and perseverance would you be able to improve! You can always practice this at your dorms or when you are alone so don''t worry about always doing it in ss, I am just giving you the tools for now. Does anyone have any questions?" Leo asked, and just as he expected, he was given no response from the ss that still feared him like their life depended on it despite all of their months of being together, making him let out a loud, audible sigh. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* Then suddenly, the sound of the school bell ringing resounded and echoed throughout the entire arena, marking the start of lunch. "ss dismissed! You may go back to the ssroom to retrieve anything you may have forgotten, have a great lunch," Leo said in a still tired tone as he had stayed awake doing nothing for thest 2 hours as he stared at his ss doing the exercise. Moby had not checked the time after he had reawoke and had no idea that it was sote, the exercise must havested longer than he expected. In his mind, he thought that it was only around 10 minutes in length but he now knew that it was not the case at all as it took upwards of 2 hours toplete for most students. Moby had assumed that he still had ss time to test out his new and improved ice powers on actual human beings other than his servants which turned out to be not possible. However, it was not a big deal as he could always do it the next time. Moby looked up and noticed his entire ss sprinting out of the arena at full speed like they were a crazy mob, probably trying their best to get away from him as they were no longer in ss, throwing the normal rules out the window. To strengthen and motivate students, at lunch, anything went as long as there is no killing or excessive violence, thest part not even being enforced by most teachers as they would not care or bat an eye even when seeing it right in front of their eyes as they thought of it as natural behaviour. It was a truly toxic environment to be in. Moby let out a big sigh of disappointment seeing the sight before him as he knew that he had to change their perspectives eventually¡­ but now was not eventually and he had other, more important things to do. Seeing that it was now lunch, Moby would usually go onto the school roof to eat with his friends and practice his skills in secrecy, including his now enhanced ice ability that he really wanted to test out. However, today he had another priority, he wanted to check up on Ray, someone who he was starting to grow more and more worried about. No matter how many times he called or texted him, he would receive no response at all¡­ There could only be 3 usible exnations, either he was ying video games with headphones in, not allowing him to hear the notification sound, he had notifications turned off, or there was something deeper at work. And of course, Moby was leaning towards thest part as he had a bad feeling in his heart... Chapter 160: Avilias Scolding

160 Avilia''s Scolding

Moby then opened a mind-link not just between him and her but also with every other household member at the same time. ''Guys, let''s cancel the roof meet, I have a bad feeling¡­ I know that some of you guys would not care but, ever since the exam ended, I was not able to contact my other roommate, Ray, no matter what I did or what I tried. I am worried that something happened to him, which I think is highly likely. I called you to ask if you could help me search for him during lunch? He is a short, tired-looking, long blue-haired boy that is only at the bottom to the middle of D rank. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.'' Moby announced to the rest of his group. ''Yeah, I know! What do you think I''ve been doing for thest 2 minutes? I''ve been busting my ass off trying to find Ray! I can''t get to him either! I have only checked hallway C right beside one of the staircases that led to where all the second-year sses are and I am on my way to the library right now!'' ''Someone check the cafeteria, someone else checks the forest, andst person, who I think should be Abby, checks the yard and the dorm areas! Use your wisp to scout from high in the sky, don''t bring it close to the ground under any circumstance or else you would have a high chance of getting caught. Jayden, if you want you can use your doppelganger clone to help speed up the search but that is not required if you think that it would lead to unnecessary trouble! I need to know if he''s safe! Moby! Is that n okay with you?'' Alex asked in a firm yet worried voice. ''Yes, of course, That n sounds perfect!'' Moby said, nodding his head as he took in and analyzed Alex''s words. ''If my lord wills it then it shall be done! I will check the surrounding area of the school with my wisps, I can even help scout the forest if needed,'' Abby said, holding the urge to go on one knee in front of Moby but instead bowed just in case someone took a peek inside the arena. ''I will check the forest, I should be able to sneak and blend in well with my shadow and doppelganger powers,'' Jayden added, not knowing who exactly this Ray guy they were referring to was but choosing to find him as she knew that he served some sort of significance to Moby which was more than a good enough reason for her to agree. ''Understood!'' All of his servants said in unison, some saying it in their own unique way before ending the mind link. ''I will be going to the roof to scout and release my wisp! I wish you the best of luck on your search my lord and I hope that your roommate is okay,'' Abby said with a bow before swiftly exiting the arena. Now, instead of focusing his attention on following Abby to do his part of the search, he focused it on the foot-tapping sound and grumbling of either anger or annoyance, maybe even a mixture of both,ing from his head ever since he had started his conversation with his servants like something was patiently waiting for him to finish. ''Okay, listen up kid! I am tired of seeing this and I just have to speak out! Why are you being so soft and gentle all the time when giving out orders? Why are you asking them so politely? You are so heartless and ruthless in front of others but in front of your servants, you are just a harmless puppy. You were so harsh towards your servants at first, treating them like actual ves but then I told you that it was not the way. But, now you took it far off to the other end!'' ''What? If they declined you would just let them do whatever they want? I hope not! And if you never nned for them to have an option to decline, what was the point of even asking them instead of giving them an order!? You are being way too nice! A perfect example of this was when you let Jayden hold you at a dagger''s edge this morning, you should have asserted your dominance and ordered her away! Even Alex just now acted more like a leader than you and took the spotlight of giving everyone orders! YOU are the leader! Not him! Act like one! You have authority! Use it!'' Avilia scolded him with a hint of disgust and clear annoyance in her voice. As soon as Moby heard Avilia''s words, His eyes opened wide as he immediately knew that they were true, something that he only just realized. It was like he was totally unaware of his previous actions as they felt totally natural to him as everything was most likely happening in his subconscious, making many thoughts run through his mind such as, ''Am I too scared to lose them?'' And, ''Is my old self rubbing off on me?'' It almost reminded him of when he first met Alex and Ray, back when he brainlessly walked into his dorm drenched head to toe in blood. At that time he also acted uncharacteristically nice, not just pretending as he had previously done at every other instance before that. And, even at that time, Avilia had asked him if he was feeling alright. Maybe it was something deeply hidden and ingrained in his subconscious, the urge to have something that he never had before, true friends... And, the soft side of him emerged out of that desire and out of the fear of losing them for acting too harshly which would lead to him having to kill them if they left his group so they would not disclose his secrets, something that he wanted to avoid at all costs. Moby''s eyes were now more open than ever before, both literally and metaphorically, as he was now more self-aware all due to Avilia''s words. Indeed, if he wanted to be the demon lord, he needed to use his authority more and let go of his subconscious fears. There was a time to act casual and polite and there was a time where one must use and demonstrate his authority and leadership. Something that Moby understood far more than before. ''I know I sounded really harsh but this is for your own good! You need to stop acting like that! There mighte a time where a servant thinks that you are a soft pushover and not respect you. Or, even worst, if the servant is extremely smart they might gain your trust and abuse your kindness to make you do things you would have usually never done before, maybe even using you as a puppet. I am not saying that any of your servants are like that, but there mighte a time, maybe with a current or future servant where that situation might arise if you keep acting like this!'' Avilia exined in a passionate, yet still kind-sounding voice, reaching deep into Moby''s soul. ''Thank you for that wake-up call, I really needed it more than you could imagine¡­ And, don''t worry, not once did I ever think you were doing any of this from malice. I know that you have my best interest at heart. After all, you need me, and I need you, we have a mutual bond and synergy. If you want to mess with me now you would only be messing with yourself!'' Moby said with a chuckle, lightning his mood the more he spoke. ''Hah! You think of yourself too highly! Just do your job properly and I wouldn''t have to scold you like that! Like I said, I would rather die than let some unworthy shmuck be the next demon lord so I will mould you into someone worthy! Hahaha! But yeah, you are right, I do need you for a new body and to see my homnd again so don''t die on me until then,'' Avilia said with a chuckle and a yful voice, joking around to match Moby''s smug attitude. Moby inwardly nodded at Avilia''s words feeling really appreciative of her, a smile on his face that dissolved into something more serious as he focused back at the task at hand. He needed to find Ray as soon as possible, he just hoped that he was okay and nothing bad had happened to him like he feared as he quickly ran out of the arena at top speed before slowing down once he reached the crowded hallway in front of the arena entrance. Chapter 161: An Old "Friends" Invitation

161 An Old "Friend''s" Invitation

Lunch onlysted an hour and he did not have much time to waste. As he ran through the hallway, he noticed that those same looks were not niche to that one part of the school, they followed him everywhere he went as people moved out of the way immediately after they saw hime near, something that he fully expected. Some even got extremely startled, clenching their hearts as soon as they saw Moby speed right past them as they did not notice him at all before loudly breathing out, wiping the sweat off their face in relief. However, out of those looks of terror and unease were a few mellow smiles sprinkled in the crowd. Moby''s actions of saving an E rank bald kid in the morning had already spread to nearly every corner of the school, especially amongst all of the weaker students. The news came as a shock to everyone, most thought that it either must have been a fluke, a lie or that he had a bigger n at work. There were only a few people in the entire school that were genuinely nice, one of whom was of course none other than Alex Hart. The idea of Moby being on their side felt like a delusion as it was too good to be true. They thought that the only usible exnation must have been that he must have had a bigger n to lure them into trusting him. It was by far the more popr opinion. However, the other side also existed. Some people really did believe that Moby did what he did out of the pure goodness of his heart. After all, he was also of course a bullied, badly treated F rank just like them before gaining his ability, making him probably sympathize with their conditions. Not to mention the fact that Alex Hart was his roommate who had probably rubbed off on him and inspired him to use his newfound powers for the sake of protecting others. That small group saw Moby as a hero, no, a messiah who hade to save them from their high ranked, selfish, power-hungry, almost demonic abusers. Of course, Moby did not notice those looks that were too few and far between as they were too subtle to pick up on. He instead tunnelled everything out and focused his attention on getting to the cafeteria as fast as possible alongside examining the faces of the many short people he passed by to see if he could find Ray in the hallway, he had absolutely no idea that his previous ns were actually working right under his nose. At the edge of the blockade, there was a short, pink-haired student facing a much taller and skinnier ck-haired student, his hands firmly nted against a locker as he prepared to punch him, it was like the most stereotypical bully situation imaginable. Moby did not at all find that to be an odd sight, the sight of arger person being bullied by someone half his size. 100 years ago before the discovery of abilities that might have been extremely bizarre, but in this age, size differences meant nothing in the face of greater power. Moby smiled as he knew that he could use this situation to his advantage, running straight at the bully, not even slowing down in the slightest. "Pay me your daily $50 now or else I''ll eat yo-" The short bully said, ready to punch the weaker,rger kid in front of him before suddenly, he felt an intense pain crash right into his face, his jawpletely shattering as he wasunched far away like he was a football, sliding on the ground as every other student dodged his iing unconscious body, faces of shock, fear, and admiration looking straight towards him after what he had so easily and nonchntly done. [ System Alert! ] [ You gained 2000 XP for defeating a low C rank enemy ] "Get out of my way dickhead! Take care kid! Hopefully, he doesn''t bother you again!" Moby casually said as he bolted right past the scene, the tall kid looking at him with a mixture of shock and admiration, too speechless to even properly thank him. ''Damn, not even a thank you¡­ maybe I am taking the wrong approach when doing this,'' Moby thought with a long sigh as he reasoned that he could have both made a path for himself and shown his "good will" more around the school. Then Moby shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind as he had arrived at the cafeteria, even faster than he expected as he thought that he would have been stopped or approached on his way there but that was luckily not the case. ''Now that I think of it, this is my second time ever actually entering into the cafeteria ever since the first day of school,'' Moby thought, looking around the familiar yet unfamiliar area. The cafeteria was veryrge, almost the size of a football field in order to amodate every single first-year student in the school, it did not at all feel empty even when knowing the fact that a good portion of first-year students died from the first exam. The entire room was mostly white with somehow clean marble flooring despite the overwhelming amount of students inside eating at the various long metal tables. Just by looking at the people sitting at each table, it was clear to determine the divide between the various different students. Most of them were divided by their gang affiliation and strength while only a very small minority seemed to be sitting with each other because they shared amon interest. Moby casually walked around, surveying the area trying his best to keep a low profile and blend in with the crowds. Luckily, the few people that noticed his presence kept quiet and did not make a big deal out of anything as they were too scared to anger him by making a hugemotion. Sadly, in the end, he managed to find no sign or lead of Ray''s location, making him extremely disappointed as he headed back towards the entrance of the cafeteria to continue searching. "H-hey! Moby old buddy! It''s been a while since west talked!" A nervous yet recognizable voice came from right behind him. When Moby turned around to see who it was, he saw a familiar, decently tall, red-eyed, ck-haired boy with a few strands of white that were not very easily seen, his skin was pale with a few subtle signs of ageing, making him look slightly older than he actually was which was definitely due to theirst encounter. It was none other than Travis Ligmus, the only actual living survivor of his team from the first exam. Behind him were 2, intimidating somewhat hairy men with a scowl on their face, looking like they were ready to attack at any time. From their watches, Moby could tell that they were both high to mid B ranks which did not intimidate him too much as he was confident he could take them both out with moderate difficulty. "Who are you calling old buddy? Me and you were never friends! If you don''t have something important to tell me then fuck off! I am really in a hurry now!" Moby said in a cold attitude, not even batting an eye. This made the two men standing beside Travis lift their eyebrows in surprise as they looked at each other before focusing back on Travis with an ugly, doubtful look, making him awkwardly chuckle as he twiddled with his thumbs, looking straight at the ground with immense fear and nervousness, gulping down all the saliva in his mouth as sweat began running down his face. Just from their movements and mannerisms, Moby could probably assume exactly what went down, making him inwardly let out a sigh. Those were probably gang members that either convinced themselves that he and Travis were on good terms with him during the exam or, he was the one that had convinced them that he was on good terms with him in order to get more on their good side. However, he was leaning more towards the former as Travis knew very well that Moby didn''t exactly like him. "Hahahah! What''s that look about? Of course, I am just ying around! What is it that you need?" Moby said, his mannerisms immediately changing as he yed it off as a joke, making Travis look up with a happy look in his eyes, nothing like his previously depressed-looking state. "Hahahaha! Yeah! It''s always like you ying jokes like that!" Travis said, going along with Moby''s words, making the two men next to him greatly lighten their expressions. "Well, I just came here to give you an offer to join the greatest and most esteemed gang in the entire school! The Zexis gang! Our great leader has even chosen to appoint you 3rd inmand immediately if you chose to join, no one has ever been offered something like this before! It is a once in a lifetime experience! So, what do you say?" Travis asked with immense expectations in his now even more weary eyes. Chapter 162: Pawn

162 Pawn

Moby''s true intentions were to keep Travis close, on a leash as his loyal dog, a pawn that he could use to extract valuable information from the Zexis n without turning him into a demon, reducing his chances of failure and removing a great deal of stress in the off chance that he is caught by them or betrays him, which would lead to his secret beingpletely exposed. If they found out that he and Moby were not on good terms, they might rece him with someone else, or, even worse, kick him out of the gang for being useless or for wasting their time, both options being something that Moby did not want. Travis was a person who he had already dominated with his will, scaring the shit out of him during the exam. He highly doubted that he would betray him after what he had done to him, making him easy to manipte and a free source of information. If the gang kicked him out, Moby would lose an important pawn, forcing him to waste time finding a recement spy who he doubted would even be half as effective as the gang thought that Travis and Moby were friends of some sort, making him the perfect messenger between both of them. Even if he told the new spy to pretend to be friends, the gang would be easily able to pick up that it must be a trap or scheme of some sort and act ordingly. But even despite all of those facts, Moby had no choice but to decline, there was no way in hell he would associate himself with any gang. He answers to no one and has no ns of being bossed around and ordered by those pathetic scum. "I am sorry Travis, but I must decline. I have absolutely no ns of joining any gang of any sort. It is not about you, it''s just that I want to be independent you know? No hard feelings right?" Moby said with a wide smile, declining Travis''s offer. As soon as Travis heard Moby''s response, his already unsteady eyes became even warier as they shifted towards the ground before he took a big gulp of saliva. "Hey, kid! What do you mean you decline? Do you even understand the honour you are being bestowed? I have worked my ass off in the gang for months and I''ve only reached 12th rank and you juste along declining the 3rd seat? Are you fucking brain dead or are you just being so arrogant to the point that you are as good as blind!" One of the men standing behind Travis roared, his face turning red from anger with a visible blood vessel popping out of his head, attracting everyone''s attention to their area as they formed a circle around them, most pulling out their phones to film what was inevitably about to go down. "Are you a fucking pussy? We can easily take him down if we teamed up! You heard how he so casually declined the¡­" The angry man said before being immediately and abruptly cut off short. "I have no time for games now, can''t you tell that I am in a hurry?" Moby said in a cold, distant voice, his eyes turning into glowing purple deadly slits, infusing his arms and legs with pure demon energy as time began to slow down all around him. With one single step, he immediately disappeared from his previous location, leaving a small crack on the marble floor as it seemed like he had almost disappeared into thin air, looking like a blur in the eyes of the many spectators. In the next second, the sound of 2 heavy blows was heard before Moby reappeared right behind the two men who just proceeded to fall t on the ground, their eyes rolled to the back of their heads leaving nothing but white in their eye sockets, making the crowdugh and cheer. Even if they were distracted, with just 2 simple blows, those 2 big, burly B ranks were effortlessly taken down. From the looks on the faces of the crowd, most of them were not at all surprised, after all, they knew Moby''s capabilities as a world-ss fighter, not to mention that his power level was greatly higher than his opponents, it was only natural for him to win, but, it was good entertainment and drama none the less which made people extremely excited. As soon as Travis saw what had just happened, he felt a familiar, eery feeling ravage his entire body¡­ The atmosphere felt all too simr¡­ His entire body began to quiver in fear as he was now barely able to move, his teeth cking uncontrobly. As Travis slowly and reluctantly turned around to face where that horrible feeling wasing from, he saw the face of a pure demon, a wide grin stered on his face, his purple eyes staring deep into his soul with immense pressureing his way, making him even more scared that before as his legs melted into jelly, falling right on his ass, trying his best not to piss his pants. The less than pleasant sight of the demon in front of him made his nightmarese back to life as they yed over and over in his mind, almost like he was hit with an immense wave of PTSD. In a split second, he was fully reminded why he promised himself to never fuck with Moby Kane if he did not want what had happened to him in the exam to repeat its self or even worse¡­ "Hey! Travis! I would like to have a quick chat with you¡­ Follow me¡­" Moby said with a big, friendly smile on his face, reaching his hand out to help Travis up,?his eyes of sin still active making him look like he was about to drag him to the depths of hell. However, no matter how scared he was, he just had to ept. If not then he doubted his own safety and life, and if he died, how would he be able to get money to save his mother? The fact alone was more than enough to make Travis steel his resolve enough to move forward and grab Moby''s hands as he pulled him back up on his now slightly less shaky feet. "Follow me," Moby said with a smile, walking out of the encirclement of students surrounding him, Travis nodding back before following right behind him trying his best to be as confident as possible, making them all disperse and go back to what they were doing before as if nothing happened, ignoring the two men who were knocked out on the ground like they were obstacles, no one really wanting to call a teacher or take them to the nurse as it was none of their business. The supervising teacher who was currently on the other side of the cafeteria could help them out when they get the chance. ***************************************************** Moby led Travis to the back of the school, somewhere that he knew would be unupied, allowing them to talk freely. As they were no longer in the public eye, Moby could finally stop ying pretend. Now that he imnted the thought that he and Travis were friends in front of many people, Travis would be mostly safe as the gang would definitely keep him as a useful tool. However, Moby knew full well that his n could easily backfire as the gang might get the wrong idea, thinking that he and Travis were closer than he meant them to think. That might lead to them keeping Travis as a hostage until Mobyes to save him, something that he would of course not be willing to do which might lead to Travis being thrown away and abandoned. Yet, Moby was still willing to take that chance as he believed that the more likely oue would be the first, he would get nowhere otherwise. Right now, Moby''s current objective and why he had asked Travis to talk was to try and suck him out of as much information as possible pertaining to Ray''s location and if the Zexis gang had anything to do with why he was not responding. Moby could have of course just forced him into letting him take a peek into his brain. But, he would need to get express permission from him to willingly do it, not to mention that the entire process would have taken too long. At times like these, he really wished that he had more stats in mind... A stat that he had been neglecting for so long as it did not give him any power level boost. More mind would allow him to manipte and control more people, something that he was only now seeing the true value of. There was more to power than just strength. This realization made him make up his mind to finally start focussing more on the mind stat, assigning more stat points there as he felt like it would be well worth it in the future. For now, he just needed to trust his instincts that Travis would be truthful with him, and even if he was being deceptive, he still had a way of making him talk and stay 100% loyal, he knew his weakness¡­ As long as the Zexis gang doesn''t give him a better offer, something that he doubted would be the case, then he should bepletely safe. Still, even in the case that he was betrayed or his ns were found out, it would not be a big deal as he did not reveal any important information to him. He just wanted to use Travis for as long as possible, something that he knew would notst forever. "Okay kid, no more pretending, I only acted nicely towards you there to save your guts because I still have uses for you¡­" "Y-yes, sir! I am well aware!" "You haven''t betrayed me have you?" "N-never in a million years!" "Good! Now I just have 2 simple questions, what information do you have about Ray Gwane? Does the Zexis have any affiliation with his whereabouts?" "I am extremely sorry but I have no idea who that is you are talking about¡­" Travis said those words with truly honest-looking eyes, making Moby highly doubt that he was lying. However, Moby was not stupid, he knew full well how deceptive people could be even right in front of his face. "Are you sure you don''t?" Moby asked once more, activating his eyes of sin, looking at Travis like a predator about to eat his prey. "Y-yes I-I am sh-sh-sure," Travis replied in a shaky voice, backing up onto the cold wall behind him, closing his eyes as to not look at Moby''s terrifying figure that brought back memories of their previous encounter, praying to dear god that what had happened before never repeat its self again, it felt like he had already lost several years of his life just from the fear and stress of that incident alone. "1 million dors right now if you tell me any useful information about him, I am not joking¡­" Moby said in a confident voice. Moby knew Travis''s main weakness, his drive in life, money. Money that he needed to pay for his mother''s medical bills for her unknown sickness. Nothing to him was more important. And, from his total of 16 million dors, 1 million would be well spent in guaranteeing Travis''s loyalty.?From the way that Travis answers, he would know everything... When Travis heard the words "1 million dors," many thoughts ravaged his mind. 1 million dors was a ridiculous sum of money, it would be more than enough for him to pay off his mother''s medical bills. Travis had a feeling that Moby was not joking and being 100% serious. From the bottom of his heart, he wanted that money. But sadly, to do so, he needed to lie to Moby as he truly did not know where this "Ray Gwane" person was, something that he couldn''t bring himself to do. Travis was not dumb. He knew that If he had told a lie, it would not end too well for him. As soon as the lie would be discovered, he would be hunted down no matter where he fled, subjected to dying a miserable painful death before he even got the chance to pay off his mother''s bills. Plus, if he lied to him now, it would mean that he was lying to him on the first question which would mean that he might not even give him the money in the first ce and could be just a test. Or, he would only transfer the money after he confirmed his ims were true, not before. And he would be in no ce to demand otherwise. No matter how much it pained him to decline 1 million dors, he had no choice but to do it¡­ "I am sorry, but I truly do not know who or where this Ray person is¡­ I would never dare to lie to you no matter how much money is on the line¡­" Travis said in a shaky yet firm voice. "I see¡­ at least I know now that you are being honest with me¡­ How about I cut you a deal? For your information and spying services, I will pay you appropriately. Whatever Zexis pays you I will pay you at least double? How does that sound? It''s like I am hiring you, It would be too immoral if I made you work for free right? Your mother needs the money, doesn''t she? But, just know that I have my ways of knowing that you are lying, and if I find out then the life of your mother will be the least of your problems..." Moby said with a devilish smile, giving him an offer he could not refuse, even further tightening the existing cor around his neck. Chapter 163: Rays Predicament... 1

163 Ray''s Predicament... 1

That was exactly what had happened to Ray¡­ he had sat there so often that the smell that once used to make him want to regurgitate his morning breakfast was now something all too ordinary to him. On a desk with various tiny shards and machine parts sat Ray, his school uniform all dirty with stters of blood in some areas that were really not that visible due to his ck school uniform. With a nk yet sad expression on his face, He used his telekinesis ability to meticulously put every part in the correct ce with incredible speed and uracy. On the line of bunk beds directly to his right sat 2 boys, one of whom around his same height, cyan hair that fell down to his eyes but with an uglier expression on his more rigid face. The other boy, no, such a person could not be called a boy, he was more like a giant¡­ He was greatly taller, fatter, and more muscr than the other boy as he casually sat down on the bottom bunk with his phone in hand, almost looking like everything around him was going to copse from his weight. He had fiery red spiky hair, almost the same colour as Abby''s, but unlike Abby, his eyes were purple instead of her blood-red. "Fuck! I hate babysitting! Why do 2 important members like us have to subject ourselves to such boredom!" "Hey, kid! How many have youpleted so far? You''ve been at this all lunch! Those materials cost us a great deal you know? If you mess up we would have to teach you a lesson!" A deep, ugly voice rang from his right where the two boys were seated, most likelying from the red-haired boy who had just stood up to check up on Ray who was still hard at work. "I-I have only finished 1...These things take a long time to produce¡­" Ray muttered in a frightened, low shaky voice. "Then work faster before I fuck you up again, only this time even more! Rejecting our invitation was the worst mistake you''ve ever done in your life! I am still pissed about that! I would beat the shit out of you now just to take my anger out but we still need you to be in full health to manufacture this shit as fast as possible!" The red-haired boy said, looking down at Ray in disgust. He saw it as an honour to be invited to join the great Zexis gang and anyone who rejected needed to learn a lesson as they were disgracing the gang''s great name and making a mockery out of them. "Y-yes sir, I understand¡­ I will work harder¡­" Ray replied, not even daring to look the other boy in the eyes as he tried his best to make himself look more productive than before. After he, Moby and Alex went to the amusement park and since he had told them the truth about his past, seeing their smiles and words of support truly inspired him. His heart was filled with more joy than he could ever remember having ever since he was still a naive little child. It gave him hope and inspiration to work hard and shock the world once more just like he did as a kid. That was precisely what he did, for the research division''s exam, they were given an entire week to craft something unique given a very wide array of materials. And, out of all of the contestants, despite Ray''s considerably low power level, he managed toe in the top 5% of all contestants, shocking all the teachers and students that did not expect anything special toe out from him. Not even he thought that he was going to be as sessful as he was. He managed to invent a little capsule that was able to store any non-living objects or nt, almost like a storage ring only that the capsule was a 4-time use before being destroyed and, instead of it only being able to store stuff that fit in a certain area like the storage ring, it went off weight instead, as it was only able to hold 10 grams worth of objects. The main advantage of this item was that it was far cheaper to create than storage rings, only requiring a small void shard and a few strengthening machines that made it work. It was able to be activated when the button on the top of the capsule was pressed and, it also allowed the user to tamper with the setting to make the activation dyed, making it somewhat useful inbat when used meticulously in the right hands. It was truly an incredible invention, worthy of a top ce in the exam. It did seem serviceable but currently, due to the weight restraints, It still needed more development until it would go fully mainstream. The one thing that was super shocking about the invention and what truly caught the gang''s attention was the fact that the capsules were not at all constrained and restricted by the magical crystal that blocked the storage rings around the school. This made the school realize a w in their defences, making sure to develop a crystal able to block out the storage capabilities of the capsules. But until then, they were unhindered which made many gangs pounce on the idea before it bes restricted. With that invention, they would be able to easily trade and sell illegal material even in the open, and restricted zones, increasing their ie drastically. The 10-gram limit was not even a big deal in their eyes as most of the products they nned to distribute fell within that weight range. And, even once they do make a magic crystal able to block the effects, with their creator and only person that knew how to craft them, they would hold a monopoly on all of the capsules and they could always manufacture them and release them before they are even avable to the public at an extremely marked up price. Not to mention the fact that Ray was Moby Kane''s roommate, the F rank that had suddenly skyrocketed up to B rank and only keeps growing, as well as having important friends including Jayden Griffith''s boyfriend, this only made them want him even more just to be able to manipte him and use him as a pawn in their ns. In the end, after many hard-fought battles, the Zexis gang came out on top. He had of course rejected their offer at first but without any power and backing of any sort, he was immediately taught a lesson the hard way¡­ He had tried his best to resist and endure all the excruciating pain he had to go through but in the end, it was way too much for them to bear, making him give up and crack, agreeing to their terms and bing their ve... Then they immediately put their new craftsman to work until the time was right for the next step of their n, and it seemed like that time was right now¡­ Chapter 164: Rays Predicament 2

164 Ray''s Predicament 2

All of a sudden, a notification sound rang from Ray''s watch, when he looked at the person, it was Moby who had been trying to contact him all day. "It seems like you really are important to him! You really are a great find and would make a great hostage if ites to it! I don''t know why the boss is so dead set on inviting this Moby Kane into the gang, and at 3rd seat from the start. They must see some sort of potential in him that not even I see. I would be lying if I said that I am not jealous. But, it''s not my ce to decide," The red-haired boy said with a yfulugh. Then suddenly, the cyan haired student who was lying down on the top bunk with a bored look in his eyes, staring at the white ceiling, jumped up in surprise, his once bored, nd eyes growing wider as a smirk suddenly appeared on his face, followed up by a maniacal chuckle. "Jason, I have big news¡­" The cyan haired student said, now sitting cross-legged on the bed. "What is it Nags? Do you have any important information?" Jason replied with a skeptical look in his eyes. "He rejected the invitation¡­ We are now authorized to go into n B¡­" Nags said with a creepy smile on his face. "WHATT! He rejected 3rd seat!? This is outrageous! Truly fucking outrageous! Our great gang has never suffered such humiliation! How dare he!? Rejecting such an honour!" Jason roared, unable to believe his ears. "Calm down Jason¡­ This only means that we can now force him to join along with teaching him a lesson right? It''s not so bad after all¡­ It''s been a while since I actually had someone worthy to fight against¡­" Nags said, his smile growing even wider than before. "I''ll tear him limb from limb mark my words! I can''t let you have all the fun!" Jason immediately retorted, smashing his own fists against each other in anger. Ray listened to the two boys'' conversation with a scared yet worried look in his eyes, sweat running down his face as he knew exactly what they were talking about¡­ In his heart, he knew that this time woulde but he wished that it would havee muchter than sooner¡­ "Hey! Kid! Did you hear that? Your friend also fucked up just like you! Now we also have to teach him a lesson and show him who he is messing with! You can finally make yourself more useful to us! Who knows, maybe if you do well you might get promoted from ve to member!" Jayson said with an eerie?yet bright smile, putting his hands on Ray''s shoulder, making him shudder as goosebumps ravaged throughout his entire body. "n A, which was just to ask him to join failed miserably. So, we are switching over to n B, teaching him a lesson and forcing him into submission. Now, listen carefully and don''t make me repeat myself¡­" Jayson said, his bright smile turning more disturbing the more he talked¡­ "So, you got all of that kid? Failure is not an option!" Jayson said, finishing his exnation to Ray. "N-no! I refuse! I won''t do it! Do whatever you want to me but leave my friends out of it!" Ray said, starting out nervous but ending with clear resolve. "Wait what? Sorry I didn''t hear what you said¡­ WOULD YOU LIKE TO REPEAT THAT ONE MORE TIME!?" Jayson said, his smile turning into an ugly, demonic frown, punching Ray in the stomach so hard, knocking the wind out of him before holding him up with one hand, his hands tightly around his throat. "Did you not learn your lesson the first time? Do you want me to remind you? You are under the Zexis gang! We will ruin your life beyond anything in your wildest dreams if you reject! Also, even if you do reject, we will find another way to get our ns done! We could always just use you as a hostage! How does that sound instead? You are being given true mercy! One option would leave you as a hollow body without life and the other would leave you as a better, more respected member of the gang! Both options would lead to the same end for your friend! The answer is clear so don''t be stupid and make the only right decision!" Jayson said, his hands still grasping tightly on Ray''s neck, making it extremely hard for him to breathe. Ray began to squirm around, tapping frantically onto Jayson''srge, muscr, hairy hand as he was starting to lose consciousness. "Jayson! Let him go! Are you trying to kill him? We still need this kid! He can''t talk with your hand around your neck!" Nags, who was standing right behind him ordered with clear authority and a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Okay, okay, fine! I just got a little carried away¡­" Jason replied, dropping Ray''s body on the ground, causing him to cough like a mad man, his hands around his neck where Jason''s hands once were. "So? Have you thought it over? What will it be kid?" Jayson said with a devilish grin from ear to ear, crouching down to meet Ray at eye level. "F-fine¡­ I''ll do it¡­ J-just spare me¡­ I''ll do anything¡­" Ray muttered with true fear in his eyes, his teeth shaking like crazy. From the look in his eyes, Nags could understand the weight of Ray''s words and that what he said took a lot out of him, it was not at all what he wanted to do¡­ He seemed like a true, honest friend... But in his predicament, he did not really have any other choice¡­ That sight made him smile as he approached Ray to even further add on to his despair¡­ "Oh, one more thing¡­ Take this, you will need it!" Nags said with a smile, installing something on to Ray''s undershirt of his school uniform. It was a little, transparent, high-tech looking sticker that seemed almost invisible to the naked eye. "That''s just in case you want to be sneaky and betray us, going back on your words¡­ It may look stupid but it was more expensive than you can even fathom. The school used to use something simr before the important families startedining about the military spying on them. With this, we will be able to monitor your every move in real-time as your body will show up as a hologram for us to inspect. It can also pick up on any sounds and video the area around as well. Someone from the gang will be monitoring your movements at all time¡­" "The instant you are even suspected of revealing the n or doing anything suspicious that mightpromise anything, you will be teleported straight to where either I am, or another member is where you will be tortured and taken hostage to teach you a lesson. I know that you wanted to tell your friend and beg for protection from him or something but now you know that it is not possible¡­ You got that?" Nags exined with a confident, wide, friendly smile on his face, putting his hands on the now even more frightened and hopeless Ray who was still coughing on the ground. "All I need now is your fingerprint on this tablet and we are good to go! So¡­ What will it be?" Nags continued, his smile growing even further as he brought out a tablet where there was a clear marker where he was supposed to provide his fingerprint, a simr-looking sticker on top of the area. Ray stopped coughing as he looked at the fingerprint with depressed, shaky, nervous eyes. He wiped the sweat off his forehead before taking a big gulp of saliva as he slowly reached out his trembling arms towards the tablet in Nags''s hand, authenticating his fingerprints with his eyes closed like he was disgusted with himself for what he had just done¡­ "You have made the right choice my friend... For your sake¡­ I hope you don''t disappoint¡­" Chapter 165: Rays Smile...

165 Ray''s Smile...

Even with thebined effort of every single member of Moby''s group, they were still unable to locate Ray. They searched damn near everywhere in the school in just the span of a single lunch, plus a little extra after. Abby even used multiple wisps and Jayden used her doppelganger powers to help search and it still yielded no results, Ray was nowhere to be found. The only ces that Moby was not able to search were the upstairs area with all of the second-year students, every single ssroom, janitor''s room, closet, storage area. Other than that, everywhere else was covered. They did not want to ask around with the other students or even teachers in order to not throw off the people possibly keeping him on a leash that people are trying to look for him, which would, in turn, make them hide him even better. The only ces he thought that he could have been was in a hidden area of the forest, in a room he had not checked, or in one of the dorm rooms. On his search, Moby was asked by other gangs if he was willing to join them which he of course rejected and thrashed out of his way if they kept on insisting or tried to force him. However, he was only asked by a very small, insignificant amount. He was expecting to be asked by at least 10 groups or gangs which turned out to be very far from what actually happened. The only possible exnation that Moby could think of was that the news of him rejecting the Zexis gang had spread throughout the entire school, and if any other gang had Moby as a member it might just bring them trouble from the Zexis gang. If that was the case, then the Zexis gang was stronger and held more influence than he had first assumed. He needed to keep his guard up around them, which was precisely why he needed Travis for that job. Of course, Travis had epted Moby''s offer of paying him to be a spy. Moby knew that in the end, he would choose whichever yielded him the most amount of money. It was just in his nature, he would do anything for his mother, something that Moby could use to manipte him. In addition to him epting his offer, Moby asked him various questions concerning the gang, most of which he had no idea since he was a very low ranking member. Questions like who is the leader, how many members does the gang have, how far is their reach, what is their purpose, all of those questions Moby was given vague or no answer at all. This confirmed to Moby that in Travis''s current state, he would not be a useful spy and that even if the Zexis gang truly did have Ray, he would be withheld from that information. He just hoped that if they find out that he was trusted and would be useful in obtaining him as a member, he would undoubtedly rise in the ranks and be provided with more information. ''Maybe I should have epted their offer just to do some spying, then immediately leaving¡­ No! That would have been way too risky!'' Moby thought at the time, questioning his previous hasty actions before deciding to stick to his guts. In the end, Moby left Travis to continue searching the entire school, not without providing him with a little payment for his services and giving him some throwaway information he could im to have extracted from him to gain further trust in the gang, in turns providing him with more information in the future. After many hours of failed searching, the school doors closed and they were forced to leave the building, meaning that Ray was probably not even there. Ray was still not answering his phone and their only near 100% reliable way of finding Ray was to just head back to their dorms and wait until curfew where he would be forced toe under the school rules or else he would be in big trouble. And if that didn''t work, then they would just have to camp out of Ray''s ssroom the next day until hees out. Until any further notice, Moby had ordered all of his servants to stop the search and go back home as it was yielding no results. Jayden went home in her limousine, escorted by a few servants. As Moby went to bid her farewell, he noticed that none of the servants present where her butler who had always stood out and greeted her on arrival, at first he thought that it was very odd, however, he pushed the thought away as he believed that it was nothing of importance and that the butler was probably in the driver''s seat or had something super important to take care of at the mansion. As for Abby, she kept on insisting that she could keep searching but ended up following Moby''s orders in the end and headed back to her dorm. Moby and Alex were now walking together back to their own dorms, not even saying a single word to each other. The worried and less than chipper expression on their faces told the entire story. When they finally reached the front of his dorm, Moby let out a loud sigh, scanning his card before tightly grasping the door handle, twisting the knob and opening it up. As the door slowly opened, the light from the inside shed in their eyes, something that they did not at all expect as they were almost certain that the lights would have been turned off. As the blinding sh of light faded away, what they saw was something they were not at all expecting, their eyes and mouth opening wide in surprise. "Ray!? What are you doing here?!" Both Moby and Alex asked, almost unable to believe their own eyes. There casually sat Ray, on the bottom bunk of the bed with the usual dull expression on his face, a game system in his hands with headphones on his head. He was all safe and sound, not even a single scratch or spec of dirt to be seen on his face and the usually dirty school uniforms. Despite the loud scream of his 2 friends, Ray did not even flinch or look in their direction as if they were not even there. It reminded Moby of the scene when he had first entered the dorm all bloodied and Ray just did not notice his presence at all since he was so immersed in his video game. Moby and Alex both instinctively nced at each other, looks of relief on both of their faces. They now knew that Ray waspletely safe. However, they still needed to ask him a few questions to let their minds be at ease. They both walked up to Ray, tapping him on the shoulder to grab his attention as their screams were clearly not working. "Oh! You guys are here! Sorry, I didn''t notice you guys at all!" Ray said in a happy tone, a somehow natural-looking smile on his face that greatly caught Moby and Alex off guard. Other than that one time at the amusement park, It was their first time ever seeing such an expression on Ray''s face. Any other time that he had tried to smile, it would always turn out extremely weird and awkward, however this time, it looked very natural which made them happy yet greatly disturbed at the same time to see how much he had changed in the 2 weeks that they did not see each other. However, with Alex''s knight vision that even exceeded Moby''s, he was able to spot that his smile was slightly twitchy, and not perfectly natural which made him believe that either Ray was trying to practice how to properly smile or he was being forced to smile by someone else. He ryed that information to Moby using their mind link and he thought that observation was very intriguing. So, they both decided to ask their questions in order to confirm what was actually happening and get to the bottom of things. "Hey! Ray! We really are so happy to see you! It''s been so long! We hope that you have done well in these 2 weeks we''ve been apart. We have been trying to contact you all day and you would not respond at all¡­ Why is that? Even if you were ying video games at lunch and after school, you could have still checked your notifications when you were in ss. You had us extremely worried you know? We no joke searched the entire school and we were not able to find you," Alex said with a worried expression on his face. "Hmmm?" Ray said in confusion, taking off his headphones before looking down at his watch to see upwards of 50 unanswered notifications on his watch, making his eyes go wide. "Oh! I am so, so sorry! I honestly had no idea! I have been sitting here for the past 10 hours or so, I honestly lost track of time while I was ying and I couldn''t hear the notification from my headphones¡­" Ray answered with an embarrassed voice. "Wait¡­ 10 hours? Does that mean that you have been here all day? You didn''t go to ss?" Moby asked with extreme skepticism in his eyes. Their dorm room was one of the only ces that they did not check during their search since they would eventually be forced to go back there in the end. Now they felt extremely stupid for thinking that. If only they did not have that mindset and checked the dorm room earlier, they would have saved them the trouble of searching for hours on end. "Oh! You guys haven''t heard? Those who got in the top 10% in the research division exams get an extra free day off school. I just decided to stay in the dorm and y video games until you guys came back¡­ It was pretty much all I did for the week break... I had no idea that you guys were that worried about me¡­" Ray said, looking down on the ground to hide his sad, disturbed facial expression even though it was not a total lie. The school did indeed give him and the other top 10% a free day off school but he used that excuse to hide the rest of the truth. "Wait¡­ Does that mean that you got in the top 10% of everyone!?" They both asked in shock. "Yes, it does¡­ you guys gave me motivation and helped inspire me to work harder to get what was truly supposed to be mine in the first ce," Ray said, still looking down, his disturbed expression shifting into a mellow smile as it was one of the first truths that he had told in his entire story. Chapter 166: SOS

166 SOS

He said that he got inspired and began to work hard right after he said that all he did during the break was y video games, those two statements don''t add up. He felt like Ray was trapped, inwardly crying for help trying to give them hints without making it obvious for some reason. He was almost certain something else was going on but he had no solid evidence to confront him with, plus that would be a reckless move in his circumstances. If Ray suddenly jumped up in the research rankings, it would be very odd for a gang not to be interested in him. Gangs usually only invite very talented people while the weaker students usually beg them to join for protection. He ryed all of his information to Alex using their mind link and they decided that It all depended on what his exam was and what he did in it. For now, due to the awkwardness and obscurity of the situation, Moby decided not to push any further and continue with his questions to see where it would go from there. "Wow! I am so happy to hear that! What kind of exam was it?" Alex asked with a smile. "It was an exam about creating something in a limited amount of time," Ray said, slowly lifting up his head that was previously looking down to reveal a few subtle drops of sweat on his forehead with that same natural smile as before. "So, what did you invent to get you so high up in the scores?" Moby asked. "It''s a secret, under the school rules, I am not allowed to disclose that," Ray replied, telling the truth yet lying through his teeth at the same time. "Ohe on man! We''re buddies, you can tell us anything! We won''t expose!" Alex added with a smile. "I just can''t risk it, maybe the school is spying on what I say through the watch¡­ I just can''t¡­ I''m really sorry guys..." Ray said in a heavier voice, his smile turning slightly more mellow. "Oh¡­ Okay¡­ We understand, sorry for pushing you," Moby said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "I was just wondering, did you ever get involved with any gangs during the break? I find it hard to believe that they wouldn''t jump at the chance to recruit someone as useful as you," Moby asked with clear worry. "Oh, don''t worry about it, I have not gotten involved with that crowd at all, they seem to still be uninterested in me. Like I told you before, my ndness usually slips under the radar and not many bullies even notice me," Ray said with a natural yet awkward smile and a chuckle, standing out of his bed, heading towards the fridge. Ray slowly approached the fridge. He opened it up before looking for a bit, grabbing a te of what looked like chicken nuggets, closing the fridge before putting it in the microwave that was right beside it. "So¡­ How was your guys'' exam? I heard that it ended up as a disaster and that they are looking to fire or maybe even jail general Ryker," Ray said, pushing the buttons on the microwave to heat up his food. *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* "Yeah¡­ So many students died due to carelessness, I heard that they are still looking for a suitable recement for the general and in the meantime, he was still here to stay," Alex replied. *BEEEEEEEEP* "I also heard that both of you guys even got really high on the exam and that Moby got a new, extremely strong and fast-growing ability from it! It must really be nice, congrats!" Ray said, hiding his face that was facing towards the microwave as he continued to press the buttons. *BEEEEEEEEP* "Yeah, it was all by sheer luck, I am so fortunate¡­ Yet, at the same time, it''s bringing me a lot of trouble. A bunch of gangs are now trying to get me on their side just because of it. I don''t want to join any of them for obvious reasons but I feel like they might try to pull something on me to make me join¡­ I am not sure why they would want me to join so badly," Moby exined. *BEEEEEEEEP* "Oh¡­ That''s awful¡­ I hope that it all works well for you¡­" Ray replied, trying to hold back his tears, hoping that his message and hints would get through to his friends and not get noticed by the person spying on him. *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* ''What is with all of these beeps? It doesn''t take that many presses to use a microwave, does he keep changing his mind or something?'' Moby inwardly wondered before just forgetting about it as he thought he was thinking into things too much. However, when he turned to see Alex''s face, that told an entirely different story with shaky eyes that said he figured everything out. ''SOS¡­'' Alex mumbled to Moby using his mind link. ''Huh?'' Moby replied in confusion, unable to understand why Alex randomly said that. "SOS!'' Alex said once again but more enthusiastically, confusing Moby even more than before. ''SOS! It''s SOS! Those beeps! That''s morse code for SOS! 3 short beeps, 3 long beeps, and 3 short beeps! It''s a cry for help! Ray, you''re truly a genius! Using the microwave sounds to signal SOS!" Alex said, inwardlyughing at his sudden realization. As soon as Alex exined it all out to him, he struggled to keep his poker face as his eyes almost popped out of their socket from the sudden realization that hit him like a truck. They had previously learned about morse code and the meaning of SOS back in school. However, he never knew that they could be applied in such a way and that Ray could be resourceful enough to use them in his current situation. ''Alex! You''re a genius too! How the fuck did you pick up on that?'' Moby asked, still in a shocked state. ''Well, I knew that the beeps were way too many to use a microwave, so when I thought more deeply and listen more closely, the answer just hit me in the face! This now confirms it! Something happened to Ray!'' Alex said, leading to Moby inwardly nodding in reply. This realization made many questions and thoughts ravage Moby''s mind¡­ He first thought that he could turn Ray into a demon in order for him to force him into revealing the truth, or to use his mind-altering skill to peek into his mind and memories before erasing the memory of him doing it. However, the more he thought of that idea the more he came to a realization that it was a very reckless and idiotic thing to do. Ray clearly wanted to get the message across that he was in trouble but why did he do that in such a subtle way? He could have just written it down to avoid saying anything or use some sort of signnguage. The only possible answers would be that he was being spied on by an outside source. He was not sure how, the only possible exnations would be that there were cameras in the room, there was someone who has the ability to see through walls who is spying on them from the outside, or there was a camera or some sort of sensor on Ray himself. Either possibility would not allow him to turn Ray into a demon or alter his memories as it would expose himself as inhuman. He also thought that since Ray was there with them, even if he was being spied on he could have just told them what happened and asked for protection. However, he was clearly not doing that¡­ That must mean that there are circumstances that would not allow him to do it. The gang keeping a hostage to force him to do what he did was the most usible exnation. Moby ryed his thoughts to Alex who said that he was also thinking the same thing. They both agreed that it must have been a gang''s doing and Ray was being forced to do what he was doing to force Moby to join them. Their only rationale, least reckless course of action to keep Ray and the possible hostage safe was to go along with the gang''s wishes try to find a way to fight back or outsmart them. Ray was one of Moby''s first actual friends and he would be damned if he let him die or get tortured with it all being his fault. Alex felt the same way but for different reasons of course. They both decided to act Natural for now and see how things progressed, trying their best to hold their poker face that hid their inner doubts and worries as they stared at Ray who was casually eating his chicken nuggets. Chapter 167: Declaration of War

167 Deration of War

"Do you guys want any?" Ray asked, his hand out with the te of microwaved chicken nuggets. What followed was the most awkward 2 hours Moby and Alex had ever experienced as they all just sat down and watched TV with small talk every now and then as they were waiting for Ray to make a move. It was almost like he was stalling for time in a way that would seem ordinary. All 3 of them were acting extremely fake as they needed to fool the person spying on them, so they did what they had to do to make it seem as natural as possible even though in their hearts they knew that it was not at all the case. Moby was almost certain that Ray also knew that he and Alex had gotten his message but he had no real way of confirming it other than picking up on what seemed like subtle hints in their conversation. At times like these, he really wished that he had already turned Ray into a demon just so he couldmunicate with him using mind-link which would have avoided such a problem in the first ce. But sadly, even if he wanted to turn him in secret, he did not have any open slots at the time so he was not able to do it. Suddenly, Ray turned off the TV before casually looking at him. "Hey, Moby would it be possible if I just talked with you in private? I have noticed a problem in my ability, I can''t seem to get it any stronger than it already is, can you help me out?" Ray nervously asked. "Huh? Why me? I just got my ability very recently and I''m super inexperienced in using it, wouldn''t asking Alex be a better idea?" Moby replied in confusion. "Well, you are like the fastest-growing student I have ever seen, you went from F rank to nearly A rank in the span of a few weeks. You must have some sort of secret to getting strong right? Can you please share it with me?" Ray said, bowing deeply. "Well, I think it was just due to the nature of my ability that it grows fast at the start, not because of anything special I am doing. But, I would be d to give you some pointers, we are friends after all," Moby said with a smile. Moby knew that what Ray said was a trap but he had to go along with it for his sake. "Really! That''s great! You''re the best!" Ray said in excitement. If Moby did not know Ray for so long, he would have thought of him as a traitor and just simply abandoned him to his fate. But, it was the fact that he knew him for so long that he understood that he was doing this against his will and had no other choice. He also knew that Ray was the type to have a n in such situations, just like what he did with the SOS message. So, he decided to put his trust in him for now until proven otherwise. Now Moby knew everything, there was going to be some sort of ambush somewhere in the forest. If he did not know any better and if Ray did not show him any signs or hints, he would have thought of it as nothing but a simple request. But now, Moby was heavily on guard. Even though he was nearly 100% certain of his deduction, he still needed to confirm it with his own eyes and gauge the strength and numbers of his enemies. ''Abby! Can you hear me?'' Moby asked, opening up a mind-link. ''Yes, my lord! I can hear you loud and clear!'' Abby replied as she stopped swinging her scythe, wiping the sweat off her forehead. ''I have an update on the situation, my friend ispletely safe but it seems like he is being manipted into luring me into an ambush in the forest, I need you to send a wisp or 2 to scout the area around the forest and report your findings to me as soon as possible,'' Moby said in a firm voice. ''WHAT! Luring my lord into a trap! Unforgivable! That is a sin! No! That is far beyond any sin! If you allow me to speak my opinion, he should be either abandoned or executed for such actions, in his ce I would have dly sacrificed my self for your sake! My lord, my life belongs to you,'' Abby replied in a stern voice. ''Calm down Abby, there must be some sort of reason for this, that is why I have decided to follow along with this trap and take them head-on. Ray is a very important person to me and I also feel like his skills and talents would serve me well in the future so please take that into consideration as well. For now, just search the forest and report your findings so I can formte my thoughts,'' Moby replied, trying his best to calm her down as he was slightly taken aback at how fanatic she was growing before deciding to ignore it for now as there were more urgent things to worry about. ''Understood, it shall be done. I was just trying to provide my opinions and suggestions like you had previously asked my lord. I will of course trust your judgement as you are more knowledgeable than me,'' Abby said, bowing from the other end before sending out her wisps to spy. Moby then thanked her for sharing her opinion, and her good memory and listening before he closed the mind link and waited for her to respond. He told Alex everything he and Abby talked about. In the meantime, he still had to stall for time and get more information out of Ray while trying to fool the people spying on them into thinking that they were clueless. Seeing that nothing had yet to happen, it seemed like they were doing a good job so they just had to continue what they were doing to make everything seem as natural as they possibly could. The person spying on Ray was sitting beside aputer, his hands hovering over the abduct button with bored yet keen eyes as he had yet to notice anything wrong or out of ce in what was happening. Moby and Alex did not voice their true thoughts or whisper secretly between each other, and they did not push anything on Ray or disagree with him in any way which would have urged him to press the button. Plus, the hologram censor of Ray was notpletely perfect. It was able to pick up on all the movements of his naked body butplex facial expressions were notpletely replicated. This meant that a slightly shaky smile from Ray seemedpletely natural from his perspective and he found no evidence of Moby and Alex reacting badly to it or finding it suspicious so he did not think much of it. If they did, then they would voice their concerns and observations like normal people, however, the problem was that they were not normal people. He was actually fooled into thinking that everything was as it was supposed to be. From his perspective, it seemed like everything was going ording to n as he had absolutely no idea of the existence of mind-link. In the time that Moby was waiting for Abby to respond with her findings, the group just had casual chatter. Before their conversation progressed too much, ording to n, Alex voluntarily left saying he wanted to go on a walk and do some training in the yard. This was so just in case there were cameras in the room, it would not seem like he left the room a few minutes after, making it look very obvious that he was going to follow them which might lead to some trouble. And, since he left before Ray told Moby the exact location they were headed, it would give off the illusion that he had no idea where exactly they were going and that he would not be able to follow them even if he wanted to. After talking for a few minutes, Moby and Ray finally decided to leave the dorm room, heading straight into the forest located behind the dorm building. The time was around 6 pm, far from curfew yet it was still very dark outside as the sun was almostpletely set due to it being in the winter season, which definitely made sense for an ambush. As they left the room, Ray reached into his bag and grabbed 2 pairs of ck night vision goggles with green lenses. Of course, Moby had no use for them due to his natural night vision as a demon but he epted them anyway. When he put them on, it mped fairly hard on his face. And, it was not at all green like he thought it was going to be. Instead, it seemed exactly just like his normal vision but slightly blurred due to the fact that he was now looking out through a lens. They both walked down the stairs of the dorm room building and immediately strode towards the dark, yet now not so dark forest ahead, slowly walking through a muddy, unorthodox path as the cold winter wind struck them in the face, making Ray slightly shiver while Moby seemedpletely fine, most likely due to his new cold resistance passive. "Where exactly are we going? Do you have somece in mind?" "Don''t worry, I know of a good area where we could practice. By the way, are the goggles still good?" "Yeah, they are working perfectly, seeing clearly at night is quite the experience," "I see¡­ I am d to hear¡­ Also, I have been meaning to tell you this for a while now but I never got around to say it. Please trust me, I know exactly what I am doing¡­ The monsters in the forest won''t be a big problem," Ray said with an actual smile that Moby could tell was not fake, his first real genuine smile the entire time. "Don''t worry, of course, I trust you¡­ I wouldn''t be here if I didn''t," Moby replied back with a genuine smile of his own as he probably guessed the metaphor Ray was going for, plus he truly meant what he said. Then, suddenly, he heard a familiar, soft, womanly voice enter his ears, something that he had been patiently waiting for and expecting. ''My Lord! It''s Abby reporting in! From what I see, it''s pretty bad¡­ I spotted at least 50 people in the forest in a clearing very far ahead of your location. However, that is only a rough estimate¡­ The trees were mostly blocking my line of vision and I did not want to swoop in closer just in case I get spotted so, I can guarantee there to be more students waiting in ambush. They are very serious about capturing you, my lord... What are your orders?'' ''More than 50!?... If they have any B or A ranks in their mix then this will indeed be far more troublesome than I thought¡­'' Moby pondered, with real thoughts of retreat in his mind as he was now really doubting his chances of sess. It was either his life or Ray''s and he would much rather save his own any day¡­ He really wanted to abandon him yet a part of his mind kept aching every time he wanted to leave, even though he knew that it was seemingly the only logical thing to do. Ray''s earlier words yed over again in his head and his words of trusting him did as well. Was he really about to be a liar and go against his own words so quickly? Then, he shook those thoughts out of his mind. He steeled his resolve as he knew that he was not the type of person to so easily go back onto his words as he tried to think about the positives of facing them. He was bound to fight the Zexis gang sooner orter and he would rather do it at night in the forest with no spectators and where he had the advantage than any other time and ce. Plus, he would be able to catch them off guard as they would think that he had no idea of the ambush. The more he thought about it the more sense it made and the more he began to believe that it was the perfect time to strike. Plus, he still wanted to save Ray who seemed like he was now more of a wild card than ever and might have something up his sleeves. It was now or never. ''Okay! I have decided! We will all go on the offensive and take them out with an all-out attack! It might be tough but this is our best time to strike when they don''t expect it and when we have the advantage! If we flee right now, we are bound to fight them in the next few days when Ray''s circumstances would be worse and when they would be more prepared for all of us and hold the upper hand. That would be less than ideal. So it is now or never!'' Moby announced to Abby. ''Understood my lord!'' Abby replied with a bow, clear excitement in her voice. ''This is war! They chose to mess with the wrong demons! Let us show them the errors of their ways! Let us show them what the house of blissful demons is truly capable of!'' Moby said in a serious, motivating voice. ''Yes my lord! Your will is absolute! All your enemies will fall!'' Abby responded, her excitement growing even further than before as she could finally fight by her lord''s side for the first-ever time and prove herself once more to make up for her previous failures. ''I will inform Alex and Jayden about everything. In Jayden''s case, it might take a while for her to arrive so I will try my best to stall to give her more time. In the meantime, wait on standby somewhere that you could easily rush into the battlefield and wait until further orders from me. Report if you find anything suspicious during your wait,'' Moby ordered with a kind yetmanding voice. ''My lord, your wish is mymand. I wish you the best of luck on your endeavours! The Zexis gang shall pay for all of this!" Abby said with clear hate and animosity in her voice. ''Indeed,'' Moby replied, inwardly smirking as he closed the mind link with Abby. He then looked over at Ray who had a slightly serious expression on his face as he slowly and calmly navigated through the thorny forest, taking note of the state he was in before opening a mind-link with Jayden to inform her about everything that had just transpired and ask her toe and help. Chapter 168 - Trap...

Chapter 168: Trap...

''Oh shit! Is this going to be some sort of all-out brawl? I''m in!'' Jayden said in excitement, epting Moby''s offer as he heard a loud bange from her end because of the knife and fork that had dropped out of her hand. ''Oh, and can you also get your butler toe too? Just in case something goes bad, he coulde in and save the day? You know?'' Moby asked with a smile on his face as he just thought of it as his trump card. ; The idea and realization had just suddenly popped up in his head. He didn''t want the butler toe in and defeat all of them from the start since he would not receive any XP for doing so. But, if the butler was used as a backup n, it would not be a problem. Plus, if he did that then he would have no pressure in his head as he would know everything would be okay. And, he would not be forced into revealing his 2 trump cards, something he wished to keep a secret for as long as possible, especially his sin-mode. ; ''Ummmm¡­ About that¡­ it would definitely not be possible¡­'' Jayden nervously responded with a chuckle. ; ''What!? Why!?'' Moby replied, bbergasted as he did not expect rejection. ; ''There are 2 problems. The first would be that nobody outside of students and staff are allowed to enter the school premises without explicit permission, that also includes the forest. The school automatically scans and detects our ID every time we enter and exit the school ground, and if an unknown person enters, that would be deemed a crime and they would be hunted down as an intruder. That''s why my servants and butler always waited for me at the school gates and never entered the school. Plus, who would give permission to someone who wanted to enter the school to spectate a fight? Even with my family power that would not happen, the school has very strict rules about entry,'' Jayden exined. Moby inwardly cursed his stupidity and naiveness. Of course, he had already known that rule but had simply forgotten it as he lost himself in his hasty and wishful thinking. The gang must have thought ahead and kept the fight on school grounds just for that reason alone. ; He had also contemted reporting the problem to the school but with no incriminating evidence, he would have no right to demand a lie detector test against them. Plus, the gang''s power definitely stretched out to many of the teachers as it was proven when Travis was able to bypass the lie detector test with the help of a corrupt teacher who made a deal with the Zexis gang. Reporting the problem to the school would have only made it worse. ''You said 2 problems right? What was the second one?'' ; ''Well, at random times of the year, my butler takes a small vacation to rx. This is one such time. He usually takes 1 or 2 weeks off. His job must get really stressful so I can''t me him. My point is that even if that rule didn''t exist, then my butler wouldn''t be here to help anyway,'' Jayden exined, making Moby nod back in response, remembering how her butler was not there to pick her up, as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he had dered war and had only thought of bringing in Jayden''s butler after his conversation with Abby. All he needed to do now was go back to his previous mindset. As their leader, he could not allow himself to show any weakness or hesitation in his words. ''So, honey, I should be there in around 20 minutes if I turn into a wisp. Hold out for me until then, if I arrive before the fighting had started, I''ll let you know and I''ll wait for your signal to attack,'' Jayden said with a smile, checking the weather to make sure that it wouldn''t rain. ; ''Sounds great! I''ll try my best to stall for you toe. Just be fully prepared, they have at least 50 people waiting for us in ambush and we have no way of gauging their strength. This is a big gamble, we might be walking into pure defeat and we wouldn''t even know it,'' Moby said in a stern tone as it did not seem like Jayden was taking it seriously. ; ''Don''t worry, I am well aware of what I am getting myself into. Just know that I would do anything to help you just like I know that you would do anything to help me. Plus, unless they are psychos, I doubt that they would even darey a finger on me due to my status,'' Jayden said with augh that made Moby inwardly smile in response as he really wished to give her a hug, but that was of course not possible. ; ''Thanks for that, I am counting on you!'' ''Of course you are! What would you even do without me? I''ll be there in 20 minutes, good luck with everything,'' Jayden replied in her usual yful tone. As their mind-link closed, Moby immediately opened up another one to quickly inform Alex of the situation. His conversation with Jayden was really insightful and heartwarming, making him steel his resolve even more as he promised himself that he would not let her down and fail. However, it took longer than he expected and time was something he was very short on. After filling Alex in about all the new information, he was of course not against the idea of fighting. His voice sounded extremely serious yet ominous when he promised himself that he would save Ray no matter what and that he would make anyone that daredy a finger on him pay miserably. If it were Alex before the exam, he would have definitely not acted like that. It even further proved that he was still a very nice guy but his personality got more twisted and distorted from his demon nature. As soon as Moby finished informing all of hisrades on what to do, he tightly gripped his right hand into a fist and inwardly took a deep breath, trying his best to rx his slightly stiff-looking face. "Ray, how much longer until we reach the area?" "It should not take longer than 5 minutes," Ray said with a mixture of seriousness and calmness. "I really have to go to the washroom, I am going to do it in that bush over there. Just wait a second for me," As promised, Moby managed to stall for time in as best and as many ways as he could. Anything from going to take a leak to hunting weak beasts found in the forest that seemed like they wanted to attack. He did anything that didn''t make him seem out of ce to stall for time which stretched that 5 minutes into 10 minutes instead which was not bad at all. "We are finally here," Ray said, pointing towards a clearing in the forest ahead. It was an area of about 1000 metres squared, around a fifth of a football field and 2 times the size of a basketball court, in the distance to their right, a river and a small waterfall could also be seen. ; As the two of them slowly yet casually walked over to the centre of the clearing, Moby tried to look around and see if there was anyone else hiding in the area only to find nothing. However, he was more than certain that there were people there. Although he was not able to use his inspect skill when he had no one to see or target, he still had other skills to utilize. He used the opportunity to activate his energy sense which gave off no visual evidence of him using it, knowing full well that it would not alert the enemy. ; ''Shit¡­ 50¡­ no¡­ 60 people,'' Moby inwardly cursed, counting all of the people who were hiding behind trees. ; He really wished that his energy sense could also tell him the strength of his enemies but sadly that was not the case at its current level. All he could do is prepare himself for the worst possible oue and hope that Ray had some sort of n in mind. "One second, let me put my gloves on before we could start," Ray said, reaching into his bag, pulling out 2 pairs of ck metal gloves. Moby recognized them as the string gloves that he showed him during their visit to the amusement park. If he remembered correctly, they were his own personal invention that released vibrating threads of string that he controlled with his telekinesis ability to attack his targets. He firmly put the gloves on both hands, making them mp with a loud click. Then, he reached his hands into his pockets as he began to y with a certain red button that he had been hiding. "So, are you ready? What do you need practice with?" Moby said, taking in a breath of fresh air, a wide smile on his face. "Moby¡­ I¡­ I am sorry¡­ but I had to do this¡­ Please forgive me..." Ray said, turning away with an ugly, regretful look on his face, pressing the red button in his pants before immediately bringing his arms out. "Huh? What do you mean?" Moby said, feigning ignorance as he inwardly prepared himself to fight, clenching his fists as his eyes hidden behind his goggles turned into deadly slits. ; Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound came from his helmet before a message appeared right in front of his eyes. ; The buzzing and static from his helmet continued as his ears were filled with nothing but their sound. ; "What the fuck is happening! Ray! I can''t see! I can''t see!" Moby said in distress, lying through his teeth as his vision was stillpletely fine. ; He just wanted his opponents to recklessly attack him thinking that he is blind before attacking them when their guard was down and when they least expected it. Not even a secondter, the sounds of multiple footsteps were heard, making Moby look up only to see an army of students who were hiding in the forest heading his way, a full set of armour and weapons on them with goggles on their eyes and a dirty smile on their face. Moby stopped himself from instinctively taking a fighting stance as he tried to keep his poker face of distress and confusion to lure his enemy in. ; Then, as they all at once jumped full speed from the forest and into the clearing, they were suddenly stopped by some sort of invisible barrier as they all started to fall down like flies as screams of surprise and agony filled the air, making Moby''s jaw nearly drop and break his poker face from the sight he was seeing. ; The bodies that fell all had severe injuries and deep cuts, some even lost their arms and legs in the process, spraying the grass under them dyeing it crimson. Even the students that werete to join were already in mid-air and had no way of dodging or changing directions, leading them to meet the same fate as their friends below. They looked like a group of flies recklessly jumping into a trap. In just the span of a few seconds, nearly all of the assants were on the ground, either unconscious or begging for help and healing. The tides had shifted so fast and Moby had no idea what was happening as his mind started spinning in circles. ; When he looked at Ray''s face right beside him, it told the entire story, taking Moby off guard¡­ his once innocent-looking smile turned into something much uglier and more devilish. It looked like he snapped, letting out all of his bottled emotions of hatred and contempt as he watched the students fall right into the trap with a smile that could only be described as mad. ; Out of his gloves were various, thin, vibrating, nearly invisible strings that stretched very far, Moby did not even notice when he had even extended them. Then, as he followed the direction of the string, he noticed that what the enemy had run into was not a magic barrier at all but just Ray''s vibrating strings wrapped around each tree instead, blood dripping down from them as he now understood exactly what happened, but not how it came to be. Chapter 169 - Rays Plan

Chapter 169: Ray''s n

The person tasked with spying on Ray and pressing the button to take him hostage whenever he acted suspiciously was in his dorm, sitting in front of a monitor screen, his right hand shaking as his thumb hovered over the button in his hand, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, a mixture of fear, shock, and anger on his face as he watched his fellow gang members get ughtered right in front of his eyes. "T-Traitor! How the hell did he do this right under my nose!? This fucker will pay!" The spy said, snapping himself back into reality with an emotion-filled voice as he immediately pressed the red button to make the scene in front of him stop. *Click* As soon as he clicked the button, he looked at Ray''s figure disyed on his monitor screen and began waiting in anticipation for his body to get teleported. But, after a few seconds, nothing had happened which gave him a bad feeling running down his spine as his hands began to sweat like crazy. ''Hah¡­ It must have been a glitch¡­'' He thought to himself, trying to calm his nerves as he pressed the button once again. *Click* ''Nothing¡­ Fuck! Again!'' *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* *Click* ''WHY IS THIS NOT WORKING!!'' He thought to himself, hyperventting,?tears of panic, horror and despair running down his face as he continued to press the button like a mad man. They had tested out the functions of the button before they had Ray go and it worked perfectly so why did it stop working when he needed it most? That along with how he managed to pull that trap with him watching his every move, nothing made sense in his head, it was like he was living out one of his worst nightmares. His body that was hunched over in his seat now just leant all the way back as his dead-looking eyes began to tear up even more as waterfalls of tears began to fall down his face, his right hand that had been previously holding the button nowpletely wide open as the useless, broken button fell on the ground with an immense thud that was filtered out by his staticky mind. "W-what the hell is going on¡­ I-I watched his every move so carefully¡­ H-how did this happen? I-I am so dead¡­ The gang is gonna kill me..." He muttered to himself with a low voice as his mind delved into turmoil. The n was very simple, Ray would lure Moby alone into the forest, giving him night vision goggles as an excuse to go out at night. Then, when he reached the designated area, he would press a button, making his night-vision goggles malfunction while at the same time making it let out a loud, unbearable staticky noise, causing Moby to lose the use of his 2 most important senses, his hearing and vision, leaving him as a sitting duck and an easy target. And, if Ray even showed a hint of betrayal or if Moby seemed to have caught onto what was going on, then the spy would have pressed the button, taking Ray hostage. The n seemed foolproof, nothing could have possibly gone wrong. Or so they thought. The gang had made 2 huge miscalctions, the first was that they had no clue of the existence of Moby''s mind link. And, second and most important was that they underestimated truly how intelligent Ray was as he had never been heard of prior to his good performance on his exam. Ray had fully anticipated everything in the gang''s n before they had even proposed it to him, and, he had prepared and acted ordingly. He had endured all of those weeks of pain, humiliation and suffering all for that moment, to help out his only friends and to get his payback. Prior to the gang''s recruitment, Ray had already made a few storage capsules for his own personal use. After all, he made those storage capsules for especially creating traps with his ability and gloves in mind. The weight limit of 10 grams was so low because he had only intended them to hold his strings that weighed almost nothing. After the gang let him go for the day and left the spying device on his shirt, Ray had just simply gone back to his own dorm. However, on his way there, he tripped and fell in mud, leaving his pants extremely dirty. Then, he had asked permission from the person spying on him if he was allowed to change his pants so he seemed cleaner, and could sell his story better to his friends that he had been inside the entire time. The spy of course agreed, using the microphone embedded on the device. He thought nothing suspicious about it as he felt like the request was fully reasonable. However, unknown to the man, Ray had worn a pair of pants that he had been keeping his old capsules filled with his strong, vibrating threads. Due to some prior reading, Ray knew about the spying device and its exact functions even though the gang did not exin everything to him. He knew that the spy had absolutely no idea of this as on his screen, he was only able to monitor sound, the video being taken from Ray''s perspective, and a model of Ray''s naked body, items and clothes being held on him were not at all simted. And, he used that knowledge to his full advantage After wearing the new pair of pants, Ray decided to nervously ask the spy for directions about where exactly in the forest he was supposed to lead Moby. This was a request that the spy found a little odd as Ray had just finished changing his pants, but at the same time it was a very important and reasonable question to ask in his circumstances and he might have just forgotten to ask it before he wore his new pants. Plus, he was going to have to do it anyway. The spy led Ray to the exact area where the trap was supposed to take ce and Ray decided to take his time inspecting it, his hands in his pockets as he began circling all around the edges of the clearing to better take in the environment. From the spy''s perspective, this all looked very natural and he saw nothing to hint at Ray doing anything suspicious, so he let him be as he continued to inspect him very carefully. Yet, what the spy did not see was how Ray dropped various small capsules on the ground every few metres. By activating all of them all at once, that was how he intended to trap the gang. Once activated, the strings would automatically connect to his gloves, allowing him to stretch them out and control them using his ability, wrapping them around the trees for an easy trap. However, the gang''s biggest mistake and miscalction was how they did not have anyone proficient in technology in their gang so they had to rely on Ray to create the mechanism of disabling the night vision goggles, which he of course did and showed them how it fully worked. Except, unknown to them, the button had more functions than just disabling a specific night vision goggle. It also served to activate all of his personal capsules that he left in his dorm as well as send out a certain electromaic wave that would temporarily disable the teleportation feature. He programmed it so that he could decide which effects he wanted by simply pressing the button longer or shorter. A short press would activate all of the effects while a long press would only activate disabling the helmet. The only demonstration that he showed the gang was when he long pressed the button, the thought never crossed their mind that pressing the button longer or shorter would have led to different effects so they never bothered asking or looking into it. Then, he went home to rx and y video games until Moby and Alex arrived, the rest was up to them if they caught his message and if they would lead to all of his efforts going in vain, getting him taken hostage. The thought of activating the button to disable teleportation before he had lured Moby in did cross his mind but in the end, he decided against it. If the spy saw him make the motion to press the button before the time was right, he would be teleported or taken hostage before he could even get the chance. He assumed that the person assigned to keep an eye on him was very strong and perceptive, giving him a much faster speed and reaction time to him which would have led to him failing more times than not and he was not willing to take the risk. So, he decided to continue with his original n. Luckily his gamble paid off and his friends did not act suspiciously at all or force him into a corner, everything went too smoothly almost like they also had a firm grasp on the situation. What Ray did not know was that his gamble was even bigger than he thought as he was able to evade and slip past both Abby''s and Jayden''s eyes who were searching the campus and forest respectively. The grounds of the school were very huge and it did not allow them to search everywhere at once, especially in Jayden''s case who had to search the entire, wide, expansive forest. If Ray was not lucky enough to evade their search, he would have been either question or caught by them to send straight to Moby, leading to him getting taken hostage. Ray was not even aware that such a reality could have happened. Everything fell in the right ce due to a mixture of luck and careful nning and he would be lying to say that he was not satisfied as the gang fell right into his hands. He held onto the spying device on his shirt and immediately ripped it out, throwing it on the ground as he stared at the gang members jumping right into his web with a chuckle and crazy smile on his face, the strings turning them into piles of meat stacked on top of each other, squirming and screaming on the ground as a result of his trap. He was not sure if some of them were dead or unconscious but he did not at all care, they deserved what they got for all the pain they had made him go through and for trying to hurt his only friends that meant so dearly to him. If the school asks him why he did what he did, he would simply answer with self-defence and that he was scared for his life which was not at all false. At this point, he was ready to do anything... Chapter 170 - Double Trouble

Chapter 170: Double Trouble

The loud buzzing sound in Moby''s heading from his goggles became too unbearable for him to listen to any longer. So, he ripped them out of his head and threw them on the grass under him. Then, as he did in the exam, he faked his night vision by using his pure demon energy aura on his eyes, iming that it gave him night vision when in reality it did nothing. He shifted his focus from the crazy look on Ray''s face before once again looking at the crying pile of meat in front of him with a mixture of joy and panic. Joy that Ray had some sort of n and didn''t betray him and panic from seeing the sight of the severed limbs, some being the arm that held their school watch on. He did not even bother to check if some of them were dead as it would have led to the same result either way. This only meant one thing, the school had been notified about the possibly dead, or severed arms of the students and were now headed in their direction. Of course, Moby knew that he did nothing wrong but the same could not be said about Ray who he had no doubt in his mind had everything nned out. Even if he imed that it was all self-defence, the gang''s control over the school and the possible family power of the injured students could either pressure or manipte the school into expelling, jailing, or even killing him. The only thing he could do now was leave no evidence, kill every student in the forest before the retrieval team arrives and leave without being caught. Then, he would turn Ray into a demon and mind control him to get past the lie detector test if he was summoned. However, that would not be possible if they even left a single survivor, it would make both Ray and the witness be telling the truth which would have been impossible and would have brought many doubts and problemsing their way as the school would have no doubt concluded that it must have been some sort of mind maniption. Moby did not have time to inform his friends about what happened and for now, just in case anything unexpected arises, he did not order them to retreat. He needed their assistance in the case of unknown enemies showing up. "I did it Moby! I saved us all! They all got what they deserved!" Ray celebrated as he looked at Moby with wide eyes and a twitchy smile. "Ray! We have to leave now! Leave no evidence behind!" Moby yelled. He did not react or hesitate at all, not even celebrating or properly responding to Ray as he knew that he had more important things to worry about. He bolted straight at the pile of bodies with a serious look in his eyes, his hands filled with an aura of pure demon energy. His demon energy would be able topletely obliterate them without a trace as it was nothing at all like fire, which was exactly what he intended to do. He fired arge stream of pure demon energy straight at the pile of students in front of him with no hesitation or remorse. His humanity had already been long lost to him... In front of his eyes, he did not see them as fellow students or even humans but more as piles of XP, assassins and witnesses that would get in his way. To Moby''s surprise, as the stream of demon energy erupted out of his hands, his attack waspletely and abruptly nullified, almost like it vanished in mid-air hitting something invisible. When he looked closer, he saw a flickering energy barrier surrounding the pile of bodies, making his eyes go wide as he did not expect such a thing to happen. When he used his energy sense, he was now able to see the entire shield. It was a yellow, slightly cracked energy barrier that surrounded all of the bodies in the shape of a dome. ''What the fuck is this!? A gadget or someone else''s ability!?'' Moby inwardly cursed, leaning more towards histter assumption. He inwardly panicked and immediately turned around, his energy sense still activated as he was worried that something had happened to Ray when he left him alone but luckily, he saw only his energy signature and no one else. *p*...*p*... *p*... *p...* The sound of slow pping suddenly entered into Moby''s ears from the forest, the exact opposite direction he was looking, making him snap his focus once more. Yet, even with his night vision, he saw nothing. But, with his energy sense, he saw 2 energy signatures, 1 of a tall, muscr man and one of a short boy around Ray''s height standing behind a tree, making him inwardly curse as he instinctively took up a fighting stance. "Imend you for all your efforts so far, you caught us all by surprise. Who knew you and your buddy there had such a n up your asses. Not to mention that you were about to kill about 60 people just now without even batting an eye. You have far exceeded my expectations, no wonder the boss really wants you! You''re the real deal! I thought that you would be some pussy trying to act tough after a small power boost but I am happy to be proven wrong¡­" A tall, spiky red-haired muscr man said as he slowly walked out from behind a tree with a confident, excited smile on his face. He wore a full set of heavy-looking dark blue armour that was embroidered in gold. On his head, he wore a bandana and no helmet, revealing his obnoxious red, spiky hair that Moby was not sure was natural or gelled. And, he also wore no night vision goggles which greatly confused Moby about how he was able to properly see. Beside him was a short, young-looking cyan haired boy who seemed to only go up to the waist of his partner. He seemed to be quieter, more calm and collected than his friend, however, he gave off an even greater sense of confidence and arrogance as he wore nearly the exact same smile as the man beside him. Just like his friend, he wore no goggles and helmet, only opting to wear a bandana for head protection. The rest was a set of ck and red armour that looked far more intimidating and expensive than that of his friend''s. Even without using his inspect skill, he could feel the immense amount of power exuding from them, making him instinctively take a step back and prepare for the worst. "But sadly, your fun will now have toe to an end. You have angered the boss and brought shame upon our gangs'' name and reputation. And now you were trying to kill 60 of our most loyal noobies who we wanted to get some practice. We can''t let that slide now can we? You should have joined when you had the chance, I bet you had no idea what it meant to reject our offer but you will now find out the hard way... I think a punishment is in order¡­ And I will be your executioner¡­" The red-haired boy said, slowly walking up to Moby with a smile. "As for you Ray, I expected much better¡­ You still betrayed us after everything we''ve done for you and the great rewards we promised? You''re beyond saving! But no matter how much I want to kill you, I am not allowed to as you still have your uses¡­" He continued, ncing over at Ray who inwardly shuddered, his eyes bing all shaky from seeing his face again. ''Fuck, It''s Jason¡­ Why at times like these¡­'' Ray inwardly cursed before screaming out to Moby. "Hey! Let''s run! Now! They are way too strong for you! They are ranked 4th and 3rd in the gang! We got what we wanted! I am free of their grasp now! We can just flee before the retrieval teames! If something happens we can just count everything else as self-defence so I shouldn''t get in trouble with the school," "You fool! It''s not that simple! The system is not fair! The gang has many teachers under their belt that they could manipte to fuck with the system! If you are caught you would be ying into their web! Our only option is to kill all the witnesses! So fleeing is not an option! We only have so much time before the retrieval teames! We can''t waste any time!" Moby immediately retorted to Ray. Ray inwardly cursed as he had been very much out of the loop in regards to how much strength the gangs have and how far their corruption spread. He only now found out that his n was fundamentally wed from the start due to hisck of knowledge. All he could do now was follow Moby''s lead and try to take Jason and Nags out before the retrieval team arrives, something he thought to be almost impossible. However, it was his only option in his circumstances. Nags and Jason could not help but be amused as they listened to the conversation going on between Moby and Ray, trying to hold in theirughter. "The retrieval team!? Hahahaha! That should be the least of your worries! We already paid off a teacher to dy the watch''s emergency signals by 2 hours. We fully expected for there to possibly be a few deaths when confronting you since we were also training some newbies and we didn''t want the retrieval team interrupting us while we enacted our ns. We have a long 2 hours of pain and agony ahead of us! If I were you, I would be more frightened by the fact that the retrieval team won''t being to save your asses from what is about to go down!" Chapter 171 - A Big Problem Errected

Chapter 171: A Big Problem Errected

As soon as Moby heard the man''s words, he inwardly took a sigh of relief. If the retrieval team was noting anytime soon, that cut off most of his worries about the time crunch. It very much worked out in his favour since he had no ns of losing. Now, he was able to take his time in ensuring that he left no evidence behind, meaning that he had to eradicate everyst person in the forest, including the 2 in front of him that Ray imed he stood no chance against. "So, Nags! You''re really letting me take him on all by myself first? If you want we can team up on him and get it over with quick," "I said that it''s fine Jason! You kept on nagging about it so much that I couldn''t take it much longer, just don''t lose and be a disgrace, I might have to abandon you if that happens. Besides, if he can''t even beat you he would never stand a chance against me," "Haha! Yeah, you fighting would be a waste of your time and effort. So, just let me take care of him. Once I whoop his ass we can both have fun with him and the pipsqueak," Moby noticed that the two students he now knew were called Nags and Jason were just casually chatting between themselves like they did not see him as a threat, but a toy, as they talked about who wanted to y first which slightly annoyed Moby and rubbed him the wrong way. However, he would be lying if he said that he wasn''t also satisfied. They were actually willing to take turns fighting him instead of going at him at the same time, which greatly increased his chances of survival due to their arrogance. He found that his opponent''s actions gave him a good opportunity to do 2 things, check their stats and power level, and inform his friends about the situation and tell them to engage. No matter how strong they were, there was no way in hell they could withstand the assault of him and all of his family members. ''Everyone, engage! Follow my energy signal to my location, I havee across 2 strong enemies. Prepare to fight!'' Moby gave the order through his mind-link with a passionate voice that reverberated strongly in the ears of all of hisrades as they all gave him a strong response as they all answered his call to action with no hesitation, Jayden giving him an update that she would arrive in no less than 5 minutes. Now, in his mind, all he needed to do was hold out until the arrival of his friends for a guaranteed victory. As he inwardly smiled under his poker face of distress, he decided to inspect his enemy''s status starting with Jason, the big, burly, spiky redhead. *************** Name: Jason Faust Race: Human Ability: Level 8 Sound Power Level: 28,160 (24,160 + 4000) Hp: 170/170 Mana: 621/621 Strength: 812 (712 + 100) Agility: 632 (532 + 100) Endurance: 751(651 + 100) Intelligence: 621 (521 + 100) Mind: 50 *************** As soon as Moby saw Jason''s stats, he was almost unable to believe his eyes, making him blink a few times as he inspected his stats once more. It was not the fact that he was an A- rank in terms of strength, Around his own strength with his armour on, far from it, as it was exactly the type of strength he was expecting from him. ''What the fuck! How the hell does he have stats in mind as a human!?'' Moby inwardly thought as it was the first time he saw such a thing, his mind spinning in circles. The only possible conclusion he coulde up with was that his ability somehow had the ability to manipte someone else''s mind in some way shape or form. Avilia did tell him that it was indeed possible for humans to have stats in mind but that demons had a much higher affinity to it. This meant that he should be on guard to watch out for any underhanded mind tactic that he might try to pull on him. However, that was not the only problem he was encountering. The only detail about his ability that his Inspect skill provided him was that it was level 8, the same level as his, and that it was sound-rted, nothing more. He had no idea what that specifically meant as it could mean a multitude of things as there existed various different abilities pertaining to sound, some much more powerful than others. The knowledge he gained from his research of abilities was serving to be somewhat useless as his inspect skill was not giving him the exact names of the abilities of his opponents. Now, he shifted his focus from Jason to Nags who was standing directly beside him, his arms confidently crossed as he continued to talk to Jason like he was not even there. Even though he knew that Nags was not going to be his opponent at the time, he still thought that it would be best to inspect him as well while he still had the chance. *************** Name: Nags Alder Race: Human Ability: Level 9 Barrier Power Level: 33,390 (28,790 + 4600) Hp: 150/150 Mana: 739 /779 Strength: 842 (712 + 130) Agility: 732 (637 + 95) Endurance: 986 (836 + 150) Intelligence: 779 (694 + 85) Mind: 0 *************** Nags was clearly the stronger of the 2. However, the mystery of his ability was not as big as his friend''s as Moby had already seen his barrier ability in action to block his attack on the gang members still piled up on the ground, which only seemed to have made him use 40 mana to block such a powerful attack. At face value, his ability might seem very defence centric but under the right conditions, it could be used very offensively as well. All in all, Moby was happy that he had to fight Jason first instead of Nags which might have ended badly. If he was able to kill Jason before fighting Nags, he might be able to level up a few times to even the ying field. If these were only rank 3, and 4 of the gang, he was scared to find out how much stronger ranks 1 and 2 were, making him relieved that those people were not his current opponents. "Okay Nags! I hope you don''t regret your decision because I''m going to tear him to shreds before you even get the chance toy a finger on him. He needs to be taught a lesson," Jason said with an amused voice, slowly approaching Moby''s location as he punched both of his gauntlets against each other, making a loud nking noise of metal shing against metal. That was the moment that Moby snapped back into reality as he stopped wondering in his own thoughts, his friends should arrive any second now and all he had to do now was stall and hold out until then. "Okay, but like I said before, I promise to not interfere in this fight no matter what. You are on your own. Prove your worth!" Nags said with a smile as he casually sat on a nearby rock beside the barrier he erected for the pile of his fellow gang members. "Haha! I would rather die than admit that I need your help! I would never allow myself to be such a disgrace! Don''t help me no matter what! That would be a big insult and I would never forgive you if you did!" Jason said in a yful yet serious voice, making Nagsugh out loud and agree in response. "But, just for a little help, here you go," Nags said with a smile, snapping his fingers as he created a huge dome of yellow energy surrounding the area around 1 kilometre in diameter. "Now they won''t be able to run away and no one coulde in and interrupt us without me being notified. Especially so the pipsqueak doesn''t run away since I don''t expect you to be taking him hostage for this fight and he would have probably slipped away while you were distracted with the main target," Nags exined. "Fine! But that''s the only thing I will allow since I don''t want to be interrupted in the middle of my fight. If anyone else somehow snuck past everyone and shows up knocking at our doorsteps then you go take care of them!" Jason said in a confident voice before redirecting his attention to Moby and Ray. ''Fuck my life,'' Moby inwardly cursed as he was not at all expecting such a thing to happen. He was about to send Ray off to go hide somewhere safe because he would have been useless in the fight. But there now seemed to be no use in doing that as he doubted that Ray would be strong enough to break through the barrier. However, as long as he stayed far away from their attacks, he should be safe. Assuming that they keep their words and don''t take him hostage, something that he could of course not trust them on. The barrier also served to notify Nags when someone else wasing meaning that his ns of his friends showing up and taking them by surprise just flew right out the window. Also, when Jason was talking, he heard him say "snuck past everyone" which hinted at there being more people hidden in the forest, probably for emergency or scouting purposes. The operation must have still been on a bigger scale than he expected. He needed to immediately inform his teammates about the new information that he just received but before he even got the chance, he found out that he was already toote... Chapter 172 - Snap

Chapter 172: Snap

''My Lord! Alex and I have run into the enemy on my way to your location. There are 2 people and from my angle, I am unaware of their power levels as I am unable to see their watch. Fleeing does not seem like an option. Depending on how strong they are, we might bete my lord,'' Abby reported to Moby using her mind-link. ''Yeah! Don''t worry! We''ll be there as soon as we destroy these 2 pricks. Just keep Ray safe for now until we arrive to help,'' Alex added, making Moby hold all of his emotions under his poker face. Before he even had the chance to warn them about the possibility of others in the forest, he was already toote¡­ Those people did not appear when Abby scouted the forest and due to their low numbers, he could only assume 1 thing, that they were also high-ranking members of the Zexis gang. "Ray! Stay back! You were a great help from before and now it''s my turn to take care of the rest," Moby said with his hands out straight, motioning Ray to hide behind one of the trees. Ray understood Moby''s intentions and did notin or hesitate as he did as he was told. "Good call! I would hate for him to get in our way and die. That would have been a problem since we both still need him alive," Jasonughed. Moby had to split his concentration between 2 tasks, the task of informing and listening to his friends and the task of paying attention to what was going on in front of him which was much easier said than done. ''Don''t get too careless! Those aren''t just fodder or ordinary people! They are definitely some high ranking members of the gang! Don''t underestimate them! Also, I will add to your orders, kill everyone in sight using any means you deem necessary! Due to the gang''s actions, the watches have been disabled for the next hour and we must leave no evidence behind since Ray had already chopped off the watch arms of various students. Any witnesses alive would risk us and him getting exposed. When I say by any means necessary I mean by any means necessary! Use your demon powers if you have to! Dead men don''t talk! Just make sure no one else is watching and that they are not recording you and posting a video on the spot, which I doubt they would even think about doing in their predicament,'' Moby ordered using their mind-link, also making Jayden hear as well. Alex and Abby immediately agreed and understood their new orders. Although Abby was slightly sad and disappointed that she would not be fighting by her lord''s side like she had hoped to do, she was still content with following orders. As for Alex, he felt like lowly scum like them who kidnap and torture innocent people like Ray are a waste of space and not worth living, so he had no qualms with killing them whatsoever. And, from what he understood from his new demon nature, he would also strengthen himself by doing so. ''I wish you good luck against your opponents, kill them all!'' Moby ordered once again in a firm voice, leading to Alex and Abby passionately responding before he closed the mind-link between them, keeping Jayden on the line. "I am kinda disappointed to have to fight you while you have no armour and weapons but I guess you should just thank your bad luck," Jason said with a confident smile as he looked at Moby''s school attire from head to toe that seemed tock even the simplest of weapons. "Haha! Are you sure about that?" Moby replied with a smirk, ripping off his school uniform only to reveal his katana and new heavy set of ck and purple frost armour underneath, making Jason, Nags, and even Ray go wide-eyed in disbelief. There was no way he had been hiding such heavy armour underneath his clothes, meaning that unless his armour had some special properties, he had just used his storage ring. Which was impossible since the school had disabled their use unless given express permission. "What the fuck!? How did you do that? Where were you hiding that armour!? Impossible!" Jason screamed in outrage, still in disbelief at what happened. "Well, I just wore it under my school uniform of course! Just beat me and find out! It can''t be that hard right? So why are you so impatient?" Moby said, lying through his teeth as he just used his inventory. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 8 Ice Level: 50 XP to next level 45,900/50,000 Dragon skill tree level: 2 Dragon skill tree XP to next level: 0/500 Power Level: 28,170 (23,470?+ 4700) Hp: 188/188 Demon Energy: 702 /702 Mana: 702 /702 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 7.8 Energy/ minute Strength: 746 (591 + 155) Agility: 722 (647 + 75) Endurance: 647 (497 +150) Intelligence: 702 (612 + 90) Mind: 140 (100 + 40) Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** With his new armour, his power level was now very much equal to that of his opponent. However, he still considered himself at a disadvantage as he had no information about his opponent''s ability while his opponent had probably already done his research on him and knew most of his moves and techniques. Knowledge was key in winning a fight and theck of it could prove to be fatal. Moby had no problem doing such a reckless move. If he was captured, the gang probably had some ways of extracting him out of his information using a lie detector or something along those lines. He should not hide anything from them as he nned to kill them anyway. Nothing was off-limits and he had to use his trump cards to his advantage. Only careful nning and strategy would allow him to win in his seemingly dire situation. For now, His opponents assumed that it must have been some property of his armour. They did not bother asking any more questions as, like he said, they would find out when they defeated him. This Also made Jason extremely happy as he would now be able to fight Moby at his full strength and not just ept a hollow victory of defeating someone thatcked proper equipment. The more they see of Moby the more they see why their boss wanted him so badly to the point of sending so many people after him. ''Jayden, don''te to my location, it is way too dangerous, there is a barrier around it and anyone who tries to enter would be immediately notified to the person who erected it, making him join the fight. Youing to help would only make it much harder for me, turning my 1 vs 1 with the weaker person into a 2 vs 2 fight where the stronger person joins. I somewhat have a n in mind to defeat both of them and you joining in would only make my life harder and make my chances of victory almost none existent. Go help out Alex and Abby instead, and once you beat those people, thene and help me when all 3 of you coulde together,'' ''I am not sure if I understand the full situation but if you say that I would only be a hindrance then I believe you. Now is not the time to argue or y around. I trust your judgement and I''ll go help Alex and Abby instead. I know that it will be tough for you and thest thing I want to do is make it harder. I wish you the best of luck, kill their ass honey,'' Jayden said with a mixture of seriousness and yfulness that made Moby inwardly smile at her response as he imagined her to be outraged that he thought that she was too weak to join or that he didn''t want her with him. ''Yeah, thanks, and good luck to you too Jay honey,'' Moby said in a warm voice, inwardly smiling before closing their mind-link, focusing back on the task at hand. The conversation with his friends took much longer than he expected. Splitting his focus was very mentally taxing for him and he was d that it was over. Now he could stop his stalling and get ready to battle, as he saw his opponent take up a fighting stance. "Enough chit chat! This is getting boring, why don''t we get started? We have less than an hour to do this and we might as well get started now," Moby taunted, activating his eyes of sin that appeared to have seemingly no effect on his opponent who didn''t even flinch at its activation,?leading to him chuckling with a smirk on his face. "Enough with your arrogance, now let me put you in your ce! I''ll show you what it meant when you decided to mess with us!" Jason then rxed his body and stood up straight, holding his hands out with metal, w-like gauntlets as he put both his thumb and index finger together. Moby was not sure what was happening but he was certain that he was nning something, making him focus even harder on his opponent''s seemingly casual movements, gripping the hilt of his katana tightly in anticipation. *Snap* The sound of Jason''s metallic gloves mming against each other rang throughout the entire forest. And in the next instant, before Moby had the chance to even react with his eyes of sin activated, Jason''srge shadow had already been looming over him, his sharp, metallic fist covering his entire field of vision as it elerated towards his face with incredible speed. Moby was punched so hard in the face that he was sent flying straight towards the tree right beside Ray, making him shudder and panic with a fearful look of despair and disbelief in his eyes as Moby''s body flew right past him, creating a heavy gust of wind. The punch was so strong that his body skitted across the dirty soil and broke through severalrge trees before finally stopping, leaving his body seemingly motionless on the ground. Chapter 173 - Wombo Combo

Chapter 173: Wombo Combo

Moby, who was still in a state of shock, was on the dirty, muddy ground, staring at the ck night sky above him that was unobstructed by any trees due to him breaking them during his impact. His face bore the impact of what like a canon, despite his efforts of trying to block it in thest second. Luckily, although he felt extreme pain in his shaky face, there seemed to be no bones cracked or broken which would have taken a bit longer to heal with his demon regeneration. Moby could have easily forced himself to stand back up and fight but he decided to y dead for a bit longer just to have time to himself as he needed topletely rethink his ns of attack. When he read that he had a sound ability, he had no idea that it would lead to what happened. In his mind, he thought that he would have extremely loud screams that annoyed and messed with people''s ears allowing him to attack while his enemies were distracted, but he was sorely mistaken. The ability that Jason used was unlike anything he had ever seen or read about in his hours of ability research. However, that was to be expected, there was no way he would know everything. So, that only meant that he had to decipher his ability with the knowledge that he now knew. It seemed like a snap was what activated his ability. He snapped, and in the next second, he was already right in front of Moby''s face. The only sound-rted exnation that Moby could formte was that when he snapped, he was able to travel through those sound waves at incredible speed to reach his destination, and his powers would only be activated as long as the sound wavests, making him need to snap once more. He also determined that Jason was not actually turning into sound waves, but his body just bes really fast as he travels through them, which means that it is possible for him to be hit in the middle of his ability usage. However, all of that was, for now, nothing more than a theory. He had no idea if Jason needed to snap to activate his ability and if he was limited to only travel through the sound waves of his snap. He also did not know if he was only able to move linearly as he had just done or if he was able to move non-linearly as well. Andst but not least, he did not know if what he had just shown him was the full extent of his sound powers or if there was more, which he had no doubt in his mind was the case due to his stats in mind. Assuming everything he had just stated thus far was true, his ability seemed to be like a weaker version of blink, that gave instant movement instead of the speed of sound. Plus, blink did not require the user to do any hand gesture to activate, but the only downside was that its range was fairlycklustrepared to Jason''s ability that allowed him to travel as long as his snap reached. And from the volume of his initial snap, it seemed like his metal gloves amplified the sound, making it reach farther which also reinforced the fact that he needed to snap to activate his ability, otherwise he would not have needed such specially made gloves. Since Moby was able to defeat Natalia with worse equipment and fewer skills when they had around the same power level, in theory, he should be able to do it much easier against Jason who he could more easily block, track and predict due to him having to snap before each activation. If he just didn''t allow him to snap, he had nowhere to flee. He knew that it would still be a tough fight, but if he used his trump cards and current knowledge to his advantage, he felt like victory was already assured, making a smirk appear on his still bloody face. "Hey, Nags¡­ It''s been a few minutes now¡­ Do you think I killed him?" "Did the boss really expect that kid to be worthy of taking your ce as the third seat? He wasn''t even able to survive a single punch¡­" "If you killed him then you should be prepared to die by the hands of the boss," "B-but I didn''t know he would be so fragile!" Then, suddenly, in the middle of their conversation, a sudden st of purple energy appeared out of nowhere, striking Jason in the face with immense force when he least expected it, creating a dust cloud in front of Jason''s now bloody face, causing him to shout from the unexpected pain as he was unable to see his opponent, putting his hands in front of his face for protection. The only thing he was able to see through the dust cloud was a pair of 2 glowing eyes, confirming that his attacker was non-other than Moby. Then, suddenly, he felt several immense nking sounds of metal shing against metaling from both of his hands, making his entire body shake but feel no pain as he panicked threw a random kick in front of him that seemed to have hit absolutely nothing. This made him inwardly curse as he prepared himself to snap away. However, when he moved his hands, they for some reason, felt extremely slow, and before he even got the chance, his hand was struck by an immense force that did not allow him to snap as his guard was almostpletely blown away. At first, the attacks that were hitting him were fairly weak as they just bounced off of his armour, almost like they were nothing. However, the more they came the stronger the attacks got as well to the point of them being able to cut through his armour with moderate difficulty, allowing who he could only assume to be Moby, to be able to strike his flesh. He noticed that the brunt of the attacks were directed at his hands and arms that were blocking his face instead of his armoured yet exposed body right under. "Get the fuck away from me you filthy bug!" Jason screamed in outrage as hepletely ignored snapping as it didn''t work thest time, opting to roll away out of the dust cloud instead. But, just like before, his movements were still for some reason extremely slow, making Moby follow him once more as he created another cloud of dust that obstructed Jason''s vision allowing him to continue his seemingly never-ending onught of attacks, cutting through his armour now with ease as he was able to cause some real damage to both Jason''s body and arms as blood began dripping from his figure, dyeing his armour and the grass under him crimson red. Moby followed him no matter where he tried to go. And whenever he tried to snap, he was always interrupted as his body kept on feeling slower and slower as the seemingly never-ending attacks that only seemed to get stronger every second kept on wailing on him. It was the first time he had ever experienced such a thing, the feeling that he was unable to snap away when things got dicey. Moby Kane was much stronger than he first expected. He had no idea that he was so dangerous. He must have only pretended to be knocked out from his first attack. He was being too reckless and overconfident, he should have ended it when he had the chance instead ofzing around, waiting for him to stand up. Jason now felt trapped, like he was being ensnared in a trap where there was no escape other than death. No matter what he tried to do, he was just too slow to do anything. But, despite his heavily injured, dire situation, he was not ready to give up. There was no way he would allow himself to lose as a high ranking member of the Zexis gang. He would rather die than show shame to them, the same gang that took him in and got him to the level of strength he was at today. Without them and the boss, he was nothing, and he did not want to repay their help with disgrace, he would not allow himself to, no matter what. Jason gritted his teeth, and strengthen his stance, his eyes narrowing down into slits, his anger and frustration became more and more immense as he prepared himself to use every fibre of his being to win the fight. And, unannounced to him, his inner spirit felt their host''s strong emotions and will to live, making it resonate more with him, giving him a way out of his predicament. "Didn''t you hear me the first time! Get the fuck away from me you filthy bug!" Jason screamed his heart out, letting out various shockwaves of sound that rang throughout the entire forest, and even made Nags''s barrier slightly wobble from the strong shock waves. The wavespletely blew away the dust cloud obstructing his vision alongside Moby who had a devilish smirk on his face, about to deliver the finishing blow, who now crashed to the side of a rock with an immense tter. Although his ears seemed to somehow be unharmed, the damage from the impact was still somewhat significant. However, that was far from being the biggest problem, making Moby inwardly curse his seemingly never-ending bad luck as he tightly gripped both of his katanas. Moby''s n was going perfectly. He waited until his opponent looked away from him due to his arrogance and carefree nature, giving him the chance for an easy st when he least expected to both damage and obstruct his vision. Then, before he had the chance to react and snap away, he came into close quarters, using both his ice stick and his novice demon katana dual-wielded. Using both of them at once did not give him any extra stats as it only took the stats of the more powerful item but, it allowed him to benefit from both of their effects at once. They were a deadlierbo than he had first imagined, especially against Jason who had to fully rely on snapping. With his ice stick, he would ensnare his opponent until he became too slow to flee or get away from hisbo, and with his novice demon katana, he would continue to attack with continuously stronger shes. Once Jason got stuck in thebo, there was seemingly no escape as he was too slow to do anything. Moby focused most of his attacks on Jason''s hands, trying his best to attack and cut them off. Without his hands, he would be unable to snap and use his ability which would have no doubt guaranteed his victory. At first, his attacks seemed to be doing little to no damage as Jason probably expected his opponents to be wanting to cut off his arms, so he made his armour much stronger in that area. However, with the strength of his novice demon katana, he was slowly but surely cutting away at it to the point that it only needed one more strike before both of his arms fell off. But, he and hisbo were both suddenly and abruptly stopped... All of his careful nning going to waste by what he could only assume was some ass pull, plot armour, power of determination bullshit he had seen in so many anime that Jayden had rmended him to watch in his free time. Then, he remembered Leo''s words about inner spirits and about how they could resonate with a person''s feelings and emotions, especially in the middle of a fight, which only confirmed his suspicion. Moby looked at Jason''s heavily injured figure who was tightly clenching his teeth, heavy breathing with unbridled rage in his eyes that most likely made him ignore all the pain and damage he had sustained, he doubted that he would let his guard down so easily and he doubted that he would get off another deadlybo like he had before. It seemed like his arrogant, superior attitude hadpletely disappeared as he was nowpletely driven and blinded by rage and the need for victory. Anything else in his mind was secondary. Moby was now really annoyed but he was nowhere near ready to give up. He knew that he now had to use his opponent''s rage to his advantage as he prepared to switch to n B, looking straight at the river and waterfall in the distance that was still luckily in the area of Nags''s barrier. Chapter 174 - Frozen

Chapter 174: Frozen

"YOU! Cheap! Lucky! Son of a bitch! While I was ying nice, you were just ying dirty! Well, fuck that shit! Now you''re dead!" Jason''s voice rang throughout the entire forest, nothing but rage filling his eyes. "Heh, tough talk for a fe with a small cock. You''re just making up excuses for your failure! Just face it! You''re weaker than me and you''re a disgrace to your gang!" Moby replied with clear mockery in his voice, not even suppressing hisughter that made Jason''s blood boil even more. "Shut the fuck up! Before I kill you, I''ll have fun ripping off your tongue and feeding it to you for uttering those words!" Jason screamed in outrage, as he prepared to snap his fingers when he suddenly noticed that in between his monologue, Moby''s figure had disappeared and ran off into the forest. "Get back here you fucking coard!" Jason roared once more, his anger only growing more, and more as he snapped his fingers, disappearing from his spot to run after him. Throughout the entire fight, Nags had been silently analyzing it all from the sideline and he was very impressed to say the least. Moby was toying around with Jason like he was nothing by somehow making him slower with every attack he delivered. The more he looked at him the more he understood why the boss wanted him so badly, making his respect towards him grow each time. He wanted to scream out to Jason that if it came to it, he should not kill Moby but that would have just interrupted his raging state. Plus, he did promise to torture him first before killing him so he just decided to calm him down if he won the fight. Nags was still interested in spectating so he decided to follow both Moby and Jason, leaving his injured fellow gang members who were still in his defensive barrier behind as he began to hop from tree to tree right behind the action. Moby was meticulously using his air steps alongside hisbat knowledge to jump from tree to tree like he was a ninja while Jason who was tailing him was nowhere near as graceful as he broke through every tree in his path in his pursuit to catch up to Moby. That confirmed one of Moby''s theories, the theory that Jason was only able to travel linearly using his ability since if that was not the case, he would have travelled around the trees instead of breaking and going through them which no doubt greatly slowed him down as he had to stop at every tree his sound waves hit. However, despite all of that, he was still slowly but surely catching up to him which was less than ideal. He was still fairly far away from the waterfall which was his destination so he began to speed himself up using his demon sh with every step that he took which used up a great amount of demon energy, but it was demon energy he was more than willing to spend. Yet, in spite of all his efforts, Jason was still able to reach him in the end. "Now I got you, you little bug!" Jason screamed with a crazy look on his face, snapping his fingers as he reached Moby''s location, immediately throwing a punch with his metallic gloves. Moby had already predicted his attack due to him having to snap, making him turn around using his freezing time skill to slow down Jason''s movements, allowing him to just barely dodge his speeding attack, giving him the opportunity to counter. He unequipped his novice demon katana and threw it back in his inventory, giving him free use of his fists, as it would do little to no damage if it was not used in abo. Plus, not to mention the fact that Katana''s, in general, were not very effective against heavily armoured targets. He infused his fists with nearly everyst drop of his remaining demon energy and used the opportunity to strike Jason''s lungs with all of his might in order to knock the wind out of him and slow him down, cracking his armour even more, making him slightly stagger, clenching the area of impact in pain as hended on a nearby tree branch. Normally, that blow would have not done nearly as much damage. However, due to Jason''s already heavily injured, fatigued state, it was much more effective. *Cough* "You¡­ You''ll pay for this!" Jason''s voice resounded through the air once more as he immediately snapped his fingers to follow Moby who had already fled even farther away, not even taking the time to properly catch his breath. Since Moby was now all out of demon energy, he had to deactivate his eyes of sin as he was not able to sustain it any longer which heavily slowed him down. And, now, using his freezing time skill would also be futile. This meant that it would be virtually impossible for him to dodge another one of Jason''s attacks. With his current stats, he was only able to sustain his eyes of sin for around 6 minutes, and along with the use of his other skills like air steps, freezing time, and pure demon energy, it managed to drain his demon energy reserves faster than he had expected. The useless feeling of being out of demon energy was something he didn''t want to experience and put him at an even greater disadvantage than anything else. This wake-up call made him realize now more than ever that he should prioritize his intelligence stat over everything else inorder to use his extremely powerful skills that came at a high energy cost. He had put a fair amount of distance between them but it was only a matter of time before he caught up to him again, especially in his now slower, weakened state. ''Just a little big longer¡­'' Moby inwardly thought as he had nearly reached his destination, using every ounce of energy in his body to force himself to go even faster as he could now pick up on the sound of the water fall''s distinct crashes. "You''re not getting away this time bitch!" Jason bellowed with a mad look on his face, snapping his fingers as he was once again in range for an attack, and this time, he had no ns of missing. Moby inwardly cursed his bad luck, he was so close¡­ But he had no ns of losing or giving up as he used his quick thinking to find a way out and make it work out in his favour. With a subtle smirk on his face, he turned around with his hands blocking his visage, keeping his momentum, no intentions of dodging as it would have been futile. "DIE!" Jason screamed as he appeared right in front of Moby, punching him straight in his arms that had suddenly sprung up to guard his face. Cracks were heard from both Moby''s arms before he was sent flying in the direction behind him at incredible speed. The impact from his punch was several times harder than that of the first punch that he delivered to him. He was either holding back or he had gotten much stronger due to his inner spirit, the second option being the more likely. Just like before, Moby crashed through several trees, breaking through them like they were twigs. Then, after what he felt like endless crashing and air time, he felt a cold, soothing sensation as he suddenly lost his ability to breathe. He was now fully submerged in water, most likely the river in front of the waterfall he was aiming for. It all worked out exactly as he nned... He angled himself perfectly in order to boost himself using Jason''s punch to his destination. It was extremely risky as it was not guaranteed that he would havended in the river. Plus, he had to sustain an insane amount of damage to boost himself. But in the end, it was all worth it, it all seemed to have worked out perfectly. Now all he needed to do was lure Jason straight into his trap... Moby forced his injured body to stand up, the water reaching around the middle of his thighs as he began to limp away towards the waterfall in what could only be described as fear and desperation. However, he only managed to reach about halfway to the waterfall before a great shing sound came from behind him. "HAHAHA! Where did that confident attitude of yours disappear to? Now you look so pathetic! What kind of stupid idea are you thinking? That the waterfall could maybe block or drown out the sound of my snaps? Tough luck! Such a n would never work!" Jason screamed, his arrogance starting toe back as his anger began to slightly subside. Nags, who had been spectating the entire exchange from a tree above the river was looking down at Moby with clear disappointment in his eyes, paying close attention to his sorry, pathetic state. He thought much more from him¡­ He thought that he might have even been able to give him an exciting fight but it seemed like he was sorely mistaken and thought of him in too high of a regard, he just got his hopes up for nothing. His previous antics must have all just been from the result of luck. *Sigh¡­* "You disappointed me¡­ The boss must have made the same mistake I did by overestimating your abilities¡­ What a sha-" Nags said in a bored yet casual tone before biting his tongue as he looked down at what was happening beneath him. "Now die!" Jason yelled with a creepy look on his face, his legs fully submerged in the river''s water as he stared at Moby''s behind limping away from his direction. *Snap* "What the fuck!?" *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* "Why isn''t this working!" *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap* "You bitch! What did you do to me!? I can''t move!" Jason roared in outrage, his anger boiling up once more, making Moby reply with a less than innocent smirk on his face. "Look under you¡­" When he did, he noticed thick, purple ice growing out of the water beneath him, as it quickly began to grow and spread around his entire body. "WHATTT! How is this possible!? Is there an ice ability user somewhere near here!? Did you set me up with one of your friends!? You fucking dirty coward!" Jason roared in outrage, smashing the ice underneath him as it began to grow, only for him to be too slow as he was unable to stop the ice''s advances on his body as it had already spread to the top of his chest. "No, that was all me, why don''t you look at this?" Moby said with a confident, mocking tone as he pointed out the trail of purple ice spreading from his body towards Jason. "AHHHH!! You''ll fucking pay for this! I am not sure how you did this but you have embarrassed and mocked me for thest fucking time! I''ll kill you! I''ll kill you! I''ll kill you! I''LL FUCKING?KILL YOU!" Jason roared before he was able to scream no more as a thickyer of purple ice engulfed his entire body, making Mobyugh at loud in victory, relief, and hrity as he stared at Jason who was frozen with a less than pleasant expression on his face. Chapter 175 - Spirit Mode

Chapter 175: Spirit Mode

Nags, who was still standing on a tree branch spectating the fight could not believe his own eyes. Was Moby the first person to ever wield 2 abilities or did his ability also include purple ice as part of its repertoire? At this point, he was not able to tell. But, since Jason was swiftly defeated he knew that it was his turn and he could take his time forcing the information out of him. He did not care for saving Jason just like he promised, he brought it upon himself and now he was about to face the consequences. Nevertheless, before he went down to Moby''s location, he decided to verify Jason''s theory of there possibly being someone that was in the forest before he had erected his barrier and that person was the one who used the ice ability to win by using a dirty tactic. Yet, just like he expected, after hopping around from tree to tree around the area, he found absolutely nothing, meaning that Moby''s ims were no bluff. However, as he was ready to hop down from the trees to reveal himself, something even more unexpected happened, making Nagsugh like a mad man, clenching his stomach before once again sitting back to enjoy the show. Moby''s strategy of luring Jason into water where his ice powers were buffed was very risky in more ways than one, especially since he did not know how much better his basic ice maniption skill had strengthened his ice powers as he did not have time to test it out due to the fact that he was searching for Ray all day. It was his only choice since all he had left was his nearly full reserve of mana since his demon energy was all but depleted. He took a massive gamble since this was his first-ever time testing out his ice powers after his boost and he would be lying to say that he was disappointed. It worked out much better than he expected. The ice, using the water as a means to strengthen it, was rtively easy to control and it was extremely difficult for Jason to break off as he was still in a very injured state, more than he could have ever dreamt of getting out of his ability from before. Moby now stood up straight from his previous hunch and removed his arm that was clenched onto another one like it was broken as he had no more reasons to pretend or overy his injuries in order to lure in his opponent since he already got him right where he wanted him. As Moby approached Jason''s frozen body to do what he had to do, he began to hear small cracksing from his direction. At first, he thought that he must have stepped on a twig or that he must have just imagined it. However, when he looked back over at Jason, he noticedrge cracks beginning to appear on the ice surrounding him, making it shake like crazy. This made Moby panic as he knew what this meant, Jason was somehow about to free himself from the ice prison binding him. Moby threw away all of his previous ns and focused on just solely killing Jason before he was able topletely break out. He sprinted straight towards him with all of his might, instinctively putting his hand out in order to st his demon energy only for it to not work. As he cursed his stupidity he shifted to using his other energy source that he was not used to having just yet, his mana. He lifted his hands in the air and with the aid of the water surrounding him, he created 5 spears of ice, immediately throwing them towards Jason, aiming straight for his head in order to deal the finishing blow. However, right before the spears could make impact, they were suddenly and abruptly blocked by wing-like, blue, unknown energy that almost seemed to be fuel by soundwaves that emerged from Jason''s back. "What the fuck is that!?" Moby blurted out in shock as he was unable to understand what had just happened, and what kind of power that was. His attacks seemed to be ineffective, so the only thing he could do was try his best to hold Jason in ce by strengthening his ice. He knew that it would undoubtedly waste a great chunk of mana doing so but he had to take the chance just in case that it worked. He lifted both of his hands out in front of him as he began to strengthen his ice prison, sweat running down his face. Yet, despite all his efforts, he was still unable to keep up with the rate the ice was breaking, making him internally curse as he watched the scene he did not want to see unfold right in front of his eyes. Before he knew it, Jason was now free, free to do whatever he wanted as heughed maniacally, his wings pping as he floated in the air above the river with a beyond crazy look on his injured, bloody face, a few visible veins popping out. "Hahahaha! I''m free! You sly little fucking bug! I''m finally free! Did you miss me? You really thought you had me didn''t you bitch!? But seems like all your little tricks have run out! You have no idea what I''m gonna do to your ass! Just you wait! I''ll show you what true power looks like! I''ll fucking tear you to shreds and piss on your remains before I feed them to the dogs! There''s no getting away this time!" Jason shrieked like he hadpletely lost his mind, celebrating his newly acquired freedom with derangedughter. Blue, sound energy with what looked like musical notes surrounded his entire body. The energy formed more than just 2 wings that sprouted out of his back, but also 2 extra-long earsing out of his head, a small, thin tail that protruded from his behind, short yet sharp ws, and the same kind of blue, sound energy glowing from his eyes. He looked exactly like a bat¡­ The connection was unmistakable. Moby could not believe his eyes, what he saw was something that he had only seen on FireWatch when he was doing his ability research. Spirit mode¡­ A mode that could only be activated by an ability user who had reached enough of a connection and bond with their inner spirit. When the mode was activated, a person''s ability strength is greatly increased and the person begins to take on properties from their inner spirit''s looks and attributes. This meant that Jason''s inner spirit was that of some sort of bat and he had strengthened and evolved his bond so much during their fight to the point that it now allowed him to tap into his spirit mode, something that Moby did not expect seeing in his current situation. The only person he had ever seen possibly use such a technique was just the day before during the Griffith family party, when Mason Griffith, Jayden''s father, used it to silence the crowd with his drowning, overwhelming strength. Moby''s streak of never-ending bad luck seemed to indeed truly be never-ending. No matter what careful nning he did, no matter how much effort he put, his ns seemed to always work at first only to be thwarted by some unknown mean that he could only describe as bullshit. He and Lady luck seemed to have never really been on good terms but he really wished that it would change in the future. In his current injured and drained state, his only option for victory was to activate his sin mode and use those effects to heal, restore, and buff himself in order tobat and possibly even ovee Jason''s spirit mode. He was already forced to reveal one of his trump cards, his ice powers and he really did not want to reveal both, especially in front of Nags who he knew was no doubt spectating. He really wanted to save sin mode when he needed to fight Nags since the 5-minute time limit would not allow him to fight both of them while it was active. But, despite his urges, even if he would lose the element of surprise that came from his 2 trump cards, his ice powers and his sin mode, survival was still his top priority. "I''ll make you pay for all the shit you made me go through¡­ You have made a mockery out of me and the gang for thest time¡­ You''re dead¡­ you''re dead¡­ you''re fucking dead¡­ YOU''RE DEAD!" Jason roared as he pped his wings, flying straight towards the injured Moby at incredible speed, his tongue out with a disgusting look on his face as he put his fist out ready strike. However, halfway in the air before he was able to reach Moby, he heard several cracksing from his body enter his ears¡­ What followed was the most immense pain that he had ever experience before in his entire life as he felt all of his muscles and organs throbbing and his bones breaking, causing a huge ssh as he dropped straight into the river. His extremely injured body had already been pushed far beyond its limits. The entire time, extreme pain was ravaging through his entire system but due to his adrenaline and blinding anger, all that pain was simply ignored as it continued to pile up. Now that pain had gotten to the point where it would be impossible to ignore and where he had pushed his body to the point that it would not be able to properly function. The possible strain on the body from using spirit mode most likely also added onto that fact. The human body could only sustain so much after all... Jason''s body waspletely submerged in water, his eyes extremely blurry as he was about to pass out from everything that just happened. He cursed Moby along with his entire existence as he tried his best to move his body and stand up in the extremely shallow water. However, despite all of his efforts, he was not able to move or even do anything. Why did his body have to shut down the moment he felt victory was so near and the moment he had finally unlocked his spirit mode... He was really about to die in such a stupid, pathetic way¡­ Drowning in shallow water that could only be described as a kiddie pool. In the end, he ended up being an even bigger disgrace than he first thought that he would be as his tears of anger and despair were taken away by the river surrounding him. However, before he closed his eyes for thest time, right before he felt his life was about to slip away, he felt an immense grasp onto his big head as he was pulled out of the water using 1 hand, his body being lifted high to the point that his feet were only barely dipped into the water despite his massive stature. When he looked in front of him with his dark, hazy vision, he saw a man''s face, his smile wider and more ominous than any smile he had ever seen before in his life. The only words that could properly describe it was demon-like. Yet, his mind was too cloudy and his body was too tired for him to show any reaction as he simply closed his eyes. In the next instant, he felt like his life energy was being sucked right out of his body, almost like he was a juice box being squeezed for everyst drop. He felt like his body was literally ageing several years in the span of seconds from the immense pain that was somehow even greater than that of his body shutting down all at once, making him want to scream out and squirm around in pain, something that he was not able to do with his tired, weak, numb body. If he did not know any better, he felt like he was about to turn into dust from what he was feeling. However, right as he felt like he was about to die, he got sudden, unexpected light and relief in the darkness of his previous torture. The difference was like that of heaven to hell as he felt like he was at peace in his heart, his heart now full of light andfort. He could not remember thest time he felt such a thing in his entire life. It seemed like he had died and finally entered paradise where he thought he would belong and live the rest of his existence in pure bliss. However¡­ that was far from the truth... That feeling did notst for long as itpletely shifted into the most extreme, unbearable pain he had ever felt in his entire life, hundreds, no thousands of times greater than he had felt before... Now, he truly wished that that heavenly sensation had not happened and that he had truly turned to dust... Chapter 176 - Setting The Stage

Chapter 176: Setting The Stage

Moby looked at Jason who was tightly grasped in between the 5 crushing fingers of his right, green and purple glowing hand, his skin all shrivelled and old, his red hair that was over the top and spikey now barely even able to be seen as there was almost nothing left on his head. "This should be enough," Moby muttered with a smirk on his face, the glow from his hands fading away before he threw Jason to the side in a gentle yet harsh manner. He was now somewhere in the forest, looking straight into the sky with gray, dead eyes. Ever since hepleted the quest for defeating Damian Nier, the person who had recklessly challenged him during the Griffith family party, he levelled up his drain skill, which made it a lot more effective than before. Due to that fact, despite Jason''s critical condition, Moby''s health and energy were now almost full, putting him into a better position than he was before. When Moby saw Jason suddenly and abruptly fall, it was like he saw his life sh before his eyes. He was really confused about what had happened, but he was scared that he had suddenly died which would have not allowed him to use "drain" on him along with his other n. He thought that it was the final nail in the coffin, the final "Fuck you" fromdy luck telling him that she doesn''t want to be friends and had rejected his offer. However, when he scrambled in the water to check on Jason''s state, he was d to know that his assumptions were wrong and he was still unconscious and alive, barely, making Moby sigh a sigh of relief that his ns were not halted and that his rtionship withdy luck could still be salvaged. The only thing he didn''t like was that Jason was not conscious to feel the wrath of what he was about to do to him. But, that couldn''t be helped so he decided to not dwell on the matter for too long as he now had much bigger, yet smaller things to worry about. "It seems like that big blubbering buffoon took on more than he could chew, his arrogant and reckless behaviour led to his downfall¡­ I was looking forward to seeing what his spirit mode could do but I guess I''ll never find out since dead men don''t talk," A familiar voice came from above, followed by immenseughter. When Moby looked up to see who it was, he saw none-other than Nags who he had already assumed had been spectating their entire fight. He had knowingly used his drain skill in front of him since it was essential and since there was no real way to hide. With a smile on his face, Nags swiftly and elegantly jumped out of the thick tree branch supporting him andnded on the ground right outside where the river started, a good few meters away from Moby''s position who was still thigh-high in water, putting them at almost eye level from each other. ''From the way he was talking, it almost sounded like he also had a spirit mode¡­ Eh, who am I kidding of course he does! If he''s going to act arrogant like the other guy then I''ll just transform before him and take him out before he gets the chance to transform,'' Moby thought, paying close attention to Nags''s words. "That was an excellent fight! I could not follow or understand any of your strategies but after the fact, I was able to fully grasp the meaning behind everything¡­ I am starting to actually admire you. No wonder the boss wanted you so badly!" Nags added, his smile growing even wider which made Moby really confused and ponder over his words. ''His boss wanted me so badly? How badly is so badly? What do they know? Did they figure me out?'' "However, before we get started, I have a few questions to ask you¡­ How the fuck were you able to suck off Jason''s life energy like a mosquito? And how were you able to use ice¡­ From the looks of it, it''s almost like you have 2, or maybe even 3 abilities¡­" Nags continued, his friendly smile fading away into something more ominous. "Well, I''m sorry to burst your bubble but I am only able to use 1 ability just like everyone else," Moby confidently replied, technically telling the truth. "Hehe, We''ll see about that when I''m done with you. Now that that big disgrace of an idiot is out of my hair, it means that you might be strong enough to pose somewhat of a challenge to me. But, from what I''ve seen from you, I still doubt that you would be able to burst any of my bubbles. I hope that you can give me some entertainment¡­" Nags retorted, his ominous smile bing something more disturbing. Just from observing Nag''s actions, he could immediately tell that he was not at all what most would call normal, even in this deranged world filled with less than good people. He had just killed his ally right in front of him and he seemed to bepletely unfazed and indifferent. If anything, he seemed to be... happy? "From spectating you, I would say that I got a fairly urate read of your fighting ability so far. But I''m not sure what other kinds of powers you are just gonna whip out your ass so I won''t be taking any chances. Not many outsiders have seen me use this form and lived to tell the tale, but lucky for you, you''re not going to be an outsider for long since I''m forcing you in. When I beat you, I''ll prove to the boss that I''m greater than you and more worthy of the 3rd seat. So, then you would be bumped down to the 4th seat and take Jason''s spot as myckey!" Nags announced with an amusedugh, spreading his arms out wide like he was embracing the moonlight that was shining down and reflecting off his armour. ''Well, fuck, there goes my n of catching him off guard with sin-mode while he''s toying with me to gauge my strength¡­ He''s going all out right from the start... He''s smarter than he looks,'' Moby inwardly thought as he stared at the blinding yellow light that appeared from Nags''s direction. Instead of attacking him during his transformation as he was not sure if it would be blocked by a barrier, he decided to use the opportunity to counter his transformation with a transformation of his own. Moby closed his eyes and calmed his nerves, focusing his energy into an empty spot in his head, different from the one used for evolution. As he filled that hole, his body began to mimic the filling by transforming. A raging, purple and red aura began to consume and swirl around his body before a small amount of light blue, almost white energy was added to it, causing his wide, expansive aura to have 4 colours yet was mostly ck as it began to grow even more, destroying all life around it. The ground underneath his feet began to tremble and crack asrge waves and ripples began to form in the shallow river under him, the waterfall shaking like crazy as it was also affected and consumed by Moby''s aura. Suddenly, 2 ck, small, scaly horns sprouted out of Moby''s head that looked like a mixture between dragon and devil horns. They looked slightly bigger than before with small, subtle blue icy lines added onto them. His hair that was mostly ck was now redder than ever before as the few streaks of red in his hair began to conquer more territory on his head. Shadowy ck lines of ominous energy ravaged throughout his entire body, creating patterns that spread all the way up to his face and under his eyes that were glowing purple with a moreplex structure than before, red pupils that looked like that of a viper. Red, icy blue, but mostly ck wings began growing out his back, forming cracks at the back of his armour as it crushed through it and spread out wide in the open. His wingspan was around 2 meter in length which was around half the length of Avilia''s. Yet, unlike Avilia''s wings that looked like pure demon or devil wings, he looked like a cross between a dragon''s and a demon''s wings. When Moby opened his eyes, the first things he noticed were therge, protruding wings in his peripheral vision, catching him extremely off guard as that did not happen thest time he transformed. He also felt like he somehow received an even greater power boost than when he was using it now than when did against Natalia. And to his knowledge, he had yet to see a notification telling him that his sin-mode was levelled up or upgraded in any way. Shaking his head to forget and throw that information to the back of his head as he had much bigger, and more pertinent things to worry about. When he looked in front of him, he Nags, in the same stance he had before,ughing his ass off with his arms spread wide, white light surrounding his body that caused cracks and a small crater under him, the grass around him being pushed but what seemed like heavy winding from the aura surrounding him. Yellow energy was already forming around his body in the shape of an animal but it was still too early to tell what animal or beast it was meant to be. Since Moby had finished his transformation before Nags, he decided to use the opportunity to attack and interrupt his transformation as he put out his hands in front of him and was about to st direct demon energy at his still transforming opponent. However, before he even got the chance, a blinding sh of lighting from his direction engulfed his entire vision, making him instinctively lift up his hand to block the light, not allowing him to do what he wanted to do as it all happened at the least opportune time. Chapter 177 - Free XP

Chapter 177: Free XP

When the blinding sh of light disappeared, Moby removed his wings that he instinctively used to block the sh of light that was released from Nags''s direction. He did not know how he even managed to move his wings as they were not part of his body from before andpletely foreign to him. Yet, somehow, it was as if they werepletely programmed into him. He somehow had absolute control over them like they were an extension of his own body and like he always had them which made him inwardly smile since at first he thought that the wings would have been a hindrance and end up getting in his way. When Moby removed his wings from blocking his vision, he looked at Nags who was now fully transformed, a small crater at his feet from the energy output of his transformation. As soon as Mobyid eyes on him, he could immediately tell what animal he was, making Moby think that it was extremely fitting for Nags''s ability. Yellow energy simr to that of his barriers surrounded and flowed around his entire body, its surface shining from the reflection of the moonlight above. Made out of all that energy was arge yet thin shell covering his back, a separation on his neck that led to another shelling from the corners of his forehead and towards the edge of his nose in the shape of an upsidedown triangle. Small, tiny, energy ws were seening out of his hands and legs that hovered over his actual limbs making him look intimidating yet somewhat cute at the same time. Nags, who was still in his own mind,ughing as he looked at the sky with his arms still spread stopped and lowered his head with a smile, most of his energy dispersing back into his body before he went to address Moby. "Hahahaha! I bet you''re now speechless and shitting your pants! I''m much more powerful than Jason, even in his spirit mode! He is a dwarf inparison to me! I won''t hold anything back! Now face my wra¡­" Nags immediately stopped his sentence as soon as heid eyes on Moby. Instead of Moby being the one speechless, he was the one speechless instead as he stared at Moby''s sin mode transformation with wide eyes filled with surprise. "Y-you! What kind of spirit mode is that!? From when did you even have a spirit mode?! Your body seems to have transformed on its own and not surrounded or enhanced by spirit energy! How the fuck is that even possible! Did you unlock a new level of spirit mode!? Is your spirit animal a demon!?" Nags eximed, still in a baffled state. "Hehe, like you said, I do have other skills up my ass that I have not pulled, this is one of them. I have never shown this form to anyone except for a few people so it''s only natural that you wouldn''t know what it is. I am not sure why my spirit mode is different from that of others and I didn''t ask anyone yet since I didn''t know how the public would react, that''s why I kept it a secret," Moby replied with clear confidence in his voice, lying through his teeth as he decided to go along with what Nags said. "Wow! You sure are a rare specimen! Very unique indeed. The boss sure has a keen eye, I bet they saw the potential inside of you and that''s why they''re so adamant about making you join. But, still, even with all that, that doesn''t change the fact that I''m gonna kick your ass and force you to join the gang. It just means that this fight will be more fun than I expected!" Moby knew that he had the ability to move his wings but he still had no clue if he was able to fly. If so, then he would hold a massive advantage as he would be able to fly high and shoot energy sts from the sky where Nags would likely not be able to reach. As he was thinking of what approach he should go for, a smile almost appeared on his face as he somehow managed to keep it suppressed. ''I sure hope flying works,'' he thought as he bent his knees and prepared to take flight when the time was right. "So, let''s see what you''re-" Nags announced with an expectant smirk, taking up a fighting stance before being abruptly and unexpectedly cut off by Moby who had just suddenly jumped and disappeared from his spot, taking flight in the night sky above. As He rocketed up, his wings angled downwards in the air, he stopped in ce, pping his wings with moderate difficulty as he looked back to where he came from and where the original fight had started. Surprisingly, with his now even further enhanced vision due to his sin-mode he was able to quickly and easily spot the exact location that was kilometres far away. With a smile on his face, he put his hands near each other and gathered arge amount of demon energy condensed, raging and crackling in the space in between his 2 hands, creating a small ball. (Check paragraphment for art!) As he lifted his hands above his head, that small ball expanded into something more massive before it was thrown with immense strength by Moby who threw his hands down as the ball sped to the exact location where the ambush happened. Nags who was still on the ground, watched Moby do what he did with immense confusion on his face. To him, it seemed like Moby was just randomly throwing a massive ball of energy for no reason and was just a waste of mana. However, when he realized the direction that the ball was headed, his eyes almost popped out of his sockets. ''Why the hell would he want to do that? Why now? What''s the reason? He is just wasting power that he could have used against me instead, just to kill a few weaklings? If he nned to win he could have just killed me then killed them, why go for them first? Is he just trying to piss me off? Is he saying that he doesn''t need his full power to beat me or has he already given up and is just trying to take them out with him since he knows he''s gonna lose anyway!?'' Nags''s thoughts ran wild as his anger began to grow and grow. Moby, who was slightly struggling to fly could no longer suppress his amused smile, was staring at his ball of energy as it sped straight in front of him. Before long, just like he expected, he felt a considerable power boost suddenly enter his body. Strength, Agility, and Health and regeneration on a small degree entered all at once. Anger = Strength Annoyance = Edurance Fear = Agility Shame/Embarrassment = Health Regeneration + Energy Regeneration Those were the enhancements that his sin-mode gave him. This meant that his opponent is feeling a great amount of anger and annoyance, along with a small amount of shame and embarrassment from what Moby had just done, which was exactly what he was going for. Knowing how to agitate and provoke the enemy is a key factor in how to properly use sin-mode, and Moby considered himself an expert of pushing people''s buttons. However, that was only half of what he wanted to aplish¡­ Ray, who had been patiently waiting in the starting area was sitting beside a tree, sweat running down his face as he began to pray to God to help Moby win his fights. He was not a very religious man but when he felt useless, he decided to turn to him just in case and since it was the only thing he could do. Part of him wanted to follow Moby to spectate and maybe help his fight but he knew that with his level of strength, he would bepletely useless and would only hold him back and cause him trouble, so he decided to stay out of his way. And, even if he wanted to escape and get some help from Alex, that would not be possible because of the massive barrier surrounding the area. So, to prove himself somewhat useful, he dedicated his time to breaking Nags''s barrier around the students in order for him to finish off what he had started. However, after a few minutes of smashing, not showing any progress, he decided to give up and retire which brought him to the helpless state he was currently in, his hands sped together as he prayed to a random god that he didn''t even know exist or believe in. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard a loud buzzing sounding from the direction behind him, waking him up from his daze as he jumped to the top of the tree to see what was going on and if they had decided to return. What he saw was a massive purple ball of energy being hurled straight in his direction making him scream in fear as he panicked and ducked, dodging it mere millimetres away from touching his head. Ray''s extremely sorry state was now even further worsened as he began sweating and hyperventting even more than before, tightly grasping his heart the was beating faster and more sporadic than someone ying a solo on the drums as his vision became hazy and he felt like he was about to throw up and go unconscious. In that instant, he felt his life sh before his eyes, he could not believe that he was fortunate enough to survive in that instance. He had no idea where that attack wasing from and in his state he could not bother to care. He began counting out loud from 1 to 10, steadying his breath with each number as he tried to calm his nerves. However, when he reached the number 2, he was abruptly interrupted by the sound of an ear-piercing explosioning from behind him. When he looked, he found arge crater where the students surrounded by the barrier used to be, their corpses nowhere to be found like they were vaporized, wiped off the face of the earth with no trace of them ever existing. Ray''s mind began to spin in circles and with his quick thinking, he managed to put 2 and 2 together and figure out the general idea of what had just happened. However, just like Nags, he could not understand the purpose of wasting such arge amount of energy for something that seemed so insignificant in the face of fighting his opponents. However, his assumption could be wrong and it could have been a lucky random energy st flung from the direction of Moby''s fight. He didn''t know what to think anymore¡­ His mind and body were in shambles as he sat back down and tried to calm his nerves once more, praying that Moby woulde through and somehow, by some miracle defeat both of those monsters. Chapter 178 - Shields of Destruction

Chapter 178: Shields of Destruction

[ System Alert! ] [ You have killed a low C rank enemy! ] [ System Alert! ] [ You have killed a low B rank enemy! ] [ System Alert! ] [ You have killed a high D rank enemy! ] [ System Alert! ] [ You have killed an E rank enemy! ] [ System Alert! ] [ You have killed a high C rank enemy! ] [ System Alert! ] [ You have killed a D rank enemy! ] .... (Note: There are 10x as many notifications of this since there were 60 students but I don''t want to bore you with random words and like 10 pages just with kill notifications xD) [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] [ Level Up! ] Moby''s eyes grew extremely wide, his mouth-watering as a barrage of notifications bigger than any other he had ever seen before popped up in his field of vision. He hadn''t bothered to check the strength level of any of the 60 downed students so he assumed that they were all weak D or E rank that gave trash XP. But when he checked the notifications, he was sorely mistaken as he managed to spot a few C and even B rank students in their mix, something that he did not at all expect. That was probably why Nags was so angry at him for killing them and why he was so adamant about protecting them. Some of them were probably potential high ranking members of the gang. And now since they were all dead, it dealt a massive blow to them as they now needed to find more members. ''Damn, those strings of Ray''s are that strong?'' Moby thought, not even suppressing his inner joy from leaking out. Moby knew that he saw at least 10 level up notifications pop up but he did not bother counting them as he would find out how many times he levelled up when he opened his status screen. Despite all the good that was happening, he still remembered that he was in the middle of a fight and that he had to assign his stat points quickly before his opponent inevitably strikes, forcing him to tell Avilia to assign his stat points for him just like he had done during his mind trial. When he opened up his status screen, he was unable to believe his own eyes. His window was not light blue like he had always remembered it, it was now a shadowy pitch-ck with glowing white text on top of it, his stats and power level that were not white but red always were changing up and down, most likely attributed to his opponent''s emotions at the time. This made Moby smile as, from what he was observing and feeling, his opponent was not at all happy with what he had done as an even greater amount of power began to enter his body. But, that also served to tell him that he should hurry up before his opponent snaps and attacks. However, that was not the most shocking part of it all¡­ What truly surprised him was the fact that he levelled up a total of 15 times, bringing him up to level 65. In his mind, he knew that 1 level up = 10 stat points. So, in theory, he should have only received 150 stat points. But, when he checked the stat points he had avable to distribute, it read, [ Avable Points to distribute: 300 ] That was double the amount he had expected. That could only mean one or two things, that his potential of absorbing negative energy in his sin mode was greater than that of his base, or that it must have been Avilia''s doing. And, to him, both theories seemed equally usible. Either way, he was more than satisfied, it didn''t matter how it happened since it was only the result that was important. Yet, he still added that to the list of things he wanted to ask Avilia after the fight was over. And, Avilia who had probably been listening to Moby''s thoughts knew and understood that as well which was why she didn''t interject to exin as it would have been both a distraction and a waste of time. Although Moby was extremely low on time, he took a deep breath to calm himself as he began to decide where he should assign his stat points for the best chance at victory. Part of him really wanted to assign most of his stats into mind. But, in his current situation, that would have only been reckless and extremely risky since he had no clue what he would get and if it would even be helpful in defeating his opponent. And from how his luck was going today, he was not at all willing to take the risk. This left him with his 4 main stats. And, after careful thinking, he decided to assign 100 points to agility, 75 to strength, 75 to intelligence, and 50 to endurance. He decided to assign more stats in agility than any other stats due to the fact that the agility stat was the only one not being boosted by his sin mode due to the fact that his opponent was not at all feeling any fear. After assigning his stat points, his new total power level in addition to his sin mode managed to even break the S rank threshold, shifting and sitting around 41,000. Yet, although he was able to make the power difference a little bit less, he was still far off from his opponent''s power level that was now at around 45,000, also changing probably depending on how much energy he drew from his inner spirit. As Moby closed his menu, he was greeted by a yellow disk flying straight to his head that he managed to dodge due to his future sight by flexing his neck to the left as it still managed to graze and cut his cheek, making blood flow out of it. In the next instance, he saw something that he did not at all expect to see¡­ He saw Nags''s hysterical face, floating in the air a good few meters in front of him, standing on a simr disk to the one he just dodged as he used it to surf in the middle of the air, giving him the ability to fly. "Are you trying to make a mockery out of me!? Do you not care about your survival or do you think that you don''t need that energy to defeat me!? Do you have any idea who it is your fucking with!?" Nags roared, forming two small disk-like barriers that he prepared to throw at Moby. "What happened to that calm and cool demeanour of yours? Are you scared?" Moby teased, trying to even further enrage and annoy him. "Keep running your mouth¡­ Let''s see how much you''ll be talking when you''re on the ground begging for mercy¡­" Nags retorted with a grin, throwing the 2 disks out of his hand, making them speed towards Moby. Moby felt like he would have a hard time dodging in the air with his wings that he was not fully used to flying with so he decided to counter his attacks with attacks of his own. From Moby''s right hand he created a purple shard of ice and from his left, he created a ball of demon energy. He wanted to test out his attack potency against that of his opponent and this was the easiest way to do it. As heunched both attacks, they both managed to hit their mark, however to his surprise, they both seemed ineffective, cracking the disks yet not destroying them as they continued to speed towards him with the same momentum as before. Moby furrowed his brows and pulled out his 2 katanas from his inventory, shing down towards both disks, destroying them easily due to their already damaged state. ''I seem to be at a disadvantage from long-range¡­'' Moby thought, now knowing exactly what he had to do. Nags created many more disks from both hands and began tounch them straight at Moby like a machine gun. Moby''s eyes turned into deadly slits as he tightly grasped both of his katana''s, flying straight at the disks ahead in order to reach Nags''s location. As the disks drew near, he activated his freezing time skill, allowing him to better see and dodge the disks due to them slowing down. In less than graceful moves and maneuvers, Moby managed to just barely dodge all of the iing disks, only suffering minor injuries through his armour and on his wings. Luckily for him, all of the attacks seemed linear and did not curve or move in mid-air, making them far easier to dodge. When he reached Nags''s location, who was looking slightly worried with sweat running down his face, he lifted both of his katanas up, right above his head infusing them with as much power as he could, using his air steps to jump off the air giving him an even greater boost in momentum and strength. Then, with all the power he could muster, he swung down towards Nags who was directly under him, a smile on his face as he was confident in his victory. And, just like he expected, Nags created a yellow, yet duller looking barrier right before he struck, blocking his attack, making it slightly glow. As the barrier began forming cracks, the more its shine grew stronger. However, in the end, the barrier was too weak to block his attack, it felt like nothing more than really hard ss inparison to Moby''s sh, causing it to smash into a million pieces. However, unlike what he expected, his attack didn''t continue through and strike Nags head-on, he was instead blown far away from Nags''s location by a sudden energy pulse, almost exactly to where he had started. It was almost like the power of his attack was converted into knock-back and sent right back towards him, which was exactly what happened since it was the ability of one of Nags''s special shields, the knockback shield. As Moby staggered and struggled to regain his bnce due to his poor flying skills, he felt a sudden, sharp, piercing pain hit him from the back of his head. That pain was followed by several simr feelings that attacked him everywhere on his body, from his back, head, legs, shoulders, and wings, making him grunt and stagger. The pain was excruciating yet it wasn''t something that he couldn''t handle as he felt and endured much more in his past, specifically during his evolution. He felt like he was cut by several razor des. He could barely feel any of his limbs that were now all dripping in blood, making him feel extremely weak, as he stared in front of him only to see a few disks flying and disappearing in thin air making him understand exactly what happened, gritting his teeth as he struggled to stay flying with his injured wings. Chapter 179 - Hellzone Grenade

Chapter 179: Hellzone Grenade

Suddenly, Nags reached one hand behind his back and pulled out something that could only be described as a grenade, making Moby''s tired eyes go wide. "Catch!" Moby didn''t have time to think or question his opponent''s actions and just instinctively tried his best to stay away from the attack. Even if he was much slower than he wanted due to his rather injured wings, he was still more than quick enough to dodge the slow, iing grenadeing his way. However, as he was flying away, he suddenly crashed into a yellow barrier that had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere when he least expected. When he looked around himself, he noticed that he was engulfed in a sphere of Nags''s shield energy, and when he noticed the grenade under him that was about to explode, he immediately understood what Nags wanted to do and panicked, immediately trying to smash his way out of his death prison. However, the barrier was far more potent than the one that Nags used to block and send back his attack, and with him not being at full power due to the state he was in, he was only able to form simple cracks and would not be able to break through it before the grenade exploded. When he recognized that he did not have enough time, he inwardly cursed as he surrounded himself with a thickyer of purple ice, bracing himself for impact. In the next moment, the grenade exploded, causing a cloud of gas,pletely shattering the barrier confining it with a less than audible bang that was suppressed due to the barriar. As the dust began to clear, Moby''s sorry figure that barely managed to even fly was now even more injured than before with an ice shield that was in tatters, holes littering it everywhere, could finally be fully seen. Although Moby managed to fully erect his shield, the explosion still did an insane amount of damage. The grenade was high-quality military-grade so it did a greater amount of damage than a normal, more standard variant. Not to mention that the explosion was confined and contained in a fairly small area that no doubt greatly multiplied the strength and potency of the attack. If Moby hadn''t managed to fully put up his shield, he would have definitely not been able to stay flying to say the least. Moby''s annoyance and anger grew as he waspletely tricked and outsmarted by his opponent multiple times. He was the one that turned arrogant and fell right into a trap, not the other way around. However, he was not at all angry at his opponent. Far from it¡­ He was instead furious with himself. He had to recognize that he was no longer going against a meathead that rushed into everything head-on with no n in mind but against an actual person who seemed to have an above-average brain. He understood that fact more and more as it began to sink in when he took a look at Nags''s face that was no longer fearful but confidently smiling andughing. Knowing that his opponent was weaker in a head to head, close-quarters confrontation was also a double-edged sword. It also meant that he must have had some trump card or countermeasure prepare just for that type of situation, which he did in form of that glowing shield. He should have recognized that and reacted ordingly and with more caution, not just blindly rush in like he did which sealed his fate. When he got close to Nags and noticed his fearful, worried face he should have noticed that his agility was not increasing and realized that he was faking fear and that there was something wrong, making him rethink his approach and his n of attack. However, in the moment, he was too blinded by the feeling of victory to see that since his opponent seemed only 1 sword sh away from defeat. Not only that, but he was also tricked into believing that he had no control over the disks that he threw as he did not at all move them in mid-air, especially when he was dodging them which made it seem like any sudden micro-adjustment would have led to him being hit. Moby did know that he was able to move his disks as proven by the disk that he was using to fly and surf throught the air but he only thought that it was a special case, requiring a great amount of control and mental strength which didn''t allow him to do the same with the rest of his attacks. However, it seemed like he only did that to nt that illusion in his head. All to make them connect when he knew they would all 100% hit, when he was staggered and when he least expected as he made both his disks and Moby''s body crash into each other and collide. Nags''s shame and embarrassment emotions still existed so he was still able to regenerate his health at a faster rate. However, those emotions were slowly lessening and fading away, being reced by both joy and arrogance as he thought that Moby would have absolutely no chance of victory. Both since he seemed to be too crippled and critically injured to fight and since it seemed like he had already wasted a great amount of mana in both his current and previous fight. Yet, he did not know about the effects of sin-mode and the fact that his mana was in fact almost full so he used that and the sudden arrogance of his opponent to his advantage. Anyone else in Nags''s situation would have surely thought the same thing. He needed a way to both stall for time and make his opponent embarrassed, just in case he''s forced into using his back up n that was still not ready at the moment. He wasn''t able to throw random insults to embarrass and buy time like he could have done with Jason. So... It was finally time¡­ He only had one option in his situation¡­ Moby was about to pull out his trump card, a move he had only discovered on ident when experimenting with his ability back at Jaydon''s personal mansion. "Not so talkative now are we? Did I put you in your ce? Did I show you the difference between mine and your strength? Or do you want me to make it even clearer for you!?" Nags said with an amused smile as he stared at Moby who was covered from head to toe with blood, dust, and wounds as he tightly grabbed his left arm that seemed like it was about to fall off with his right arm, hyperventting with ckened, bloody, painfilled eyes. "SHUT UP!" Moby roared with immense anger, a purple glint in his dusty eyes as he began to breathe quickly through his grinding teeth. He barely managed to lift both of his numb, extremely injured hands and created various small, almostughable shards of purple ice around him and out of his hands, shooting them at Nags in a fit of rage with a less than average speed presumably due to his heavy injuries. Nags, who now had the clear upper hand and who had more than certainly won could not help butugh at the sorry, helpless disy that was happening in front of him. The shards looked so small and so weak that he knew even the simplest of his shields would be able to fully block them. However, he decided to amuse his opponent''s pitiful act of desperation by enjoying himself, to even further imbed how helpless Moby was by showing him that he doesn''t even need the use of his shields to make his attacks futile and there was nothing he was able to do in his state. With a blissful smile on his face, he surfed through the air on his disk, humming his way as he easily dodged all of Moby''s iing attacks, sometimes throwing back attacks of his own that Moby ignored, taking head-on and further injuring him. However, after 30 seconds of repetitive actions and Moby''s state that now looked half-dead, throwing attacks that seemed to be nowpletely off target, Nags began to grow extremely bored. "Umm... I''ve stopped dodging... Seriously? Are you even trying to hit me!?" Nags asked as hepletely stopped in ce, ignoring the useless attacks that whizzed past his field of vision as he stared at Moby who was still throwing out attacks like a broken mad man, many blood vessels on his face that looked like they were about to explode, making him reply with unexpected confidence. "No!" "The Hell do you mean no!?" Nags replied with a mixture of mockery, anger and annoyance before he looked around himself with wide eyes, his mouth wide open, sweat running down his face. "W-w-w-Wah!?" What he saw was hundreds, if not thousands of small purple ice shards floating in the air around him. Out of the tips of those shards were some big, some small balls of purple energy that looked like they were about to shoot at any instance. He waspletely surrounded with nowhere to run... he waspletely trapped. ''I-impossible! No way he had that much mana left in his reserves! My power level is higher than him! And he shouldn''t have the strength or mental fortitude to control all that ice in his current state! He should barely be able to stay flying let alone do all this shit! What''s fucking going on? What kind of monster is he!?'' Moby could just sense the immense amount of strong emotions, now even including true fear and more shame and embarrassmenting from his opponent. His n worked out better than he had ever expected. Moby''s body that was on the verge of copse began to feel health and energying back into his system, his previously dull, hazy vision almost crystal clear. His mana and demon energy began growing at an incredible rate allowing him to pump more energy into his st than before, dumping everything new that he was regenerating into the attack to deliver a decisive fatal blow. Moby lifted his still bloody, numb right arm high up in the air, his hand wide open, a devilish smile on his face, the shadowy runic lines around his body flowing with more vigour. "Perish for your actions human and know your ce," Moby spoke, absolute death in his voice, closing his open right hand back into a fist, a glint in his purple eyes that grew even more brightly than before as he peered straight into Nags''s soul. "H-h-human¡­?" He slowly muttered under his breath as hundreds of purplesers sted straight in his direction, crashing straight into the barrier that he had previously erected, creating explosions and dust clouds that Moby could not help but smile at. Chapter 180 - Shalker!?

Chapter 180: Shalker!?

Moby stared at the explosions and multiple shes of purple light that lit up the night sky. Part of him felt like that his disy might have alerted some school staff but considering how far away from campus they were, it should have only been a small chance. But a chance was still a chance so he had to hurry up and get things over with just in case. Not to mention that his friends were probably still fighting and might require some assistance. Moby was about to run out of his sin mode in about 2 minutes and at this point, his energy reserves were almost depleted yet his health was now quarter full. He could finally move his body that was on the verge of copse normally once more which felt extremely refreshing to him. He wanted to speed things up but all he could do now was wait for the system alert telling him that he defeated his enemy. Then, just like he expected, a few secondster he was greeted by the sound of a notification. However, it was not the notification he wanted to see yet it still made him happy none the less. ''It should only be a few minutes now¡­'' He thought, staring at the notification before it disappeared. Then, Moby''s onught of attacks suddenly and abruptly came to a halt. However, he was yet to receive the notification telling him that he had defeated his opponent which was slightly rming. And, due to his now depleted mana, he was forced into removing the hundreds of floating ice shards that required an insane amount of mana and mental control as he could no longer sustain them due to his energy regeneration nowhere near being enough to keep up. Moby stared intently at the cloud of dust ahead of him. ''Interesting¡­ Did he actually managed to survive it or is it just a glitch in the system? Well time for the backup n then,'' Moby calmly thought. As the dust cleared, Nags''s heavily panting figure finally came into view, a blue, broken barrier surrounding him, blood dripping down his entire body. The ck armour that he once wore was now nowhere to be seen as it waspletely reced by his school uniform that had most likelyid underneath. The disk beneath his feet looked simr in shape to the blue barrier around his body. His bloody eyes were now sharp, deadly slits, his teeth were gritted, his legs were deeply bent, barely managing to stand on what remained of his flying disk and both of his hands were tightly clenched into trembling fists. Emotions were exuding out of him more than ever before, strengthening Moby even more. ''Well, shit¡­ He must have had some trick up his sleeve¡­'' "To think¡­ I was actually forced into using my shield of absolution¡­ My trump card¡­" Nags said in a low voice, most likely talking about his blue barrier. It was his final trump card that he could only use once per day. Shield of absolution. It allowed Nags to deflect a move no matter how strong it was all onto his armour. That was why his armour shattered. The extra injuries on Nags were brought about since his technique was not yet perfect and some energy managed to leak out and attack him. "I went into this fight thinking you were human¡­ But it seems like I had the wrong mindset¡­ That was my biggest miscalction¡­ Yourst words confirmed it all to me when you thought you had me dead! You aren''t human! You can''t be human! No human could do what you just did! This could only mean one thing! You''re a fucking shalker aren''t you!?" Nags yelled, pure hatred in his shrieking voice. "Huh!?" Moby immediately replied, not even trying to hide his surprise. "Don''t act stupid! What else could those horns mean? Or those lines under your eyes? All you have is1 extra horn, extra wings, and a different colour scheme! You must be some sort of evolved, or different breed of shalker that was sent to earth to spy on us! I''m not sure how the hell you''re able to use our abilities but that makes no difference to me now! I''m not sure if the boss knew this and that was why they wanted you but now that I know this, I don''t fucking care about these orders anymore! You''re fucking dead! You''re kind killed my sister!" Nags screamed, tears in his eyes and a crazy look on his face. "Think what you think, but I am no shalker. Shalkers were also responsible for killing my parents. I absolutely fucking hate them too, so I can somewhat rte to how you feel. It seems like everyone, no matter where you go was affected greatly by the war. If you want to attack me go ahead but you won''t be able to do shit dwarf," Moby said with a yawn, clear arrogance in his voice. Several bulging blood vessels appeared out of Nags''s face that now looked even crazier than before. Various barriers of all different colours appeared around Nags and on his hand as he prepared himself to strike. "Stop your lies fiend! And don''t get too cocky! I have yet to show you even a fraction of all that I have up my sleeve! Watch! I don''t need my armour to kill trash like you! Now di-" Nags said as he prepared himself to strike, only to feel a sudden, immense paine from his stomach. When he looked down, the only thing he managed to see was a bloody, iron fist jammed straight in, impaling him right where he felt all the pain. "H-huh w-what the¡­" He barely managed to mumble, coughing up mouthfuls of blood right in front of him as he stared at his wound with weary eyes that were beginning to be more and more ck. He had no idea what had just happened or who had just done that to him as he was not able to turn around. Yet, he still knew that it must have been the work of that filthy shalker who he managed to get a glimpse, with his devilish face and glowing eyes that could only be described as pure evil before he finally went into a deep sleep. "What the fuck is happening!? I can''t control my body! What did I just do! Am I dead! Is this a nightmare!? Naaaagggss!" A winged, big, muscr, spiky red hair man said, sweat running down his face as he shoved his hands right out of Nags''s body, making him fall straight down. "Shut your yappering! You''re now my demon servant so act like one Harpy! You need to get used to this or else you won''tst long with me! Pledge your undying loyalty to your new overlord and I might consider treating you like anything above a pile of trash," Moby replied with a smile on his face as he swooped down and grabbed the unconscious Nags by the head, taking pleasure in his new servant''s confused, frightening nature. Moby then focused his attention on Nags who was currently in his hand, and with an even bigger smile on his face, he began to infuse him with his demon energy to gain another servant. He assumed that one out of the barrage of hundreds of notifications would have been the ability to make even more servants. And from what he was seeing in front of him, that indeed did seem like it would be the case. "You! What have you done to me! What are you doing to Nags!? Is that what you also did to me!? What the fuck are you! I would never join you! I''d never betray the gang no matter-" "Shut your mouth," "Now bow," "Look me in the eyes," Moby ordered with clear authority, making him immediatelyply with each of them no matter how hard he tried to resist, immense sweat running down his face. As he stared deeply into the eyes of his master, he began to remember the hellish treatment he had gone through only a few minutes prior, making his skin crawl and all of his organs turn as he threw up buckets on the ground below. "Act nicely and I wouldn''t have to do that. That was just a small tease of what I can do to you so keep it safely with you as a reminder. I have the ability to both make you kill yourself and make you suffer the most brutal experiences without you being able to do anything about it. If I were you, I would be grateful to be turned into a demon. We have better strength, bodies, abilities, life spans and much more to name some things off the top of my head. Trust me, if you just follow my orders from now on, you''d see how much of a better leader I am than that sorry excuse for a gang you have," Moby continued, looking down at Jason who was now wide-eyed, trying to calm himself and catch his breath, his skin looking more like an ocean as he did not dare look Moby in the eyes or even respond from fear of what had happened to repeat itself, his mind spinning in circles as his path was now foggier and more unclear than ever before. With a sigh, Moby shifted his attention from Jason to Nags who was still in his hand absorbing his demon energy. "This should be enough," He said, stopping the purple light flowing out of his hands with a smile on his face. Chapter 181 - A Miserable Victory

Chapter 181: A Miserable Victory

Moby suddenly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. ''It seems like my sin-mode is about to run out, it''s almost been 5 minutes,'' He was not sure if when he lost his sin-mode in mid-air, he would fall down and get injured and he was not willing to take his chances because he indeed did think it would have been the case. As he looked at Nags''s unconscious body, squirming around and transforming in his right hand, Moby''s face could not help but smile even more. ording to the information he had gotten prior, the top 3 seats of the gang were the only people allowed to see the boss. Nags being the 3rd seat meant that he also knew such information. So, if he had met up with their boss in thest 2 weeks he would be able to both spy on their home of operations and their boss''s face using his memory maniption. And even if that was not the case, the amount he could extract from simple questioning would be immense. At this point, he had pretty much dered war on the entire Zexis gang so he needed to really prepare himself for anything that could happen and to gather as much information as possible. Also, with both Nags and Jason under his control for at least 1 week, if he made up a good enough excuse he could still use them as good spies, and if not then he could just continue with the premise that they were traitors who joined him and begged for mercy after they lost or something else along those lines. Part of him really wanted to check up on Ray and turn him into a demon to help out the rest of his friends with an extra member and another part of him really wanted to just drop Nags off at some random tree while he transformed to just rush over to his friends immediately. If he just left Ray alone, that would definitely put him in great danger in the case that he was found by someone from the gang and taken hostage. Especially now since Nags''s yellow barrier shattered and was no longer in use. That probably sent a message to everyone in the area that Nags and Jason, their 3rd and 4th seats have fallen and prompt them to escape and maybe stumble upon Ray in the process. Or, the gang might have just been smart enough to kidnap him again while they knew that Moby was distracted. There was only one thing he could do to help make up his mind and make the right choice, ask one of his friends for a status update. However, before he even got the chance to do anything, he heard a low voice echo inside his head¡­ It sounded like Alex, but his voice sounded broken, like nothing he had ever heard of him before so he had a hard timeing to terms that it was his voice speaking. ''Moby I have an update on the situation¡­ After you defeated their main force and shattered their protective barrier, the enemy retreated¡­'' ''Shit! That''s going to be a problem if they saw your demon powers and want to expose you in front of the school! How many escaped!?'' ''Don''t worry about that, there were around 30 people in total and only 1 person escaped. We used our demon powers smart enough that it didn''t look like we were even using them¡­'' ''Oh, if that''s the case then there should be nothing to worry about right? What''s with the sad attitude? Ray ispletely safe and I even got control of the 3rd and 4th seats of the gang. Things are looking great!'' ''W-well¡­ They took¡­ They took¡­'' ''Did they take something important like a piece of armour? Don''t worry, they won''t be able to get much out of it since only demons can benefit from them,'' ''No! Th-they took Abby! They kidnapped her!'' Moby''s eyes grew wide, as soon as he heard Alex''s words he couldn''t believe his own ears. No, it was just that he didn''t want to believe them. He was in such a good, optimistic mood after he had somehow managed to win both of his fights and now arrived one of the worst news imaginableing in to ruin his entire way of thinking. ''I was the one who dragged her into this¡­ is it my fault? Did I bite more than I could chew?'' A feeling of difort bigger than almost any other welled up in his heart that began to immensely hurt with each pump, making him clench it tightly. A dark, ck aura began to well up from all around him, his anger clearly flowing right through it almost like it was going to eat and devour everything in his path. A wide yet mellow grin that could only be described as pure madness sprouted on his face, making him look like a ticking time bomb that was ready to explode and unleash havoc at any instance. He instinctively clenched both of his fists, Nags''s head being in his right, almost smashing his skull into a million pieces before Moby found a little restraint to hold himself back from crushing him like a grape. When he thought of Abby''s bright, smiling, hard-working face and the fact that he might never see her again made his heart swell even more, it was like he had lost his daughter or some part of him that he didn''t even realize that he had or needed. He suppressed some tears from falling down his purple eyes that were shifting and turning into a slightly moreplex pattern. ''WHERE ARE THEY!? Which way did he go!? Why the fuck are you not following them! How could you let this happen!?'' Moby''s voice resounded in the mind-link, his unbridled, unfiltered rage on full disy. ''Do you think if I could tell you all of that I wouldn''t have told you already!? And if I could follow them I would have done so already!? I''m too fucking injured and weak to do shit! Do you think I don''t already know that it''s my fault! Of course I do! If only I was stronger! If only I had trained even harder all of this could have been averted! Even with all this new power, I''m a fucking failure! I''ve learned nothing from back then! It''s all the same!'' Alex''s voice resounded back, nearly matching Moby''s vigour, tears running down his face like a waterfall making Moby calm himself down just a little. ''Okay, I get it¡­ I''m sorry, it''s not your fault, I know you did your best, I just had to take my anger out somewhere and decided to take it out on you without thinking. I''ll go get Ray ande to you to get you healed. We only have 1 hour or so before the watches ring so we need to get out of the forest immediately. I''ll try my best to find and locate them using my bond. Don''t worry, mark my words, if I find out that they evenid a single finger on her, I''ll fucking tear them to shreds, annihte everyst one of them, I''ll make them wish that they were never even born,'' Moby replied, his anger nowhere near being quenched or suppressed. Moby closed his eyes and tried to focus on the energy signature of his kidnapped teammate. He had some sort of special bond with every single one of his family members and it allowed him to among other things, track down their exact location. It was exactly what he used so that he and Jayden''s team could meet up during their exams. He knew that she wasn''t dead. However, right now, for some unknown, inexplicable reason, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he focused, he was unable to find a single trace of her. A bad feeling crept up in his heart once more, it was another reminder that his powers were not absolute, just like when his mind-link did not work when he was stuck in the cave with Travis and Jay and when Jayden was being interrogated in the general''s office while he was on the roof. This meant that his opponent was either cautious about tracking and used some magic crystals or that they now somehow knew about his powers. The first option seemed to be the most usible, or it was just the option that Moby wanted to believe. He inwardly cursed, not being able to contact or track her ruined most of his ns. The kidnapper was definitely far away from the forest by now. If he was able to escape and defeat all of his friends it meant that he must have been at least the second or even first seat of the gang. He still had a lot of questions to ask, Both to Alex and Jason and Nags who could definitely help him. Right now, the most useless, idiotic thing he could do was search aimlessly for her location with no lead to go on. It would have just been a waste of time and his chances of actually finding them would be almost none. He took a deep breath. He couldn''t let his anger take over, making him do ridiculous things that he would no doubt regretter on. To find them, he needed to think rationally. And that meant to for now tend to his injured teammates, and get out of the forest and interrogate everyone for as much information as possible. ''Fuck! I can''t locate or contact Abby! Where''s Jayden? Why am I not able to contact her either?'' Moby asked Alex who was still sobbing in anger. ''She''s unconscious, she was knocked out. The guy could have taken her too, but he didn''t for some reason. When he looked at Jayden, he shuddered and flinched before forgetting about it and leaving.'' ''Hmmm¡­ I see¡­ for now, let''s just focus on recovering and gathering intel, we can''t really do anything else in our situation. We can''t be acting recklessly at times like these. I still have no idea what happened on your end so I''m going to be needing you and Jayden to exin everything. And, my 2 new pets will also be more than willing to help us too¡­'' Moby said, his voice now calmer but his mind still in anguish, trying his best to y the part of a calm and collected leader. ''Y-yes of course¡­'' Alex mumbled back, still unable to ept his reality. "As for you Harpie, I need you to do some exining¡­ Wouldn''t that be just great helping out your new master?" Moby said in a low ominous voice, crouching down to Jason''s eye level with a smile. Jason was on the ground still in a bowing position. He had just witnessed Moby''s disy of power and anger and was now even more frightened of him than before. But for some reason, despite all that he had gone through, part of him was stillpletely loyal to his gang. "Ha! From the looks of it, it seems like HikariYami had already fucked up all of your reinforcements and now He''s going to-" Jason nervously said, trying to sound tough before he was promptly cut of by Moby''s whose smile grew wider and friendlier. "How brain dead are you? How have you not yet learned your lesson? Did they brainwash you or something? I don''t think you understand that your own gang now sees you and your friend as nothing more than traitors, they won''t being back for you. And, even if they did, I''ll just force you to shut up and fight them. So, here''s another lesson... You don''t really need your eyes to tell me what happened do you? Gouge them out," Moby ordered in a friendly yet ominous tone that sent shivers down his spine. Jason gulped, Before he knew it, his hands had been moving by themselves with nothing he could do to stop them. It was a feeling he thought he could never get used to, the feeling of seeing your body do something on its own while you''re still conscious. In his case now, he was staring at his open fists that were slowly drawing closer to his vision that he knew would eventually rip them out as he began to scream and cry to no avail, his eyeballs now both in his open palm. "Don''t worry, they will regenerate soon enough. Now, let''s go meet up with the others and then you could exin your story again, but in a better way. How does that sound? I''m very low on time and patience so I wouldply quietly if I were you," Chapter 182 - An Odd Encounter

Chapter 182: An Odd Encounter

1 hour prior... In the pitch-ck forest only illuminated by moonlight, 2 fully armoured people were hopping from tree to tree in a great hurry, sticking together and matching each other''s speed. One was a beautiful, stern-faced girl, her red hair tied into a ponytail that fell down and touched the scythe strapped around her back. She was apanied by a fairly tall man of lean stature, his rough-looking purple hair flowing in the air, a faint glowing from his now red pupils, a ck and purple spear on his back instead of his partner''s scythe. They were of course none other than Alex and Abby who had just received their signals to engage. They both decided to keep their weapons on each other as to not just suddenly pull them out of their inventory when storage rings were supposed to be disabled. Plus, they did not weigh that much so it did not even slow them down in the slightest thanks to Moby''s expert craftsmanship. As they were nearing their destination, Alex, who was leading the way managed to spot something ruffling in the distance using his knight vision¡­ something was undoubtedly wrong¡­ ''Wait! Stop!'' Alex ordered, opening a mind-link between him and Abby, putting his hands out to stop her. ''What are you doing?! My lord asked for us to reach him as soon as possible! He might be in trouble and requires our assistance!?Exin yourself! What''s the meaning of this!?'' ''Shhh! calm down! I sense something ahead!'' ''What!? Really!? I don''t feel or see anything? How do you know?'' ''Well, It''s part of being a knight, I''m still not perfect at it but I''m getting there. There''s no way we could go help Moby when these guys are in the way. I''m sure they''ve already seen us too. Plus, these guys definitely have a purpose for being here. Taking them out would also end up helping out in the end. They might be some sort of back up in case the main force fails,'' ''Ahhh... I see¡­ nice thinking! We''ll take these guys out then immediately rush over to help my lord,'' Alex nodded at Abby''s words before taking a deep breath, looking in front of him as he yelled with a confident voice. "Hey! Show yourself! We know you''re there! No point in hiding anymore!" No one answered¡­ Nearplete silence with only the sound of a few crickets and animals that were verymon in the forest. Then, right before Alex was about to make another threat, sound could now suddenly be heard. *p* *p* *p* *p* The noise of pping apanied by a peal of subtle cuteughter could be heard from behind a tree, making both Abby and Alex stop and look at the direction of the sound, killer intent in their eyes ready to rain attacks if needed. A skinny, short girl emerged out from behind the tree, her hands still pping. Her silky smooth looking hair was as white as snow and only fell down right above her shoulders. Her breasts could not even be seen through therge long, pure white coat that was clearly too big for her,pletely covering her mouth, only showing her beautiful white eyes, eyebrows and nose. Despite her hair being white, she had fair, smooth skin making her look no older than any other student, the look of pure joy in her white eyes. She looked almost like a cute ghost, not like anyone either he or Abby had ever seen in their 2 months of school so far. "Wowie! What a surprise! 2 love birds have scurried off to somewhere they should have never gone. You actually managed to sense my presence! Hehe, I''m impressed! I thought I was hiding pretty well! So, what are you fellows doing in such a fine neck of the woods? Where you trying to be adventurous and make love? If so then I''m going to have to rain on your parade but beyond here is out of bounds. I''m sowie, but you need to find somewhere else to go and continue your love making. Now shoo! Hehe," "C-cut the crap girl! We''re clearly no such thing! Now, are you part of the Zexis gang? If not then get out of our way and l-" Alex said before being suddenly and abruptly interrupted by a sight he never expected to see in a million years. *p* His opponent had suddenly pped herself in the face, seemingly out of nowhere, greatly startling him and Abby that both stared at her in confusion. Then, what confused them even more, was that the opponent that had been standing in front of them hadpletely changed out of nowhere. Everything on her body that was previously white had just suddenly turned pitch ck, all of her hair, eyebrows, and even clothing, confirming that she was wearing magic armour, immediately transformed. Her fun looking eyes full of enthusiasm switching into something much more serious, she was like apletely different person. ''What the fuck is going on!?'' Both he and Abby thought in unison. "You idiot! Those guys are important enemies! You can''t just let them go free! How much more stupid can you get!?" She said, her attitude and yful voice now being much deeper and more grave. "Wait¡­ Now that I can get a closer look¡­ yeah! You''re right! These are important enemies! good job Yami-chan!" she said, in a yful mood, her hair switching back to white. "God damn it Hikari, one of these days you''re going to get us both killed with how brain dead you are. The boss has let us, by us I mean you off with so much shit that I doubt she would have let something as big as this slide," "Yami-chan! You''re always so stressed! Just rx and take it easy like me! Hehe, everything worked out fine didn''t it?" "It worked out fine because I was here dipshit! Fuck! You''re useless without me!" "I know you don''t really mean that Yami-chan! We''re one of the-" Alex and Abby did not fully understand what in the hell was going on as it was their first time ever witnessing such a thing.?Colour changing and split personalities were not a verymon sight to say the least. But in a world filled with superpowers, it would not be too hard to believe the existence of such a phenomenon. So, despite theirck of concrete knowledge, they felt like they had a fairly good idea from what they had managed to observe so far. She kept on switching every time they wanted to talk, they were almost like 2pletely different, shing people forced into inhabiting the same body. Due to the extensive catalogue of anime that Alex had watched, hepletely understood what their names were meant to be, Hikari being light and Yami being darkness. His opponent did seem like someone from country X, where Japan used to be located over 100 years ago. He was still unsure of what was going on with the split person ordeal but he assumed that their names had deeper meaning since the white-haired counterpart seemed to be more light and joyful and the ck-haired one seemed to be more dark and serious. The 2 kept on arguing, not even paying any attention to Abby and Alex who were both still standing in front of them, their conversation dragging on with seemingly no end in sight. "I don''t have time for this shit! Get the fuck out of my way or I''ll force myself through!" Alex yelled, summoning lightning out of his spear to attack the unknown person in front of him who was getting more and more on his nerves. However, even though she seemedpletely distracted, she still managed to easily sidestep out of the way like it was nothing, making Alex go wide-eyed. That confirmed that their opponent was clearly strong. So, they both decided to wait and inspect "their" actions. They could not act too hasty and just force their way through quickly like they had first wanted. "Hey! How rude! We were having a conversation here! Didn''t your mommies teach you any manners?" The white hair girl said with clear annoyance. "Hey! Ren! Come here!" She ordered, seemingly to no one. Then, from behind another tree from where they stood emerged a short, blonde-haired boy, a nervous look on his otherwise stern, rigid face. "Yes, you called? lord HikariYami," He said, bowing down not even daring to look at her in the eyes. "Hey! Renren! I told you to call me tan this week! Not lord! Did you already forget?" "N-n-no! Of course not lor-I mean HikariYami-tan!" "Kfukfu! Much better!" Hikari said before switching back to Yami, "Oh my god can you stop being such a fucking otaku! At this rate we''ll never get any work done! Ren, analyze their powers for me!" She ordered in a harsh voice, sending shivers down his spine. "O-okay H-Hikari Yami-tan¡­" "Call me lord! Say tan one more time and I''ll fuck you up!" "Y-yes lord!" He said, taking in a gulp of saliva, closing his eyes before doing what he was told. Blue mana surrounded and swirled around his right eye, allowing him to gauge the strength of his enemies. It was a useful ability when someone''s watch could not be seen, which was what was happening in their case right now since their opponent''s watches were under their armour. "Do you think I''m just going to stand here and do nothing? Think again!" Abby yelled as she hastily bolted over towards the short boy''s location with immense speed, boosting herself from her feet with fire, swinging her ming scythe down with immense vigour. However, when she attacked, it seemed like it did nothing but create a crater on the ground under her. What she hit was nothing but an illusion, it was almost like swinging at the air. "H-how!?" Abby blurted before the familiar sound of pping suddenly entered her ears *p* *p* "Impressive! You sure are quick missy!" A cute sounding voice came from above them, making them both look up only to see both of their opponents just sitting casually on the top of a tree, Ren looking nervous while Hikari was just eating bites from a nearby apple. Part of Alex''s knight ability allowed him to have better sensory and vision. And, despite the fact that he was not able to see past her illusion, he still felt a feeling deep inside of himself that there was something wrong even before Abby had attacked but his uncertainty didn''t allow him to stop her from attacking as there was still great doubt in his heart. Then, suddenly, a yellow barrier a few kilometres in front of them, exactly where Moby was located was erected out of seemingly nowhere, which probably meant that they were toote to help Moby out and his fight had already started. And, with that barrier around the area, it would be much harder for them to enter. "Ooowie! It seems like Nagsy and Jaysy have finally started their fight with the big guy! When I was chosen as backup and scout I thought that I would not get the chance to fight since I know the 2 boys will definitely take care of the main target! I thought they just sent me here for no reason and that I would be bored all day but thank you for proving me wrong! Thanks to you, This night will be so super duper mega fun! Isn''t that right Renren?" Hikari said, looking down at her opponents before turning to see the shaking, beyond frightened Ren to her side with a smile. "Y-yes of course HikariYami-tan is never wrong!" "Didn''t I order you to call me fucking lord!?" She switched, her hair turning ck, preparing herself to punch him, pure anger and annoyance in her voice making Ren pass out just from her screams alone as it felt like he saw his life sh right before his eyes. Chapter 183 - Little Puppets

Chapter 183: Little Puppets

"Yami-chan! You scared him too much! I told him to call me that! Why do you have to be such a meanie weenie!?" Hikari yelled, taking control before Yami''s fists made contact with the unconscious Ren''s face. "Well, he made the mistake of saying it when I was in control even after I warned him! I''m not weird like you! I don''t want to be addressed like that when I am clearly superior!" "You switched so abruptly that he had no clue it was you in control! And what''s so bad about how I want to be called? Are you being a meanie weenie to me too Yami-chan?" "My god Hikari if I could kill you I would have done so a long, long time ago! I don''t know how I''ve lived with you for so long!" "Hey! I know you don''t really mean that Yami-chan! You just have a bad temper and blurt things out without actually meaning them. We''re sisters after all! No! We are even closer! Hehe!" "Th-" It seemed like the girl who was now known to them as HikariYami was having a conversation with herself once more, sitting from on top of a tree. Attacking them when they appeared to be distracted seemed to not be a viable option since they had just easily dodged thest time they attempted. So, their best course of action would be to wait and see their opponent''s moves to analyze their power and know their level of strength. They were at a severe disadvantage since their ability had already been revealed, and even if that were not the case they were almost certain that the enemy had prior knowledge of their abilities and levels of strength. So, they used the opportunity that their opponent had given them to report the situation to Moby in a quick and concise way just in case he was fighting and as to not worry him about theirte arrival. Moby had informed them that the watches that were used to alert the school about dead students had been disabled for the next 2 hours and that he allowed them to use their demon energy as long as they can ensure that they could kill everyone in sight as for the information to not leak out. The order to kill everyone came with no resistance from either Alex or Abby. Alex definitely knew that some gang members could possibly be innocent people that were just forced into joining but at that point he could not care less, saving Ray was his top priority and anyone who came in his way was the enemy. Yet, they both decided that keeping their demon energy a secret and using it only as ast resort seemed to be the best option for them. "Fine! You win! I apologize!" Yami''s voice of defeat resounded in the air. "Hehe, this means that I get to take over for the rest of the fight! It''s only fair, isn''t it? I''ll take that as your token of apology!" "What kind of bullshit are you spouting! This is not some sort of game!" "Pleeeease?" She asked with over-exaggerated sad puppy eyes. "F-fine! But only this once!" "You promise!?" "I know I am definitely gonna regret this but sure! Go ahead! I promise! Those 2 are all yours!" "Yayy! Thanks, Yami-chan! You''re the best!" White HikariYami pped her hands together, her rosy cheeks going up meaning that she was definitely smiling from under the long coat covering her mouth. Abby and Alex had just finished their conversation with Moby and now instinctively prepared themselves for anything that she might throw their way. *Snap* "Go! Show yourselves my little toys!" She said in a yful tone, seemingly talking to nobody. If anything she seemed to be bluffing, Alex had already sensed all around the area and he was not able to feel a single living presence. Alex was fully expecting to be fighting either mirages or illusions like when Abby had struck her only for her to disappear. That was what he had assumed her ability to be. And now that he knew that information, he felt confident in his knight vision to be able to discern an illusion from the real deal. However, to his surprise, around 30 people, all wearingpletely ck, their eyes not even able to be seen through the slits of their helmets appeared and surrounded them out of nowhere, each personfortably sitting on the branch of a tree. Alex immediately went wide-eyed as he stared at all the armoured people around him that he had not sensed at all ''What the fuck is going on Alex? I thought you said that there were only them 2! Are they illusions?'' Abby said using mind-link, gripping her scythe more tightly than before, making Alex reply almost as confused as she was. ''They are not illusions I can tell you that much¡­ I have no clue how they were able to stay undetected until now¡­'' ''Well, that doesn''t really matter now does it? All it means is that we have to beat the shit out of them to get to the girl right?'' Abby said with a smile on her face, she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, the faster she takes out her opponent, the faster she could reach and help her lord. "Now! Go attack them my little dolls!" She said, putting her right arm out with an open palm in an extremely dramatic way. Without even saying a single word, the 30 people that could only be described as assassins jumped out from the trees in unison, almost like they were a perfectly trained, unified force,pletely in sync. That fact alone gave Alex a bad feeling, it most likely meant that they must be of a respectable level of strength, and not some random throwaway low rankers. This helped Alex make up his mind, choosing to activate his demon powers now rather thanter. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his spear tightly gripping his right hand. All of a sudden, shes of different colours appeared and glowed all around him one by one in a split second before fading away. Red, green, blue, yellow, purple and a few more were among those colours, each one signifying a different change in the body, Extra speed, strength, energy regeneration, defence, perception, and many more were part of those increases. However, his powers did have a few major downsides, the first was that it had a set time limit. So far, due to hiscking control, that time limit varied from anything as low as 1 minute up to as high as 10 minutes, that was why it was a risky move. The second and most important downside was that so far, the only way he knew how to activate his strengthening skills was to cause damage to himself, both internally and externally. Alex was by no means a masochist and did not find any pleasure with self-harm, however, for power, he was more than willing to pay the price as he thought it was well worth it for what he gains out of it. That along with his Knight vision that allowed him even greater vision, perception, and sensing powers than eyes of sin, that was all that Alex had so far discovered about his new demon powers. Unlike his peers who seemed to have learned, controlled, and picked up on new demon skills with ease did not apply to him at all. Controlling his demon energy was a big challenge, taking several days while both Abby and Jayden only needed a few minutes. And his powers did note naturally to him, he had to try and fail, experimenting with new things, hurting himself immensely in the process until he found an appropriate skill. He would be lying if he said that he wasn''t jealous of his friends but that only meant that he had to work harder to discover and perfect his abilities. It was not very different from how he had first learned his lightning ability, although it was admittedly much easier to learn and pick up on, and definitely less painful, although part of that could have been attributed to his family''s teachings and guidance. He cloaked himself in his usual lightening, enhancing all of his attributes even further and struck towards the first enemy that came his way. As he struck him with all his might, he pierced and cracked right through their armour, sending them flying and breaking a nearby tree. Anyone looking at the encounter from the outside would have thought nothing weird from it but it was far from the truth, making Alex extremely skeptical. The armour felt like it was hollow and despite the clear, immense amount of damage he had caused, his opponent had not even made a single sound, no cry, grunt, or scream. It was very unusual, even the most trained of soldiers make sounds when being fatally wounded but that person made no such sound. However, before he had the time to think further, he was attacked once more from his back, making him thrust his spear from its blunt backside, striking the attacker in the stomach before turning around and punching them in the face. 6 attackers showed up from above, making Abby open her palm out, sting them straight out of the sky with immense heat, some of her excess mes managed to catch some of the grass and trees on fire, making her put them out with nothing but thought due to her increasing control over her ability. 3 attackers came from behind, making Alex swiftly dodge back, striking and changing his lightning through several attackers'' armour that seemed to be a great conductor. Swirling her ming scythe while using it to manoeuvre at the same time, Abby managed to swiftly eliminate various enemies, any enemy that was unfortunate enough to be in her path was immediately melted and blown away, only managing to at timesnd a few insignificant strikes if they were lucky. Together, with great teamwork that seemed almost too natural, they managed to quickly take out and overpower all of the attackers that were all well below both of their levels despite their great number advantage. "Hey! What are you doing! We should just quickly take them out and get it over with! Why are you just waiting around! This is no time for games!" "Hehe, you promised that I could be the one to take them both so I decided that I can finally have some fun without you ruining it!" "You little!" "Don''t be like that! You should loosen up! It''s no big deal, Nagsy and Jasy will definitely win their fights and I am guaranteed to win too so if the oue is the same why not just enjoy ourselves while doing it! Hehe!" "So much for your fun! Your troops are already defeated!" "Oh! Wowie! They are much stronger than I expected! Time to up the difficulty a little and see how they handle it," She said in a casual, yful tone as she stared down towards Alex and Abby that were staring right back at them with more confidence than before. Chapter 184 - Little Puppets (2)

Chapter 184: Little Puppets (2)

"Hey! Wake up youzy bumbs! No sleeping on the job! Get them!" Hikari yelled, throwing an angry yet oddly cute fit on the tree branch above, right as Alex and Abby were preparing to attack. When Alex and Abby heard their opponent''s words, they had the urge to burst out intoughter. They had no doubt in their mind that those people armoured in ck were either unconscious, dead, or unable to fight. In their perspective, all they saw was an angry child, a sore loser throwing a temper tantrum because things didn''t go their way and were moments away from defeat. As soon as Alex was about to make one of his usual snarky retorts, he felt sudden unease around him. The sound of shaky metal nking filled the air¡­ The armoured people that were littered all around the battlefield like trash suddenly stood up and began moving as if nothing happened to them. And without hesitation, they brought back out their weapons and rushed over towards both Abby and Alex as a unified force, their critical injuries seeming to not slow them down or hinder them at all. This made Alex''s confidence begin fading away immediately as many thoughts that he had thought before came back into his mind. ''Where is the blood?'' ''Where is their sound?'' ''Where is the smell of burning flesh?'' ''Why are they not using any ability? Do they all just have simple, non-visual ones?'' It reminded Alex of the undead creatures that Abby had shown him prior. They didn''t tire, and any usually fatal injuries to specific organs didn''t do as much damage due to their state of death that does not require any working organs or blood cirction. He wanted to voice his theories to Abby who he thought no doubt was thinking the same thing but with the hoard of iing enemies, it seemed to be impractical and only served as a distraction. Although his enemies were weak and easily defeated thest time, he could not allow himself to grow careless and let his guard down. The most he could do now was try his best to unmask who was under the armour to see if his theory of his opponent not being human was true. An arrow was shot to his back, and, with his enhanced sensory, he managed to catch the arrow in mid-air without even looking in its direction. The arrow in hand, he twisted his body towards where the attack was shot and sent the arrow hurling straight back at the attacker through the small seeing hole of their armour with even greater speed than it was originally shot at him, enhancing it with his own lightning to add a shocking effect to the attack and make it more potent. Then, 3 people in front of him shed down towards him all at once, prompting him to extend his spear to out range his enemies, chaining his lightning through all of them like he had done before which proved to be somewhat effective. Not even a momentter, he felt another persone up from behind him with a sword, prompting him to slip his spear forward and strike them from the back with the hilt. However, when he did, the attacker suddenly and unexpectedly dodged, sidestepping his strike which greatly surprised Alex. It was almost like he was expecting that to happen and dodged before Alex even began his attack. Alex cursed as he tried to force his body to evade but he was unable to fully do it in time, leading to his opponent shing him in the chest with his broadsword, sending him flying and rolling across the grass. *p* *p* *p* "Yeah! Get him! That''s the way you do it! Whoo hoo!" The sound of HikariYami cheering and celebrating like she was cheering for her favourite team in a sporting event filled his ears, making him clench his teeth and grip his spear tightly, steeling his resolve as he tried his best to ignore the pain and filter out her annoying voice to focus on the opponent in front of him. The same person who had just flung him across the battlefield was once again in front of him, trying to perform a simple, almost robotic sh. Without hesitation, Alex grabbed him by his hollow feeling helmet and discharged a great amount of electricity that flowed and ravaged around his entire body. His opponent that seemed to be around the same level of strength as all the others was as slow as a snail, exactly like he remembered him. It confirmed that his power did not increase at all yet he somehow managed to dodge an attack that seemed to be impossible to dodge at his level. It felt odd that his opponent did not squirm around or react ording to how any other human in his situation would react. If anything, he seemedpletely fine and unhindered. Unknown to him, that was exactly the case... Ignoring the high amount of electricity flowing through his body, the armoured person shed towards Alex who had thought he had his opponent dead or at least unconscious, causing a fair wound on his chest. Blood began dripping from his wound, his eyes filled with shock as he did not predict what had just happened. ''From when were they immune to lightning? Were they just faking it from before?'' With his hand still tightly gripping the enemy''s helmet and without any hesitation, he ripped it right off, revealing who or what it was hiding underneath. ''I-impossible! Human!?'' He inwardly thought, not even hiding his surprise. It was definitely thest thing he was expecting, his opponent''s actions, mannerisms and movements were anything but human and he could not allow himself toe to terms with what his naked eye was seeing. So, that was what he did¡­ ''Wait¡­ No! It''s an illusion!?'' When he used his knight vision and focused hard on the face of his opponent, the human face began to fade away and be reced by white light. They were no undead¡­ No not at all¡­?Far from it They were light puppets that his opponent had been controlling, highly intelligent ones at that. Everything suddenly made sense to him. That was why usual attacks seemed to bepletely ineffective against them, and why theycked basic human things like blood, sound, and pain. As long as their opponent had mana, they could fight and the more they fought the more they learned and the more ustomed to their opponent''s movements they were which was how his opponent had managed to dodge his attack despite him not growing any stronger. Yet, that did not change the fact that he still needed to find some way to defeat them. He had no idea how efficient HikariYami''s skill was and howrge her mana reserve was and he had no time to wait and find out. He needed some way to kill them, to sever their ties to their puppet master who was for some reason not joining the fight which made him believe that she was very weak and only strong due to her puppets. He noticed dozens of armoured puppets headed his way so he had no time to experiment extensively, so, he just did the first thing that came up in his mind. He surrounded his hands with lightning and opened them both, forming them like spears before he struck right through the metal armour of his opponent. Then, with his physical strength, he ripped the entire set of armour in half, throwing the empty, split, broken armour towards a few of his rushing opponents to slow them down, causing a pulse of light as soon as the armour was destroyed, making him inwardly smile. ''They are just light puppets! They aren''t human! The only way to kill them is to destroy their armour!'' Alex yelled to Abby who seemed to be somewhat struggling against the puppets that she had just beaten before like they were nothing. ''I had a sneaking suspicion that it was the case! Good call! That changes everything!'' Abby yelled back, clear struggle in her voice. Armed with new knowledge, Abby and Alex managed to hold off the constant onught of attacks headed their way as they tried their best to destroy all the armoured puppets. Abby trying to smash and melt them while Alex tried to rip them apart. They had managed to kill a few but the ones remaining seemed to only be getting stronger and more ustomed to their moves, making them still struggle. Watching the battle from above was the clearly entertained HikariYami still sitting beside Ren who was unconscious and foaming from the mouth. "It seems like they figured you out! What now? You gonna join and finally end it?" "Hehe, I was surprised that they managed to see through my illusion so easily even when they are so weak. But, It doesn''t matter, even if they get past my little toys which I doubt they could, I still have everything under control! Just let me have my fun and keep your promise!" "Yeah, yeah I''ll keep my promise. You don''t have to remind me!" Yami''s annoyance was not at all subtle, she clearly felt no joy in ying such games and wanted to end things as fast as possible to get the job done. Suddenly, out of nowhere, from the high tree she was sitting on, HikariYami managed to spot a figure moving in the forest,ing closer and closer to their direction. "Ooo! Is that another target! More fun for me!" "Oh no you fucking don''t! If that is a target then they are all mine! I only promised that you could have those 2! I said nothing about a third person!" "Ughh fine! You can have them Yami-chan, I guess I was being a bit selfish trying to hog all the fun¡­" "Haha! I''m d you understand! You might be kinda stupid and annoying at times but I guess you''re not that bad at times too," Yami said with an amusedugh, making Hikari feel warm inside as she took it as apliment. Chapter 185 - Darkness...

Chapter 185: Darkness...

After some unexpected dys, Jayden who was in her wisp form had finally entered the school''s forest in a hurry, flying through it as fast as possible to reach her destination. As she was flying deeper and deeper into the seemingly endless sea of trees, she managed to spot a yellow dome-like barrier surrounding a specific area ofnd, she knew that it was no doubt Nags''s barrier that she was informed about. As she drew closer and closer to it, she managed to make out Moby in that form she saw him in back during the exam, pping his wide, half-devil half-dragon wings, dodging the attacks of his opponent as he rushed towards him. However, unlike thest time, this time he looked like he was in control of the form and not berserk like he was when she pulled that sick prank on him, pretending that she was dead. If anything, she thought he looked even hotter and cooler in that new form of his, making her non-existent wisp cheeks turn flushed red as she continued flying in his direction. They were both moving and maneuvering so quickly that it became somewhat hard for her to keep up, even with her enhanced demon senses, they were just on 2pletely different levels. Still, she was sure that at the end of the blitz-like fast encounter it would be Moby who was undoubtedly on top. Yet, after a yellow explosion,pletely unlike what she had expected, it was Moby that seemed to be the one who had lost and greatly injured himself with many disks flying at him from behind. When she saw what she saw, Her anger grew as she felt her now non-existent heart ache like it had suddenly broken and exploded into a million pieces. She wanted to do nothing more than to stop and fly towards him to help. However, despite all the pain that seeing her lover in such a state brought her, she could not allow herself to do that, it would only show ack of trust. Moby had already ordered her to stay away from his fight, most likely because she would only serve to be a hindrance in the end and make things harder. Of course, she fully understood that fact and didn''t get mad at him because she also knew that she was still weakpared to all of her peers. She now had the urge, and wanted strength and power more than ever before in her life, she did not want to be useless and fall behind all of her friends. All her life, she had never trained or even bothered to get any stronger, she thought that due to her family power, she was safe and no one would even dare try and harm her. And, even if they did try to hurt her, she could always just send her butler after them. She only thought about herself and her own well being and survival overall. But now it was different, she had gained so much more in the past month¡­ Good, real friends that cared about her more than just for her money and an actual lover that she cared about as a person and not just as her personal ve and sex toy. Her parents had tried to force her to train but she would always reject because she waszy and didn''t think there would be any benefit in doing so. But now thanks to her previous carelessness and overconfidence, she was not able to do anything to help her love in her current situation where only her own powers mattered, not the power and influence of her family. So, despite how much it hurt her, all she could do now was have faith in Moby and follow her orders of helping Alex and Abby. Jayden shook her head, trying to stay focused on her task at hand as she swooped down into the forest and turned from her wisp form back into her normal body and decided to travel the rest of the distance on foot. Staying in wisp form was a very risky endeavour. Wisps were so fragile that even rain was more than enough to kill them. So, that meant that anything unexpected like debris, or a stray attack would be more than enough to kill her in 1 shot and she was not willing to take the risk. Although she was in a rush, she would much rather bete than sorry... bete and alive to help than just be dead. She had already had a few close calls in the city, more than she had expected which was why she was sote. And, with all the fights going on in the forest and due to the clearer non-urban sky, she would be more easily spotted by the enemy and taken out faster than she could react, even if she tried to mask herself in her shadows since she was not fullyfortable using it in a non-human body which was more than enough reason to now travel on foot. When shended on the ground, she just sped towards Abby and Alex''s location at her top speed. She had already used a good chunk of her demon energy on her way from her house to the school''s forest and her mana reserves were running slightly low from trying to mask her presence in the air. So, since she doubted that anyone would be able to spot her in extreme darkness and under such a thickyer of trees, she decided against using a lot of her mana to cloak herself so she could have enough to fight and not just reach her destination only to be useless. And, she decided against transforming into some sort of animal like a wolf since she was still not yet proficient at walking on all 4s, making her much slower, and time was something that she was very low on. ''I am 1 or so minutes away from your guys'' location, I aming to help, it shouldn''t take long,'' Jayden said, opening a mind-link between her, Alex and Abby. ''Why!? Shouldn''t you be helping my lord! We can handle things here alone! My lord''s safety is the top priority!'' Abby responded with clear vigour, heavily panting and struggling. ''He ordered me not to help him and help you instead, and once we defeat this enemy, we can all go and help him together,'' Jayden retorted. ''I see¡­ If my lord wills it then it shall be done, his¡­ will¡­ is¡­ absolute,'' Abby replied, stopping after some words as her struggles became more and more apparent to Jayden. ''Okay! Listen! Before youe I need to inform you on what''s happening! We are going against light puppets! Our enemies are not even human! They are not that physically strong but they adapt and grow extremely powerful which is why it''s a real struggle to kill them. I don''t think you can turn into them with your powers but If you can copy their armour, they might think you are one of them and sabotage them. Or, maybe you could sneak- ******* Wai ***** Shi***Wa*****Th***Fu**** Wat***Out!***Sh**** Goh****--------'' Alex said, his voice suddenly bing more and more choppy and full of static until his voice could no longer be heard. ''Hello! Abby? Alex!? Can you guys here me? What happened?'' She yelled back only to receive no response. It was almost like a bad call connection only more supernatural. Jayden''s eyes grew wide, she never even thought that what happened could be even possible since she thought their mind-link was nigh invincible and couldn''t be tampered with by outside sources. She knew that something was definitely wrong¡­ Alex was clearly trying to warn her about something but he was suddenly cut off by some unknown means. She took out her daggers from her inventory and prepared herself for anyone and anything that mighte her way. However, she did not stop her movement and advances towards the battlefield since what happened might have also meant that Alex and Abby were now in trouble or fatally wounded, giving her even more reason not to stop and try her best to reach the battle as soon as physically possible. As she was sprinting through the forest, now on higher alert and with even greater urgency than before, she felt her vision go slightly darker¡­ Despite her perfect night vision, some darkness was flooding her vision. It was something that she had not seen or experienced in months, something that she hadpletely forgotten even existed ever since she had turned into a demon. Still not slowing down, she looked around here only to see no sign of anyone or anything. When she tried to rub her eyes to see if there was something in them, it did not seem to help at all. Despite all her efforts, her vision continued to turn darker and darker, but even still, she could not allow herself to slow down and give up. "Who the fuck is out there! Show your self pussy!" Jayden''s screams echoed in the forest as she continued to look around with her now almost human-like vision. However, she received no response and spotted absolutely no one¡­ Her vision only grew darker¡­ It felt simr to her shadow ability only slightly different¡­ She had no idea what was going on but she was certain that it had to do with outside ability influence. But, soon enough she would undoubtedly go blind and she knew no way of stopping it. Her only idea of how to stop this was to take out or injure the ability holder, but without knowing where that person is, it would bepletely impossible. ''What the fuck is going on! Fuck my life! What kind of dirty trick is this!'' She inwardly cursed. With thest shreds of light about to escape from her vision, she let out herst-ditch effort, releasing all of her mana in all directions, sts of shadow energy left out of her body until she is suckedpletely dry. Yet, she still felt like her attacks hit absolutely nothing as her vision was now all dark making herpletely blind... She stopped her movements and began to frantically attack in front of her with her daggers, only seeming to attack the air and nearby tree trunks. "You dirty bitch! Come out and face me!" She yelled, her facepletely red from anger and frustration. "With pleasure..." A soft yet ominous female voice came from behind her. And before she even got the chance to attack where the sound came or even respond, she felt a swift yet painful strike on her neck like it was on a pressure point, causing her to fall down on the ground and lose consciousness... Chapter 186 - Goblin Army

Chapter 186: Goblin Army

''Fuck my life!'' Alex inwardly cursed, still fighting the seemingly never-ending horde of puppets. HikariYami had just suddenly disappeared from her spot while he was too upied fighting them and he had no doubt in his mind that she had somehow spotted Jayden headed their way and left to intercept her. And now, at the worst time possible, by some unknown, seemingly inexplicable reason, he was no longer able to contact Jayden. He really wanted to leave to go assist and find her but with all the puppets surrounding both him and Abby, it seemed to bepletely impossible, no matter how he looked at it, there was no escape... Then, as he was trying to rack his brain around how the hell he was going to break free from the puppet''s encirclement inorder to go and help out Jayden who he no doubt knew was in great danger, his thought process was both suddenly and abruptly interrupted. ''I''ll go help Jayden! You stay here and fight!'' Abby''s voice echoed in his head with great passion and urgency. ''Huh!? What the fuck!? Are you crazy!? I can''t take them all on by myself! Plus, we arepletely surrounded! How could you even escape? There may be less than when we started but they keep getting stronger and stronger the more we fight!'' Alex responded, his eyes growing wide as he could not understand the intention and n behind her words, but, he knew that?there had to be something that they could do to save everyone but he was not yet sure what that something was. ''Don''t worry! Now that She''s not here, I''m free to do this!'' She responded with a wide, confident smile on her face. Not even a secondter, arge portal-like dimensional gate around 8 feet tall emerged from behind Abby. Small beings armoured in ck, their faces covered with all sorts of weapons in hand, ran out of the portal like a crazy yet organized horde and began attacking everything in sight. 1 by 1, the creatures kept running out of the portal, the sound of their metal armour nking through the air. Alex estimated that there was around 30 or so creatures before the portal stood still and nothing seemed to being in or out. Yet, only when he thought it was over, another small creature walked out, but instead of the usual ck armour of his peers, that one had far stronger more expensive-looking red armour instead. He had a metal spear in hand and did not look as crazy as the rest of the horde, giving off a feeling of calmness and maturity. Then, from behind him walked out another creature¡­ No, calling it a creature would have been a lie¡­ It was more like a towering monster¡­ Ducking under the 8-foot portal so as to not hit his head, walked out a monster wearing ck armour surrounded by bones and red ents, the ground shaking with every step he took from his sheer size. The bones on his armour seemed all to be frompletely different species, some that Alex recognized and some that seemed to bepletely unknown to him, he thought he was imagining things, but he could have sworn that some of the bones even belonged to humans. Behind his back was arge, slightly cracked, bulky broad sword that was well over half his body in length that looked like it had survived going from hell and back. Although their faces werepletely covered, Alex was still able to recognize them. They were Abby''s undead goblin troops that she had amassed during the exam. She had already shown them all to him prior yet he was still in awe every time she did. Even though they were much weaker than the puppets, they were still able to use basic abilities like water, wind, earth, and even fire, however, they were undoubtedly weakenedpared to a normal ability of the same element. Yet, despite all that, they were still able to stand a fighting chance against their seemingly far superior enemies. As an organized force, the goblins that now outnumbered the puppets teamed up on them with perfect synergy, mixing and matching their attacks and abilities to catch them off guard. They were only slightly being pushed back by the puppets whose teamwork and adaptability now looked likeplete garbagepared to that of the weaker undead. Abby could not help but smile as she saw her army of undead causing such trouble to the puppets that she was struggling so hard against just a few seconds prior. She lifted her scythe in the air, giving it a fiery red glow that shined brightly in the night sky. "Kill them all!" She yelled, reaffirming her orders, red energy flowing around the body of every undead that could not help but growl due to the feeling of their powers being boosted by Abby''s demon energy undead buffing spells. ''Okay! I''ll leave my army with you. With their help, you should be able to take out all of the puppets! She should not have gotten that far! I''m going after them! Let me know and follow me when you''re done taking these toys out!'' Abby yelled in his head once more, her face turning much more serious than before. ''Nice thinking! Ipletely forgot about that option! I''ll be sure to take these guys out as soon as possible ande and help you!'' Alex yelled back to Abby in their mind-link. She smiled and nodded back to Alex''s words and boosted herself through the forest using her fire ability to even further elerate her already impressive speed. As Abby left the area, Alex focused his attention back on the puppets in front of him. After that light show that Abby performed, it seemed like the goblins were doing even better than before. They used their abilities in intricatebinations to trap and attack their enemies in ways that he never expected them to be even capable of. Especially one of the special goblins that seemed to know how to use the magma element to a small yet impressive extent. However, what was truly impressive was the goblin armoured in red and the goblin giant who seemed to be even stronger than the puppets, being barely, yet still strong enough to defeat a puppet 1 on 1. And, unlike the red goblin using a fire ability that produced orange mes, the giant only used his brute strength and nothing more, not even showing a hint of his ability due to the fact that his powers required blood, something that the puppets and undead surrounding himcked. Now, all he needed to do was join the fight and get things over with as soon as he possibly could. Time was not a luxury he had, every second he wasted could have been the difference between life and death for his friends. And, in order to aplish that, he of course required the use of his knight powers. Yet, sadly, they seemed to have just worn out for the 3rd time. He felt like he was reaching the limit of his current, pitiful and inefficient demon energy mastery. His body had been injured several times from the puppets'' onught of attacks and the penalty of using his powers. Alex knew that with the assistance of the undead, he could easily defeat all of the puppets with minimal effort, but in order to defeat them as fast as he could, he needed to use his demon powers at least 1 more time. He tightly gripped his spear and steeled his resolve, closing his eyes to activate his powers. Before long, immense pain worst than he had ever felt before in his life ravaged his entire body, making his wide eyes bleed profusely which made almost half his vision go red. His brain started to throb and expand like it was ready to explode right out of his skull, causing him a nearly unbearable headache. He tightly gripped his pumping heart that was beating faster than he could ever remember, throwing up multiple mouthfuls of blood at the grass underneath, dying it crimson red. Then, several lights of different colours appeared and flowed all around his body, each one showing the increase of power he had received which made him inwardly smile. To save the people he cared about, he was ready to make any sacrifice. He had already promised himself that he would not let what happened to him before happen again and he was not yet ready to break that promise now. He wiped the blood from his mouth and eyes with a crazy smile on his face, cloaking his body that was on the verge of copse with his lightning aura before he rushed straight into battle, shredding absolutely everything in his path as fast as possible, zooming around the battlefield like a blur. With the enemies distracted with the goblins, he was easily able to sneak up on them and catch them off guard, delivering the decisive finishing blow, destroying all the armour to make sure they would not stand up ever again. Before long, everyst puppet had been swiftly eliminated. And, without even a single hint of hesitation, as soon as he defeated thest enemy, he shifted his focus and ran straight into the forest with all his might in order to catch up to Abby. He only took a few seconds to one minute to dispose of the trash but in that time, many things could have happened and he had no time to waste. He would never be able to forgive himself if he was the reason that any of his friends were injured. ''Abby! Can you hear me!? They''re all dead and I''m on my way to help!'' ''Abby!? ABBY!? Answer me!'' Alex screamed with a clear sense of urgency, the unease in his heart growing with every word he spoke. Chapter 187 - The Power Of Friendship

Chapter 187: The Power Of Friendship

However, no matter how loud he screamed into the mind-link, she would not respond, all he received was silence... That silence was almost enough to drive him crazy... He had already used mind-link multiple times so why now of all times was it not working? Something was undoubtedly wrong... Something most definitely happened to Abby and Jayden... ''FUCK MY LIFE! Was I toote!? Was I too slow?'' Alex inwardly yelled, the unease in his now machine-gun-like pumping heart growing even more, shbacks of his old friend ying over and over in his head. ''NO! NOT AGAIN! PLEASE NOT AGAIN!'' His brain started to hurt as his breathing became more and more irregr... The many different possibilities of what he thought could have happened began to y over and over in his head. The scenes of both Abby and Jayden dead, impaled by a spike, the looks of pure horror on their bloody, ghost-like face... hung from a tree, their eyeballs rolling to the back of their heads showing nothing but white on their eyes...pletely beheaded, blood gushing out of their neck like a fountain of blood... sliced to pieces, their entrails and innards littered all throughout the forest, dying the green grass crimson red. Yet despite everything he witnessed, that was still somehow not the worst of it all¡­ Without fail, in every vision, they would always curse him for not getting there fast enough, or for being a terrible, selfish person, a liar, a shitty friend, a mother fucker, and many, many more words that although were not a reality, shattered and eroded his already weak heart as what he saw and heard could very well soon be a reality due to his actions. Hearing those wordse out of his friend''s mouth felt almost unbearable, echoing and shaking his very core, making sweat begin to drip down his face like a waterfall. *Crash* Suddenly, the sound of shattered ss rang wildly in the air, filling his ears. Out of the corners of his eyes, he managed to witness that the yellow barrier that was once surrounding where Moby was had just suddenly shattered into a million pieces before fading away into nothing. Yet, despite that incredible spectacle, Alex was too lost in his own thoughts, fears, panics, and paranoia to even react or bat a single eye. At this moment, nothing was more important than the safety of his friends, his mind would not be at ease until he was certain that both Abby, Jayden, and Ray were all safe. Using his knight vision, he sensed that there were 3 entities ahead. He gritted his teeth and gripped his spear so tightly that they both almost cracked, the breathing out of his mouth growing even more irregr, his anxiety increasing as he readied himself to witness the fate of his friends... ''RIGHT THERE!'' He screamed to himself, running through arge, spike filled bush like it was nothing in order to reach his destination. When he did, he was not able to believe his own eyes... It was like he came face to face with his worst nightmare¡­ He was met by the morbid scene of Abby being firmly held in the ck version of HikariYami''s hands, her face showing nothing but pure disgust and annoyance... Abby''s neck was being tightly squeezed, her eyes closed as she was lifted high up in the air making her limp body fall straight towards the ground like it was a lifeless corpse. Although she had no signs of blood anywhere on her body, the look of pure anguish was still visible on her face, confirming to him that she went out in an extremely unimaginably painful manner. Right at her feetid Jayden, her 2 daggers thrown right in front of her hands. Her eyes were still wide open, yet their usual dark blue colour was now reced with an ugly, lifeless gray. And, just like Abby, she had no signs of blood or severe injuries yet the look on her face told apletely different story as it was paler than he had ever seen before in his life and her mouth was wide open, drooling on the grass underneath. "I told you that you shouldn''t count on those 2 idiots to get the job done! If anything they now seem like traitors! Fuck! I''m not sure that I can take them all out at once!" She scoffed in disgust, mumbling under her voice. ''A-Abby... J-Jayden...'' Alex''s eyes grew wide, shaking immensely as he did not want to believe his eyes¡­ Seeing the state of all of his usually happy, smiling friends blew his already dusty and eroded heart into the wind. Despite all his efforts, he was still unable to protect their smiles as the scenes of what had happened before yed over and over in his head once again. All of his fears, worries and anxiety that he wished were only visions were now, just like he feared bing a reality. Yet, he could not allow himself to stay in such a sorry, pitiful state. Things were not toote, his friends were still both well alive, meaning that he still had an opportunity to save them. He had not broken his promise just yet and he did not n to do so anytime soon. He was the reason that all of this had happened and that meant that he must be the one to fix it. If it weren''t for the filthy skank in front of him, none of this would have happened¡­ The more he looked at her half-covered face of superiority that looked at his friends like nothing more than insects, he felt his blood begin to boil and rise, making him feel like he was about to erupt like a volcano. He took a deep breath, shaking away and channelling all of his previous worries and unease that were once in his heart,pletely changing and twisting into pure, unfiltered hatred. His previously shaky, weary eyes regained their vigour and became solid as they started to bleed again once more, the wounds that had been closed by his demon regeneration were now reopened as well. The cloak of lightning around his body started to glow and crackle even more widely than before, his hair that went down under his eyes started to float until it almost fully stood up. His keen, hate-filled, purple eyes were now light blue with a lightning aura flowing all around them. He tightly gripped his spear with all of his might and used his demon powers to enhance himself once more with no care for the added pain or his own safety in the slightest, the safety of his friends was far more important to him than his very life. Ignoring all of the beyond immense pain that would have undoubtedly killed any other person in his situation from the pure shock, he firmly nted his feet on the ground and boosted off with such speed that his initial step caused a crater and several cracks on the ground, it was almost like he hadpletely disappeared from the sheer speed he was going at. In the next instant, gusts of wind violently surged in his wake, causing several trees to shake and move in his direction, a trail of lightning flowing right behind him and under his feet, setting the grass on fire from thebination of his lightning and pure speed alone. "How dare you hurt my friends! Stay the fuck away from them!" Alex roared, blinded by his pure, unbridled rage, the urge to protect his friends taking charge of all of his senses as he held his spear out in front of him, ready to thrust it straight at her heart for a decisive blow. Everything, every fibre in his being was stored into that 1 strike¡­ He wanted to make her pay 1 million times over for what she had just done... He channelled all of his anger, his feelings towards his friends, his hopes and dreams, his sense of justice, and the promise he made a long time ago all into 1 decisive blow. HikariYami who was being sped towards by Alex had only just noticed his presence. And yet, despite that fact, she seemed to have no big change in her expression other than a small vein popping out from the top of her forehead. She did not move at all, like she had already given up and chose to ept her fate, making Alex feel like his victory was imminent. He was certain that if half her face was not covered, he would be able to fully witness the look of despair on her face. However... He soon found out that he was more than sorely mistaken... "Insect! I don''t have fucking time for this!" Yami yelled back, clear annoyance and urgency in her voice. *p* With but a single p, she managed topletely break and halt Alex''s advances, both physically and mentally. Before he even knew it, his body had already gone numb, floating and flipping in the air, the skin on his cheek where he had just been pped gettingpletely removed like it was never there, revealing his teeth and pink flesh tissue underneath. ''W-what just happened... How is she that strong...'' He thought, unable to ept reality as it all happened so unexpectedly and abruptly, his anger turning into pure despair¡­ He had failed¡­ He had broken his promise¡­ He was useless¡­ He was¡­ too weak¡­ He had put his heart and soul along with the urge to protect his friends all into that attack. He had used every morsel of his being, boosted his power far beyond what his body was capable of, but he was taken out so casually with but a single p, making the truth hit him like a speeding train. His assumption that she herself was extremely weak and was only strong due to her puppets got immediately flipped on its heads and spat on for how wrong they were. In fact, the truth was that he never even stood a chance against her in the first ce, she had just been toying around with him and Abby like puppets the entire time, trying to enjoy some sort of show of entertainment. The glow in his eyes faded away into something that seemed more lifeless, his lightning cloak dissolving as his skin was ravaged by the pain of pushing his body too far beyond its breaking point and from the p that felt more like a meteorite than an actual p. Yet, despite all that immense pain, his almost lifeless expression did not at all change... He could not care less about his physical anguish... The pain of his failure grew further and overshadowed everything else that was going on around him. His mind fell into chaos, he did not know what or even how to properly think anymore... Everything around him was now but an ugly blur, his entire world turning into a mushy meld of ck colours, the sound of static hissing filling his ears. Along with various teeth, his limp body fell on the ground with an immense crash. He was not yet unconscious but he was still unable to move a single inch of his body. No matter what he did, it would just not respond which even further added to his helplessness and sorry state. When he looked up at his opponent with his dark, mushy, hazy eyes, he managed to just somewhat make out her figure. She scoffed once more, taking a look at him before shifting her focus onto Jayden who was unconscious right beside him. And in what seemed like a quick hurry, Abby''s body still tightly gripped in her hand, she jumped back to the direction that Alex had juste from. Then as soon as she left, Alex snapped back into reality and realized what had just happened... colour came back to his previously dead eyes and the first tears that he had cried in years fell down his face as he tried to move his body only to be reminded that his efforts werepletely futile. "DAMN IT! It''s all my fault! She fucking kidnapped her! WHY! WHY! WHYYY!" His voice echoed all throughout the forest, causing several crows from kilometres away to flee, trying to force his broken body to stand up only to be reminded for a third time that all his efforts were still futile no matter how hard he tried or how strong his urge to protect his friends was... Chapter 188 - Taking Things In (1)

Chapter 188: Taking Things In (1)

Moby snapped back into reality and slowly let go of Alex''s head, a river of sweat flowing down his face as he backed off with unsteady legs, his breathing all of a sudden bing far more sporadic and abnormal, the piercing pain in his heart growing even further, his head throbbing with a heavy migraine from the immense amount of information he took in in such a short amount of time. As he backed off, his shaky eyes instinctively fell underneath his feet¡­ He was greeted by the now even more familiar scene of Alex''s previously awake yet now numb unconscious body, the look of pure despair on his face that waspletely red due to his earlier teary eyes, his exposed flesh that was caused from when he was pped beginning to regenerate, now no longer showing his broken teeth through the hole in his cheek. Then, his gaze shifted towards his beloved, Jayden who wasying right beside him in a near-identical state, her skin as pale as a ghost, both her eyes and mouth wide open and devoid of colour and a look leaning more towards a mixture of both anger and pain. The mental strain of seeing one of his best friends and only lover in such a state for the third time in the span of a few minutes was extremely immense, the impact and gravity not lessening no matter how many times he looked at it, giving him shbacks of a simr scene but at the hands of Natalia during the exams instead. To him, they were truely his family... The dizziness and pain in his head seemed to only grow with no end in sight. Before hepletely lost his bnce, He slowly tumbled and leaned himself back onto a nearby tree, his right hands over his now immensely hurting head and his left hand on his lurching heart. ''It seems like he went unconscious while I was still in his mind¡­'' Moby thought, taking a quick nce at Alex from the corners of his vision, his mind still in absolute chaos. Seeing his friends in such a state was one thing but seeing exactly what and how it happened to them was another, he felt his emotions welling up inside of him like a red hot volcano ready to explode right from under his hysterical face. Part of him knew it was all his fault, he dragged everyone into it, even people unrted and who he knew definitely could not care less about Ray like both Abby and Jayden. He was not fully prepared for what the implications of starting a war with one of the biggest gangs in the entire school entailed. At this point, he should be lucky that his reckless orders of starting war didn''t lead to any fatal or irreversible injuries. It was all his fault, he underestimated his own value to them, if he had known that so many strong people would have shown up just for the purpose of subduing him, he would have gone about things far more cautiously and differently. That was still a point that he could not bring himself to understand... Why did they want him so badly, to the point of sending 60, some even being B rank, along with 3 of their top 5 members to capture him. Did he reveal too much? Who was the mastermind and what was the purpose, why him of all people? He doubted that every person on his level would get treated with such great importance. Due to that fact that was unknown to him until now, all of his friends were injured and Abby was kidnapped, he was supposed to have the element of surprise and overpower them with more manpower than they expected but they seemed to have a backup n in the form of the ck and white fallen angel of death, HikariYami. Moby inwardly cursed again, shaking his head as he tried to calm his nerves once more just in case he decided to do something stupid. Spur of the moment thinking would not only put himself at risk but all of his loved ones andrades, and he was no were near selfish enough to do so. He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths, each one longer than thest until his mind was brought back to a somewhat sane level. He knew the result of what happened but seeing the procedure reignited the fear and anger that he had previously locked away in his heart in hopes of a more rational approach. Immense anger and sadness would do nothing but blind his thoughts and draw him farther away from the truth. He could not go off his emotions, he needed to logically think and fully take in everything that he had just learned. And, most importantly, he could not allow himself to show weakness to his subordinates, strong troops were only as good as their leader, if he stayed like he was, the morale of everyone under him would no doubt plummet. Instead of asking Alex to exin to him exactly what transpired, he had opted to use his memory maniption skill in order to relive what Alex had witnessed in order to gain a better grasp of the situation. When he did, just like he expected, he was able to rewatch exactly what had happened but from Alex''s perspective, including the moment when he saw the enemies hands tightly grasped, choking Abby''s pail, ghost-like skin with Jaydenid almost lifeless on the ground, exactly like how she was in the present time. The memory maniption skill seemed so real that he almost felt like it was him who was witnessing the events first hand. Yet, he was sadly reminded of the fact that he was only reliving Alex''s memories since when he had tried to attack and unleash his wrath on the attacker, nothing happened¡­ he was unable to even move a single inch as the already decided oue of the simtion kept ying with no signs of stopping, as it was not him controlling the body he was in since it was all nothing now but a distant memory. Chapter 189 - Taking Things In (2)

Chapter 189: Taking Things In (2)

Although he was not able to fully read Alex''s mind and internal thoughts, he was still more than able to assume what he was thinking just from his actions and expressions alone, Moby feeling the same about most if not all of them. For the sake of his friends, Alex was more than ready to risk his own life and disregard his safety, nothing in his mind seemed more important. He withstood overusing and pushing his demon powers far past their intended limits when any other man would have simply given up from the beyond unimaginable pain, not to mention fighting with that pain still ravaging their body. Yet, despite all of that, his opponent was just simply too strong, way beyond any level he could even dream of beating in his current state, he was doomed to fail even before the fight started. She was a very unusual person, strange unlike anyone or anything he had previously seen or even heard about before¡­ A cute girl on the outside but a ruthless monster on the inside, that made him and her slightly simr in that regard. However, that was where their simrities ended. Just like Alex thought, he too felt like she was just 2 very different, shing people stuck sharing the same body. HikariYami¡­ Yami, who seemed always serious only thinking aboutpleting the objective as quickly and efficiently as possible and Hikari, a little child whose only purpose seemed to be having some fun at the expense of others. Still, that was not what worried him the most¡­ What was truly scary and worrisome was how damn strong she was. Without a shadow of a doubt, she was by far the strongest student he had ever seen in action before. If he hadn''t heard her talk about her boss when he was still experiencing Alex''s memories, he might have been inclined to think that from her level of strength, she was non-other the leader of the Zexis gang. Just the mere thought of it made Moby shudder¡­ She must have been either rank 2 or 1 in the gang, the worst case being that she was only the second seat. If that was the case, assuming that the first seat was not the boss themselves, there would be 2 whole people stronger than her, someone, who was definitely high up in the S tier. Not only did she have the ability to create C rank powered puppets of light, but her physical strength was otherworldly. Even with Alex''spletely buffed form pushed way beyond his limits, he was easily taken out by a simple p without her batting an eye, and that only seemed like a minuscule taste of her powers. Yet, the most troublesome skill she had did not pertain to her strength, no, far from it. It was the fact that she was able to disrupt the mind-link between them. That must have also been the reason why he was not able to track down Abby, she must have been using that skill to mask their presence. A skill so powerful that it was able to disturb foreign otherworldly demon powers. That fact alone brought up a huge concern¡­ Did they figure him out? Did they know that he canmunicate and track people telepathically? Did they know who he truly was? Or did she just do it on ident without even knowing? He had no clue if he had somehow given himself away without even noticing. That fact might have also exined why they had wanted him so badly. Yet, at the same time, that idea still made no sense since they seemed to clearly not know about the existence of demons or their ability to talk telepathically, or else they would have not gone for the n they had chosen. At this point, he had no answers, but he hoped that it was only an ident to prevent high-levelmunication or detection and not used specifically to counter his mind-link, If Hikari had wanted to kill Alex, Jayden, or Abby she could have easily done so, she was definitely more than strong enough. Still, despite that fact, she decided to only kidnap Abby, leaving both Alex and Jayden only unconscious, almost like she was holding herself back from killing them, this made his mind go slightly more at ease yet start spinning in possibilities of what if that had not been the case. Luckily for him, his opponent, although crazy, still had a rational way of thinking. Why Jayden and Alex were not kidnaped or killed could be due to many reasons, but the biggest reason would have been that they did not want to mess with or get involved with either the Hart or Griffith family who were both renown around the country. Yet, that theory still had a major plot hole, why would she kidnap Abby? The Reid family were rivals to the Harts and Griffiths and just as strong and well renowned. If it was revealed that the youngest daughter of the Reid family had gone missing, even if her family hated her, they would be forced into finding them to keep up with their public image. If they couldn''t even ensure the safety of their own daughter, their reputation would no doubt take a massive plunge. Not to mention that the entire school would also be forced into starting their own investigation, questioning everyst student under stricter guidelines where corrupted teachers would have their hands tied, assuming that HikariYami was also a fellow student, she would no doubt be screwed and caught by the system along with every other person that was in on the n. If anything, their ns seemed to bepletely idiotic. They had just dug themselves into a hole they could not break out of, even if they kept Abby hostage in a room safe from the curfew rms, she would still be forced to attend ss where he would be able to make contact with her, and if she did not go to school, then that would cause a grave concern, therefore warranting a full, thorough investigation and a letter to the Reid household to let them know what had happened. Chapter 190 - Taming The Juggernaut (1)

Chapter 190: Taming The Juggernaut (1)

And yet, not even for a single second did he believe his own theory. There was no way the gang would be that dumb, there must have been some underlying catch to everything that was going on yet he was still unsure. The only thing he was certain of was that they somehow nned to use Abby to lure him into another trap, or trading his own freedom for hers. Moby once again closed his eyes and took a deep breath to clear his mind and calm himself down, taking in the fresh scent of the forest that was surprisingly pleasant since HikariYami had barely drawn any blood during her fight. He gripped his right hand tightly, clear resolve in his heart, moving his gaze back towards his fallenrades with deep yet mellow slits in his eyes, promising himself once more to both save Abby and make the entire gang pay for their actions. He needed to organize his own gang of demons and n ordingly. He did not care what it took, he was more than willing to make as many sacrifices as necessary in order to reach the most favourable oue. But to do that, he needed information now more than ever, and he knew just the way to do it¡­ [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a Demon Juggernaut! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] "Perfect timing¡­" Moby mumbled in a low voice, a calm yet devilish smile on his face with a glint of satisfaction in his wide glowing eyes. First a demon Harpie then a demon Juggernaut, they were both terms he was not at all familiar with and needed to know more about and understand. Yet, now was definitely not the time for that, promising himself to ask Avilia at ater time, along with the many questions he had been saving for her all day. And, as though he had heard his name being called, the Harpie hade once again squealing in his ears. ''My lord, just reporting in, he just woke up and started to move, nothing else remarkable of note,'' a?deep, shaky yet firm voice sounded in his head, clear fear in his tone. Ever since Moby''sst disy of power, Jason seemingly epted his fate and chose the most logical choice in his situation, be a ve. Unless he enjoyed torturing himself in the most brutal and extreme of ways just to stay loyal to a gang that would now no doubt view him as a traitor, it was the only correct answer. Yet, he was still unsure of his loyalty, if he was trying to get revenge. His emotion-sensing did not serve him much help, only showing that he was exhibiting immense fear which would have been obvious to anyone with 2 pairs of working eyes. But for now, he needn''t worry about such things, he still had 1 week to make his final decision on what he would do with his life, as well as Nags''s that fell under his same circumstances. ''Good work, I''ll be contacting him in a moment. Report anything notable to me and protect them both with your life, keep up the good work and I might consider keeping you alive for longer than 1 week,'' Moby responded, nodding in a rather monotone and understanding voice. ''Th-thank you so much¡­ y-your generosity knows no bounds¡­'' He nervously responded, immediately closing his mind-link as soon as he finished his words. Moby had left both Nags''s body that was under a tree and Ray who was still anxiously waiting back at the old battlefield in Jason''s care so he would be able to keep tabs on them after his eyes had fully regenerated. He did not want to risk anything happening to Ray or Nags''s body while he was in the middle of his transformation and he did not have the time to babysit since at the time, he had to immediately rush over towards Alex and Jayden''s location to witness and check what had happened to them. Moby took a deep breath before speaking to Nags. Thest time he and Nags talked, he was still iplete madness so he needed a moment to prepare himself so he could give off a good enough first impression. ''It seems like you''re finally awake¡­ How does it feel to now be a demon?'' Moby asked in a voice filled with superiority. Moby''s words simply led to nothing but stillness, only the sound of slight moaning and groaninging from the other end before the calmness was just suddenly and abruptly disrupted... ''H-hmmmm Huh?! W-what happened!? What did you do to me!? Shalker! How are you in my head! Get out! I''ll tear you to shreds you fucking monster! Who are you calling demon! Your kind are the tru-'' ''Silence!'' Moby ordered, clear authority in his tone. He did not have time and couldn''t care less about humouring him, especially in his current mood and situation. Unlike Jason, Nags had beenpletely unconscious when he turned into a demon, meaning that he was not forced to suffer the unimaginable, otherworldly pain and anguish that came along with it. With Moby''s orders, Nags hadpletely gone silent, he had the urge to scream out what was in his mind. But for some reason, his body would not at all respond. Nags''s rage and confusion grew vastly as he felt the same feeling as everyone else that had previously been in a simr situation, the feeling of invisible chains entangling, binding, and controlling his every movement. No matter how hard he tried to resist and fight against them it would turn out to bepletely futile. The more he tried the more it hurt and the tighter those chains got, there seemed to be no escape in sight. Yet, that didn''t stop him from trying. He had no idea how he was fully regenerated or who it was that took him out from behind and he couldn''t care less at this moment, all he knew was that he had been training and waiting for this point his entire life, the moment where he woulde face to face with a shalker and there was no way in hell that he was going to let such a chance pass him by. Chapter 191 - Taming The Juggernaut (2)

Chapter 191: Taming The Juggernaut (2)

''Go and reach out to Jason, he will inform you about exactly what happened. But in short, you are now my loyal demon ve, I can make you do whatever I wish for, nothing is off-limits for me. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it¡­ Fighting back is futile... Here is a demonstration¡­ A lesson to show you what happens when you run your mouth¡­ Bite your own tongue off¡­'' Moby spoke, his tone shifting into something darker so he could get his point across, he did not have time to argue so he had just put it in a way to make it easier for him to understand his current predicament. Since Nags was not able to perfectly use his mind-link, he allowed ambient sound from his surrounding to seep in, meaning that Moby fully had heard the sound of Nags''s teeth shredding through his own tongue as soon as he made his order, his teeth smashing together with a loud, impressive nk. Yet, despite all of that, Nags did not make a single sound as Moby''s order of him staying silent was still in effect, making him smile as hepletely knew what he was doing. This led to Nags experiencing far greater anguish since screaming was a primal action used to relieve suffering, yet, no matter how badly he wanted to scream his pain away, Nags would never be able to until Moby allowed it. Normally, he would have made some sort of internal remark like saying he had wished he had been there to see the look on his face. However, with his friends at his feet and Abby kidnaped, probably forced into being to go through who knows what, he did not feelfortableughing or making jokes. Now that things were taken care of with Nags, he could shift his focus back to his current task at hand. With a serious yet mellow expression, Moby ran towards Alex and Jayden who were both still on the ground unconscious. He had first thought of transferring both of them to Ray''s location where Jason would be able to keep an eye on them, but now that Nags was awake, that did not need to be the case and saved him very valuable time. So, he quickly reached out to Jason to pass on his orders to Nags as soon as his briefing was over, the order to keep an eye on both Alex and Jayden''s body while he was out taking care of business before it was toote. Currently, his top priority was to get out of the forest as fast and as stealthily as possible, as well as getting rid of any evidence of their involvement. And, to do that, he needed to clean up any traces of blood or flesh left by them, meaning that Moby had to scower everywhere in order to clean things up which was why he needed someone to keep a close eye on his unconscious family members. He could have always just picked them up and moved them around with him since they were as light as a feather inparison to his strength, the hassle of picking them up and moving them around with him would have undoubtedly slowed him down, and time was not a luxury in his current predicament. With a short yet deep breath, he closed his eyes before activating his eyes of sin, inspecting the area for any evidence. Unlike when he killed Eric who was an F-rank that the school could not care less about, this time was 60 students, some of which being important which meant that their investigation would be more thorough and not donezily like every, only relying on the lie detector for answers. Moby carefully examined the area around him with special attention to detail to be 100% certain as one small mistake could very well be costly, noticing a few sshes of blood on the grass below along with a few teeth which no doubt came from the impact of HikariYami''s p against Alex. All of that was very solid DNA evidence, so he had no choice but to clean it up. He lifted and stretched his open hand out wide, taking a deep breath before sucking everything into his inventory, leaving nothing behind as he managed to separate the blood from the grass as well as all the teeth into his vortex-like vacuum cleaner known as his inventory. As Moby was still cleaning things up, his mind could not help but drift off and wonder of what the implications of his actions could mean for the future of the school and his war with the Zexis gang. 60 students dead was a very big deal, some might have even belonged to rtively important families. The school would be notified about it in around 40 minutes or so and in that time, they needed to be long gone to try and hide their involvement. However, that would likely notst for long since if they interrogated any gang members that had knowledge about the n to ambush Moby, they would have undoubtedly discovered their involvement even if they left no evidence at the scene. But if that were the case, then that would have exposed many things about the gang such as how they had corrupted a teacher into turning off the watches, something that he assumed they did not want to be leaked out so easily, meaning that they might have a countermeasure that would prove beneficial, even for both parties. But, If worse came to worst, since there were no witnesses alive other than Nags and Jason who were both under his control, it meant that with the help of his memory maniption, he could argue that it was entirely in self-defence as they all rushed at him with the full intent to kill. And, that he was not able to hold himself back, to go out of his way to make sure that all the students were alive. His primal instincts kicking in as saving his own life would have be his top priority. Chapter 192 - Janitor

Chapter 192: Janitor

That would be a valid option and save him from the execution block. And it would also bring shame upon the families of the dead students due to the disgrace their children did since they would have not only ganged up on a single person for an ambush but also failed miserably doing so, all of them being swiftly deleted with no trace left of their bodies. Still, that meant that he would also undoubtedly make many new, powerful adult enemies who wanted either him dead or ruined which was less than ideal. He had already made more than enough noble enemies during his stay at the Griffith family mansion when he had won against all odds with not 1, but 2 separate yet massive bets. His only other option to prevent such an oue would have been to throw the me of their deaths onto either Jason or Nags, he couldn''t care less about them and it would save him most of his current headaches. However, that would have been an even worse option. To go up against the gang, he needed as much power and knowledge as he could muster, and he would be lying to im that Jason and Nags were not 2 gold mines of both strength and knowledge, throwing them away would be akin to blundering a queen in chess, only this time there were 2 queens instead of 1. That was also the reason that he now more than ever wanted to turn Ray into a demon, his skills and expertise would undoubtedly be a great asset but he was not sure how he would react to his proposal of turning him or if he should just knock him out and turn him by force. Either way, that was a problem for another time, he needn''t worry about it until he got out of the forest. Moby inwardly nodded as he stared back at the grass underneath him where all the blood and teeth used to be only for him to find no trace, making him inwardly smile as he shifted his gaze towards the forest in the direction where the waterfall where he froze Jason was located, making that the next area he sucked dry. ''Lord Moby, I have finished informing him and had just ryed your orders... he should be there in 1 or 2 minutes,'' Jason reported using mind-link like he was talking on someone else''s behalf, most definitely talking for Nags since he had yet to remove the silencemand from him. With that news, Moby was now safe to leave with no real concern towards his unconscious family members. However, right before he was ready to sprint out into the forest at his top speed, Moby''s advances were suddenly and abruptly interrupted by a sound that had once again rung in his head. Yet, this time it was not the deep shaky voice of a young man, it sounded like the suspicions of a soft womanly voice, a voice unique and unmistakable to his ears. ''Hey, I just thought of this¡­ I was also watching that memory of Alex''s with you, and I noticed that it seemed like HikariYami might havepletely forgotten about Renren¡­'' Avilia stated with skepticism. ''Renren?'' Moby asked, making him raise one eyebrow up trying to understand who or what she was referring to. ''Yeah! Renren! Maybe she identally left himying on that tree. The little kid that was with HikariYami, the kid that passed out from a fake punch, foaming from the mouth. His ability was kind of a bootleg version of your inspect skill since it allowed him to gauge the strength of his opponent without the need to look at their watch which, for humans, was both useful for beast hunting and exploring unknowns. The ability was pretty rare so he should be worth at least something to them right? Not to mention the fact that he seemed fairly close to Hikari Yami, he might know some things that Nags and Jason don''t, assuming that he''s still there of course,'' Moby took a 5-second pause trying to wrap his mind around what Avilia had just said. This was seemingly her first-ever time trying to help him or guide him about anything rted to his personal goals. Usually, she would have chosen to stay silent and not interrupt in order to gauge his decision making and see how worthy of bing the demon lord he was. Hearing her trying to give him advice gave him a slightly warm feeling in his now freezing heart. Thest time he had tried to ask her for advice back during the exam with Natalia, she had just simply refused to help in order to see how he would choose to act if she had not even existed. However, now things were different... It was like she now truly saw herself to him as a friend and a partner, it further proved her trust and faith in him that had already been very profound before. ''Renren¡­'' Moby thought, trying his best to remember such a name or person from the quick, brief moments of Alex''s memories before it finally hit him in the head. ''Renren!!'' He thought once more, only more enthusiastically than before, his eyes growing wide, shifting his focus from the waterfall all the way towards Alex and Abby''s battlefield where they had fought the puppets that were located directly behind him. ''Thanks for the suggestion Avilia, I hadpletely forgotten about him! Hopefully he''s still there!'' Moby said, thanking Avilia with a mellow smile, leading to her giving him a mental nod and a thumbs up before he sprinted away at his top speed, leaving his friends behind to be watched by Nags who along with Jason, could not help with clean up since they had yet to learn spacial magic. Now he could both check if Renren and Abby''s undead were still there in addition to cleaning things up from the inevitable blood sprayed on the ground. Chapter 193 - Janitor (2)

Chapter 193: Janitor (2)

After 1 or 2 minutes of non-stop running, jumping from tree to tree to lessen his footprints, he finally reached his destination, the old battlefield where Abby''s and Alex''s fight took ce. Yet, before he even surveyed any of the surroundings, he instinctively jumped up all the way towards the highest tree in the area with no hesitation as he fully remembered it from Alex''s memories. The highest tree was not only where Renren theoretically should have been but also the best perspective and outlook to scout the entire, ratherrge battlefield below so he had no reason not to go there first. Yet, when he reached his destination, the hint of excitement on his face faded away into mellow disappointment, unlike what he wished for, the short, blond-haired Renren was gone, disappeared without a trace. It seemed like unlike what they thought, she did remember to take him, making both Moby and Avilia let out a long sigh. Part of him really wanted HikariYami to forget about him by her, less than bright, light side taking control in anger after the dark side had failed to uphold her promise, making her run away before the dark side even got the chance to go back and get Renren since he could not imagine her forgetting about him. But now that theory was debunked as not true. Avilia, who was still watching from Moby''s head also felt the same way yet she had no regrets and did not feel the urge to apologize for her false assumption, that was just the type of person she was and part of what Moby really admired. Thus, he had no desire to reprimand her. Despite her assumptions being wrong, she still had a very valid point and any good hints or suggestions from her were always appreciated in his book, no theory was always 100% correct, that was why it was called a theory, not a fact. Shaking his head, Moby turned around and looked below him, activating his eyes of sin once more to better make out the details of the battlefield. The grass was less than pristine with various holes from all the high impact attacks that took ce, some patches were gray and charcoal ck, spreading to a certain point before disappearing which was unquestionably from Abby''s fire. Various sshes of dried blood could be seen painted on several patches from the ground, Moby knowing all of them belonged to either Abby or Alex since he was well aware of the fact that the puppets and Abby''s undead did not possess any blood. The ground had absolutely no trace left of any puppets or undead what so ever, all that he noticed were 2 very different sets of ck armour, one in much better shape than the other that had beenpletely destroyed and torn into many pieces, that being the armour that was used to house the puppets and the other one he immediately recognized as the armour that Abby used to house her undead. However, after looking intently at the battlefield for a few seconds, he could not help but shake the feeling that there was something off before the answer suddenly hit him in the head. He was not able to spot therge, intimidating armour of the Goblin king anywhere amongst the many sets thatid on the ground, and as an extension, he was also not able to find the specific set of unique crimson red armour that Grunk, either her first or second strongest summon wore. Moby found this fact particrly odd, but he did not have time to do a full investigation so he just hopped down to a lower tree to maybe catch another look before he gave up and cleaned the evidence, moving onto the next few areas in order to save time. Moby hopped down to a much lower branch that was only around 5 meters in height, and almost immediately, he was able to find 2 unknown objects shining red, blended deeply in one of the patches of bloody grass, making Moby''s eyes grow wide as he dropped down to the ground and immediately ran to inspect them without a second thought. It could have well been a trap but do to the low time crunch, Moby was more than willing to take the risk since that item might have been was something of value. When he reached the location of the first one, he dipped down and grabbed it in his palm, bringing it up to his eyes before opening it to quickly yet thoroughly take his time examining it. It did not seem like a trap at all. In his hand was a small yet fancy looking, golden ring, a blue sapphire looking gem dyed and sttered in blood on the top that had a magnificent radiance, reflecting the light falling down from the moon above. It was a storage ring, a very unique looking storage ring at that, one that Moby could immediately recognize with but a nce. ''Is this what I think it is?'' Moby thought to himself as he inspected the back of the ring where he would be able to confirm and find all the answers. Just like he expected, when he did, he noticed the very distinct emblem of the Griffith family deeply emzoned on it, the symbol of a dark, blue and ck raven with an air of shadows and white glowing eyes. Despite the engraving itself being rather small, the detail, especially with Moby''s eyes of sin, was impable, confirming to him its authenticity. When he peeked inside its contents, he noticed arge, muscr, fully armoured goblin with a mixture of ck metal and bone armour, his facepletely covered by a helmet that had two small seeing holes that barely allowed him to make out his lifeless, undead eyes. It was none other than the goblin king¡­ Moby only needed a split second to put 2 and 2 together. Abby must have at one point asked Jayden to give her a few extra rings just to be able to house her 2 most powerful summons if she for some reason lost because she did not want them to fade away since ording to Avilia, it was a well-known fact that the easiest way to defeat a necromancer was to ignore the summons and take out the summoner themselves, in turn dispelling all of their summoned creatures. This meant that the other ring he saw most definitely housed Grunk, she must have given the ring to them after she summoned them out since you could not store a spatial storage item in a spatial storage. Yet, what did Moby not understand was how Abby even knew that if she was taken out, she could order her undead to hide in the storage rings to escape death, true death like what had happened to every other goblin, maybe because time was stopped inside the ring, in turn saving them. Moby knew that Abby liked experimenting and discovering new things, always training and trying to push past her limits. The only exnation that Moby coulde up with was that she must have had to order her summons to suck themselves into their respective storage ring before knocking herself out to test her hypothesis since sleeping pills would not work, the user had to be physically knocked out for the undead to dispel. This once again showed to Moby that Abby was more than willing to cause herself any kind of harm to both serve him and aplish her own goals of revenge. The image of Abby''s hard-working, smiling figure, shining with the intensity of 1000 suns emerged in his head, making a small tear run down his face. She was like a daughter to him, just the thought of anyone or anything evenying a finger on her with ill intent made his blood boil and his heart lurch profoundly in his chest, causing him to feel another great rush of emotions as he tightly held the ring in his right hand, putting it in his pockets before shaking his head to once again refocus himself. Grieving would do him no good in his current situation, it would only distract and slow him down. But for some reason, when it came to his family members, it sometimes happened out of nowhere without him even realizing it. As soon as Moby came back to his senses, a sudden realization popped up in his head. They were all still on school grounds, which meant that the use of the storage rings should have been disabled. Yet, here it was in front of him, a storage ring that had just recently been used even under such restrictions. ''Did Abby figure out a way to bypass the school restrictions? Or was this another one of the gang''s doings, removing the restrictions rings just like the restrictions on the watches?'' He pondered. To him, those were the only 2 possible exnations and he was definitely leaning more towards thetter option. It was indeed a smart move from the gang, no one would even notice that the storage rings were reactivated because there was no indicator to show if they were working or not, thus everyone would not bother to check if the rings were active since they would assume that it was just like any other day. That must have been the reason why Jason was confused when Moby switched his armour in the middle of the fight, it made him think that he had figured them out, that he somehow knew that the rings were reactivated when it was just a misunderstanding as he used his inventory instead. That also meant that Abby had also somehow noticed that the rings were once again active. She was a very perspective and cunning person so maybe she had assumed that HikariYami summoned her armoured puppets from a storage ring, just as she would have done had she no ess to the inventory skill, and decided to test it out herself only to find out that her assumptions were correct, but at this point, Moby was not sure. Moby nodded and shook his head, looking at the time on his watch to gauge how much time he had left. ''30 minutes left¡­'' He thought to himself, clearing his mind and steeling his resolve. He was running low on time and needed to pick up the pace. At this rate, going as fast as he could he would barely make it in time to his dorms before the school was notified, so he needed to somehow speed himself up even further. In the blink of an eye, he dashed over towards the other ring that he had noticed prior on the ground, taking a quick nce at its contents, noting that it was in fact Grunk, who dawned his signature blood-red armour like he had assumed, before he quickly put the ring in his pockets along with the other one. Then, he lifted his arms in front of him, opening his sucking vortex of an inventory to clean up the entire battlefield with meticulous, lightning-fast movements, making sure to leave nothing behind, all the blood, broken armour, gray, charcoal grass were sucked in, yet keeping the holes visible since he did not have time to patch them up. Hopping back up to the highest tree, Moby took another eagle-eye view of the battlefield,paring its state from before and after, making sure to take his time, despite being low on it as he would rather be sure than sorry in the end. After making certain that everything seemed in ce, he immediately shifted his purple, focused gaze back towards his original destination, the waterfall where he had defeated Jason, cleaning that up before finally heading back to Ray to grab and drag him back to the dorms and out of the dangerous forest. Chapter 194 - Broken Boy

Chapter 194: Broken Boy

Ray was sitting down with his back against a tree, staring at the moon above with shaky eyes, his short, blue hair dancing in the wind. He was positive that the retrieval team would arrive and arrest him any second now. Yet, at the same time, he was not entirely certain since he had long given up checking the time, what had been only 40 minutes seeming more like an eternity from his perspective... It had been a long time since the yellow barrier surrounding the area was shattered but he had yet to move from his exact location, that was because he felt like there was no reason to... He knew that no matter where he ran, in the end, there would be no escape. His fate had already been decided so he had chosen to make it easier on himself and simply ept it. At first, he was filled with joy, when the barrier was shattered, he assumed that it represented the miracle of Moby''s victory. However, now that it had taken so long with no news from either side, he was forced into rethinking his previous assumption, his thoughts of victory turning more and more morbid. He now thought that theck of contact no doubt represented Moby''s loss, and now that they had won, they had already left the area, destroying the barrier in the process. And, now that they had captured their target, Moby, they did not bothering back for him since he was now of no use to them, a bait and nothing more. ''Maybe I should have chosen to be a hostage¡­ maybe I should have just killed myself... that would have at least saved him¡­ Now we are both going to die¡­'' Ray thought, a crazy look of madness in his eyes. He had gone through such a rollercoaster of emotions only in thest 2 hours than he had in his entire life, seeing his life sh right before his eyes multiple times as he felt the air of death surrounding him where ever he looked. Only when staring at the moon did he feel like his heart was somewhat at peace, but even then he could not shake off the feeling of craziness and despair that lurched deep down in his soul. Ray had given up all hope¡­ Not only did he fail at protecting one of his only friends in many years, but now he was also about to be executed for his actions. He was the one that should have paid the price, not him¡­ Moby was once an abilityless F rank that had gone through more pain and torment than he could ever imagine, and now he was a powerful, kind-hearted, talented person that had both the strength and motivation to do great things. On the other hand, he was just a weak, broken little kid that had no motivation outside making friends and was not strong enough to protect himself or reach his aspirations. Moby''s life was truly an inspiration to him... Unlike many other people, he did not see him as a person saved from a life of torture due to luck, but from his perseverance and hard work that was unmatched by anyone he knew. In his mind, Moby''s life was undoubtedly far more important than his own¡­ ''No wonder nobody ever wanted to be friends with me¡­ I bring bad luck everywhere I go¡­'' He thought,ughing heartily at himself. *Crack* Suddenly, a noise came from the forest¡­ The sound of a tree branch cracking straight to his right. Other than the cry of the odd animal, it was the first sound that Ray had ever heard in the past hour. So, it somewhat piqued his interest since he assumed that his time was up atst and the retrieval team had finally arrived. Withzy eyes, he moved his vision that was once focused on the moon to the area where he heard the sounding from. Thanks to his still working night vision goggles, he was able to witness everything ahead of him clear as day. In front of him was arge man, his bulging muscles easily seen through his heavy dark blue armour, the ck bandana on his forehead emphasizing the obnoxious red hair that spiked up above his head. Unlike what he had assumed, it was not the retrieval team¡­ No, far from it... Ray was able to recognize that man at but a nce¡­ How could he not when he was forced to live and suffer with him for over the past week? It was none other than Jason¡­ A crazy, predator-like, twitchy smile on his face that looked slightly more damp than usual, walking rather stiffly in his direction. Seeing him walking towards him ready to devour him, no injuries on his body like he had no care in the world only confirmed his earlier suspicions that Moby did in fact lose as he feared. However, that revtion did not surprise him in the slightest since he had alreadye to terms with the oue long ago. He was foolish to think otherwise, there was no way in hell Moby was able to defeat 2 A rank students fighting him, both being equal or above his power level. Even if not all at once, he would have been too drained from the first fight to even stand a chance in the second one. What did truly surprise him was the fact that his earlier assumption of him having no more value to them waspletely false, proven by Jason who he knew was no doubt there to take him along with him. "So you came back!? Did you not have enough thest time? What do you want to fucking do to me now huh? You want to make me a full-time sweatshop worker!?" Ray yelled with mad, over the top hand movements, the craziness in his distorted smile and uncanny eyes growing wider and more immense as he spoke. ''Heh¡­ Maybe working under them for a bit longer would not be so bad, they might be able to save me from the school''s wrath¡­ Plus, now I could be able to meet up and join forces with Moby again, and maybe we could take them out together from the inside¡­ Maybe the heavens have not forsaken us after all!'' Ray thought, his jittery smile that radiated pure madness growing even wider on his face as he started tough like a mad-man seemingly out of nowhere. Yet, for some reason, he could not shake the feeling that there was something definitely off¡­ Despite Ray''s clearly deranged provocations, Jason did not at all react, making him extremely confused. The Jason he knew would have snapped, both figuratively and literally, mocking and belittling him with an amusedugh. So, why now of all times was he quiet? It made absolutely no sense to him. It was almost like he was an entirely different person. However, that confusion did notst for long as it was quickly answered by Jason who had now lifted his right hands, putting his index against his thumb ready to snap, making Rayugh in the realization that he was most likely low on time and just wanted to beat his ass before yelling at him when they got out of the forest, making his already disturbingughter somehow even louder and far more grave. Chapter 195 - Broken Boy (2)

Chapter 195: Broken Boy (2)

Ray closed his eyes and spread his arms out wide, taunting his opponent toe at him with a less than natural grin on his face. All he was doing was preparing himself to be knocked out, once again epting his fate¡­ There was no point in fighting back, with his level of strength and no ns up his sleeve, he was as good as dead. Fighting would have only dyed the inevitable and cause him more pain than if he just went with the whims of fate and where they would eventually lead him. *Snap* Ray''s ears rang loudly with a snap that shook him to his very core, the smile on his face not fading away yet bing more jittery as he prepared himself to feel an immense amount of pain, most likely from Jason''s signature punch to the stomach which was why he put his arms out wide as to leave that area exposed since if he had blocked, Jason would have both broke his arms and hit his vitals at the same time, leading to more pain in the end. *Whoosh* A gust of wind blew right past him with such speed that he was barely even able to stay standing on his two feet. Yet, for some reason, he felt no amount of pain what so ever as he decided to not yet open his eyes and wait a little bit longer as he knew that the pain would eventuallye. ¡­ ¡­. ¡­. ''Nothing?'' He thought to himself, a mixture of pain, relief, and confusion in his heart. For thest 5 seconds, all he was able to hear was various footsteps running in a 360-degree circle around him, the sounding from all directions. 5 seconds was far too long, with Jason''s speed, he needed far less than half a second to reach him from that distance¡­ So why was he still standingpletely uninjured? Nothing made sense to him¡­ Everything was too obscure¡­ Eventually, he gave up and sumbed to his curiosity¡­ When he finally opened his eyes, he witnessed a scene that he never imagined he would ever see in many lifetimes. Jason, the big, bulky, prideful, meatheaded idiot was frantically running around the entire battlefield like a crackhead experiencing a sugar rush at the same time with what seemed like panic in his eyes. He seemed to be picking up various body parts that belonged to the students that had just exploded from the impact of that earlier purple ball of energy, which most likely made a few small body parts not get vaporized but blown away from the impact, ''What the hell is going on!?'' Ray thought with a dizziness from his brain that began spinning round and round in circles. Nothing seemed real¡­ Maybe he had lost his mind so much in the past few days that he now began seeing and hallucinating¡­ He felt like he was just imagining everything¡­ That it was all in his mind¡­ That he was dreaming¡­ Yes! He was dreaming! He had to be! Despite still being able to feel pain, A dream was the only possible exnation to what was happening in front of him! Right now, his top priority was to find some way to get out of his dream and inspect what his true body was doing, yet he had no way of knowing how to do that so he had to try various things. With a crazy glint in his eyes, Ray lifted his arm up high, clenching his palm into a fist before shoving it down towards his body with incredible speed, using as much force as he could muster with 0 regards for his own safety. *Crack* The sound of various bones in his rib cage cracking filled his ears, the unimaginable pain ravaging throughout his entire body¡­ He let out a loud, pain-filled cry that reverberated and rang throughout the entire forest, making various birds fly away from the sudden piercing shriek filling their ears. Ray bent down on one knee, tightly clenching where he had punched himself with all his might, a hazy look in his eyes as he was barely able to withstand the impact of his own punch. Blood began welling up from around his arm that was clenching the impact of the pain, as it began to trickle out like a dripping faucet, making his hands that still housed his string gloves all bloodied. His breathing became far more unsteady and sporadic as he could feel theck of oxygen affecting his body, this meant that he had no doubt punctured one of his ribs into his lungs. The pain in his chest only increased as he felt blood going up and down his throat until he began frantically coughing an astounding amount of blood all on his clothes that were now sttered from head to toe. He had felt simr punches in the past yet this one felt far more painful than the ones before it. The mental and physical strain of causing harm on himself was most likely the cause of this. Yet, despite all that he had gone through, he was still conscious¡­ It did not at all snap him out of his dream¡­ ''Fuuckkk!'' Ray inwardly cursed, gritting his now bloody teeth with a face full of determined resolve, trying his best to keep his tired, hazy eyes awake. If that had not worked, then he had to fall back to hisst resort. He needed some way to snap out of his dream and get back into reality to see what was going on, and he was nning on doing whatever it took to get there. If there was a chance that out of his bizarre nightmare, in the real world it was a separate reality where he still had a chance to help fix things, he was more than willing to take the risk. Even if his current reality was true, he was going to be executed anyways since Jason did not seem like he hade back for him so he felt no fear or hesitation in his actions since the results were going the same either way... Ray used all his energy to lift his arms up once more, releasing bloody threads of string from his gloves, putting them right next to his neck as he prepared to take his own life as he was fully convinced that what he was witnessing was a dream. As soon as Jason heard the loud crying from Ray''s direction, he could not help but instinctively take a nce, but as soon as he did, his eyes almost popped right out of their sockets as he was in disbelief at what he was witnessing, his heart racing wildly as he began seeing his life shing right before his eyes, his breathing bing more and more sporadic. Without a moment of hesitation, Jason snapped his fingers together, immediately appearing in front of Ray, holding his hands that were about to slice his own neck off in order to restrain him. "Get the fuck away from me! Even in a dream, I can''t get a proper release! Let me go or just kill me instead! Can you hear me? Talk you big piece of shit! Talk! AHHH! Fuck this world!" Ray screamed, the craziness in his eyes growing the more and more he spoke, struggling to break free from Jason''s grasp only for him to do absolutely nothing, the look of pure worry and relief in Jason''s eyes looking more like the eyes of a mocking predator from his perspective. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt a light tap on his neck, his already weary eyes turning more and more ck as the world began spinning in circles all around him, his hands being released as his body dropped lightly on the smooth, soft grass underneath him. "Calm down Ray! What the fuck do you think you''re doing! This is not a dream! This is real! I understand that you have gone through a lot, my friend¡­ But don''t worry¡­ All will be exined in due time... Now, go to sleep¡­ You need and deserve the rest¡­You have suffered long enough..." An extremely harsh yet warm familiar voice rang in his ears from beyond. When he looked above him with his blurry vision that had almost gone ck, he managed to witness the glowing, friendly, purple gaze of a person looking down towards him before turning around, sucking all the body parts that had been collected in the middle of the battlefield into a vortex created from the palms of his hands, leaving no trace of them behind, giving him no time to think or take in all that just happened as his vision went dark, a peaceful smile on his face as, for the first time in weeks, he was finally able to properly rest... Chapter 196 - Home Sweet Home

Chapter 196: Home Sweet Home

Jason''s eyes grew wide, the look of pure terror embedded on his face, his body started to shudder as he felt a piercing pain in his heart, his legs grew weak as they began shaking faster than a vibrator, making him instinctively bow before the new arrival of his master. "M-my lord! I-I promise it is not what you think it is¡­ I-it just happened out of nowhere¡­ H-he did that! I-I was just trying to stop him before he did anything crazy! I-I would never d-dare go against your will!" Jason yelled on 2 knees and in a shaky yet sincere voice, his breathing growing irregr, heavy drops of sweat dripping from his forehead onto the ground below where his eyes were focused since he did not dare look Moby in the eyes once more. Jason inwardly cursed, no matter what happened, no matter what it took, he did not want to experience that pain again, the pain that he knew he would never get used to even if it was done to him for eternity¡­ To him, things seemed like a fair trade, he would much rather live as a servant and be given a few freedoms than suffer his worst nightmares in his mind over and over again that felt just as painful and tangible as real life, for the rest of eternity, something he was sure Moby no doubt had the ability to do. Without him even realizing it, his devotion to his gang had begun to wain immensely, his once iron-d loyalty and pride now nowhere to be seen as they were blown away along with his previous self''s mind. "Settle down! I know that it wasn''t you! If I even got the hint that it was somehow you who did that you would not be breathing right now! Now stand up! We are low on time so we need to go faster!" Moby yelled from above the kneeling Jason with an intimidating, bone-chilling voice that sent shivers down his spine even though he was not even able to see his facial expressions. Yet, for some reason, when Moby said that he knew it wasn''t him and that he would not be punished, he felt some sort of sick satisfaction in his weak, distorted heart, the look of gratitude on his face as he felt like he had dodged a massive bullet. With a mellow look of gratitude on his face, Jason followed his orders and stood on his two feet only to be in awe at the fact that the once dirty, overbearing battlefield now lookedpletely pristine, almost like nothing had happened to it. Using his right hand, Moby opened a weird, unknown, almost otherworldly vortex he had never seen him use, and with it, he cleaned up the droplets of sweat that had unbeknownst to him, dripped down from his face and onto the ground, making a small smile appear on Jason''s face to see his master looking out for him as well, even though deep down he still knew that Moby just did not want to leave any evidence since he had other ns for him that did not include him being questioned or put in jail for a crime he knew he did not do. In the blink of an eye, Moby disappeared from his previous location and appeared right in front of Ray, putting him on his shoulders in a way that would minimize his grave yet not fatal injuries before he sprinted into the forest, jumping from tree to tree, making sure that he did not break any branches as not to show his trail. Jason, who was now behind him followed suit as they both swiftly manoeuvred through the darkness of the moonlit night, Jason only using his ability when he knew that he would not crash into any iing trees. Moby''s emotional outburst only seemed to annoy, cloud his vision, and make him do dumb mistakes. He had yet to notice it at the time but it was exactly what had happened during the exam with Natalia as well. He needed some way to fix this, to get his emotions under control yet he was still not sure how to do so. Moby tried to clear his mind, inwardly taking a deep breath, if he had not overheard Ray''s words prior to his arrival or if the faith of his absolute control over his servants had been any weaker, he might have lost his cool and killed Jason on the spot, apletely idiotic move that would have only dragged him closer into a corner, if he wanted to get rid of Jason, the best way would have been to pin the me of the dead students on him, not outright kill him. He was still extremely on edge, his anger had nearly reached its limits when he had seen Jason pinning Ray to a wall with a disturbing smile that he now understood was just nervous and terrified. Yet, just like other times, he managed to suppress his overwhelming emotions as he looked down at Jason''s shaky, terrified body, trying his best to seem calm, collected and in control. Luckily for him, Jason did not bother looking at his face or else he would have witnessed the less than pleasant sight of Moby awkwardly trying to control his emotions. His heart became progressively less and less at ease after he had witnessed what kind of state Ray was in, he had absolutely no clue what Ray was doing or what was going through his mind until then. He had tried to contact him using his watch to update him on the situation, yet for some reason, he was not able to reach him. But, since ording to Jason, who was keeping an eye on him, he waspletely fine, just staring at the moon with a nervous expression, he did not think much of it and did not bother to waste any time going to his location that he had saved forst as to have the fastest, most optimal rout to clean up before finally going to pick him up in the end. However, for some odd reason, despite knowing Alex for the same time he knew Ray, he felt like his emotions would have gone far more wildly out of control if that was him in that situation instead. As a matter of fact, any one of his family members would have incited a far worse reaction than what he had shown. He was not sure if that was because he just did not like or care for Ray as much as the others or due to the fact that his connections and time spent with the others were much more memorable and life-changing. Or, maybe there was something else going on to affect his way of thinking like what Avilia had suggested to him prior yet he was not entirely sure and did not dwell on the thought for long. Despite Moby knowing his power over both Jason and Nags was absolute, he still did not even consider letting them touch hisrades in any way shape or form. He would not call himself overprotective in a million years, he still gave all of them all the freedom they would ever need and he trusted them to do their jobs and take care of themselves. Yet, at the same time, he could just not bear to see it as he knew many, mostly untrue thoughts would spread in his mind, he wanted his still foggy, hurting soul to be at peace so he decided to do things himself, especially considering everything He could have easily saved himself the time and hassle of things by just ordering Nags and Jason to grab hisrades and safely transport them out of the forest and back in the dorm, but due to those personal reasons, he could not allow himself to give out that order. Especially when the scene of one of them trying to grope Jayden in inappropriate ways was one of those thoughts. And, even if he ordered them not to do that, they could still maybe get some sick sense of satisfaction by just simply touching her since she was one of the most sought-after girls in the entire school if not the country. Moby had been so lost in his own thoughts that before he even knew it, he had finally neared his next destination, Jayden and Alex''s bodiesing back into view. As soon as he neared the area, he heard ruffling in the trees before he noticed the small figure of someone jumping in the distance away from his location. Moby was not at all bothered or surprised since he knew exactly who and what it was. Moby jumped off from the nearest tree and in one swift motion, he promptly stomped his feet on the ground, grabbing both Alex and Jayden''s light, almost feather-like bodies, gently putting them on his back before jumping away once again. He only had 10 minutes remaining, and with everyone on his back and everything ounted for, it was finally time to head back to the dorms where he could safely interrogate Nags and Jason and where Ray, Alex, and Jayden could rest and heal before they too join the conversation in order to help search for Abby and topple the gang responsible for her disappearance. Therge, deep footstep that he had left in the grass behind him as a result of his stomp did not at all bother him in the slightest, and he did not care to waste his time to clean it up and ruin his speedy momentum. The boots that he wore were not like any other he had ever worn before so, he would not be able to be identified or tracked from it, especially since it was only one and nothing more, not much evidence to go off so the school would have to resort to questioning absolutely everyone using a lie detector unless he somehow missed an important detail while cleaning up, something he really doubted after looking so thoroughly through everything with his eyes of sin. Plus, using his crafting menu, he was easily able to mould and form his armour into whatever he wanted so after he changes it,?there would be no evidence of such a footprint ever even existing in the school. With all 3 of his friends on his back that barely even hindered his speed and movements, he had finally reached the edge of the forest. Using his eyes of sin to make sure that there was no one looking ahead in the open, dimly lit training area in front of the dorm room, Moby sneakily and quickly exited the forest, Jason following suit trying to block the outside view of Moby who had 3 unconscious people on his back. Using the dark areas that were not lit, Moby snuck towards the door of his dorm room building, noticing various other students helping their injured or unconscious friends or "friends" as it was a rathermon urrence due to the rampant corruption and violence in the school that seemed to rarely enforce their rules unless they were forced, or when the situation called for it. Swiftly and stealthily, Moby along with Jason finally reached the front of their door, carefully making sure that they were not being watched before Moby scanned his student card, opening the lit room before slipping in before anyone saw them, quickly yet carefully closing the door behind them. And, just like he expected, the first thing he noticed when entering the room was the figure of Nags wearing his school uniform, his eyes closed with a face full of calmness, breathing steadily through his nose, his demeanour looking more like the first time he had met him and not at all like the mad, crazy beast he had seen him prior, both his arms legs crossed as he sat beside the small table looking like a mouse, both from his short stature and his extremely quiet nature. Chapter 197 - A Small Lie

Chapter 197: A Small Lie

Nags opened his previously closed eyes, taking a quick nce at the new arrivals before nodding to himself, closing them once again. Ignoring Nags for now, Moby walked right past him, his 3 friends still on his back as he headed straight for the 3 bunk beds of the room. Smoothly and steadily Moby put each one of them on separate bunk beds, Ray at the bottom where he usually slept, Alex in the middle, and Jayden on his routine bed at the top of the bunk. He knew that due to their demon regeneration, Alex and Jayden should wake up very soon. As for Ray, without proper healing, he would need days or maybe even weeks topletely heal. So, he would have to wait until Jayden woke up to heal him. Earlier, he had asked Avilia if he had any slots left to turn more people into demons, to which she responded by telling him that he had only one remaining. This meant that if he really wanted to, he could just turn Ray into a demon at this moment which would both boost his power and fully heal him at the same time. Yet, he was very reluctant to do so since he would not know how Alex would react to him doing such a thing, even though that was exactly what had happened to him. But currently, he did not have any time to ask for permission about such things and he really could not care less in his current predicament. He needed as much help as possible and he felt like Ray would be able to provide much of that help in the form of his brain. Even if Moby asked him and he rejected, he would be forced to turn him anyways. Ray only really had 1 choice, to conform, there would be no way to really hide his secrets from him anymore and he needed consent to be able to manipte his memories. And, Even if he wanted to die Moby would not allow him to. Also, as for the inevitable lie detector test the next morning, if he left Ray as he was now, he would not be able to bypass the lie detector test, meaning that it would ruin all his ns as he would be forced to expose everything that had transpired. At times like these, Moby needed to think rationally in order toe to apromise between sides, he needed Ray turned into a demon no matter what but he also did not want Alex to go on his bad side, especially in a time where they should all be united to fight against amon enemy. With only a bit of thought, arge smile of satisfaction appeared on his face as he managed toe up with the perfectpromise, a small lie to bring everyone together. Without a moment of hesitation, Moby crouched down to Ray''s eye level at the bottom bunk and gently put his hands on his forehead. Before injecting him with his demon energy, he made sure that he waspletely unconscious, because if he were not then he would have to suffer the unbearable, soul-crushing process of evolution which was something that he, of course, did not want to burden him with. Moby''s demon energy flowed and spread from Ray''s head into every organ in his entire body, Moby stopping when he felt like he had expended enough. When he lifted his hands from Ray''s head, he noticed that the transformation process had already slowly begun as Ray''s body began to tremble and shake fervently with the few low sounds of cracks filling the air which were the first few steps and signs of a person''s transformation. Moby knew that the transformation would be extremely messy and rather loud, allowing his next-door neighbours to hear him, but he was fully ready to take that risk since there was really no better ce that he could do the transformation process. He stood back up on his two feet and stared at him along with Jayden and Alex with a warm yet stone-cold smile on his face before turning around and walking towards Nags and Jason who were both, just like he ordered, sitting on the ratherrge table in the centre of the room. As he was walking towards them, he noticed that Jason had also already changed back from his battle suit into his school uniform. On his right hand was a storage ring which was probably what he used to change his clothes which all but confirmed one of his questions. Moby also decided to do the same, his bulky armour was starting to get rather bothersome so he also decided to switch back to his school uniform for something more casual andfortable, using his inventory instead of a ring. Moby sat down on the opposite end of the table, he was on one side while Jason and Nags were sitting next to each other on the other. Jason''s face had very visible droplets of sweat as he looked at him with shaky eyes like he was trying his best to seem confident. As for Nags, his eyes were also wide open looking at him yet he had an air of calm intrigue and curiosity, a definite contrast between the two. "M-my lord¡­ If you don''t mind me asking, d-did you just turn that bra- *Cough* *cough*, brave soul into a demon as well? And are all of your friend''s demons just like us?" Jason immediately asked using mind-link as soon as Moby sat down, Nags looking at him with a nod of understanding like he also seemed to be interested in that question, still not saying a single word. "The answer to both questions is yes, Ray was fatally injured and with no healing or medical assistance to be found, I was forced into doing it. As for the others, don''t evenpare or put your selves on the same levels, right now both of you are just my ves and nothing more," Moby confidently replied, imnting the lie in their mind. "I fully understand¡­ I promise what happened to Ray waspletely out of my control. I-I had no way of knowing what he wanted to do... Thank you so much for your response, my lord¡­ I promise to redeem my previous self''s actions and prove my loyalty to you and earn my right to live¡­" Jason replied, lowering his head, gulping a clump of saliva that Moby somehow managed to pick up on. "If you don''t have anything more to say, then I am going to be asking you various questions about your gang, I know if you are trying to lie or deceive me so tell the truth if you value any sliver of your lives," Moby added, his dominant air filling the table and the entire room as an extension. Then, suddenly, Nags who looked as calm and tranquil as ake slowly lifted his hands in the air, almost like a student raising his hand to ask a question to his teacher. That action somewhat confused Moby, making him raise an eyebrow before he immediately noticed what was going on, making him feel rather ipetent for forgetting. The order for Nags to stay silent was still in effect for that entire time and he had yet to revoke it. "Yes Nags, you may speak," Moby said, using his authority over him as his master. "Thank you for that boss. First off I would like to say that I am not some brainless idiot like my previous actions would suggest. I sincerely apologize for my earlier unsightly outburst, I let my emotions get the best of me when I thought that you were a Shalker." "Now I fully understand that I was wrong and that you are much more than that, when you called me a demon I didn''t take that literally as I should have. You are, no, we really are all demons, I thought those things only existed in myths but here I am proven wrong." "Me and you are more alike than I had first assumed in more ways than one. That order you gave was a wake-up call for me to understand the full predicament I was in so I thank you for that, And you keeping me silent, not allowing me to argue allowed me to think and take things in clearly again. You''re truly wise for your age, all your actions had a deeper underlying meaning. The mind of a pure demon seems to be far greater than that of our own. I know the extent of your power over me, I fully know what will happen if I do something wrong or try to deceive you so I am not dumb enough to do that." "Anyone who had experienced your absolute control and power over them first hand would be foolish beyond belief to go against you. You are now my new boss, my new lord which is something that I can''t change but for some reason, I don''t really mind," Nags said with a clear conviction in his voice, making Jason who was sitting beside him shudder and awkwardly smile. Moby looked at Nags with a hint of uncertainty, using his emotion sensing to see how he was feeling, only for it to show up that he was calm and slightly content which was not much to go on. He still had no idea how his demon transformation had affected his mind or if he was trying to manipte him with his sweet talk, he saw Nags as a muchrger threat than Jason could ever be yet he also knew that he was much stronger and more vital to his ns. However, other than him overthinking and overanalyzing his actions, he felt like he did have some truths in his words. Moby felt some sort of weird sense of familiaritying from him. He felt like he might prove to be a great asset and a wee addition to the new team if things don''t go wrong. "Nags, were you being truthful with all of your words? Moby asked, exerting his irresistible authority on Nags. "Yes, I was," Nags calmly replied, making Moby''s unease lessen considerably. "I see, I am d you understand, I hope you serve me well. It''s nice to have someone like you as a subordinate, the next days will be extremely harsh so both of you could prove yourselves th-" Moby said before being abruptly cut off by an abrupt yet fully expected sounding from behind. "GGGGRRRRRR!!" The sound of cracking and painfilled growling filled the ears of everyone in the room, making them all instinctively take a nce at Ray who was no doubt the source of such sounds, blood flowing everywhere as it dyed the bedsheets red and dripped onto the wooden ground below. Moby inwardly sighed, knowing that there was not much that he could do about it, refocusing his gaze to Jason and Nags to ask them his first of many questions that he had been saving in order to try and get to the bottom of things. They still had plenty of time before Alex, Jayden, and Ray woke up and fully recover so allowing them to speak was not a hindrance to him at all. "Let me help you with that," Nags suddenly spoke out of nowhere, putting his hands out in front of him with a familiar green glow, creating a small barrier that began topletely surround Ray. Considering that Moby had already given them the order not to hurt his friends and the fact that he sensed no ill intent or ulterior motivesing from him, he decided to let Nags continue what he was doing. When the barrier was fully erected, the sound of Ray''s anguish disappeared along with it. It was some sort of sound-cancelling barrier, making Moby inwardly smile and nod as he had no clue that Nags possessed such a thing. "Impressive... Thanks for that, that''s actually really helpful," "No problem, boss," Nags naturally replied with a nod. Now that he thought about it, he had only seen a few of Nags''s special shields and there were a lot more in his repertoire, the sound cancelling shield sparking his curiosity yet he fought himself back from asking him about them now as there were far more urgent and pertinent things to discuss, the more time they wasted the more they kept Abby waiting and suffering who knows what kind of anguish. He needed to get to the bottom of things and quickly, despite the fact that he knew that there would likely be a school-wide secure school, forcing everyone in their rooms and not allowing any of them to leave under any circumstance. "Okay, no more wasting time. I have many questions to ask you so let me just get to the point and get the big one out first... Who is the leader of the Zexis gang?" Chapter 198 - Good News? Bad News?

Chapter 198: Good News? Bad News?

In the middle of a dark room dimly lit by a small deskmp, mountains upon mountains of messy paperwork on a metal desk and an entire ocean of it on the ground, sat a single man, a mixture, of pure madness and despair on his face, taking a sip from his fifteenth cup of coffee just that day before mming it back on the table. *Slurrrrrppppp* "Ahhhhh," *m* It was a tall man standing at a height of 6''6" that seemed no older than 30 yet looked 50 at the same time, his previous jet ck hair and beard were now dishevelled and showing a few strands of white growing from the roots, the bags under his eyes had their own bags, causing a ck ring around them from a mixture of his extreme stress andck of sleep. His previously smooth skin now showing small wrinkles and other signs of ageing. It was none other than general Ryker... If one would have called him a zombie before he was now a mad, broken empty husk. He leaned back onto his chair, letting go of his pen that he had been using to file paperwork before yelling a painful cry at the top of his lungs, grabbing a few papers on the ground, shoving them in his face like a pillow. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," Then, he leaned even further back onto his chair once more, a mellow smile and chuckle of depression as he began tough softly to himself, a few tears running down his face. "Heh¡­ Heh¡­ Heh¡­" He had developed such a method of stress relief during the past week which was so far proving to be rather effective. 20 cups of coffee a day and screaming his heart out did wonders to relieve his now broken mind. He had the luxury to do such a thing since he knew that his room was fully soundproof, allowing no sound toe in or out, unless it was a knock at the door, something that people were forced to do before entering which meant that he was inplete, secluded privacy just like he wanted, meaning that nobody could see him in such a messed up, sorry state. Despite knowing that he would no doubt be fired in theing days, he still had a position and stature to uphold as the pir of the school, and he did not want to further embarrass himself and sully his already tarnished legacy and reputation. He had been reprimanded and looked down upon by all his peers in the military, including people of lower standings such as teachers and even students over, and over, and over again, been sent so many death threats from various families that it was almost too much to keep up with, and now, in the blink of an eye, he was about to lose his job¡­ A job that he was so passionate about and had worked so hard to obtain, so many years of non-stop training and determination to prove himself the best out of all his peers, all of that gone... flushed down the drain for what seemed to him at the time, a simple miscalction which made him go absolutely crazy. If anything, most people thought that he had gotten off easy, not being jailed or executed for his actions, only being fired and branded as an outcast. But in that respect they would have beenpletely wrong, he would have much rather been sent to jail, at least there he would have been safer. He was going to be thrown out as a disgrace, and a social pariah, no one wanting to house or help him despite his power and previous stature in fear of what would happen, thrust in a world where so many people wanted him dead. He had to be on guard, watch himself at every corner because who knew when an assassin from a family woulde to take revenge for their fallen children, pinning the me onto him. The only reason he was even still in office was that they could not find a suitable recement in such a short amount of time, meaning that he could keep his job until then because a general rank in the army was required to have a certain level of strength, if they were any weaker assigning them to the position would have beenpletely impossible. And, since a school needed to have a general rank to function, they had no choice but to keep him in office until they found a suitable recement. After the incident of the student massacre, they had sent various patrol teams to inspect the state of the that the exam took ce on, Xibillvia. They had set an exam there only a few years prior, and they did not find any trouble, only weak beasts that reached to the top of D rank at the most. So. they did not bother checking it again as they were certain of the fact that it would stay rtively the same in that short span of time. It was a good teamwork exercise due to the fact that the was predominantly dark and they would lose points for every student killed. The weaker students would be forced to try their best to adapt and survive in the darkness of the night and the stronger students would be forced to stay alert and watch out for any beast that might have taken out a weaker student, making them lose points. Each member was vital and it helped the high tiers and low tiers coexist. If they needed help of any sorts, they gave them an emergency button that was quite unneeded on such a filled with weak monsters, even though they knew that the leaders possessing the buttons were all prideful and would not use the button under any circumstance in fear of repercussions or even worse, disgracing their family name. At least that was how it was going to work in theory, reality proved otherwise¡­ When they did the lie detector test on all the students, they noticed that there were near no student on student killing, far less than any year prior. That was not because there was no animosity between the students, far from it. It was only a result of the fact that the students could not afford and had no luxury for infighting, especially when there were now some B and even A rank creatures roaming the, ready to sniff them out from where ever they were hiding, that fact was both confirmed by the surviving students and the patrol team sent to the. In the short span of a few years, somehow, the average beast went from being the middle of E tier to the high end of D tier, which was seen as unheard of prior, so it was understandable why the general did not bother to check the before sending them, yet, the me was still all put on his shoulders. The difference in rank might not have sounded like much on paper but was in fact catastrophic, over a 3 times difference in average power level¡­ These events were unprecedented. Along with the patrol teams, many research teams also joined them trying to understand what had led to such a thing. But, to this day, even after a week they had yet to find any evidence that might have led them to make even the simplest hypothesis, or at least that was what they had told the public. They might have been hiding some sort of deeper secret that they did not want to share with the people, but at this point, despite his temporary general rank, he was not informed despite being in the centre of all the drama. It was most likely because he was not trusted by the military as they did not want to associate with him anymore, a fact that he was constantly reminded of every day since the incident. Ryker keptughing to himself with a sorry state, one hand covering his tired, hazy eyes as his mind was overwhelmed with a sudden emotional outburst about what had just happened in the past week, the worst week of his entire life. Moments like these only happened once every few days and every time it happened, he could not help but feel like he had lost more and more of his true self. *SLAM* Suddenly, without any warning, the office doors were thrust wide open, a beautiful, pale-skinned, short brown haired girl wearing a whiteb coat over her impressive figure was seen at the door, panting with a shaky look of pure horror on her otherwise cute, doll-like face. When she looked into the dimly lit room, all that she was able to see was the sorry state of the general, quietlyughing to himself with what looked like tears running down from under his ck, baggy eyes. When he noticed her at the door, instead of trying topose himself and pretend like nothing happened, he instead beganughing even louder and harder than before. She had assumed that he had been hiding his inner torment from her for thest week on the few asions that they did talk but she did not expect that he had lost himself to such an extent. She truly felt bad for him, she knew that none of what happened was his fault, he just followed the standard protocol and paid deeply for it. She was one of the only people in the entire military that was on his side and openly showed and expressed her pity for him when any other person wanted to stay as far away as possible and disassociate themselves from him out of fear. Yet, now was not the time tofort him, it was an emergency situation beyond almost anything she had seen in her many years of work and she decided it would have been for the best if she delivered the message to him in person rather than on the phone. "General Ryker Sir! Pardon the intrusion but I have very pertinent news to report that will require you''re utmost attention!" The nurse said with a standard salute, still showing Ryker full respect which made him realize what he was doing and snap back into reality. *Ahem* "Apologies for the unsightly view you had toe in and witness, don''t worry about intruding, it was just my break and I saw an extremely hrious meme. So, what was it that you wanted to report?" Ryker said with a smile, calm andposure in his voice as for some reason, he always felt at peace when he talked to the nurse. "Sir! 60 students were reported dead in the forest! All of their watch signals disappearing at the same time! This is unprecedented!" The nurse yelled in a grave tone, as soon as she closed the door, not letting any other person pick up on their sound. "Haha! Don''t worry about it! You should know that simr things happen every year! It was going to happen sooner orter but I guess 60 is muchrger than usual. E and F ranks really have it tough, don''t they?" Ryker said with a chuckle, trying to calm himself down with some sick humour. "B-but sir! They all ranged from D rank to low B rank! All at once wiped out! How did this happen!? Who or what do you think did this!? Are you thinking what I am also thinking?!" The nurse frantically announced in panic. ¡­ ¡­ "Ummm¡­ sir! Are you okay!? We need your help! Sir!" She yelled once more as she waited for a response only to not receive one, the general''s face goingpletely nk before an unexpected smile appeared on his face. ''If this is the work of a Shalker or some sort of other alien or beast and I am the one who captured them, I might be able to save my job! No! I might even be promoted and celebrated as a hero!'' He thought to himself, his smile growing even wider and more distorted than before, trying to think positive and grab onto the small light handed to him with all the might left in his soul. "Call a school-wide lockdown! No one is leaving in or out the premises! We are going to get to the bottom of this!" Chapter 199 - Questioning

Chapter 199: Questioning

{ Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert! The school will be going into immediate lockdown! Any students on school grounds need to return to their dorms immediately in the next 5 minutes, failure toply will lead to your immediate arrest and you will be taken in for interrogation! As for students outside the school, please stay calm and find somewhere else to sleep for the night. Curfew rules will not apply to you for the rest of the day unless we inform you otherwise. We will keep you updated. There is absolutely, under any circumstance, no exit or entry on or off the premises. Don''t even try to attempt it, you will be stopped by the barrier surrounding the school and immediately reported to staff. We urge all students to stay calm, the school will figure things out and update you on the situation when the time is right. } A sudden, monotone, calm, female voice resounded into everybody''s ears all at once, the sound causing loud echoes to ring around the room as her voice came off everybody''s watch, even from that of the still unconscious people, interrupting Moby as soon as he asked his important question. Deep down, Moby knew that such a thing would happen yet at the same time he did not predict that they would be so severe about it. Moby inwardly cursed his situation, he had dug himself into a massive hole, literally trapping himself in the school with no real means of escape. If only he had predicted exactly what would happen and had chosen to gather elsewhere, like outside of the school grounds, they would have been free to roam and explore the city all night. With a long sigh, Moby inwardly shook his head trying to get rid of such thoughts to focus on the task at hand. All of that searching depended on if they had even found a hint of where Abby''s location might have been. If it came to that point, then they might have to find a way to exit the school during lockdown, he was more than willing to take the risk in order to save her. Now, all he needed was more information and to wait for his friends to reawaken until he could decide on what his next move was to be. "Okay, that was an unexpected interruption but that still doesn''t change the question that I am asking you, who is your former boss? Who is the leader of the Zexis gang?" Moby spoke, repeating his question with a cold, icy stare of seriousness. Even the mere mention of the gang''s name and the boss made Jason sweat more than he was before with a somewhat sad glint in his eyes. Despite the fact that he knew he was now branded a traitor, that name still bore many memories so he could not help but reminisce about all the good and all of the bad. However, of course, after more wake-up calls than he would like to admit, he fully recognized that all of that was now behind him and he now had a new life and served an entirely different boss, one that he was actually able to see in person. Moby mostly focused his gaze off Jason and focused more on Nags. ording to what he knew, the third seat and above were the only members that were actually allowed to witness the boss and know their true identity, so under such assumptions, Nags should know who and what they look like. "As I said, I am beingpletely honest with you¡­ And the truth of the matter is I still don''t know¡­" Nags responded, matching Moby''s heavy voice with one of his own. Moby''s eyes grew wide, almostpletely breaking his poker face from the surprise that those words held as he knew that he was for a fact telling the truth. "What! How do you not know!? You''re the 3rd seat are you not!? Exin yourself!" He yelled with an air of authority, trying his best to suppress his absolute shock in order to keep with his calm, leader-like appearance. "Well, unlike Jason who had been in the gang for over a year now, I had just only joined 3 weeks before the first exam. I was a new transfer student from another school in the country. And, just like you, my talents were recognized and I was invited to join, but also like you, I rejected their invitation since I was new and didn''t know any better. But, unlike you, I had lost, very miserably¡­ Not by a second year, no, by another first-year¡­ I think you now know her name very well, HikariYami, a person so strong yet so obscure in nature that it even weirded me out¡­" "In the end, I personally chose to enter the gang to alleviate my boredom with the promise of greater strength if Iply, and part of it was so I can grow strong enough to both reach my goals and defeat her. At my old school, I was by far the strongest out of all the first years, but now at this new school, I am not even sure anymore." "Anyways, enough of my rambling. To get to the point, I might be the 3rd seat, but since I am still new, I had to prove my loyalty more before I was able to meet the boss. She used this mission to capture you as some sort of test, so even though you would have been the new 3rd seat if you joined, the boss promised that if Ipleted my mission and brought you to our side, then she would extend the limit to the top 4, and allow me to see her face, so you just got unlucky by rather inopportune timing," Nags exined in a calm yet serious manner. Moby once again knew that what Nags was saying was also the truth. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and paid great attention to Nags''s words, making sure that he missed no details. He now understood more why he thought that they were somewhat simr in nature, they both had very simr experiences. It seemed like he had gotten his hopes up too high, of course, it would not have been that easy, his streak of bad luck seemingly had no end. Yet, that was not enough to discourage Moby and surely not enough to make him give up. As he listened closely to Nags''s words, he could not help but pick up on one subtle detail one might not have picked up on unless they were being attentive. "Hmmm¡­ I see, you said, "Her" does that mean that you are certain that the boss is a she?" Moby asked with clear curiosity in his voice. "Well, I would not say certain, but fairly certain. It slipped out of Hikari''s mouth a few times when we talked so take of that what you will." "Does the gang have a certain hideout? Where do you think HikariYami would be taking Abby?" "Well, the gang didn''t really have a set hideout. Orders were usually given out digitally, the gang has so many members that sometimes you would be grouped up with random people that you had no clue were also in the gang. To my knowledge, there had never actually been a formal meeting between all the top members, the boss just randomly paired people with each other at will and I was always stuck with this buffoon every time," Nags said, pointing at Jason with his thumb, making him look like he wanted to respond back, only to stop himself and keep silent. Moby tried to rack his brain around all the information that was given to him, he wondered what else he could ask that could bring him at least somewhat closer to the truth. There was no way he was about to give up now, there must have been something more that he could do but he was not sure what it was just yet. *hhhh-hhwwaaaaaa* Suddenly interrupting his thinking, a sudden yawn rang all around the room,ing from the bunk beds behind them. When Moby turned around, he noticed that Jayden had begun moving, stretching her arms out wide with an open mouth that was less than pleasant yet still considered cute in Moby''s eyes. Scratching and opening her dead-looking gray eyes that werepletely unlike her usual beautiful dark blue, she sat straight up on the top bunk to continue her stretching. "Hwahhh¡­ What''s happening? Why can''t I see? Are the lights off? No! I have night vision! What''s happening?!" She mumbled out loud, trying toprehend what was going on. Then, before Moby even had the chance to respond and calm her down even though he too had no idea what was going on, Jayden immediately transformed herself into another girl, one that he recognized as a servant in her family, as she began to use a healing ability on her still not working eyes. Chapter 200 - Breaking The News

Chapter 200: Breaking The News

Nags and Jason stared in awe, almost unable to believe their own eyes, they had never seen or even heard of such an ability. So, to them, it only meant one thing. It must have been some sort of demon powers. ''Jayden! Everything is okay! Calm down!'' Moby''s voice rang in her head, only to be ignored as a simple hallucination from an unclear mind, the enemy trying to y tricks on her to let her guard down while she was blinded. Despite all her efforts, nothing seemed to be working and she needed a way to survey her situation as soon as possible. All of her memories rushed back into her head all at once as she was once again on high alert thinking that there were enemies all around her. Her top priority was to scan her surroundings and ignore her other senses for now, since they would only slow her down as there was no way that she could fight while blinded. It must have been some sort of skill HikariYami had used on her, there was no other exnation. She began to panic, no matter what she did, nothing was helping, in her mind, there was only 1 thing that she could do... Without a second of hesitation, she ripped out both of her eyes, storing them immediately in her inventory before healing her now empty eye sockets, making her eyes regenerate back onto her face, finally giving her back her vision. When she opened her new eyes, light, colour, her entire surroundings were now back into view, making here to a realization that she was no longer in the forest fighting for her life, but in a tiny room sitting on a less thanfortable rock hard bunk bed high up in the room, an in-between point between the softness of her bed and the hardness of the ground. When she looked down, she saw her boyfriend, Moby, with a look of worry on his face. Beside him were two unknown people she had never seen or heard about before, both wearing the standard student uniform. Yet, from the inherited mind-link she had with everyone in the household, she was immediately able to recognize them as demons. Seeing that she had no idea who they were, why Moby turned them into demons, and what importance they served, she decided to act neutral to them until that information was clearer to her. Things seemed almost too good to be true, like she had already died and was living in a dream. She wore a bright smile on her face, trying her best tears of joy from running down her face as she immediately jumped down from her position on the top bunk to go give Moby a big hug. She had thought that she was dead, that she might never be able to see Moby ever again¡­ that was what scared and haunted her the most, and now seeing him in front of her alive and well, she could not help but explode into a flurry of emotions. Catching him off guard, she switched back to her normal body, jumping straight on Moby as she tightly hugged him into her embrace with no care for any spectators. "I''m alive! You''re alive! You are my saviour! I am sorry I failed and had to burden you with everything¡­ You always do so much for me but I do so little back... I thought I was never going to be able to see you again!" Jayden yelled in a loud yet tender voice, hugging Moby even ample, her ample breasts firmly pressing against his chest, small tears running down her newly regenerated eyes. "Yeah¡­ I''m d you''re alive too¡­ But you''re giving me too much credit, I really didn''t do anything¡­" Moby replied in a warm yet mellow voice, returning her embrace with a soft kiss on the lips to help calm her down, her cheeks turning a slight tint of rose as she was lost in her own paradise, more tears running down her face as she tried to savour the moment for as long as she could. After a few seconds that felt more like minutes, they both instinctively let go of each other, Jayden''s face blooming beat red from the sudden realization of her hasty actions that she had done without even thinking as she took a nce at the smiling Nags and Jason that had seen everything. Yet, she still felt no regret. Her heart felt more at peace than it had been in many days, and the joy of the asionpletely overshadowed any shred of embarrassment that remained in her heart. To change the conversation, she managed to spot Ray out of the corners of her eyes, clearly going through the stages of a demon transformation. Knowing that he definitely had a good reason for doing so, she did not press Moby about it any further. Above him in the middle bunk was Alex, seemingly no injuries on his body but stillpletely unconscious. "It seems like you managed to get your friend back and fight back all of those pricks! They never even stood a chance!" Jayden celebrated with augh of victory, making Moby''s face slightly get tenser which she did not pick up on. "I see that Alex is down and recovering, but I don''t see Abby here anywhere! Where is she? Knowing her she is probably out there either training or writing her report on what happened until we all wake up and celebrate! Am I right?" Jayden mused, nudging Moby friskily on the arm with a yful expression. However, despite everything that Jayden did, Moby did not return her sentiment, a worried look on his soft, yet grim face, trying toe up with the correct words to use to give her the news. "What''s wrong? Did I say anything wrong?" Jayden spoke, a hint of worry and clear puzzlement in her voice. Moby readied himself, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, tightly gripping Jayden''s shoulders before he told her the truth... "Jayden¡­ Abby is¡­ Gone¡­" Chapter 201 - Phone Call

Chapter 201: Phone Call

"Yeah! Well duh! I already know she''s gone! I''m not blind! At least not anymore!" Jayden said,ughing at her own rather dark remark, Moby staying dead silent with a serious look on his sweating face. "Okay, but for real, where did she go off to??She should really join us for a party at my ce!" She added, calming herself down from her previous outburst. "Jayden, Abby has been kidnapped!" Moby announced, yelling into Jayden''s mind-link, making her snap out of her bubble of happy thoughts and realize the severity of her situation. "....S-she''s gone¡­ B-but how¡­ A-abby¡­" Jayden muttered, her expressions and attitude shifting a full 180 degrees as she felt her heart suddenly lurch deep down in her chest, sending shivers down her spine, her eyes bing watery like the dam that had just been resealed was about to overflow once more. Despite the fact that the Griffiths and the Reids were meant to be long time enemies, they managed to bridge that almost taboo bridge and be each other''s first true friends. They only knew each other for a few months but those few months felt more like years, it had almost been like their life was on autopilot before they had turned into demons. Jayden saw Abby as her little sister sometimes and as her older sister in others, a source of true joy, and now, all of that was ripped away from her and all of those emotions began to sink in and ferment in her heart. "Kidnapped!? Kidnapped by who!? The gang!? Where? Are these fuckers to me!? My precious Abby¡­ Where are you!" Jayden yelled, overwhelmed by her own emotions as the news was so sudden to her, a waterfall of tears running down her face as she tightly clenched her still elerating heart that felt like it was about to leap out of her chest. "Please exin what happened to me! I need to know! What''s happening! Is this real?! Why the hell are we still even here! Let''s get the fuck out and start looking! Where do we look!? What are they going to do to her?! Wh-" Jayden continued, delving deeper and deeper into her own madness before Moby once again nted both of his hands firmly on her shoulders, a serious, rock hard expression on his face. "If you really want to know everything, stare deep into my eyes¡­" Moby said, trying to calm her down. "No-no! Not that skill again! You promised me you wouldn''t do it!" Jayden mumbled in a low, shaky voice. "We are low on time! If you want to know what happened as fast as possible please just trust me! It won''t be as big of a change asst time! I promise!" The passion in Moby''s voice rang into Jayden''s ears and unsteady heart, making her feel somewhatforted despite the fact that he was yelling at her. Moby had never in his life let her down, other than thest time he used this exact same skill on her which made her end up hating him for 30 minutes straight, an experience she did not want to repeat no matter what. Yet, that was only once, and right now, she was desperate to find answers and desperate to find Abby as soon as possible, meaning that she was willing to do anything. "F-fine! I trust you! Just make it quick¡­" Jayden mumbled with a low nod, and a bright smile thatpletely contrasted the waterfall of tears still flowing from both of her eyes. "This will only take a minute," Moby replied, returning her smile with one of his own, making her slightly calmer and more at ease despite everything that had just happened. Nags raised an eyebrow, a mix of confusion and curiosity on his face while Jason just gazed with intent as he prepared for the unexpected as from their perspective, it only seemed like they were having a staring contest, but why a staring contest at a time like this? That was why they had a feeling that it must have been some sort of unknown demon skill that he had yet to show them. After a minute straight of what looked like awkward staring, getting lost looking at each other''s eyes, not a single word was spoken giving the situation an air of odd seriousness when suddenly, both of their eyes closed simultaneously, almost like they were in sync. Their bodies lookedpletely unconscious yet at the same time their bodies stayed sitting up straight, not dropping on the ground like dead bodies. If Nags and Jason still had a vendetta to pursue or had been some sort of assassins, now would have been the perfect time to take them out as they were both in such a vulnerable state. Yet, they did not even attempt to lift a finger or even test the waters of Moby''s absolute control to see if it was still in effect when he was in such a state because the answer was still most likely yes, and if he knew what they were attempting, they would no doubt greatly be punished so they would rather not take the risk as they both continued staring intently to see what was going to happen. They had long epted ande to terms with their fate and their new lives, seeing how Moby was treating every other demon in his household as literal family made them feel hopeful that it might also happen to them one day if they proved themselves enough, hope in a tunnel that was simply pitch ck from before as they thought that they were only his tools to be thrown away once he had no use for them. Not long after they both fell asleep, they reawoke once more, Jayden looking calmer yet more distressed at the same time. All of the information that Moby had extracted from Alex, everything that had happened to him, why those two seemingly random people were here and both demons, why Ray was being turned into a demon, who it was that kidnapped Abby, the memory of her own body lying almost dead on the ground and Abby''s neck being tightly gripped by a devilish, ck-eyed, ck-haired witch. That information flowed into her mind all at once as she knew that Moby had used his memory maniption ability to imnt all the information he knew into her mind. Her calmness stemmed from the fact that she was now much more informed about the situation than before, but from that knowledge came the realization that Abby had been kidnapped in her attempt at trying to save her after their mind-link was somehow severed. Yet, she managed to suppress her guilt in order to have a clearer outlook on things, taking deep breaths to calm herself down, what had happened had already happened and there was nothing she could have done about it. They were simply outmatched, no matter what they through, there was no way of victory, even Alex who was definitely much stronger than her was defeated with but a single p, if anything, the opponent was way too cautious when fighting her, probably because they had not gauged her power, unlike Alex who she had been spectating the entire time. The only guilt that still managed to linger despite all her efforts to suppress it was the guilt of neglecting her training for so many years, thinking that she was safe due to her family power, that she was untouchable, no one daring toy a finger on her. That was because she was in the past, a very self-centred person that only cared for herself, she could not bother to care about others, as long as she was safe, nothing mattered. That power managed to save her from being kidnapped but proved to bepletely useless in saving Abby. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Moby who was still deep in thought before talking in a calm yet shaky voice as everything was slowly beginning to take ce in her mind. "Moby, since we can''t go out and look for ourselves, and we don''t have the first clue where to look since for all we know, they could already be on a faraway, we should probably contact the police. I would call my butler but that would not be possible since he is on vacation. And even if he weren''t he is only one man, even with all his various talents, he would still be unlikely to find them. I would contact my family but you know how it is between the Reids and the Griffiths. I can 100% confirm to you now that even if I begged and pleaded, it would not be possible, if anything this gesture of peace might be looked upon as some sort of mockery and spark another war between our families¡­ I would ask Alex- oh speaking of Alex I should probably go heal him so he could also join into the conversation," Moby nodding to her, Jayden stood up from her seat with another deep breath, yet before she could even turn around to face the bunk beds, an extremely familiar voice could be hearding from that direction. "No need, I am already awake¡­ I''ve been listening in for quite a while but I never found a good opportunity to talk until now," Alex said, staring at the ceiling of the top bunk, his voice sounding more normal than Moby expected. Hearing Alex''s words about being conscious for a long time, Moby became extremely nervous and tense and many "what ifs" began ying in his mind before shaking them away as most likely untrue. When Moby was seeing Alex''s memories, he had contemted changing them slightly to lower his guilt and ease his mind, but now, he was now d that he trusted his guts as Alex seemed to have seemingly recovered from his earlier daze. "I agree with Jayden''s suggestion, maybe the police is our only option right now. I would have said we could wait until curfew when they would be reported for being out of the dorms but due to the lockdown that''s no longer an option. Even though my family knows that I am friends with Abby, their hands are also tied, they can''t get involved." "Either we call the police or we contact the Reid household to let them know what''s going on, it might be a bad option since it might hurt her pride and since we know that her family hates her but they seemed to be more epting of her ever since she scored first on the exam. Either way, even if they were trying to be genuinely good or not, if they found out that Abby was kidnapped, they would be forced into going out of their way to find her, maybe not because they liked her but in order to save face and not embarrass themselves in front of all the big families." "The only problem is that no one here knows what the phone number to the Reid household is and it is obviously nowhere to be found online so that option is thrown out the window," Alex said with a heavy voice, sitting up straight to face the group. "WAIT! I think I know their phone number!" Jayden blurted, her eyes going wide in excitement. "What?! How? And why did you only JUST speak out about this!?" Alex asked, his eyes almost going just as wide as hers. "Sorry! My butler gave it to me a really long time ago! I just forgot that I had the number saved from when me and Abby did a prank phone call on them when we were bored!" Jayden replied, her excitement growing even further. Although both Alex and Jayden did not want to admit it, the Reid family was no doubt extremely powerful,pared to them, the gang would be like nothing more than ants. Once they find out what happened and get involved, even if it might lead to problems with her and her family, it was by far their best option, much better than the police who would be no doubt much slower and less trustworthy. That was the reason why Alex and Jayden''s expressions had shifted so drastically, it was a bright light, a crimson fire with a burning passion that had illuminated their otherwise dark situation. Yet, Moby, along with Jason and Nags, did not join in on their celebration and hopeful thinking, he felt like there was something wrong¡­ He had already thought of such a thing and the only logical conclusion he coulde up with was that there would be no way for the gang to be that ignorant. But, he did not want to ruin the mood so he decided to stay silent, hoping in his heart that his assumptions were wrong. "Okay! I''m calling them right now! Don''t worry Abby! Just hold on for a little bit longer!" Jayden spoke with a hopeful smile, calling them on her phone. *Doot* *Doot* *Doot* *Hello, you have reached the phone number of the esteemed Reid household, this is George Williams, the head butler, how may I help you today?* The voice of an old man rang throughout the room as Jayden had put the speakerphone on, his voice sounding close to the ent of country V, which was in the region where the united kingdoms stood over 100 years ago. "Umm¡­ Hello, this is Riely, I am one of Abby''s closest friends¡­ I got this number from her a while back... I just wanted to inform you guys that our school has gone into lockdown and Abby has yet to return back to her dorm¡­ And no matter how many times I call her watch, she would not respond... I am really worried about her¡­ I am really scared something happened to her¡­" Jayden said in a grave yet nervous tone, her voice changing almostpletely, no one would ever be able to guess that it was her, Moby looking at her once again stunned at her impable acting, once again reminding him why she was turned into a doppelganger. *Ho ho! It seems like the young miss truly has kind friends! She is extremely lucky to have friends like you! But worry not youngdy, I can more than assure you that the young mistress ispletely safe! In fact, if you could not tell by my voice, today is indeed a happy day. She had actuallye to visit us for the first time in several years! She is currently in her sister''s quarters catching up on all that they had missed and discussing how their lives have been since they hadst met,* Chapter 202 - Sister?

Chapter 202: Sister?

Abby slowly opened her eyes, her vision all blurry and unclear as the world continued to spin in circles all around her, her vision still shrouded in darkness despite her night vision. The memories of what had happened to her prior slowly began to renter her mind. Despite all of her best efforts, training, and preperations, HikariYami, that filthy witch, still managed to take her out with but a few simple strikes. She now knew more than ever that she was still far too weak, even with her massive increase of strength in the past few months. She needed to train even harder... Her enemy was much stronger than she had ever expected. She made a mockery out of her, embarrassed her in the presence of her lord who was fighting his heart out only a few kilometres away filling her heart with a mixture of feelings that even she could not fully decipher. She did not want to abuse her lord''s mercy and kindness. She was an absolute failure, her lord had already given her so many chances yet she always somehow managed to fail and disappoint him no matter how hard she tried. Yet, now was not the time for such thoughts, she could absolutely not allow herself to delve into such things. She needed to assess her situation and find her way out of her predicament in order to not make her lord''s life harder because despite all of her thoughts, deep down she knew and felt that her lord would never give her up. Even when he saw her pitiful moments of weak crying he tried tofort her and wipe away her tears, not by lying but by telling her the truth... He would never even think about hurting her... He always did what he thought was best for her as he was concerned for her safety and health, more than she could say about anyone else in her life. He was truly the kindest person she knew and he would never leave her for dead. He was certainly out there looking for her which made her feel both troubled andforted at the same time since she did not feel like she was worth such trouble. Instinctively, the first thing she tried was to establish a mind-link with her lord. Yet, exactly like what had happened with Jayden, she only received the muffled sound of static no matter how hard she tried, making her inwardly curse as she now knew her mind-link waspletely useless, most likely from an antimunication crystal that had been proved to tamper and affect such a skill. She knew that she was captured, no doubt in enemy territory. So, her top priority was to snap herself out of her confusion and return back to reality, shifting her attention once again. To help clear her sight, she naturally tried to lift her arm to scratch her eyes only to find out that she was not able to move even a single limb¡­ Yet, at this point, she was unsure if that was due to injuries, numbness, or bindings, her vision had not yet cleared to a point where she would be able to know that. Blinking a few times to help ease the strain on her eyes, she heard a voice echo inside her mind and all around her, a voice she would never be able to forget in a million years¡­ "It seems like you''re awake sister!" A voice that spawned from the depths of hell its self. Yet, with her cloudy mind, she decided to dismiss it as she knew that she always imagined and hallucinated about such things all the time, ignoring the sound was almost second nature to her. Yet, as the blur in her eyes continued to fade away, the rooming into clear view, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets like she was zapped out of her dazy, almost zombie-like state. She could not believe her eyes, was she in a trial? No! If she were in a trial she would not have even considered the thought of it being a trial, either this was a nightmare or it was actually reality. It was a room fit for a queen yet, in her mind, it looked like a room fit for a devil¡­ No, saying that would have been an insult to the lord she knew and loved with all her heart, it was more like a room fit for a monster... Therge, crimson room housed memories of a living hell for her, the ckened, blood-red walls surrounded by rich furniture of all kinds looked more like smanders ready to eat her alive, therge ruby bed at the back of the room looked like it could fit at least 4 people and had a chandelier on top of it with various red gems, giving the ck and red room an evenrger tint of red, even further adding to the hellishndscape in Abby''s mind. When she looked down, she noticed that she was sitting on a metallic chair, enchained by metal bindings that she knew looked all too simr, a nking sound echoing around the expansive room as she struggled to break free. Around her mouth was some sort of muzzle, making her look like an encaged beast to any possible onlooker. She tried to use her fire ability to break free but to no avail, the chains absorbing the heat and redirecting it back at her causing her severe burn marks that stretched all around her body, ignoring the pain for even the smallest chance of it working. She tried her hardest, using everyst fibre of her soul despite knowing that her attempts were most likely more futile, making her seem like a wild animal as only the nking of the chains and the muffled sounds of her screams were heard. Such was her loyalty to her lord and such was her hatred to the person she unquestionably knew the room belonged to. "Hello, "sister" it seems like you''re as rowdy as ever, no manners at all, have you not yet learned your lesson?" A voice emerged from right in front of her. Immediately, she gazed straight in that direction, her eyes turning into firey deadly slits as the person she knew was undoubtedly there came into view. The figure of a pure monstrosity, the source of all her anguish and pain, the person she wanted to kill and torture more than any other to pay them back for what they had done... It was the fiendish face of her sister, a look of clear mockery and amusement embedded on it, her long, crimson hair flowing over one of her zing eyes. She wore an elegant red dress only matched by the most expensive things she had seen in Jayden''s wardrobe, revealing various slits of skin to show off her undeniably curvy, desirable body, like she was trying to prove a point to her. Abby''s body began shaking like crazy and her heart became even more unsteady. The memories of the living hell she had been forced to endure welled in her heart like a volcano as she stared at the embodiment of pure evil and injustice of the world, the exact opposite of what she saw her lord. If her lord was her ray of never-ending love and shining hope that shined light upon every shadow, then her sister was the ck hole of forever darkness that sucked up all the light in the world. Abby tried to stay unruffled, not even a single shred of fear on her face as she continued her futile struggle of escaping, questions such as the reason why she was put in such a predicament not even appearing in her mind as her rationality began slowly fading away as her senses were overflowed by her immeasurable anger and killing intent. The person she hated the most in the entire world, the person who had caused her so much pain, anguish and suffering every day in her life, destroying her mind, body, and spirit was standing right in front of her, yet still out of her reach... "Ooo! Feisty aren''t we, but we both know that it''s not going to work, and even if it did work. There is 0 chance you would be able to even touch me¡­" "It''s been so long since west talked, don''t you want to catch up on what we missed? "Sister"?" She said with mockingughter. "You might be very confused right now, "I was just in the forest fighting, how did I get here? Why am I even here?" Would you believe me if I told you that I intercepted that person who kidnapped you and brought you back home safely?.... Hahaha! Who am I even kidding, of course, you wouldn''t and of course you are correct! My n didn''t work as well as I would have hoped, mom and dad didn''t allow me to leave the house due to their wedding anniversary so I had to rely on a bunch of fools to do my dirty work which actually turned out somehow better than I expected. With you here, it will save me lots of trouble" "Having a bunch of ves to do your dirty work is really fun you know! Right? I needed to fill the void after you left me all alone¡­ Right? If you did think that then you arepletely false. You see me as some sort of monster but I promise you I am so much more, nothing like what you think¡­" "I am not so simple-minded, my motives are beyond your scope. You are not even my target, you are just a weakling, a pawn, a hostage, a human... That Moby Kane is my true target, I never actually expected to find him on such a¡­ It was all by ident but this brought me so much joy that I was the first one to find him!" Abby''s eyes that were once firey slits grew wide, just the mere mention of her lord''s name made here back to her senses as her curiosity was peaked¡­ What would she even want to do with her lord!? What did she know¡­ Why is she talking like that? Thoughts such as those ravaged and destroyed Abby''s minds, her anger and insanity increasing even more yet this time, her rationality also increased along with them as it was now concerning the safety of her lord and saviour, not just her own. Her love and loyalty knew no bounds, she could not bear anyone talking down to him in such a way no matter who they were, her very soul and being would just not allow her to. The muffling of her sounds increased along with the burning of her flesh as she continued her futile attempts of escape. If only she had saved some of her undead in her inventory instead of using all of them, she might have been able to use them for an escape, making her curse her sister along with her own extreme ipetence. "Ho ho! It seems like I hit a nerve! I had a feeling that this person was really important to you! Keeping you alive was a great choice indeed!" She mused with clear satisfaction on her face that only made Abby even angrier. "For all your troubles, I''m going to tell you a little secret¡­ The only reason I came to this was to study your people''s nature and the abilities that you possessed, which was now more useless than you would expect. But despite that, I am forced to see this mission through to the end, who knew that I would end up finding such a treasure here!" Chapter 203 - The Truth (1)

Chapter 203: The Truth (1)

With a wicked grin from ear to ear her sister, Emilia Reid, slowly lifted her hands up to her face, and with one swiping motion, she began to change¡­ Her previous sandy beige skin slowly crackled and dissolved, revealing the pure white, almost ghost-like skin thatid underneath. Her long crimson hair immediately changed its colour, length, and style, making it more silky smooth than ever before, turning from ruby to silver with various strands of red, shortening from long to just right under her now evenrger bust. The sound of bones crackling filled the air as her body began to even further morph, her height growing taller from 5''8" to 5''10", as well as a change to all her assets, including her face that now showed off her glowing, blood-red, fiendish eyes that had red lines flowing from underneath them, a singlerge, white horn growing from the right side of her head with a crimson me burning on top of it. Abby''s eyes that were once deadly slits grew wide. She felt a searing pain in her lurching heart that now had a massive void, almost like there was a hole in her chest. She felt her stomach turning as she tried her best to not throw up all she had in her tightly secured muzzle that just barely allowed her to breathe. If she was able to move her mouth from under her bindings, her mouth would have been wide open in shock, and her body would have been shuddering as a reflection of her mental state that was both nk but inplete turmoil at the same time¡­ Nothing felt real yet she knew full well that it was real¡­ Was her sister ever even her sister? How long did thisst? How did this even happen? A Shalker as her sister? Does she, a Shalker have an ability? Do her parents know? What more secrets is she unaware of? Why does she want her lord? Did she even have a sister to begin with? And if she did what happened to her? Thoughts such as those ravaged and tore her mind apart, her expressionless face only being there as a result of her extreme mental turmoil. "HAHAHA! I bet you must be pretty confused right now! Like your entire life had been a lie! What more did you not know? Well, let me tell you now that you know nothing! You were just my puppet! A crippled doll that I used as both a pawn and a test subject! You were never my sister! You and I were never rted! I am a Shalker! The Great Vinova Igris!" The Shalker''s words, everyst one of them began to slowly trickle into Abby''s mind, steadily adding fuel to her inner burning inferno known as her madness, more than ever she needed answers. "Before you fade away into nothingness, I am going to share some of my secrets with you, a present from me to you for all the amazing help you''ve been to me! Consider it thest thing you see before your current self dies¡­" Vinova said, an amused smile on her face, only leading to nothing other than Abby''s shaky eyes now looking more intently at her "sister''s" visage, a face more calm yet more monstrous than she had ever seen her before. She looked both so familiar yet so foreign in her true form. "As you probably guessed. Yes, I am in fact a Shalker with an Ability, very rare indeed for my kind, or at least that used to be the case," She said, mumbling thatst part from under her breath that Abby was not able to pick up on. "Since so few of us had abilities and we were on fighting fronts with various different species, we were on the losing end on many of those wars because wecked 1 very important thing that many people from those other species possessed, magic, or what you here like to call them, abilities. But, out of every single. Earth was the only one with those weird pirs and the only one with over 90% of its poption possessing abilities." "Me along with a few other people of my kind were lucky enough to possess an ability, we were in the right ce at the right time, on a when it just suddenly rained unknown green liquid. Yet, despite having these abilities, we had no idea how to replicate them. Thus began the war with earth who seemed to know how to do such things," "Despite being severely outnumbered and outmatched in many ways, you managed to fight us back to a standstill! But, if you think we are of equal status you are fools! We were still fighting wars in many regions of the gxy! Most of our strongest generals were not even there! You all would be trampled without a second thought if we had our main force. Even I would admit that despite my hatred for them¡­" "My lord, who is no doubt the rightful ruler of all existence, had been searching the entire gxy for one person and, had predicted that earth would be a key that the main Shalker force would focus on so he sent me here many years before the war even started to spy and learn the ways of the people, their abilities, and those weird beams of light that shot out of the sky that appeared on no other but this one," "I managed to infiltrate the when it was still in a time of peace,cking security. If I had tried to get in now I would have undoubtedly failed. I searched for the perfect newborn child to assume the life of since it was the perfect way to learn and the most likely reason why my lord had chosen me for such a mission." "I only had 1 shot at doing this and a powerful, rich child from a noble family was undoubtedly the best option since they tend to be pampered and given the best and most secretive educations. And, out of all the newborns in the world at the time, your sister seemed to be by far the best option. Not only was your sister''s strength and potential outstanding, but she was also the first child of the powerful, esteemed Reid family, one of the most influential people in the world," "Thus, when she was only a few weeks old, I managed to infiltrate your family mansion and kill her, assuming her life perfectly using my ability. Everything was going perfect, I learned so many things from that experience, I was an adult in the mind of a child, I listened in on so many conversations that were most definitely not meant for me to hear, I witnessed first hand how you humans absorb ability crystals and so many more things. I was pampered, given everything I ever wanted and more, my n was going much better than I even expected. That was until you were born and ruined everything¡­" "Not only were you cuter, stronger with more potential, but you were also loved by our parents even more than me! You stole all my spotlight! All that pampering and information gathering had halted to a standstill! I could not allow you to get in my way, and since I could not change bodies again to assume your life, I decided to kill you." "However, in the end, I decided against it and crippled you instead, power is everything in my world and it seems to be the same in this one as well. Then, I also spread false rumours about you in order to ruin your life even more, heinous things to paint you as an absolute monster of a child, the spawn of the devil¡­ Since I was a child, I assumed they would think I am innocent and tell no lie. And it worked, everyone hated you and thought of you as a dog, our parents, even all the servants thought so too. You were an absolute failure that was both weak andcking any sort of decency as a human." "You being a cripple at birth was just a lie, it was simply the only conclusion that the doctors could deduce from your symptoms. I still have no idea how you overcame that special, undetectable poison I used but I am sure to find out soon enough," "Our parents had contemted killing you as a demon spawn several times yet for some reason, they could never bring themselves to do it, which was good for me since I had my own purposes for you!" "I decided to use you as my test subject. You were perfect, not only were you the only person weak enough for me to fight due to my still weak, child body, but no one would even care if they find out what I did to you since they would think you did something to deserve it. And, even if you reported me no one would believe you, who would believe you after all they thought you did and all that you had been proven to do due to all my orders and peer pressure." "I told you things like"If you do this, I will stop hurting you and be friends" in my usual warm, weing smile. Then, as the naive child you were, you would actually do it and get in major trouble and beaten, pleading to them that it was not your fault and it was me who told you what to do, which only left you to be called a liar and a demon child since they thought of me as an angel who would be too young and innocent to order such things! It was too hrious! They now had clear proof of my words!" "I used you since I was really curious about many things, the human nature, the human anatomy, how humans react to certain pain, what breaks them the most, how do they grow to hate. And many more things. You were indeed a nice guinea pig that has taught me a lot. Even now, still, in the eyes of our parents, you are the devil and I am the angel, although they did seem somewhat genuinely happy that you got first on the exam and were genuinely angry that you decided to go to the Griffith party instead of theirs that they had made just for you," Chapter 204 - The Truth (2)

Chapter 204: The Truth (2)

"Luckily, right after I finished everything I needed to do to you. You were kicked out of the house but not yet stripped of your family name since it would have been a bad look on the household," "I went my way, and you went your way, but we both still ended up in the same military school where I just left you be because you had already served your purpose and were nothing more than a broken doll, who knew that it would be a good decision in the end." "The only reason I even started a gang was mainly because I was bored and needed to spend my time somewhat productively until I graduate and move on to the next part of my n. But, that ended up being a good thing, the gang proved to be extremely good, loyal pawns for me and they even further allowed me to study the human nature and how your natural hierarchy works, like how you can simply bribe teachers with money and they would bend to your will. All you need to do is choose the right teacher, which is actually much easier than you would expect," She said, taking a pause in her never-ending, manic rambling that seemed to only get worse the more she talked for a moment of briefughter. "Speaking of graduation, it seems like that n had been put on momentary halt¡­" "Like I mentioned before, my lord had been scouring the entire gxy in the pursuit of a single person or a single item. Me and the rest of the troops under him were all tasked with one mission as soon as we joined him, it was almost like some sort of initiation¡­" "He hasn''t told us why this item or this person were so important to him or why they needed to find them, our leader is rather odd and secretive but he is still our leader none the less and we would all die for him without a moment of hesitation," "Under any circumstance, if we find a person wearing a certain golden ne or a person with glowing purple eyes and red pupils, we were to immediately stop what we were doing and capture that person alive. That was the target of our glorious leader, the person or thing he had been looking for for many, many, many years. I couldn''t even begin to imagine the look on his face when I deliver the news!" She spoke, taking a brief pause once more as subtle hints of red and clear excitement arose on her face. "Because look here! What is this? It''s your little friend, isn''t it? I almost could not believe my eyes when I stumbled upon this picture! It was almost too good to be true! And when I did more research! I found out that it was true! Out of the 1000s ofs out there I was lucky enough to find him here!" She spoke with a smile on her visage, a mixture of amusement, excitement and smugness on her face and expression as she bent over to show Abby something on her school watch that was still on her right arm. Abby''s already wide eyes somehow grew even wider and shakier as she stared at the watch in front of her with a look of hopelessness and dread in her eyes. She had been slowly taking in everything that her "sister" had been saying, her mind eroding more and more the longer she talked as she could almost not believe her ears. Her entire reality was being flipped on its heads, burnt into pieces and slowly spoon-fed to her little by little, the taste only seeming to get worse the more she went on until it now seemingly reached its climax... On her watch was a picture, a picture of her lord back in the Griffith family fighting arena, battling the now deceased Damian Nier, the look of hardship on his face that bore the signature purple glint in his eyes from his eyes of sin on full disy for all to see. Her lord seemed to be the target of some sort of rebel intergctic space pirates¡­ Ones that were possibly hundreds if not thousands of times stronger than him, yet she still knew that her lord''s potential was far greater. As Abby continued staring at the picture, her eyes went nk, the mental and somehow physical shock and pain from what had just happened had broken her down to her very core¡­ Not once in her life did she feel as hopeless and useless as she was now¡­ Not even close¡­ Memories of everything that she had built up, the blissful times with her lord that felt even better than any heaven she could imagine, Jayden who was the first female friend who had epted her for who she was and had not tried to manipte her¡­ Alex who she had only just met a week ago being an absolute pleasure and a sweetheart, somehow being even shier than her in a conversation, all of them began emerging in her head one by one before fading away¡­ Not into nothingness but into things that were far worse¡­ The memories began ying over and over again, with each person in those memories either being brutally murdered in front of her eyes or ripped away and stolen from her¡­ All while she stood still and watched despite all her efforts, without her being able to do a single thing about it which reflected the hopelessness and weakness she felt in her heart, the ones including her lord being by far the most painful and soul-crushing. Despite the many hardships, the past few months was undoubtedly the best time of her life, the only joy she could ever remember in all her years of living. It was like the first time she had actually started living, having others to depend on and her being someone to be depended on by others. It was almost too good to be true in her life that was otherwise filled with pure misery¡­ It all felt both too long and too short at the same time¡­ She had wished it wouldst forever but now she understood that she was being far too selfish and optimistic, that she would always be chained and shackled down by her fate destined for pain and failure... Tears started flowing down her nk eyes as everything began to feel all too real to her, the realization that it was all over for her, her doomed to never see her lord again by either her death or him being taken away from her forever. Vinova slowly watched as Abby slipped more and more into despair, all from her words as she had yet to eveny a single finger on her, making a big smile appear on her face as she disregarded Abby''s state and continued with her words. "Don''t be sad now! You have yet to serve your entire purpose! You can still be useful to your "sister"! You''re still the main bate! Seeing how strongly you feel about each other I have no doubt in my mind that he will being to save you, maybe not here or anytime soon since it''s the Reid estate. But, eventually, he will surelye none the less¡­" "Now, you might be wondering what you will do in the meantime? You will have to go to school tomorrow and you would be unchained and able to be free and go back to him right?" She said with a troubled voice, giving Abby a slight shred of hope and colour in her previously dead gray eyes. "If you thought that then you have to think again!" She screamed back, ripping that hope from Abby like she was just ying with her still broken heart. "Like I said before, you are now mine¡­ You will die¡­ You will be nothing more¡­ You should feel grateful that I even shared any of this information with you and not done this from the start, I was just curious how you would react and felt like you deserved to know it," she continued, the smile on her face contorting and shifting into wicked distortion, almostpletely from ear to ear, an expression that was simply monstrous, a face no human could ever replicate¡­ With another swipe of her hand, Vinova''s body began turning and cracking again, her skin breaking off back into her sister''s natural sandy skin colour, her hair going from white to pure crimson, her eyes returning to her all familiar firey blood red, the red lines under her face fading away as the sound of her bones cracking filled the air as her single horn contracted back into her head and her body shrunk down 2 inches from 5''10" to her normal 5''8". Unlike thest time, Abby did not at all react to her transformation process, tears still flowing down her face as her mind and vision continued to be cloudy as paranoia continued to tear her apart. She had already epted her unavoidable fate. No amount of screaming, believing in herself, hidden power, or determination was able to save or get her out of her predicament, she was not naive or childish enought to think that¡­ Vinova, he had once again turned back to Emilia Reid opened a dimensional storage. And, from that storage, she pulled out an unknown item that Abby had never in her life seen, heard about or even fathomed could be a thing in her entire life, something undoubtedly otherworldly far beyond her scope of knowledge as she stared at it with her still tearfilled, gray open eyes. "Say goodbye¡­ "sister¡­" Chapter 205 - Expectations

Chapter 205: Expectations

The entire room fell silent with a grave almost ominous atmosphere of death and despair filling the air, only the sound of a few stutters of disbelief being heard. No one moved a single muscle, their bodies would not allow them to, their mental strain and shock were too great, their hopes of an easy resolution was immediately thrown out the window and run over by a million cars, sweat running down each of their faces as both their eyes and mouth grew wide at the sudden realization, pure pandemonium in their minds. Even Moby who had already prepared himself for the worst and did not expect Jayden''s and Alex''s idea to work bore such an expression as the reality of the situation began to sink in, pure darkness in his mind. Nags and Jason also had a simr yet not as severe expression on their faces, they did not have any clear attachment to Abby but the true shock came from the realization that the boss was most likely Emilia Reid, the first daughter of the Reid family, there was no other exnation, she was the one giving out all the orders and controlling everything from the shadows. Either that or the Reids managed to intercept HikariYami and save Abby which they found rather unlikely assuming that it was Yami in control. With shaky eyes, Jayden took a deep gulp, taking a few breaths to calm herself down before continuing her conversation on the phone like nothing had happened despite the pain in her heart, she still had to confirm many things before it was over. "Wow! Really!? She''s safe!? I''m so happy! You have no idea how relieved I am feeling sir! Is it possible if I talked to her? Her number isn''t working and I really want to hear her voice!" Jayden continued, her expression and her voice being pr opposites as it was clear to any onlooker that she was in deep pain, forcing herself to continue for Abby''s sake. "I am sorry miss but that wouldn''t be possible, young mistress Emilia had ordered no entry in her room. And, today is a rather special day as it is the anniversary of the master and his mistress so we are all rather upied, which will definitely include young miss Abby. However, I will be sure to pass on your message to her! I am sure that she will be delighted!" The butler spoke in his usual upbeat British ent. "If it''s possible, could you tell me in what state did Abby arrive in the house? Maybe something happened to her that has to do with the attack on the school," Jayden added in a grave yet mellow tone, hoping to get an answer despite knowing that it was unlikely she would receive one. "Ho ho! I can really see your love for the young mistress youngdy! Seeing that, I will tell you about that just to make your heart at ease! She arrived in the mansion unconscious on her Sister''s back. She said that while she was walking around in the outer courtyard, she managed to see miss Abby approach the gates telling her that she wanted to enter to join in on the celebrations. But, before they entered, they decided to have a quick spar and young miss Emilia identally took it too far and knocked her out. Ho ho! She indeed still has a long way to go until she catches up to her sister, they used to spar like this many times when they were little and Abby has never won even a single time, but I am sure she will get there eventually," The butler responded, confirming all the doubts and suspicions going through everyone''s mind at the moment. "Oh! Look at the time! I am going to bete! I have many duties to attend to! I hope your school affairs are dealt with swiftly! Stay calm and everything will be alright! Have a good rest of your day miss! I will be sure to ry your goodwill to young mistress Abby!" The butler''s voice sounded calm, panicked, and heartfelt at the same time as Jayden took another deep breath before responding back to his words. "Thank you so much for everything! I feel so much better now! I hope your party goes well!" Jayden said in a joy-filled voice, closing the call beforeughing softly, looking back at Moby with tear-filled eyes like she was asking for some sort of help. Everything that they thought of waspletely crushed to dust then incinerated into nothingness by just one simple option that they hadpletely overlooked. Abby''s sister was the gang leader all along, it was either that or she had saved her from HikariYami and brought her safely home, but from the stories and nightmares that she described to him, he would not believe it in a million years. He knew that even if she did save her, it was not out of the goodness of her heart. And, there was no way of confirming if the butler was even telling the truth and or if he was just repeating back what Emilia had told him to say or what she had told him about the situation. The only logical conclusion was that she was the leader, and that was the same conclusion that everyone in the room deduced from the encounter on the phone. There was absolutely nothing they could do about it, it was the perfect counter to anything they would have even attempted to do. They were no longer able to call the police since who would ever believe them? That the great Reid household kidnapped their own daughter? They would either take it as a joke or some sort of sphemy. And, now the chances of either the Harts or the Griffiths helping was virtually 0% for nearly the same reason. Moreover, that rose an even bigger problem. Hypothetically, if they were able to sneak out of the school''s defensive barrier, how would they even n to tackle a mansion like the Reids? They were far too strong, even if Abby''s father was a fourth as strong as Mason Griffith, their chances of sessfully infiltrating and retrieving Abby would be 0%, not to mention all the other guards and servants who were undoubtedly far beyond the school''s X rank. And, even if they did manage to escape with her, it would cause a crisis in the family and they would be forced to look for them with all their resources, something that he knew he would not be able to survive or escape from no matter how hard he tried. 30 minutes would be the most he could estimate he would be able tost in such a situation. Moby began looking at Jayden''s and Alex''s looks of despair and hopelessness, especially Jayden who had a mellow smile with tears running down her face as she looked at him for hope orfort like he was some sort of hero made his heart crack even more than it had already cracked before. Everyone''s expectations were solely on him. He had so much to live up to as their leader and future overlord that the pressure was starting to catch up to him even more. He kept trying to think of something but nothing would appear in his head no matter how hard he tried. He was afraid to let them down after so long and after they had trusted in everything he did. Despite his inner turmoil, Moby forced a calm and collected expression, his hands over his mouth like he was in deep thought, like he had everything under control. But, in reality, he felt the same as they did. He was just far more experienced at hiding his emotions as he had subtly gotten trained into doing it in his many, many years of his negative emotions and thoughts being drained. Hiding his emotions under a poker face was almost second nature to him, as easy as breathing, but now even breathing was difficult with such a dense atmosphere. As he looked up and peered into the abyss of Jayden''s wet tear-filled eyes, seeing his reflection through them a sudden idea came in his head, making his eyes grow wide. It was extremely difficult and dangerous in more ways than one. He knew full well that it had a very subtle chance of working, but he was more than willing to test it out for Abby''s sake, despite knowing that he was not the one doing all the work. Moby''s clear, yet subtle expression of an ideapletely contrasted the grim atmosphere in the room, making everyone look at him for hope, trying to rely on him, they all knew that if anyone could solve this predicament, it was him, he had never let them down before with any of his previous ns, so it was very easy for them to dump all their wishes, and expectations onto him as their unshakable pir of a leader, the exact image he had always tried to present himself as. As for Jason and Nags, their emotions were nothing like Jayden and Alex yet they were still very intrigued to find out what the future king of all demons had up his sleeve. It was not that their loyalty was waining, he had already proven his otherworldly intelligence to them during their encounters but they still wanted to see more of what their new master was capable of. However, as soon as Moby''s eyes widened, they furrowed once again as he let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes, making everyone that had been waiting in anticipation go back to their previous state of silence and despair, if not even worse as it seemed like not even he could think of anything to do. Moby''s n required Jayden to somehow be able to breach the defensive barrier being put up by the school, but he had no idea where to even begin to bypass it. Even if she turned into a bird or a wisp, he felt like the barrier would undoubtedly stop or even kill her if she was such a weak creature. The chances of failure were exponentially bigger than sess, they only had one chance and it was not worth the risk of Jayden either being caught or even killed. Then suddenly, a familiar ringing sound resounded in his head. A system notification sound with a hint of excitement, one that was much louder than before like Avilia was trying to show him something. This greatly piqued Moby''s interest. He never received such a thing from Avilia before as he was able to pick up on her clear yet subtle humour from his head. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by 2 notifications, notifications that immediately shifted his sour mood back into what it was before as his eyes grew even wider, everyone''s gaze once again refocusing on him with more intrigue and emotions than they had prior. [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a Demon Mechanic! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] ''Oh yeah. It''s alling together,'' Chapter 206 - Demon Mechanic

Chapter 206: Demon Mechanic

"Huuuaaaa," With a yawn that resounded and echoed around the entire room, Ray slowly opened hiszy eyes, the blurriness in them beginning to fade away as he stared at the familiar sight of the bunk above him and the feeling of the softness of his bed and pillows underneath him. It was like the first moments of calmness he had been given in many, many weeks. It was almost as if those never even happened, like they were only a nightmare as thest thing he remembered was going to sleep after being captured once again. But, clearly seeing how he was in his current state, all healed like nothing happened, not at all in the nurse''s room or locked up in a dungeon forced to manufacture capsules, he assumed that the only thing that could exin what had happened was to assume that it was a dream. Trying to move his stiff and tired body, Ray sat up straight, stretching his arms wide that somehow felt much lighter than usual, hearing the sound of various cracks that came from his immense stiffness, almost like he was not even used to his own body which was odd yet not very concerning to him. "Ray! You''re finally awake! d to see that you''re all right!" an extremely familiar voice sounded from his left, a voice of joy and calmness that he would never forget in a million years. Slowly and calmly, he turned around to face the voice, addressing it in a warm yet casual tone, his vision still notpletely cleared as he began to rub both of his eyes to help wake himself up. "Yeah Alex, I''m awake, you wouldn''t believe the nightmare I just had, it w-..." Ray immediately bit his tongue, stopping his words in the middle of his sentence as soon as his vision became crystal and he was able to see the entire room. He seemed to be in some sort of green bubble that now began turning yellow, something that he immediately recognized as belonging to Nags. Underneath this bubble were various puddles of flesh and ck blood, knowing for some reason that they belonged to him. It almost seemed like he was some sort of guinea pig orb rat. When he looked up, he witnessed the worst sight of his life¡­ Moby, Alex, an extremely beautiful blue haired woman along with the enemies, Nags and Jason, all of them were sitting at their table, a mixture of different expressions on all of their faces as they all looked in his direction with devilish, almost predator-like eyes. It almost seemed like they were friends, a pack of wolves ready to hunt him down and tear him to shreds¡­ Had his dream not been a dream? Had he been betrayed, had his friends turned on him and joined the enemy by force? Or had they been against him the entire time? Why else would they have been acting so casual around each other? Had they used him for some sort of experimentation? Nothing made sense as he stared at the scene with shaky eyes and a jittery mouth, his entire body unable to stand still. Yet, despite all of that, he did not at all feel as much fear, nervousness, andck of hope that he usually had. Instead, he felt some sort of odd rush of adrenaline that felt all too familiar yet obscure at the same time, a mellow, jittery smile appearing on his face as his brain began spinning in circles trying to think of what his next most logical move would be. "Ray, calm down, I promise you that it''s not what it looks like. You''ve got the wrong idea, I beat those two guys up and now they''re my loyal ves," Moby calmly said with his arms crossed, a hint of satisfaction on his face, Nags and Jason unmoving and unaffected by Moby calling them both his loyal ves. Ray''s shaky eyes grew even wider than before as his mind began spinning in overdrive. The Nags and Jason he knew would never have stayed quiet under any circumstance if anyone called them ves, even if it was some sort of n to trick him, he knew their pride would not allow them to. Then, the memory of a purple-eyed figureforting him before going unconscious now filled his mind as he began to slowly find truth in Moby''s words. However, that did not yet calm the unease and confusion in his soul, and what that clump of blood and flesh underneath him were doing, along with many, many unanswered questions that ravaged his mind and made him feel some sort of aching pain. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Moby disappeared from his spot at the table, leaving an afterimage in his wake as Ray was not able to follow his movements at all. Before he knew it, he had been standing directly in front of him, dropping down to his eye level not even a meter apart. Lifting his right arm out and opening his palm, Moby unleashed some sort of unknown purple vortex from his hand, aiming it directly under him, sucking up all the flesh and ck blood thatid on the bottom of Nags''s bubble, making it shatter in the process almost like it was nothing but ss, Ray staring at Moby in awe like he was some sort of all-mighty figure with his glowing, majestic royal purple eyespletely speechless at how he had just done that without the use of a storage ring. In a serious yet warm voice, Moby focused his mighty gaze onto the clearly confused and distressed Ray, sending shivers down his spine yet making him feel strangelyforted at the same time. "I can exin everything to you in 1 minute, just look into my eyes and all will be clear," Ray nodded his head, his mouth wide open with sweat running down his face. There was no need for resistance, if he declined he would be forced into doing so anyway. Plus, he trusted Moby as his friend and always felt calmer in his presence, now being even more than ever. "Okay, I''ll do it, I just want to know what is going on¡­" Ray said, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. "Good, now stare into my eyes for the next minute and all will be clear, have faith in me¡­" Moby continued with the same tone, his purple eyes shining even more brightly and ominously than before, giving Ray the feeling that who he was looking at was not even human. Yet despite that fact, he felt no hostilitying from his eyes, just the warmth and seriousness that was oddly weing. As Ray peered into the Abyss of Moby''s red pupils, his mind began to get lost and drift of in many different directions before his mind suddenly wentpletely nk¡­ Strange memories and information that feltpletely foreign and unknown to him began slowly trickling into his mind like a river of knowledge, the truth gradually being unveiled like he was slowly reading a book. Memories of exactly what had happened to him, who he now became and why, what Moby was, why Jason and Nags were with them, who Abby Reid was and what happened to her in their attempts at saving him, what kind of new powers he had attained, and what Moby had nned... It would have most likely been too much to handle and stomach for his old self, but with his new body, it was just enough for him to properly take everything in¡­ Ray slowly opened his eyes,ing back to his senses only to see Moby still staring at him with the same gaze as before, a gaze he nowpletely understood the meaning of. "So, did you get all that?" Moby asked, staring at Ray with a hint of concern as his expression still seemedpletely nk, which when Moby began to think about it more, a nk expression was his usual expression so he might have been worried about nothing. Moby had realized that his memory maniption did not only serve to change memories but also imnt memories as well. Before talking to Ray, he had asked Avilia to give him a full exnation about demon mechanics and what their usual arsenal consisted of and ryed it all to Ray along with everything else he needed to know. Of course, lying to him about the fact that he needed to turn him into a demon or else he would have died. "Yeah¡­ I think I get everything¡­ So, we are all demons, I am a demon mechanic and you are the future demon lord, you turned everyone here, including Nags and Jason into demons and you haveplete control over them, I was going to die so you saved me by turning me into a demon, Abby Reid of the Reid household was part of your group and she was captured trying to save me, now you need my help trying to get her back am I correct?" Ray spoke quickly in his usual voice, his hands over his mouth like he was in deep thought. No matter how many times Moby witnessed such a scene, he never ceased to be surprised that they were all taking it so calmly.?He had imagined the realization of people knowing that they lost their humanity would have a bigger impact on their psyche. Yet, every time he turned anyone into a demon, he was always proven wrong as they quickly grew to ept their new reality. It was most likely because of how bing a demon can affect a person''s mind without them even realizing it and the fact that they notice no immediate change in their still human-like bodies other than massive upgrades in the form of stronger regeneration, bone structure, night vision, senses, and in Ray''s case, a bigger brain and mental capability as well, a bonus of demon mechanics. Power was what ran the world and demonization on the surface only seemed like a free power boost, which people did not at all mind since they still felt like they were themselves. Plus, the fact that religion was now almostpletely non-existent helped that fact since symbols of the devil and demons were not as prominent as before. As long as he kept the fact that turning into a demon can very mentally affect someone, he should be fine since none of his servants seemed to have a single clue and felt like they were still the same person before and after their demonization. "Yes, that''s pretty much everything," Moby said, nodding at Ray''s words. "I am still taking everything in¡­ I may not know this Abby Reid personally but I understand that she tried to save me and really means a lot to you¡­ You have all suffered so much for my sake but I have never done anything in return. Now, all that will change! With this new power, I will prove that I am not useless and can be of help! As for your n, yes! I should definitely be able to do it if what you told me about demon mechanics is true. All I need is a bit of practice to get used to this all!" Ray said in a serious, heartfelt voice of conviction like he wanted to prove himself, taking a small nce of contempt towards Jason and Nags who both stayed unfazed despite noticing his gesture as they continued to spectate everything going on around them. A wide smile appeared on Moby''s face as he felt like things were progressing much better than before, despite knowing deep down that his n had an extremely high risk and only had a small chance of sess. Abby was still in extreme peril and a chance was still a chance, much better than anything else they could have done and much better than sitting down on their ass in defeat waiting for the other side to make their move. Plus, even if it failed, it would be a good source of recon and intel gathering none the less. "I am d to see that you''re alive and kicking bro, I''ve never seen such a well lit fire in your eyes. If you actually can help, it would really mean a lot to me. I''m really d to see that you''re doing fine and better than ever," Alex added, looking at Ray with the first natural smile he had shown in a long time as he felt genuinelyforted to see him again, and the fact that he had promised to help them in their endeavours, giving him hope... "Don''t worry Alex, I''ve never felt more alive¡­" Chapter 207 - Demon Mechanic (2)

Chapter 207: Demon Mechanic (2)

With a small hop, Ray lifted himself out of bed and walked towards the table where everyone was sat, taking a seat next to Alex who had no one to his side, a hint of subtle confidence in his steps that Moby managed to pick up on. As Ray sat down, the atmosphere around the table suddenly became far tenser as Ray was not able to well hide his hostility and animosity towards Jason and Nags who were both only arm''s length away from him. Just because they were only following their orders and were nowpletely harmless, loyal servants did not lessen his feelings towards them, especially after all that they had made him go through, mainly Jason who certainly did many things that went far beyond his orders just for his own personal pleasure. Taking a deep breath, ignoring their confused, unfazed faces for now, he turned to Moby to ask him for basic training in controlling his demon energy. Yet, before he even got the chance, Moby spoke, his voice resounding and echoing in his mind with clear power and authority which was a sensation he had never experienced or expected to ever feel as itpletely caught him off guard. "Okay, first off, I am sure that you all are confused about what my n is supposed to be. This might take a while to exin so listen closely since we really don''t have much time¡­" By the looks on everyone else''s faces, even including Nags and Jason, it seemed like they too heard what he had also heard, their faces turning solemn with subtle hope and expectation in their serious eyes.?This made Raye up with the conclusion that this mindmunication must have been some sort of demon skill and what Moby and Alex must have used when they had first met today after he was forced to act as bate. As Moby began his exnation, Ray decided to listen carefully to every word despite him knowing most if not all that Moby was going to say since he had already ryed him the information earlier when he had fallen unconscious. It could serve as a refresher and make him pick up on subtle details he might have overlooked. As Moby exined his n, the serious slits in everyone''s eyes slowly became wider the more and more of it they understood, some of what he said soundingpletely impossible, blowing their minds. They all knew that it was not at all perfect, with a high risk of failure. Yet, despite all of that, in their hearts, they knew that it was their only shot they could possibly have. It was their only chance at getting Abby back, and in the worst situation, it could be used for gathering intel. Jason and Nags also listened with intent at Moby''s words, it almost seemed like he had everythingpletely nned out. Yet, they were still somewhat confused at some of the parts yet not questioning the wisdom of their new overlord The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed as Moby managed to exercise his leadership skills to bring everyone together from dark times, a skill he needed to no doubt perfect if he wanted to became a future king. Jayden, who undoubtedly had the biggest, riskiest, and most important role in all of this,pletely understood what Moby''s n entailed for her, and how hurt he must have been feeling that he had to put her in such danger. She knew the dangers and made up her resolve to go through with it for Abby''s sake, despite all the risks that were associated with it¡­ Moby could have kept such a n to himself due to the danger it brought upon her but he was d that he decided to share it, it made her feelings towards him grow stronger as he even further proved his faith in her. Yet, despite all of that, there was still one ring miscalction¡­ "Hmmmm¡­ I think I understand everything¡­ It''s very risky, but for Abby''s sake, I''m willing to do anything! The only major problem I am finding is for this to work, I need to somehow be able to leave the school premises undetected. But, with the barrier up and all the guards no doubt patrolling outside, that will definitely be impossible¡­" Jayden said in a grave tone, saying out loud what everyone else was also thinking, once again knocking down their morale, except for Ray and Moby who still bore a posture of confidence. "Well, that''s where Rayes in! The barrier is a piece of technology so there should be some means of bypassing it! I''m positive he could do it, he is now a demon mechanic after all," Moby announced with a smile, raising the mood of the table once again. They had no idea what exactly a demon mechanic was, yet seeing the confidence in Moby''s words they knew that it must have been no doubt be the answer to all their problems and that Ray could somehow now allow them to bypass the school''s defences. "Indeed! I can help you with that!" Ray interjected, a rather natural-looking smile on his face which slightly startled everyone in the room except for Jayden who had only just met him. "What the school did right now is fairly simple. Usually, the barrier would only work on people or things that didn''t have proper permission to enter, like some sort of authorization card, this also includes that watch on each one of your wrists. So, all the school did now was extend that barrier to now also stop people with a school watch along with some authorized personnel. So, all we need to do now to bypass this is to modify your watch into tricking the barrier into thinking that you do in fact have permission to exit and enter the premises! The best part is that I can make it so it doesn''t even show up on their logs that you entered and exited at all! As long as they don''t go out of their way to look for you specifically, you should be fine. And, if I can get a hold of my new demon powers, this should be more than possible," Ray exined, his smile turning into one filled with confidence. The smile on everyone''s face grew wider the more they heard Ray''s words, he seemed almost like a different person from the feeling he was exuding around the room. Yet, as soon as their smiles appeared, they dissolved into something more hardened yet mellow. Despite the fact that there was a high possibility that they could bypass the barrier, it did not take away from any of the other risks attributed with their n, it only meant that they could now get past step one which they were all really grateful to Ray for. Out of everyone in the room, Nags and Jason were the most perplexed out of everyone as their brains began spinning in high gear, trying to hide their realization from everyone else in the room. They could not believe what they were hearing¡­ Did Moby n all of this? Did he know that Ray would turn into such a demon, and that was why he had been adamant about turning him? It could not have been a coincidence right? Many questions like those ran in their brains as the realization that their new master might have truly been some sort of demon master-mind began to feel all too usible to them. "Thank you so much kid! You''re a real lifesaver! I''m sure Abby will be grateful for all of this! She did only get caught because of you after all!" Jayden said to Ray with a bright smile that seemed more ominous on the inside, making him nod with drops of sweat running down his face. "Don''t listen to her! I''m sure she didn''t mean what she said! She sure has her own way of words when meeting new people. You''re doing great! Now all you need to do is learn the basics!" Alex said, trying to cheer Ray up from that possible misunderstanding, tapping him on the back in a friendly manner. *Sigh* "Okay, we don''t have much time to waste, let''s get started with the basics," Moby''s voice sounded in everyone''s ears as he began to exin how a person identifies their flow of demon energy along with their flow of mana. He gave the same exercises that he had given to Jayden and Abby when they had first met, closing their eyes and focusing on his voice as he guided them through the steps. Although Moby''s instructions were no doubt meant for Ray, Jason and Nags were still allowed to listen in on the conversation as they too followed the exact same steps as they were also fairly lost on how they were to use their newly-acquired power. And, while they were busy doing that, Jayden and Alex upied themselves by further discussing some details of the n and ways they might be able to improve or build upon it. Yet, not long after they started, their basic training had already ended. Both Nags and Ray managed to pick up on their flow of demon energy and the basic control of it in mere minutes, slightly slower than both Jayden and Abby yet very fast in their own respect. Jason on the other hand seemed to struggle more identifying his own, as he kept his eyes closed and his mind emptied, trying to focus on Moby''s words that yed over and over in their head. Nags felt new, absolute power and possibilities rushing through his veins, he had never felt so alive in a very long time. He wanted some way to test out everything he had a feeling he could now do but due to their predicament and the fact that they were stuck in the room, that idea did not at all seem possible, so he had to contain his curiosity and excitement under his poker face untilter. As Alex looked at them and how easy it was for them to grasp their new powers, he could not help but let out an audible sigh. It had taken him a few days of none stop training with Jayden to get to the point that they had gotten to. For some reason, when it came to his demon powers, his progression was far slower than that of his peers that managed to pick up on it like it had always been a part of them. He could not help but feel jealous deep down in his heart. "Okay, this is absolutely great! This power is amazing! I can do it! I''m ready!" Ray said in awe at his new energy, looking down on his body as he was able to see his new flow of almighty, otherworldly demon energy flowing through his veins. Chapter 208 - Demon Mechanic (3)

Chapter 208: Demon Mechanic (3)

Moby looked back at Ray with a nod before calling Jayden over from beside Alex so he could modify her watch. And, without even a moment of hesitation, Jayden walked over towards Moby and Ray with a serious expression on her face. She looked Ray in the eyes, many thoughts running through her mind before she put out her right arm, the arm that had her watch. "So, can you fix it?" She said in a pressing tone,pletely unlike her normal upbeat, cheerful self. "I can''t guarantee I get it on my first try since this is my first ever attempt but this should be more than possible¡­ Miss Jayden¡­" He said with a hint of nervousness in his voice, his eyes closed for a reason that Jayden could not understand. "Good, take your time, we would rather be slightlyte than sorry. Getting killed by the barrier and not saving Abby is definitely not on my to-do list," Jayden responded, making Ray nod before he opened his eyes, leaning closer in to carefully inspect her watch, not even looking her in the eyes a single time. Ray was still having a hard time believing that the rumours of Moby dating the only daughter of the Griffith Family was not a lie but in fact true. Not only that but the young daughter of the Reids was part of his group as well. Both were one of the strongest families in the country, and both being families he had dreamt of working for when he grew older. So, due to that fact along with their difference in status and never talking to each other prior, he could not help but be slightly tense by talking to her. It had nothing to do with her beauty since he knew that it would never happen and it would be suicide trying to go for the demon lord''s girl. Ray''s thoughts on Moby had changed for the second time that day. Not long ago he had only known Moby as a strong-willed, hard-working young man with big aspirations. But now, his perspective of himpletely changed yet stayed the same in some aspects. He was still a fair person yet far more ruthless than he expected, the all-powerful demon lord that had his life dancing right on the tips of his fingers. He felt like they might grow distant due to their status, he had no idea if Moby even liked him, if he was acting fake towards him all these months he was hiding his true self. Yet, he did not want to give up hope and wanted to prove himself not only to Moby but the entire world, so thoughts like those only drove him to work harder and to strive to uncover the truth by his own merits. "Okay, everything seems to be in ce, let me get started then," Ray said, backing off from her arms, once again sitting up straight. With a deep breath, he once again closed his eyes and put his arms out wide, Jayden and Moby both staring at him with an expectant gaze. Suddenly, As Ray slowly opened his sights, they both noticed that his previous human-like eyes were no more, now reced by nothing but an ominous, glowing light blue, binary numbers flowing up and down his eyes almost like it was aputer screen. His arms that were still out wide in front of him began shifting and turning, the sound of his bones cracking filling the air, his hands beginning to swell. The sound of nking metal was also heard as his flesh and bones began to shift, rip apart and rearrange themselves in weird ways making both of his arms turn into some sort of robot arms with various different parts, the skin around it now looking more like metal than actual flesh. Parts of his hand began to move like a machine, sounding out of them with every subtle movement as they connected with Jayden''s watch from every angle causing blue sparks toe out that seemed to not hurt Jayden in the slightest, the numbers on his eyes now flowing several times faster than before as he began to heavily breathe, sweat running down his face. Everyone in the room could not help but stop everything they were doing as they stared at the spectacle in front of them trying to contain their mouths from dropping on the ground as it was unlike anything they had ever seen before, everyone except for Jason who was still training in the corner trying to get a hold of his demon powers. Avilia had already exined that such a thing would happen yet Moby could not help but be amazed at seeing it ur right in front of him. Demon mechanics, and other types rted to technologies did exist during Avilia''s time yet were rtively rare. However, nobody ever considered using technology instead of magic. In a magic oriented world like the Netherworld, they were mocked and looked down upon by all for being useless since they believed that technology was just far inferior to magic and had no use since no one used or needed machines in the first ce. Yet, on a like earth, a world run by both machines and abilities, his powers proved to be rather useful. The robotic parts of Ray''s arm began to move and connect with different areas of Jayden''s watch, the more he went on the more difficulty he felt as his face began to contract, his teeth clenched with increasing sweat running down his heavily breathing face. So much information was flowing through his mind that his senses were overflowed, giving him both mental and physical pain as he tried his best to modify things to the best of his ability. He felt like he was being ripped apart and broken from the inside out, almost like he was going to explode from being overloaded with too much to handle. Yet, despite all of that, he did not give in, he pushed through. He wanted to prove himself no matter the cost, he was no longer the unmotivated failure he used to be. He had already suffered gravely until this point so what more could a little extra pain do? As Moby stared at Ray''s clear anguish, he felt the urge to stop him. Yet, he stopped himself from doing so since he knew that it was the only way and it had to be done. And, when he sensed his emotions, he felt his clear resolve and determination, making his decision of keeping him going even easier. And as soon as it started, it all finished, the whole process onlysting a few minutes yet seeming like an eternity in Ray''s bulging, fatigued mind. Suddenly, the numbers in his eyes began flickering away which was followed by the light blue colour enveloping it as they faded back into their usual white, surrounding his pupils and dark blue iris that had an almost gray, washed colour on them. The parts extending out of his robot-like hands all at once disconnected from Jayden''s watch and fused back where they hade from. His shiny, metallic arms shaking and swelling once again, making various sounds that seemed like a mixture between bones, flesh and metal as they began twisting and shifting back into his normal arms. Instinctively, he lent his tired, heavy body back, falling backward on his seat. He was no longer able to move even a single muscle. It was far too difficult for him to sit up and keep his back straight, every ounce of energy in his body was sucked out and he was left with absolutely nothing but the satisfaction of his hard work as he stared at the bright ceiling of the room with half-dead eyes, his mind both tired and nk at the same time as he managed to let a few words out of his slightly smiling mouth before he passed out from fatigue... "I did it guys¡­" With a mixture of pride and satisfaction on his face, Moby looked down at Ray''s weak, fatigued body, picking him up before carefullyying him back on his bed to rest. Most healing abilities only served to restore a person''s physical health, not fatigue, especially the mental kind so there was not much that he could be done to help Ray in his state but to get some rest. Chapter 209 - Goodbye

Chapter 209: Goodbye

Taking a deep breath, he focused his gaze back on Jayden who seemed to be carefully inspecting her newly modified watch. "So, Jayden, how does it feel? Do you notice anything different about the watch?" "Hmmm¡­ No, not really¡­" Her response was quick yet she seemed to be quite sure of her answer as she continued inspecting it. "Don''t worry about it, Ray said he did it and I''m certain he''s telling the truth, if you don''t trust his word then trust mine," Alex spoke with a calm voice, interjecting onto the conversation. Now that all was taken care of, it was finally time for them to begin their n¡­ Moby had already extracted Nags and Jason from all the information they could have possibly provided and ryed it to everyone else in the room, and now that the watch was modified, there was nothing really stopping them from starting. With a big, heavy sigh, Moby looked at Jayden with solemn eyes and a bright smile, hugging her tightly in his embrace trying to hold back his tears. He knew that she had made up her resolve and she would have been far angrier at him if he kept his n to himself. "This is it¡­ I think you got everything in the n¡­ If you have any questions don''t be afraid to ask at any time and I''ll be sure to answer it to the best of my abilities¡­ If you want to back out now I don''t me you, it''s extremely dangerous and might lead to many things so please take care of yourself. Don''t let finding Abby cloud your judgement, stay on your toes! Don''t get caught! Me and the rest are going to stay here and train, we''re far too weak to face them now but I might have a few tricks to train everyone here and get them a decent amount stronger. When you''re done, if you didn''t manage to retrieve her, pleasee back here and join us okay?" Jayden''s cheeks grew red as Moby''s soft voice entered her ears. With one of her light-hearted, normal chuckles she hugged him even tighter as she looked deep into his eyes. "Don''t worry about me! I''ll be sure to do this! don''t worry! I have a few more new tricks up my sleeve! It''s not actually as dangerous as you might think since I had been practicing with my doppelganger powers more, many of my skills got much better. I would exin it to you but I''m not sure I have enough time¡­ Don''t stress or worry yourself about anything and leave things to me! I''ll be sure to get the job done ande back here in one piece!" They had only been together for a little over a week and even still, Moby could not help but blush and feel warm on the inside when he saw Jayden''s genuine, lovely smile and her upbeat, cheerful self like she was trying to hold the burden of the world on her shoulders, striving to make everyone around her feel okay. Naturally letting go of each other, Jayden reached into her inventory and pulled out a certain crystal, a glowing, clear mana crystal with an ominous glow, the very fabric of time and space shifting in the air around it. "I was saving this until our 1 month anniversary but I''m sure it will prove to be more useful to you now¡­ My dad also helped me buy it so thank him not me... When you activate this, it will slow down time to around 1 fourteenth the normal speed in a certain area for upwards of 12 hours. Your bodies will also slow down by that speed but your mind and consciousness will stay the same speed." "I''m really bad at exining it, but think of it like this. In reality, only 12 hours would pass for your body and the world around you, but in your mind, it would feel like an entire week instead. It''s mostly used for long training sessions when someone is trying to focus on mental strengthening for their abilities, like in meditation. I nned for us to have a 1-week long private training session as my 1 month anniversary present for you but I guess I now have to whip something else up for it. Oh, and don''t worry about its cost, just use it if you think you need it!" Jayden said in an overly positive tone with a wink, almost like doing what she was doing served as some sort of stress relief for her. Moby''s eyes grew wide, staring deeply at the mesmerizing mana crystal. It was amazing, something he had never even heard about before, he could not even begin to imagine how rare and expensive it must have been and he had no ns of asking. "You have no idea how much this is going to help! You''re actually a lifesaver in more ways than you think!" Moby spoke, still in a state of disbelief as he walked up to Jayden to thank her. Yet, before he even got the chance, seemingly out of nowhere, she tightly grabbed him by the cor of his shirt in an aggressive manner, pulling him down to her level before she gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, both of them savouring the moment for as long as they could, almost like they were both stuck in their own fantasies, not caring for any onlooker as they only had each other on their minds before they backed off. "No need to thank me, it''s the least I could do after everything you helped me with," She said with a giggle, her cheeks flushed red, Moby smiling back at her. With a deep breath, Jayden closed her eyes as her body began to rip and tear before another version of herself appeared directly to her right, Moby recognizing it as her clone skill, Moby finding itpletely natural since they agreed that she should keep a clone in her ce just in case things went south and the school began to look for her to ensure her safety as one of the most important people in the entire school. "Good luck, and be careful out there¡­ We''re all counting on you. Please bring Abby back to us...." Alex said, giving his farewell to Jayden who was walking straight for the windows of the dorm, making her turn around with a nod and smile of understanding, also taking another nce at Moby who was smiling back at her before he looked down on his hands that had 2 rings that she immediately recognized as belonging to her family and the exact rings she had gifted Abby, the sight of them somehow increasing her determination even more than it had already been. All that needed to be said had already been said, there was no looking back now. Immediately after reaching the window, she opened it wide, allowing the cold, strong night breeze to enter the room and blowback on her dark blue, silky smooth hair. Not even looking back, she waved at everyone with her backhand, transforming into her star-like wisp form as she took flight in the darkness of the night that was lit by the full moon as she flew straight for the clearly visible light blue barrier surrounding the school at her maximum speed, no fear in her non-existent wisp eyes. Moby and Alex stared at her intently through the window as they watched Jayden''s faint light sore through the sky with incredible swiftness, their sweaty hands tightly clenched into a fist. They just had to make sure that she made it past the barrier safely, despite the watch not being visible on her wisp body, it was still on her body in actuality so if Ray did indeed fix things, then she should be able to safely exit. When she was only a few meters away from the barrier, she instinctively closed her eyes and prayed for the best. It was all or nothing, if Ray failed then that would be her inevitable death. But, they had gotten this far and the thought of retreat did not even cross her mind, it was all or nothing and it was a chance she was more than willing to take for Abby''s sake. When she reached the barrier, ramming into it at her top speed, she luckily went right through it almost like it was not even there which took a massive weight off her shoulders and made her 2 spectators inwardly celebrate. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she focused her mind and readied her gaze, staring intently at the exact direction where the Reid mansion was located, a rush of adrenaline and emotions going through her mind, stealing her resolve to save Abby and find out what they had done to her... Chapter 210 - Fitting In

Chapter 210: Fitting In

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* "Freshsagna with extra cheese for table 3! The Gregories need it quickly!" "Chocte fondant and foie gras for the Rivers on table 12," *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* "The stir fry is finally ready! I need it gone ASAP so I can get more space!" "I got it," The voice of an arrogant, confident yet slightly nervous man sounded yet was drowned by the other sounds of the room as he rushed over to grab the stir fry, bumping into many servants in the process, making them look at him with hate-filled eyes charged with annoyance as he had almost made them drop their food. "What the fuck does this degenerate brat think he''s doing¡­ He''s goingpletely opposite to traffic¡­ We practiced this so many damn times that we could not even properly sleep, how is he getting this wrong?" "Yeah¡­ Really had the urge to p him in the face, he almost made me drop my food. If I lost my job because of him I swear to god I wouldn''t even know what to do anymore¡­" The faint whispers around the room that should have beenpletely indistinguishable from the loud, bustling kitchen entered his ears as he inwardly cursed his stupidity. Gritting his teeth before taking a deep breath, he decided to force his way through the rest of the seemingly never-ending wave of oing servants as he was already almost there, making sure to try his best to avoid everyone in his path as he heard the harsh whispers of his colleagues enter his ears once again. "Thank you!" He said with a smile on his face, quickly grabbing the te of food beforeing back the way he arrived in order to go to the wide exit of the expansive kitchen. Yet, despite now going the right way, he was still bumping into people left and right, almost dropping his food on a few asions as he struggled to go at the same pace and posture as everyone else''s movements that seemed so perfect that they were almost robotic. Then, as he reached the doorway where there was wider space, he inwardly patted himself on the back before taking a deep breath, focusing his gaze at the exit. "What the hell do you think you were doing newbie!? That was the sorriest disy I have seen in a very long time! There is no room to make mistakes like those! Especially on the night of the master''s anniversary! Next time you do something like this it will be your head on that te! You got that!?" A loud, manly voice full of vigour resounded in therge, red, luxurious kitchen that was packed from head to toe with both servants and chefs, trying to go rush things out as fast as possible, his anger pointed towards the same tall, young, ck-haired man with green eyes who seemed to be especially clumsy that day, not able to follow the proper protocol, almost like he was purposefully trying to make a mockery of everyone in the room. "I''m really sorry sir! I-its just my first time under such pressure and the first time that the kitchen was this packed¡­" The man nervously responded, trying to catch his bnce from the wave of other servantsing and going, an array of delicious foods all on both of their hands as they walked expertly as if there was no one in the room. "That was what your training was for! Did you forget all that!? You weren''t that bad in orientation so what happened here!?" The rather skinny head chef yelled, rubbing and ying with his long, still ck mustache despite his clear age that was disyed by his wrinkly skin and eyes that went into deep, deadly slits. "I-I''m sorry sir! It won''t happen again! I just really crack under pressure¡­ That was why it was so easy in practice," He mumbled back, trying to find confidence in himself as he tried his best to look the angry, demonic figure of the head chef in the eyes. With a deep breath, the head chef rolled up the sleeves of his crimson red outfit, calmly nting it on the newbie''s shoulder with an iron grip. "Listen closely kid, I know that you have your papa''s support on all of this and I assume that you worked hard to get to the position you''re at now, but if you don''t get your shit together, I''m going to have to fire you¡­ This is your veryst chance okay? Oh, and if you end up embarrassing me and the rest of the kitchen staff I will not hesitate to go out of my way to absolutely ruin your and your family''s life... How does that sound?" The whispers of the head chef sent shivers down his spine, sweat running down his face, his shaky right hand almost dropping the food that was on it. "Yes sir! I heard you loud and clear! This will never happen again!" The man yelled, standing up as straight as an arrow, trying to resteel his resolve. "Good! Now get back to work and don''t ever waste my time again!" He said in a soft gentle voice with a smile that quickly shifted into the mean, annoying, incessant hollering of a banshee. With a deep nod and a serious look on his young face, he immediately turned around and confidently walked through the exit with exceptional grace, the food safely still on his right hand. With a long, tired sigh, putting his hands on his wrinkly face, wiping away all of the built-up sweat on his forehead that was definitely not all from the high temperature of the burning stoves and fires of the kitchen. ''My god, do they just hire anyone these days? With idiots like these working under me, I wonder how I still have hair on my head and how it''s even still ck¡­ They are gonna kill me one of these days I swear," He thought to himself with his eyes closed, opening them only to see another major mistake. "Hey! What do you think you''re doing!" He bellowed, a visible vein popping out of his head, yelling at someone who had identally knocked a can of salt into one of the most expensive foods they had to cook for today, essentially ruining it. The ck-haired man walked into the wide, red, expansive hallway of the mansion carrying himself with confidence,pletely ignoring the hateful, mocking expressions and words of many of his colleagues as he simply walked straight behind them, following their lead as he pretended to know what he was doing and where he was going. ''Ahhh! That ce was a living hell! How do people even survive in there longer than 5 minutes?'' Jayden inwardly thought, thinking back at that awful experience she had in that kitchen. Despite knowing how to perfectly act her way out of almost any situation, she still struggled in that environment to the point that she almost ruined everything. On the outside, everything looked like absolute mayhem, like everyone was moving randomly doing their own thing. However, when upon closer inspection, it would be clear that everything was in fact extremely organized, one person messing up could alter and ruin the flow of others as well, making it an extremely stressful and toxic work environment. If anything, as aplete outsider that had no idea what she was doing, she managed to carry herself and act her way out of the situation quite well. If anything, she was extremely lucky to be given a second chance and not fired on the spot for herck of knowledge and sorry disy, part of it, probably stemming from the person she had decided to disguise herself as he was of a higher status than most of the other newbie servants. It made her wonder if that was how her own kitchen and staff worked in her own mansion along with that of her parent''s, as she had never bothered to check inside the kitchen or servants quarters even a single time as there was never really the need to. This was her first-ever time disguising herself as someone of the servant ss and most likely herst as long as it was not necessary. She never knew that the servants had it so tough and their working environment was so toxic. It made her feel somewhat sympathetic to them as she thought back to all the times she had mistreated them and took her anger out on them since she had no one else in her life to talk to, which definitely demotivated and made their life much harder as they were forced to work for a childish, ungrateful, arrogant, bratty mistress who looked down on them and did not at all appreciate the hard work they put in to serve them. Yet, Preston Hemmingwood, the servant she had disguised herself as was a person that she bore no such sympathy for. Unlike most of the other servants, he was a man that had smugness and arrogance oozing out of every pore, aplete waste of space that was vulgar and messed around with the many, rather beautiful maids of the Reid family like they were his property, them staying quiet and taking his harassment without a word. He was aplete degenerate, someone that for some reason, made her blood boil with hatred as it almost reminded her of her old self. Even when Jayden had just arrived at the Reid mansion and scouted the outskirts from above, she managed to witness and listen to all of his heinous deeds despite the long distance between them, using her enhanced vision and hearing as he was carrying cargo from a truck into the back door of the mansion, along with a few girls who he would grope every now and then and men who would stay quiet, scoffing at his actions but not doing a single thing about it, making him the perfect target to disguise herself with as he was the exact type of person that she always had the most fun killing, sucking the life out of them and putting them in their ce. And, that was the reason why she did not get mad or even bat an eye to all of the looks and aggressive whispersing her way, because she knew that the owner of this body more than deserved it. ***** Check thements section for new art! [3 Chapter 211 - The Perfect Target

Chapter 211: The Perfect Target

At first, Jayden nned to utilize any one of the servants as long as she knew they were easily maniptable in order to use them to infiltrate the mansion, only nning to knock them out since she saw no real use for killing them other than a small amount of "XP", as Moby had previously put it. However, after she witnessed what Preston was doing, she threw that ideapletely out the window, opting to both disguise herself as him and kill him for being an infestation on the face of the earth, the extra XP was only a bonus. He seemed to be the perfect target from the way he handled himself and got his way doing whatever he wanted. Despite the fact that he also wore a servant uniform, It was clear that it meant that he must have been of a higher social standing than that of the others and could get away with far more than the normal person, which worked out in Jayden''s favour as she was bound to make mistakes in the unknown Reid mansion and people like him were far more easily forgiven. And, from his mannerisms, finding a way to lure him seemed to be a rather obvious, easy task that she had done and gotten used to many times in her past. Still in her wisp form, making sure to go at a time that the barrier was disabled, she swooped down into the outer courtyard where the delivery truck was and disguised herself as a sexy maid from her household wearing the standard red uniforms of the Reids. She was not able to use that disguise as her main one as there might have been some people that questioned her role as she would have been an obvious intruder who did not belong there so she needed someone who was known to be a servant around the mansion. Just watching him made her blood boil with the intensity of 1000 suns as she could not help but stop, imagine and take in that she used to act somewhat simr to him in her past before she had met Moby. Raping and harassing people she found cute for fun, thinking of them as nothing but objects for her own satisfaction, all were something that she now foundpletely disgusting and made her sick to her stomach from both seeing him and thinking back to her own wicked past and possible alternate dark future if she had not met and fallen in love with Moby. With her new body, she tempted Preston with a little skin, promising to give him a quickie before going back to work like nothing happened. And, just as she expected, he was immediately hooked, agreeing without a second thought. She knew people like him all too well and she knew that they would not resist the temptation when they were given the chance. All she had to do was show him that she had a healing ability and tell him that he was allowed to go as rough as he wanted with her as she was always able to heal herself in the end. This made him smile at her with impressed eyes of approval, looking her up and down like a full course meal. Even if she somehow actually hated him, she most likely only wanted to slide her way onto his good side since he knew no servant would dare go up against him with his family status. And, if they ever did do something against him, they would no doubt be caught and arrested for their actions. What made the decision all too easy for him was the fact that not only was she absolutely perfect with a shy yet cute seductive smile, but also the fact that she seemed like a weak, powerless healer with nobat prowess like him. And, she clearly had no ring on her hand just in case she wanted to pull something on him, not even bothering to check the rest of her body since a ring must always be worn on the user''s fingers for them to be activated. But, at that point, when he fell into temptation, his fate was all but sealed¡­ She lured him into a secluded part of the courtyard, making sure that there were no cameras and no one watching, only the sound of the nighttime crickets, the cold wind breeze and the screams of a few guards shouting in the distance about finding some sort of intruder. Of course, Jayden paid no heed to them, knowing full well that they weren''t talking about her as she continued to do what she was doing, unbuttoning his pants with a blushed face of excitement before pulling them down with vigour to reveal his already hard, rather impressive cock, yet not big or impressive enoughpared to the one she loved yet still forcing herself to put on a fake aroused face of excitement, the man''s face looking down at her with heavy breathing and an intense blush, talking down at her like she was a peasant who should have been honoured to suck on his rod. For the sake of her goals, she forced herself to y along as a seductive yet shy girl who got horny watching him touch other girls in weird ways only, wishing that it could have been her in their ce. "Let''s see how deep you can go my little slut!" He yelled with the crazy, lustful gaze of a predator, grabbing her violently by the hair before he shoved her face down straight towards his throbbing groin. Yet, before he even knew it, that part of him no longer existed and was no longer felt by him¡­ The numbness and pain only setting into his mind when it was toote, making him let go of the servant girl''s hair in panic. Then, Before he even had the chance to properly react or retaliate to what had happened, he felt 2 more piercing pains ravaging and tearing him apart, one from his stomach and one from his throat, the sound of something dropping down on the grass below filling his ears along with the gushing of his own blood like it was a sprinkler, dying his eyelids and his already red uniform even redder as he stoodpletely motionless in horror. When he looked down, he witnessed the face of an absolute demon straight out of the lowest depths of hell, her disgusted, hate-filled glowing, violent, dark stare of death, looking like she was ready to devour him alive and turn him to dust, stabbing him through both his stomach and his throat. Around her body were tentacles made of shadows that flowed and ravaged all around her, the shadows themselves having a slight blue tint and seeming almost alive, ready topletely suck him dry in a way that he did not expecting into this, the shadow of death looming right over him in the form of this shadowy, demonic servant girl that he had been shown was only but a simple healer a few minutes prior. He needed help, help from anyone¡­ But sadly, help would not arrive no matter how hard he tried... When he attempted to scream, nothing but a sorry squeal was able toe out of his mouth as he sounded like a broken toy, his vocal cords too damaged from the shadowy dagger firmly nted in his neck, making it also hard to even breathe. If only he still had a cock attached to his body, he would have already pissed himself long ago, his shaky legs starting to feel weak from the blood loss and damage he sustained as he slowly began falling on the ground, Jayden removing her daggers from his body making his ass quickly drop on the grass below. He seemed to have copsed on something soft yet squishy with the texture of a mushroom, him looking down at it with his still shaky, hazy eyes of disbelief as he recognized that unknown item as nothing more than his own cock that had been cleanly sliced off. His brain spinning in circles, tears running down his face as he was still in absolute shock and disbelief, he managed to squeal a few faint words out of his mouth. "Y-you b-bitch! W-when my father finds out about this! You and your entire family are dead you hear me!?" His voice was extremely low yet Jayden was able to pick up on it clear as day due to her enhanced senses as she could not help butugh at his remark. "Go ahead and try to go against me and my family! I dare you! But, I can guarantee you that it wouldn''t end well," Jayden whispered in a low yet audible voice, transforming back into her original body, sending goosebumps and danger signals to Preston''s very core as he was too lost for words to let out even a single squeak with his broken vocal cords. "Do you understand what you almost did by grabbing me by the hair and shoving me down to your disgusting cock? I almost actually touched it! Know you''re ce! People like you make me sick! You''re lucky to even be breathing right now! I''m surprised that I was even able to hold myself back from ripping youpletely in half," She spoke, her voice harsh, cold, distant and otherworldly as she yed with her bloody daggers, wiping away the disgusting blood staining them. In his eyes, she now looked like the shadowy personification of death and despair, pure hatred and disgust flowing out of every pore as she held herself back from absolutely crushing him between both of her hands. Yet, despite the shadowy aura of death oozing from her and the air around, he still managed to somehow make out who she truly was... "J-Jayden Griffith¡­ W-w-wha¡­" He squealed once more, the reality of things always seeming to get more and more obscure to the point where he thought he was dreaming, all the inhuman, improbable events happening in front of him reinforcing that theory. However, deep down, he knew that it was real¡­ This was far worst than any dream he had ever experienced in his past. If it were a dream, he knew that he would have no doubt woken up long ago from the immense stress and shock of the situation, yet none of that even happened, the pain and suffering that felt all too real to be a dream only continued and became worse the more and more time went by¡­ *Spit* "You absolute disgusting fucking pig! I am quite a merciful person. I''ll forgive all your actions and heal all your wounds if you just answer all my questions with honesty. I left some life left in your vocal cords so you should just about be able to tell me everything without the ability to scream or call for backup. If you ept my offer, I''ll even give you a good respectable position in my family as well, how does that sound? Don''t worry about why I''m even here, my motives will be clear to you very soon. So, what will it be? Die now a slow, painful, agonizing death or answer a few simple questions to save your life and get a promotion, the answer should be very clear right?" Jayden spat on his face with no remorse, looking down on him like he was nothing but a piece of filth that she had identally stepped on before her expression shifted into a bright, yet extremely dark, ominous smile that made him nod his head vigorously in agreement. She asked him many things, his name and family status, his role in the mansion, his reason for being there, and many, many more questions that served her very well in her infiltration of the mansion as she was now able to answer any personal question that might directly pertain to her and know exactly where she had to go and what jobs she had to do. And, just like she expected, most of her assumptions were in fact correct, including the fact that he belonged to some sort of moderately rich or noble household. Furthermore, when she was done with him, she of course did not keep her promise as she softlyughed in his face and quickly, but painfully killed him and stored his dead body in her inventory, making sure to leave no trace of him behind. The memories of the close call she had with him almost forcing her to touch his, another mans penis when she had promised herself that she would only ever touch Moby''s cock made her expression into a rock hard steel, only softening up when she thought back to his face on the moments that she had told him that she lied, making her both inwardly and outwardly chuckle, his expression of hope and joy shifting into absolute despair, squealing like a broken toy as he begged for his life, a priceless sight that was far too funny for her to contain herself. The faces of his colleagues beside him who were still carrying their tes of food on their way to the dining room gazed at him with pure, unbridled hatred and disgust as they could probably imagine what he was fantasizing about, some of them even feeling the urge to attack and put him in his ce, yet stopping themselves at the right time, controlling their anger as no matter how much they hated him and his smug, bratty attitude. they did not want to lose their jobs and ruin and endanger their family for something so insignificant in the grand scheme of things and something that would not change much if at all about the current situation. Chapter 212 - Party

Chapter 212: Party

Jayden inwardly sighed, she felt like she had been walking forever in the seemingly never-ending stretch of the hallway ahead of her, following every other servant who was also carrying food as in reality, she had absolutely no clue about the direction she was supposed to be headed to get to the dining room, feeling inwardly relieved that she was not at the front of the group where she would have had to lead the way. There was no way for her to slow down or speed up as all the servants were scattered equally apart in an organized manner and she did not want to break out of the formation and risked being reported and fired so, she knew that there was no getting out of her predicament other than being patient and biding her time. When she once again tried to contact Abby since they were in much closer proximity, it still did not work, only the sound of weird, almost otherworldly static filling her ears. Thus, to pass the time, her eyes instinctively fell upon therge, rather beautiful crimson walls of the Reid family mansion, walls that were lined gold and filled with unique, embellishing, ornamental decorations that ranged from fancy paintings to what seemed like artifacts or magic items. On the walls and ceiling were certain magicalnterns and chandeliers that glowed with the same lustrous, intense, dream-like radiance that burnt with the same crimson glow of the Reid''s signature fire ability which lit up the room and gave it an even deeper tint of red. Under her feet was a long, red carpet that covered the middle stretches of the hallway, its texture and feeling on her feet was unlike anything she had ever experienced before as it was both soft and hard, feeling like carpet yet not like a carpet at the same time. Despite walking through so many hallways, not a single one looked the same, each one somehow having its own unique aspects that differentiated them apart. As she continued staring at the walls and all their decorations, she could not help butpare it to her own family''s mansion as it was hard to ignore due to their mutual hatred and family rivalry. This was her first-ever time seeing anything of the Reid''s mansion other than photos from the outside and she would have been lying if she said she was not impressed. Ignoring the rather odd and awkward cement of the dining room and the kitchen, them being so far apart, the Reid mansion seemed somehow bigger on the inside than on the outside and decorations and presentation seemed to be even better than her own. Yet despite all of that, she still felt like her family mansion was still slightlyrger, and she had no way of confirming the price of the decorations that could have well been much cheaper than the ones her family-owned. As she continued walking, she let her mind drift looking at the walls, clearing her mind as she mentally prepared herself for finally seeing Abby once again, ignoring the constant stares of her peers like they were not even there. And, before she even knew it, as she and the group of servants had turned onest corner, a grand, majestic ruby gold door came into view, Jayden recognizing it as undoubtedly the door to the dining room, most likely for the servant''s side since Jayden did not even see a single guest on her way there. As they walked towards the door, still in sync,pletely organized, Jayden noticed the previously confident faces of the servants slowly melt down, sweat running down some of their faces as they took deep breaths. Jayden, who was walking with them also felt the same thing and bore the same expression, yet not at all for the same reason as the others who were growing tense due to the stress and expectation to uphold, not to mess up and ruin their entire careers. Jayden''s brief stress and nervousness stemmed from finally going face to face with Abby. For some odd reason that Jayden could not exin, she felt in her heart that Abby was most definitely at the other side of that door. So many possibilities rang in her head of the state she was in, how she was being treated and what they had done to her, making her breathing grow irregr as she struggled to contain her bottled-up emotions, causing her to tightly clench her left fist that was not holding onto the te of food. She had gotten this far and there was no room in her busy mind for the thought of fleeing. However, as soon as those thoughts appeared she shook them away, it was not the time to go off pure emotion but the time to think rationally. She knew if she was in Abby''s situation, Abby would be willing to go to hell and back to save her and she intended to do the same but, she had to be in the correct state of mind in order to save her. She inwardly took 3 long, deep breaths to soothe herself and steady her breathing. And by the time they had reached the entrance of the golden door thatpletely dwarf them in size, she hadpletely calmed and mentally prepared herself for anything that coulde her way as the leader of their group slowly but casually opened the heavy door using his immense, superhuman strength. As the door slowly opened, the massive, blinding light came into view from the expansive, glowing ball of raging crimson fire that floated above in the high ceiling of the room, seemingly held up by nothing, an eye-catching, amazing spectacle to behold as it was the first thing that Jayden noticed. The bustling yet calm, dignified atmosphere and sound of the room immediately filled her ears as soon as the smallest sliver of the door opened, meaning that the room must have been soundproofed just like her bedroom. As the doors were mmed wide open with a subtle crash, everything became fully clear. For a dining room, it was extremely massive, more so than she expected, rivalling even that of her family''s that she considered being at the pinnacle. It was indeed a grand sight to behold, the raised ceiling spanned over 15 meters in height with that same fireball she had seen before being seemingly the only light source found on it. The walls were, unlike the rest of the mansion, fairly t with little to no decorations in order to emphasize the design of the architecture and the magnificent phoenix engraved and painted directly into the wall at the back of the room, its eyes glowing with an intense, crimson me making the picture look almost alive. The room itself was over a hundred meters long and wide with 5 uniform, extremely deep, broad white tables that spanned the room from edge to edge, an adornment of all kinds of tasty delectable foods spread across each one with enough food that it could easily feed an entire starving vige for days. Directly in front of them, there was a wide, designated pathid out by cold fire embedded in the ground, most likely where the servants were meant to go. And, directly in front of it, behind all of the tables ahead was arge, t, marble floor filled with nothingness, most likely used for dancing which Jayden found rather odd since she was not sure if eating and dancing at the same time would be a good mix. All of the tables themselves werepletely packed with guests of seemingly all ages, sitting, eating, and chatting amongst themselves with cheerful yet smug expressions on their face, all of them undoubtedly holding significant importance in society that was obvious by looking at their clothes alone as they seemed rather intimidating in the eyes of many. Yet, in Jayden''s eyes, they were nothing more than little birds who thought they were a rocket ship that could fly to the sun, seeing them aspletely harmless, people she used to eat up for breakfast even in her young days of growing up as she was forced into socializing with many people like them all day. She knew them all too well, inside and out and could easily manipte and predict them with but a thought. But, in the end, Jayden only cared for one thing, and one thing only as she continued to scan and survey the entire room until she finally stopped, her wide, shaky gaze now only fixed on a single area, trying her best to suppress all of her emotions under her poker face despite all that time she took to calm and clear her mind. No matter what she thought, this was a sight she never expected and could never prepare for as she tightly clenched her left fist so hard that blood began to slowly drip and mix with her red uniform, her shaky mouth instinctively opening in disbelief as she narrowed her wide, shaky eyes to see if she was imagining things were what she saw was in fact not a figment of her imagination that came to be from her stress and paranoia. At the back of the room, directly behind the radiant picture of the phoenix was a rather small, yet extremely elegant table separated from the other big 5 tables, its colours being red and gold whichpletely contrasted the white of the rest of the tables in the room. On it were decorative golden tes, otherworldly fire lily''s along with many different items that were absent from every other table, all of them looking by themselves, more expensive than the average person''s monthly, or even yearly sry. Sat directly behind such a table were the main hosts of the party, none other than the 4 members of the Reid family, and what greatly surprised and perplexed Jayden beyond her wildest dreams was that Abby was one of them,ughing and smiling like she was having the best time of her life, the usual firey ze in her eyespletely gone as it became something far more mellow as she yfully and casually talked to her parents and sister who were sitting directly next to her, them seemingly returning the sentiment, the look on her face appearing, in Jayden''s eyes,pletely genuine. ''A-Abby¡­ i-is that you!? What have they done!?'' Chapter 213 - Party (2)

Chapter 213: Party (2)

Abby''s face and brilliant smile shined more brightly than the sun itself, her hair that was down, no longer tied in a ponytail, reflected the lighting off the fireball floating above giving it an even greater tint of magnificent blood-red. For clothing, she wore various rare, precious golden jewelry on her neck and arms as well as an expensive, custom-made dress embroidered and emzoned with various Pheonix and other such rted symbols as the Pheonix was the Reid family signature symbol, the dress itself looking even better than the one she had borrowed from Jayden during their visit to the Griffith family just the other day as it was decorated with several golden markings and essories toplement the all-red colour scheme of the dazzling dress. The rest of her family to were to her side, her mother being directly to her right, followed up by her father and sister who was sat at the entire other side of the table, nothing to her left other than a mountain of presents neatly stacked on top of each other, most likely the anniversary presents of all of the guests, her family all wearing very simr styled outfits ofparable quality. Abby''s father who she knew was the exact same age as her own father looked a few years older, his skin looking smooth yet with a few clear signs of ageing, however, there was not even a single strand of gray hair on his deep, crimson head that flowed down to his defined jaw, a bright smile on his face as he looked directly at his wife. She wore a simr dress to that of both of her daughters yet much bigger and more eye-catching as she was meant to be the star of the show, it being her own and her husband''s anniversary after all. She was much younger than her husband but the small wrinkles and bags under her eyes that were covered by buckets and buckets of makeup made them look almost the same age, her body being extremely curvaceous and attractive, all the fat being in the right ces which was most likely where Abby and her sister got all of their bountiful assets. On theplete opposite end, sat beside her father was Emilia Reid, the person that brought upon most of the hardships in Abby''s life, even in moments like these she wore a confident, arrogant smirk on her face as she only joined in on the conversation when she wanted to, looking towards the crowd of people ahead of her with subtle yet overbearing eyes, almost like they were all insects, which Jayden found rather annoying, yet paid it no heed for now as she focused all of her attention on the other side of the table where Abby was sat. Usually, in moments like these when Jayden would witness Abbyughing and smiling with rosy cheeks like she had no care in the world would have made her feel warm on the inside as she would be happy for her best friend. Yet, what she witnessed now was a firm exception, one that was truly concerning. The people that she hated the most, that she would curse andin about every day with burning passion and every morsel of her soul, their usual main topic of discussion that sheforted and helped her with almost every day as she let her heart out, revealing to her the bottomless ck hole of hatred that stem from them, she and them were now both talking to each other like they had gotten reunited, catching up on the old times, the people that she supposedly could not even bear to look at. All of those previous emotions seemed to have been thrown out the window, buried deep in the ground showing no trace that they ever even existed. Although her enhanced hearing was far from being able to pick up on Abby''s speech, her vision still allowed her to see exactly what she was doing. As she talked to her family, the expression she bore was one that was all too familiar yet all too obscure and concerning at the same time. The expression was unmistakable, it was the same expression that she bore when she would have a conversation with Moby, when he would reassure her and make her feel grateful for his presence, and, on the other side she also wore the same expression of when she and Jayden used to gossip and y around to pass the time when Moby was not around since she would always feel too tense around to do any of that around him, who she saw as her lord and saviour. Abby did exin to her that she had gotten all too used to faking her emotions in order to please her parents and get by with the least amount of beatings every day. Yet, even still, she doubted that she would have been this good and natural and her parents being this epting of her acting so cheerful and happy like she was forgiven of everything they thought she did, with 0 hints of nervousness on her face. No matter how much she tried to think it was normal, she simply couldn''t... It felt too odd and unnatural in her mind, almost like the veryws and fabric of the world was shifting and breaking before her very eyes. If there were 2 things Jayden knew for certain was that earth''s gravity pulled things down and Abby despised and wanted to massacre her entire family. However, now she was having second thoughts, reconsidering it¡­ Her eyes grew wide... For a brief instance, the thought of Abby lying to her and faking their entire rtionship all in order to get to her and Moby to manipte them and gain strength yed in her mind. The thought that maybe the words of her butler were in fact true and not at all a lie. That Abby was some sort of spy or traitor all along. She once again took a deep breath before closing her mouth, her teeth clenched, grinding against each other as she immediately shook those thoughts away and inwardly cursed herself for even thinking such absurd things. Abby was not at fault, she couldn''t be, there must have been an exnation for what was happening. She felt absolutely disgusted in herself for even thinking of such a thing, all the way down to her very core as she felt her stomach acting up and her heart lurch deep down in her chest. If she had not been in public around so many people, she would have no doubt pped her cheek to snap herself out of her paranoia, something that Moby did often and that she would admit was very effective and served its purpose. Jayden needed to have faith in Abby, that all of this waspletely an act and that she had just simply underestimated her acting skills. No matter the evidence, no matter what she saw, she was not yet ready to ept that Abby was a spy or some sort of traitor, the more and more she thought back to her memories of Abby''s clear hatred, willpower, and determination the more those thoughts became improbable and faded away. There had to be a good exnation to what was happening and she nned to both save her and get to the bottom of things. All she needed to do was stick to the rest of the n. She trusted Abby, her best, and very first female friend with every fibre of her being and nothing in her mind was going to change that, vowing to save her as there was nothing else that ran in her mind. As she snapped herself back into reality, she noticed that the rest of her group of servants began moving, following the path of cold fireid out before them on the ground, the previous tense looks and worry on the servant''s faces before they had entered the room were now nowhere to be seen as they lookedpletely calm and professional. Taking a deep breath, Jayden decided to follow them, trying her best to open a mind-link with Abby once again as they were now in extremely close, unhindered proximity. Yet, despite her efforts, all that she was able to hear was that same, unexinable static that she had heard so many times before, making her inwardly curse. As a test, she decided to contact Moby using her mind-link, yet, once again, she received no answer. However, this time there was no such static, only the sound of the nothingness of an empty void which indicated that the mind-link was working but that Moby was for some reason not able to answer, most likely deep into his mental training. This oddly reassured Jayden''s heart, proving once again that Abby was taken hostage against her will and was not doing things by choice. Then, as she and the group of servants continued their very distinct, organized path to the 5 tables ahead, a loud, deep, manly voice rang and echoed throughout the entire room, grabbing everyone''s attention. "Greetings all my humble guests! It seems like all of you have made it here safely! I am grateful that you could all make it to me and Synthia''s, my beautiful wife''s 20th anniversary! Yesterday our celebration party did not go as nned since my daughter had other ns, but I can assure you she has more than made up for it and used her time extremely wisely! She had more than redeemed herself! She had grown up so much in these few years that I could not be more proud of what she had be!" The man of the party, Abby''s father, Lukas Reid stood up to address the crowd with open arms, ending his small monologue by putting his hands on Abby''s shoulder as the crowd smiled and pped at his words. Jayden''s eyes once again became hazy and wide as she began to slowly take in his words before once again shaking those thoughts away, deeming them all to be false and untrue as she continued to follow the rest of the servants, looking at the te on her right hand to see that she was suppose to go serve table 3, section 43. "I have received news that there had been an incident at my daughter''s military school, but luckily, only the poor dorm kids still live there so that doesn''t really affect us much!" He continued, making the entire crowd erupt into calmughter, them alongside their children that were sat directly next to them. "Tonight is a time of Joy! One of the happiest days of my life! We will party all night! Don''t let anything take away from that! Enjoy the food and dance the night away before we move on to some events that I am certain you all will enjoy!" Lukas announced once again before taking his spot back in his seat, looking at his wife before giving her a passionate kiss as the crowd cheered and congratted them. Ignoring the rather sickening spectacle in front of her, Jayden continued to follow her designated path until she reached the table she was supposed to serve. "Here you go young man, enjoy your food!" With a bright smile, she set the te onto therge te of a blonde-haired young boy that was extremely short, looking about half her age, him paying her no attention as he continued pping and cheering, almost like she was not even there which was rather fortunate in her opinion since she was not in the mood to listen to little bratsining for no reason. As soon as the pping and cheering faded away, the sound of the bustling crowds appeared once again and filled the entire room as everyone began to socialize amongst themselves. As Jayden walked away from the table she delivered the food, she surveyed the entire room looking for the same servants that were part of her group when she noticed that half of them were on standby roaming the room waiting to be called upon for help and the other half was going back through the door that they entered, most likely on their way back to the kitchen where they would pick up more food. Jayden had no idea which role she was supposed to y as it was something that Preston had not revealed to her in their brief exchange of information but she was more than ready to take the risk and stay, since as long as she doesn''t mess up and embarrass everyone, her punishment should be negligible in the end due to Preston''s moderately high status. Pretending to randomly roam around the room, she began inching ever closer to the back of the room where Abby and her family was sat, watching out for the various guards patrolling around their area. Since mind-link was no longer an option, she needed some way to make contact so they could talk somewhere more privately. And, luckily, for such a situation, they had devised a secret word to identify themselves. Although Jaydenughed at the idea at the time, she was now extremely grateful that Moby had suggested them to do such a thing in the past. Now 7 meters away from Abby''s table, she stopped herself as she knew it was her limits, going on stand-by before talking in Preston''s deep, manly voice,?a voice that was moderately loud, a voice that she was certain that Abby would be able to pick up on using her enhanced senses. *Yann* "All blissful demons, celebrating as the school is in dire peril, that''s something I can really appreciate," As she expected, her voice seemed to have garnered no reaction from the nearby guests and guards but when she looked into Abby''s now wide, sweating eyes, she knew that it worked as Abby instinctively took a nce at her, making Jayden smile back with a nod, Abby returning the sentiment with a smile of her own, the look of happy disbelief on her face like she was saved, not expecting to ever see Jayden in her situation. "Mom, Dad, if you''ll excuse me, I really need to go to the restroom, it should not take long," Abby spoke, a bright smile on her face as she stood up out of her seat, her expression of yful bliss still giving Jayden a sick feeling in her stomach yet she still was able to force a natural expression on her face. "Oh, that''s alright sweetheart, dinner will be going for a long time so no worries, the bathrooms are just over there," Synthia Reid, her mother responded, pointing at a hole in the wall where bathrooms were indicated. "But, I understand that you probably don''t want to use that one, so, maybe take a servant to escort you to the private bathroom," She continued with an amused chuckle. "Oh, that would be great! And would it be possible if I were to go to the bathroom in my room? I haven''t been there in such a long time that it would bring back such good memories," She continued, a glint of excitement in her eyes. "Oh! Now why would I say no to that? I''ll just choose a-" Her mother continued before being abruptly cut off by Abby, her finger now pointed at a man in the distance, standing straight as an arrow awaiting orders. "I want him! He seems nice and respectable!" Jayden faked an expression of surprise as she immediately, confidently and elegantly strode towards Abby''s table, the guards around them ignoring her actions as she was clearly called upon. "Mydy, I could not help but notice that you pointed in my direction, do you require any assistance? This humble servant is willing to do absolutely anything in his servitude towards you," Jayden bowed deeply, her right hand on her shoulder before looking intently at Abby''s face. At first, they had nned to decline Abby''s suggestion of asking that man to be her guard and escort but after the disy they just witnessed, they began to reconsider. In the perspective of Abby''s parents, the man in front of them''s manor was impable, like he had been professionally trained for many years in the art of etiquette. They recognized the servant as Preston Hemmingwood, the son of an old, trustworthy friend that they allowed to work for them as a servant. They knew he was fairly strong but did not think much of his mannerisms from the brief instances they had seen each other. He seemed like a changed man, the head chef''s training must have truly done him wonders. Abby''s mother turned to face her daughter, nodding at her, giving her approval. "Young man, take care of our daughter and make sure nothing bad happens to her," Synthia''s voice sounded innocent yet had a hint of malice and killing intent that Jayden had gotten so used to ignoring that she only barely felt what she was attempting to do. "Don''t worry mydy, I swear on the Hemmingwood name that I will keep your daughter safe," Jayden spoke once more with an even deeper bow, hiding her wide, devilish smile of victory and satisfaction that was looking down on the ground away from anyone''s view, Abby also feeling the same way yet her expression was deeply hidden under her poker face and bright smile. Chapter 214 - Mistress In Danger

Chapter 214: Mistress In Danger

Still bowing, Jayden lifted her head to reveal her bright smile, her face directed towards Synthia before immediately shifting towards Abby. "So, shall we leave?" She said, now straightening her back, her arms out wide motioning her to move when she was ready. With a nod and a bright, upbeat smile of her own, Abby epted the offer and stood out of her seat, taking the first few steps again, their gaze meeting each other once more, a mutual, devilish glint of pure satisfaction in their eyes as Jayden safely escorted her through the busy, bustling crowds of the mansion. Abby was with her, by her side again and she could not have been happier or more satisfied, she was her best friend, almost even like a little sister to her. Seeing her by her side, safe and unharmed made all of the built-up worry and anxiety bottled up and lurched deep down in her heart all slowly fade and flow away down a calming river of bliss. She felt a mutual bond with her and a warm feeling in her soul, the look in her eyes was exactly like how she remembered it, despite the fact that they could still not use their mind-link. She could not have been happier, everything was going exactly ording to n. It seemed like she was still the Abby that she knew and loved, she correctly remembered the secret word and immediately caught on to each other''s ns and acted immediately, which lowered some of the other doubts in her mind. More than anything, she wanted to stop everything that she was doing and give Abby a long, heartfelt hug but in her current situation, she was well aware that such a thing would not be appropriate and would most likely lead to her execution. She took a deep breath and inwardly shook her head. No matter how she felt, now was definitely not the time to celebrate and be careless, many things could go wrong and there were still many questions that were unanswered. She concealed her deep thinking serious expression under her poker face and only showed her side of pure happiness on the outside. "Follow me young mistress, Abby," Under the proper procedure, Jayden had to be the one walking in front, which of course she did, putting on a face of confidence as she strode through the busy crowds shoeing away any people brave enough to try and approach them. However, In reality, Jayden had absolutely no clue where she was going. In her mind, the entire mansion was still aplete mystery to her, a giantbyrinth where the only way she would know where she were going was if she were to memorize each of the distinct hallways, which she of course did not do. The only thing that she knew for certain was all of the exits in the dining room and which exit belonged to what ss, but once they get outside, she would have to whisper and rely on Abby for directions, hoping that after all these years, she had memorized the path leading to her own room. Jayden and Abby''s teamwork was absolutely perfect and effortless, each ying the correct role almost like they were reading each others minds, which would have been the case if they still had the use of their mind-link. As they walked past a few of the servants on standby, although it was subtle Jayden managed to pick up on their change of expression as they were trying to contain their emotions, their fists and teeth clenched harder, their entire body bing tense and slightly shaky, some of their eyes growing wide while others narrowed down into slits as they stared at Jayden and Abby walk by, the emotions they were feeling no doubt being shock and anger. Jayden was no mind-reader, but in this case, she was confident in being able to read exactly what they were thinking. ''W-what! This fucker!? How dare he do this!? Does he n on raping the young mistress!? Such arrogance! Who does he think he is!? How low has he sunk!? Who allowed this!?'' Jayden thought trying to imagine what was going through the servants'' minds. Unbeknownst to her, her guess was in reality very urate. Yet, despite all of those thoughts and bottled-up emotions, they were not able to do anything. Their status was too low to stand up to him and it seemed like some sort of direct order. They had no excuse to stop them and they had no wishes of losing their jobs just for the chance at protecting Abby, someone who they had known as the devil until a few hours prior when they were informed that she had redeemed herself and that they should stop their old way of thinking and treat her like a normal member of the family, something that all the servants epted on the outside yet most did not ept on the inside, still bearing some type of resentment towards her even after all these years. They both walked by the line of servants, them seeming tense yet not doing anything about it or even following them as they were forced into staying firm in their position as they watched Preston and their young mistress go through the third exit of the room, the one reserved only for Reid family members which Jayden assumed to be the correct one since Abby was with her. As Jayden exited the room, she could not help but take a nce back, some of the guests had already finished their food and begun dancing, romantic music filling the air and drowning out arge portion of the crowd''s voice. The red fireball in the sky had suddenly gotten even redder and brighter dying the entire room an even deeper, romantic red. When she focused her gaze towards the back where she once was. Abby''s parents seemed to be talking to each other, having one of their passionate moments, it not clear if they were blushing or not due to the red tint of the room. And, to the left of them was where Jayden''s eyes fell intently, her full attention on Emilia, Abby''s sister and if she seemed to have something up her sleeve. Yet, what Jayden saw was something fully expected yet unexpected at the same time. She was not at all looking back at them. But instead, she was simply eating her food, looking at the crowd ahead of her with bored eyes, paying them absolutely no heed making Jayden feel somewhatforted as she took a deep breath and walked away into thevish yet empty hallway ahead, Abby quietly following from behind. Now that they were almostpletely secluded, the atmosphere became tense and slightly awkward as they were still assuming their roles of master and servant, them walking 1 foot apart, Jayden leading the way. Hence, Jayden found it to be the perfect opportunity to break the ice and finally talk to Abby, yet still notfortable enough to speak in a normal voice, so she just talked In a low, whispering voice so that Abby would be able to pick up on it with her enhanced hearing yet not loud enough for most people around them to hear unless they had a hearing ability or some sort of special hearing device. "Abby, can you activate your mind-link, it would be much better than whispering," Jayden murmured, walking aimlessly in the hallway without a clue where she was going. "No, for some reason it had stopped working¡­ I''m not sure why, but I''ll exin everything I know to you when we get to my room¡­ You and my lord must have been so worried about me and youe here and see me seemingly having a good time¡­ You must have lost some of your trust in me¡­" She whispered back, her face turning slightly sour. "Hahaha! Don''t be silly! If l lost trust in you I wouldn''t be here right now and would have already fled and given up on you," Jayden responded, making Abby''s gloomy face cheer up with a subtle blush. "Thanks¡­ It really means a lot to me¡­" Suddenly, Jayden and Abby heard soundsing from straight ahead, the sound of 2 servants discussing amongst each other. "2 parties in a row¡­ This is really tiring¡­ I just want to get some sleep, is that too much to ask?" "Ehhh! Stop your whining! They''re paying us extra so it''s no big deal! Just suck it up!" *Yannn* "Yeah, I guess you''re right¡­ I know that we''re both new but I''m not sure if I''ll ever get used to this¡­ I just hope I''ll be able to survive for the rest of the night before falling asleep on the spot¡­" Jayden and Abby''s faces immediately went back to normal without hesitation, the voices wereing from the direction they were going and they needed to keep up their facade and make sure no one was catching onto anything. "Hey, Abby, do you remember where your room was and how to get there from here?" Jayden whispered in a low voice, talking fast so she could receive the information before they turn the corner and see the 2 servants discussing. "Left, Right, Left, skip a turn the go right, skip 2 then go left and my room should be right there," Abby responded with no hesitation, Jayden nodding back to her with an okay,pletely amazed by Abby''s memorization skills since she knew that it was her first time in years in her family mansion. Jayden even doubted that she would be able to be even half as good at giving directions in her own family mansion that she was no doubt more familiar with. "It''s only for 1 more night, I think they''re giving us a day off tomorrow. They''re probably going to get next weeks servants here early to give us a break," "Really? That would be heavenly!" As soon as the two men turned the corner, their expression immediately tensed up, not a single word being uttered from their mouths as they both took a deep bow with a hint of embarrassment as they did not at all expect such a person to be walking in this section of the mansion that was usually reserved for only servants. A few meters away from them walked 2 people, both of whom they recognized, nervous sweat running down their face that was looking intently at the red carpet ground below them. "Greetings young mistress Abby, it is an honour to be in your presence," They both spoke at the same time,pletely in sync. "Thank you so much for your kind words!" Abby nodded at them with a smile. The 2 men had a hard time believing their eyes as they struggled to control their breathing. The second person they noticed was someone that they knew all too well, a person who had just recently joined the workforce at the same time as them, and from the few moments they had seen each other, they were more than able to know that he was an absolute degenerate scum unlike they had ever seen before. They could not believe or fathom that someone like him was put in charge of escorting the young miss, there must have been something wrong, maybe she was being taken hostage. All that they knew was that there was no way that he was not harbouring any ill intention towards her, something that they inwardly and morally could not bear. They both looked at each other with a nod of mutual understanding, they needed to save her, they were both more than willing to risk their positions in the household. Not only so they could receive money andpensation for their quick thinking and bravery which was definitely part of it, but because they genuinely did not want to see her hurt. Although they were new servants, they were well aware of the hatred and history behind who Abby was. But, unlike most other servants, since they were new, it was easier to disregard those facts and look at what she was today. And from how she had treated them earlier, she seemed to be an extremely kind, caring soul and they could not bear to see her raped or even hurt. "Preston! There you are! What do you think you''re doing here! You were supposed to be back at the kitchen ages ago! The head chef was looking all over for you and is damn near ready to kill you!" One of them spoke, lifting his head as he stared at Preston''s smug-looking, deep green, confident eyes which made his blood boil, concealing it under his serious expression. The man was in fact not lying, Preston did not belong to the team that would remain in the dining room on standby but to the team that would constantly go in and back in and out the kitchen to bring the food, meaning that he clearly went against orders. His friend''s quick thinking made the other man have a smile on his face as he hadpletely forgotten that the chef mentioned such a thing. "Oh, I deeply apologize for that, I was actually on my way back when young mistress Abby personally requested me to be her escort around the mansion. Can you please pass that message on from me to the chef? That would be much appreciated, I''m sure he would understand," Jayden replied with a casual smile that had a hint of nervousness. The two men''s eyes immediately went wide, filled with shock and disbelief that they were not able to keep suppressed as they struggled to speak out any words, their eyes immediately shifting towards Abby to see her expression and if Preston was in fact telling the truth. "What''s with the weird looks? What''s going on? If you are wondering if what he said is true then yes, I asked him to be my escort, do you have any objections?" Abby asked with a face filled with confusion and a hint of authority, making both men be extremely tense, even more sweat running down their faces as it now looked almost like a flowing river. "N-no! Not at all, young miss! We were just nervous and honoured in your presence. We promise we meant you no such offence mydy¡­" The other man spoke, their gaze once again shifted back towards the ground, drops of sweat going on the crimson carpet below. "It''s fine, I know that you meant no such thing. I will be off now, please resume your work!" Although they were not able to see Abby''s face, they felt the warmth and kindness in her voice, making them feel even more regretful for not calling out Preston when they had the chance, all due to their fear and nervousness at the time. "Thank you for your kind words young lord Abby! We promise that we will not let you down or disappoint you!" They both spoke in unison once more,pletely in sync as they looked up only to see Abby and Preston''s backs walking in the distance. Taking long, deep breaths they both took a look at each other with a serious yet gloomy look on their face. "Bro¡­ We need to do something, I really can''t let this slide¡­ I know what this man is like... I know what he does... I swear if he even touches the young mistress, I''m gonna-" "Yeah I do too and I feel the same way, but we need to calm down a bit. We don''t have any evidence against him but we would be able to not only fire him but end his entire bloodline if we caught him trying anything on the young miss. He deserves it and the young miss is too innocent to realize his true intentions. It''s not just about the possible rewards," "Agreed, hopefully, the chef won''t be too angry if we''re a bitte¡­ let''s follow them from afar¡­" Nodding at each other with a solemn glint in their eyes, they both made up their minds to ignore their current orders in order to trail them both from a distance just in case Preston tried to pull anything on their young mistress, something they were almost certain that he would do... Chapter 215 - False Alarm

Chapter 215: False rm

The 2 men followed behind, staying 1 or 2 hallways back at all times since they were able to predict Abby''s and Preston''s final destination being Abby''s chamber. At times, they would go in to take small peaks, camera in hand, just in case Preston wanted to try something on their young mistress. Yet, every time they did, they noticed absolutely nothing other than Preston walking a good distance away from her, straight as an arrow and Abby trailing and following him from behind, both of their mouths not even moving at all as they walked further and further down the hallway, no sign of them being suspicious of them as they continued to quietly tail them from behind, whispering slightly amongst themselves, lucky that no one else was in their way to catch what they were up to. Not too long after, they had finally reached a certain old, dusty door, a door that for some reason looked even worse than the normal doors near it, them recognizing it as Abby''s room which was not well renovated and maintained for years unlike every other ce in the mansion and showed her parent''sck of love and care for her over the years. Standing and peaking at the edge of a corner, they watched intently as Preston opened the door to her with a bow before immediately closing it as soon as Abby entered with a quiet yet audible m. The 2 men took deep breaths, they knew that despite the room being extremely old, it still possessed a sound crystal that would not allow them to pick up on what was happening on the inside. Now, all they had to do was wait and not immediately barge in, m on the door or call for help which would have beenpletely idiotic, the door being most definitely locked. They had to be patient and bide their time, assuming that Abby was there to either shower or go to the bathroom, she should take no less than 20 minutes to do both. So, assuming that she was not constipated or something along those lines, if she took longer than that, then that would give them the go-to, telling them that something was off and that Preston was trying to pull something, prompting them to try and go save her. As they waited inplete silence, camera in hand, checking the time on their watch every now and then, they felt like time slowed down. In their mind, minutes felt more like hours as they started to wonder what was happening behind that door, sweat running down their face as they tried their best to keep their calm andposure, beginning to whisper to each other to pass the time and calm each other''s nerves. However, not long before they started, to their surprise, they heard a rumbling sounding from the door nob ahead, the same one that Abby and Preston had entered inside. They immediately stopped what they were doing, shock and nervousness on their face as they stared intently at the door nob, shaking and twisting to the right in the motion of its opening with bated breaths of anticipation. As the door slowly opened, they saw none other than Preston walking out of the room with his usual smile, bowing once again as Abby followed right after. When they checked the time, they noticed that it had only been 3 minutes, much faster than they ever expected, which was definitely not enough time for Preston to do anything major or take advantage of Abby which was further reinforced by Abby''s calm and collected demeanour, making them both hide their faces once more, looking at each other with sighs and smiles of relief that Abby was safe. She must have only gone to take a piss beforeing out, exining the low time that they were in there for. Yet, deep down in their heart, although they did not want to show it, they felt a hint of disappointment. Part of them really wanted Preston to try and do his way with Abby, only for them to swoop in and save the day, no doubt making them heroes in the eyes of the Reid''s leading to massivepensations and promotions. But, sadly, that was not the case. Instead, they will now walk back to the kitchen only to be yelled at for beingte. And, now they had to force themselves to make Preston look good and defend him, saying that he was not there because he was called upon to personally escort the young miss. It was a very odd feeling, they wanted to feel happy for their new, kind young mistress but the negativity in their heart was always there. Yet, to them, it was a feeling that they had gotten all too used to that they had yet to even notice it so they simply went on with their lives thinking that it was simply a part of who they were, not showing it on their face. "Okay young miss, let''s get back to the party, your parents are surely waiting for you," "Yes, of course," 2 voices came from the other side of the hallway, the voice of Preston and Abby, making them both, without saying a word, snap out of their daze as they walked away with haste, keeping their footstepspletely quiet since they were bothing their way and did not want to be caught spying. After wandering away for a few seconds, going in a direction that they were sure Preston and Abby could and would not go, they finally found it safe for them to speak once more, now being in a dirty, servant only hallway, no one of significance allowed or even wanting to be there as they began talking, taking a deep breath as they looked at each other''s eyes. "I''m d that the young mistress is safe, d to know that even scum like him know their ce, I guess we got worried over nothing," "Yeah, I guess you''re right, but now we are gonna get scolded by the head chef," "Eh, It''s okay, we would only bete a few minutes instead of like half an hour like we expected. So, we could always just bullshit an excuse. All that really matters is that the young mistress is safe." "Yeah, although a reward and putting that trash in his ce would have been even better," One of them mused, causing them both to chuckle with a hint of awkwardness "I never expected young mistress Abby to be such a nice person, it''s almost like a breath of fresh airpared to most of the other nobles that I had to deal with in even some of the smaller families that I worked for," "I agree, I guess it''s all worth it in the end, haha," "Yeah, if it were young mistress Emilia in that situation, I''m not sure if I would have even cared or been inclined to do the same thing," "Yeah, I''m with you on that one bro. I feel the same way," Abruptly, seemingly out of nowhere, as soon as those words were uttered, they felt a weird feeling in their stomach, sending shivers down their spine as their bodies began to shudder and shake out of nowhere, their legs and teeth moving even faster than a vibrator, cold sweat running down their face. As they began to frantically look in front of them to see what the hell was happening, their hands tightly clenching their heart that was in severe pain, lurched deep down in the bottom of their chest, the entire room turned dark, all the glowing crimson lights on the ceiling and walls around the room were abruptly snuffed out all at once, filling their entire vision with pure darkness, not even able to see each other anymore, as their panic, fear and anxiety was immediately multiplied as their brain began spinning like crazy. There was no doubt in their mind, the feeling of death was in the air... The feeling of cold, yet mellow killing intent rushed, overflowed and drowned out all of their senses as it became significantly harder to even breathe, their legs beginning to fail them as the strength in their bodies started draining away just like their mental strength and will power as they dropped ass first on the ground, only the sound of their immense shaking and heavy breathing filling the air as they both could not find the strength to let out even a single noise. Suddenly, the faint sound of a mellow me sparking sounded in their ears like a rocket, which was followed up by the small chuckle of a little girl, the smell of fire and burning filling the area. Their teeth still ttering one against each other, they took in a deep, long gulp, the longest deepest gulp they ever remembered taking in their life as they steeled and forced their heads and bodies to move and turn around to see what was going on as it took all their physical and mental strength, forming small cracks on their teeth from how hard they clenched them. As their faces of pure horror slowly turned around, the first thing they witnessed was a small, crimson me, that me burning vigorously with immense heat, dancing monstrously in the air. That rtively small me that was lit from the girl''s right hand was more than enough for them to make out the features of its wielder, giving her a demonic red tint on her face... The light revealing just enough to see the grin of an absolute monster, her glowing eyes staring deep into their souls and her wide, smile of a predator looking like she was ready to eat them both up like she was a lion. It was the cold yet amused face of an absolute demon, a face that they were able to recognize but not properly fathom or understand at the same time, someone that they did not imagine could be there in a million years due to the area they were walking in which was rtively dirty and undignified, it being a servant only area. They wanted to speak, to go on their knees to apologize and beg for their lives, but no matter how hard they tried, their numb, horrified bodies and hazy minds would not allow them to move even a single inch as they were forced into locking and staring at the burning slits of the person towering in front of them. They felt like the more they stared at them, the more of their souls and will to live was being forcefully devoured and ripped out as they barely even found the power to stay conscious. "You know, I was taking a shortcut and just couldn''t help overhear your words.. So... Boys... Care to repeat exactly what you just said? I might have heard you wrong so I am here just to confirm¡­" Chapter 216 - Expectedly Unexpected

Chapter 216: Expectedly Unexpected

mming the door behind her, Jayden inwardly took a deep breath only to be surprised by an uncontroble barrage of coughing, her eyes bing itchy and slightly teary like there was something stuck inside, which prompted her into inspecting the room around her. From the shabby, dusty, almost broken look of the faded golden door, she was able to assume what the interior would look like yet it seemed far, far worse than she ever expected as she began to frantically look around with her gray, dust-filled vision. Considering Abby''s position in her family, her room was extremely small, not even a fifth of the size of her own room, the size was moreparable to that of a servant''s chamber than that of the daughter of one of the most important families in the country. The room that was supposed to be crimson in colour was now more like ash, died gray with dust. The few surfaces such as drawers and tables around the room also had the same colour of infested rot, rust and faded gray. The curtains that were hung at the back of the room that led into the small balcony were torn and tattered, the sign of ck burn marks on the tips. The bed that was once no doubt red was stuck to one of the walls and was in a very simr condition, the seethrough blinds all around it umting so much dust that it almost became opaque, simr burn marks on it and the wall around. She damn near expected a mouse to walk out from under it and she would not have been surprised if there was an entire rat colony living beneath such a putrid, disgusting bed. Although she did not require any light source, she could not help but notice that no matter how many times she tried to flip the light switch on or off, nothing would happen. The smell of burnt dust filled the air, making it seemingly the only thing that they both inhaled as they both contained themselves and controlled their urge to cough. It was almost like the room was abandoned, forgotten and unmaintained for many years, something that she knew was no doubt the case. She began to even doubt if the bathroom was still fully functional and why her parents had even agreed for Abby toe to such a dirty, disgusting ce. Yet she really did not even have time to ask such questions which seemed rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Instinctively taking a deep breath, dusting into her system once more making her let out a small cough, her gaze shifted towards Abby who was standing casually in front of her like she was waiting for her to speak. However, before she could do anything, Jayden needed to confirm a few things. "So, are there any cameras in the room? Is there a sound-cancelling crystal installed?" Jayden''s voice was low but audible, making Abby immediately respond with no hesitation, a serious look on her face as she whispered back with an equally low voice. "No, there are no cameras in here. But, there is a sound-cancelling crystal. This room hasn''t been touched in many years, probably since thest time I was in the house since my parents really hated me, so, there are definitely no cameras. The only thing that should still be fully working is the bathroom," "Well, that''s good to know then," Jayden replied with a nod and a smile. For some odd reason, Jayden took Abby''s words at face value and did not even question them, her trust for her being that strong. She had the urge to not even look if there were any cameras to show her trust towards her but in the end, she ended up taking quick nces anyways, just in case something new arose that was unbeknownst to Abby. And, just like she expected, although she did not look very hard, she found absolutely nothing, making her show a bright smile. "All clear, I didn''t find a single thing," "I told you!" Abby replied with a casual chuckle, making Jayden feelforted as it felt like the good old times in her mind. Yet, she only got lucky that what Abby said was in fact the truth. If there had been any extremely tiny cameras hidden, then Jayden would not have found them and beenpletely exposed. That smallck of care stemmed from her trust towards Abby who seemedpletely certain of her words, not even mentioning the fact that there was a chance that she might have been wrong since she had not been here in years, which she for some reason ignored and deemed aspletely normal. Now that there were no longer any cameras, Jayden casually and with no hesitation closed her eyes, her body cracking and shifting, her height shrinking down to around 2 inches shorter than Abby, the once short ck hair on her head now growing immensely and turning dark blue, her cute face, feminine charm, and bountiful assets returning on her body as she transformed back into her normal self, making Abby''s eyes go wide as she smiled, seemingly because she was now able to see her best friend''s face once again after being kidnapped, Jayden returning the sentiment with a cute smile of her own. Now, pping the dust away from her hand and armour, Jayden took another deep breath, only to profusely cough once more. However, once she regained herposure, she lifted her hands up to her side, as the sound of stretching of flesh and cracking of bones filled the air, Jayden''s body stretching to an unnatural degree until it was enough for another person''s entire body, as it separated from her main one. That blob of flesh and blood immediately shifted and transformed, opening their eyes as they saw the world for the first time, aplete, perfect clone of Preston, although far, far weaker, bowed down ready to receive orders from his master. Not too long after, another clone appeared, ripped out of Jayden''s body as they too opened their clear blood red eyes, their crimson dress a small light in the otherwise dark room, that person of course being none other than Abby. With wide-open sights, not even able to utter a single word, Abby stood there in the middle of the room, still shocked at what she had just witnessed. She always knew that Jayden could do such things but not to this extent and proficiency, thest time she had seen Jayden use clones, it took her almost 5 minutes to do and took all of her mental concentration, now she was able to summon 2 at a time, casually and instantly with no care in the world. "You 2 already know what to do right?" Jayden spoke with an air of authority at her two kneeling servants, leading to them both nodding their heads firmly before gazing back up at their master. "Yes, wepletely understand our orders!" With a smile on her face, Jayden pointed at the door. "Now leave and serve me well," Her cold,manding voice aplete contrast between that and the voice that she used to normally address Abby. Then, without hesitation, the 2 clones nodded once more, standing back up and casually yet confidently walked towards the door, the Preston clones opening it up and holding the door open from the outside with a bow, waiting for the Abby clone as she elegantly walked through the door, prompting them to close it behind them with an audible m. "Those 2 were just my clones so they are not the brightest at all times but they should buy us more than enough time to flee, the maximum time they can stay "alive" will be 24 hours which will be more than enough. They should at least take care of the 2 servants that had been tailing us for so long," Jayden said in a calm voice, shifting her gaze towards the window of the room. "Well, I would have liked to ask you many questions but we are really low on time. We can discuss things when we get back to the school and see Moby, maybe he can fix whatever happened with your mind link," Hearing Moby''s name, Abby''s face immediately tensed up as she watched Jayden walking towards the entrance of the balcony, making her clench her teeth before shaking her head, Jayden not seeing any of it since she was not looking in her direction. "I''m so happy right now¡­ I will finally be able to see my lord again¡­ Let''s leave immediately! I can''t really wait much longer!" She spoke, her expression immediately shifting into a dark smile that Jayden was not able to witness. Firmly, Jayden grabbed the door nob to the door to the balcony ahead of her before responding to Abby''s words "I''m d t-" Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Jayden immediately stopped what she was doing, her eyes growing as she tightly clenched the door harder, sweat running down her shaky, ghost-like face that she did not allow Abby to witness. A sudden, extremely, all too familiar voice rang in her head, making here to a clear realization that she had not seen until now¡­ The words that the voice spoke could not have been the truth yet for some reason, deep down in her heart she knew all of them were true. It was almost like her entire life had been a lie, her entire perspective on life and reality itself flipped on its head until this point as the words of this person, her clear master, revealed a truth that she was so stubborn and brain dead not to realize and how she could make herself useful for now. "Jayden, is there something wrong?" Abby''s tender voice spoke from behind her. Wiping the sweat off her face as she calmed her breathing and emotions, she put on the best poker face she could muster, turning around to face Abby before replying. "Damn, there seem to be some guards patrolling the area outside, no way we could leave now without being caught¡­" She said, lying through her teeth. "Those bastards, I''m sure they''re not onto us but they are still dying my meeting with my lord!" The annoyance and hatred in Abby''s voice was clear, yet Jayden felt nothing but contempt as she faked a smiling expression. "Don''t worry, it will all be fine. Well, now that we are stuck in here for now, why don''t you tell me about exactly what happened with you to make your parents like and respect you again? Especially your sister, if all you had told me before was the truth then I doubt that any of this could happen without you doing something. Please, if we are still friends, then tell me the truth now¡­" Jayden spoke, her eyes turned into worried, tender, yet deadly slits as she stared deep into Abby''s soul. "Well, it''s just because since I got first on my exam and proved my strength as no longer a weak, useless member of-" Abby''s words were immediately cut off by Jayden''s teary eyes as she held her tightly from both arms. "Please! Tell me the truth! What has our friendship been for all these months?! A lie to manipte me and Moby!?" Jayden''s words echoed in Abby''s mind, bouncing endlessly back and forth in her cranium. Once again, hearing Moby''s name made her brain hurt as it felt like it was about to explode and break out of her skull from all the echoes, tightly clenching her teeth, both her hands on her hair, she staggered Jayden''s arms away as she shook her head profusely to get rid of many unwanted thoughts. Taking heavy, deep breaths with wide-open eyes to calm her nerves, ignoring the dust as her eyes became teary herself, a sad expression on her face as she moved her hands from her head to her profoundly beating heart, she spoke. "I''m telling you the truth! Why won''t you believe me! I have nothing in this world other than you, Alex, and my lord and now it seems like even you abandoned and lost trust in me! I''m truely worthless! Nothing is like what it seems! I still hate all my family members with a burning passion in my heart and nothing will ever change that!" Abby screamed her heart out, a waterfall of tears running down her face as she looked at Jayden''s face of sadness, shock and surprise with heavy, tear-filled eyes. With a look of mncholy and a voice of distress, Jayden spoke, reaching her right hand out towards Abby who was clearly in agony. "A-Abby I-" Suddenly, before Jayden had the chance to properly even start her sentence, a sh of crimson light lit up the room for a split second before disappearing. All of a sudden, Jayden''s once clear, unhindered eyes became blurry as she struggled to see things clearly. A numb feeling of a hot, burning pain filled and ravaged her stomach, the burning seemingly never-ending as it continued to rip her cells apart. Instinctively, she put her hand exactly where the pain was, only to see the river of blood gushing out and her hand being immediately died a scarlet red from her own blood. ''Fuck¡­ what''s going on¡­ did she just¡­'' She thought before her thought process was cut short as she felt an odd feeling of pain in her lungs, struggling to breathe as she felt liquid begin to crawl up her throught. Coughing a mouthful of blood before clenching her stained, pain-filled teeth that were cracking and clenched tightly, her arms firmly gripping her burning open wound, she tried her best to maintain her standing position befall ultimately falling down on the ground from herck of strength, knowing that she was in the body she was in, as fragile as ss. Suddenly, the sound of the wind howling from behind her along with the noise of footsteps filled her ears, the bright light of the moon entering the room, no doubting from the balcony door that was for some reason now wide open. The voice of a cute yet ominous female giggle sounded clearly from behind her before moving directly in front of her. With her fragile, weak body and hazy eyes, her mind in pure turmoil, Jayden struggled to lift her head off the ground to see who it was, using every ounce of energy left in her body as she peered at the 2 smug grim reapers ahead of her with vigour, anger and determination in her eyes. "Wow! Good job! You did much better than I ever expected sister! But, as for you little miss Griffith, I couldn''t say the same thing¡­ I am very disappointed in you... how could you fall into such an obvious trap? I expected much more from the great Griffith family''s only daughter¡­" Looking down at her with wide grins from ear to ear and a pair of piercing, fiery red glowing eyes were the faces of absolute beasts, looking down at her like she was nothing but a b of meat ready for them to devour. It was a scene that she had fully expected to see and had already mentally prepared for. However, despite all of that, now that it was all happening in reality right in front of her eyes was still too mentally taxing and overbearing for her fake, fragile soul, seeing her best friend in such a state was almost too much to bear. ''Fuck¡­ She came here much faster than I ever expected¡­'' ********* Note: checkments for Jayden artwork ;) Comment what character or scene to draw next, HikariYami art is on the way! Chapter 217 - Dead...

Chapter 217: Dead...

The figure that had just spoken slowly lifted her hands to her mouth, blowing away the smoke on her fingers with a conceited look of superiority on her face, showing Jayden that it was she who had sted a hole straight in her stomach that was still burning even at this moment, the smell of dust no longer filling her nostrils as it was reced by the smell of her own burning flesh. The faces of the two people standing above her were blurry yet clear at the same time, her dark, hazy vision aided by the bright light of the moon shining on their faces, despite the fact that she still had her night vision. She saw Abby, wearing a face that she had seen her wear many times before, her hands softly over her mouth like she was trying to control her own satisfaction, almost like she had been waiting for that moment her entire life. It was the same face that she bore when she looked down on those filthy scum that dared oppose her lord and his agenda and the same face she wore back in the dungeon of her mansion when they were both torturing Natalia, a look that she never expected that one day she would be the victim off. To her side was her sister, Emilia Reid, and the same person who had just sted a hole right in her chest from behind. Even out of the many thousands of cruel, devilish kids in the school, she was still infamous and feared for being one the most heartless and brutal, it was a well-known fact that it was not a good idea to ever go against her in any way shape or form. Unlike her sister, Emilia''s face suggested that she was more amused than satisfied like she had found a pleasant surprise that had stumbled in her home, her expression being somehow even more demonic than the actual demon standing next to her. "Big sister! What took you so long? Acting like this is hard you know!?" Abby spoke with a hint of annoyance. "Oh, sorry, I had a little unexpected trouble on the way here¡­" "Trouble?" "Yes, but don''t worry, all the trouble has been taken care of, the trash has been disposed," Emilia replied back with a smile directed at her sister, rubbing and patting her head almost like she was her pet. "You did a great job here, it all ended fine, although some of your acting skills might need some work¡­ I''m not sure how little miss Griffith even fell for it," She continued, making Abby let out a small, awkward chuckle. t on the ground, her teeth still clenched, Jayden carefully listened to the rather odd conversation going on above her, making sure to pick up on any important information. The pain in her stomach, no matter what she did would not cease, so using the opportunity of their clearly distracted opponents. She tried her best to transform into someone with a healing ability in order to heal her unbearable wound. Plus, even if it did not work which was nearly certain, it still aligned with her main goal so she decided to go with it anyways. However, just like part of her expected, as soon as she began her transformation process, her body beginning to shift and morph, trying to keep the sounds to a minimum, she felt a hard, squishing pain exactly on the hole of her deep wound, looking up only to see Abby''s foot firmly nted on it, deeply digging in and grinding as Jayden could not help but let out a loud, banshee-like scream, nothing but pain and agony in her voice as she sounded like a dying animal, spit, blood and barf covering her screaming mouth. "No sister! You didn''t take out all the trash! There is still one here! You missed a spot!" Abby said with a wide, devilish grin as she dug her ming foot deeper and deeper into Jayden''s still burning wound, increasing the pain, anguish, and screaming of her victim that still had working vocal cords due to her exceptional regeneration. "Did you think me and you were friends? Don''t be funny!? Don''t be ridiculous!" "Hahahah! Now! Scream you little dog! I want to see you beg for mercy!" Abby''s screams echoed all around the dusty room, the amused face of her sister growing even further. Jayden knew that there there was no hope of survival, she had more than epted her fate. Either she was going to be taken hostage or killed on the spot, and that fact was even further dug in her brain the more that Abby dug her foot in her wound and the more she mocked and insulted her like an insect, as if their rtionship was never real in the first ce. Yet, what was so bizarre was that none of this felt odd to her, her brain being calmer than she would have expected as ording to her master that had only briefly contacted her while she held the door handle of the balcony, everything had been going ording to n and that they just had to switch to n B. That her entire life thus far had been aplete lie, her reality flipped inside out. She needed to find answers... That despite all her ideals and memories for seemingly her entire life, her only purpose was to withstand this pain, both mental and physical and do as she was told which she no doubt knew would help the others in the pursuit of the truth, even if it took sacrificing herself in the process¡­ Her gaping wound still only gettingrger from Abby''s burning foot, her eyes bing darker and darker, she mustered all the power in her soul before screaming. "Emilia! What the fuck did you do to Abby! tell me!!" Jayden''s banshee-like shriek of pure anger and desperation rang and echoed throughout the entire room, her voice the same pitch as her earlier screams, tears running down her red, dusty face. Abby''s anger grew at Jayden''s words insulting her sister, her teeth clenched and her hands gripped tightly, causing her to lift her foot high off the ground to an almost perfect 90-degree angle, still wearing her dress, using her immense flexibility, charging her foot with fire before preparing to strike. "Stay quiet and obey bitch! Who allowed you to speak," She screamed, ready to drop her foot straight onto Jayden''s now evenrger, still burning wound that was still making her grunt the pain away as she stared into Emilia''s amused eyes looking for answers, the fear of death not showing anywhere on her face. Suddenly, before Abby even got the chance to move a single inch, she felt a firm grasp on her shoulder, making her turn around in confusion only to see her sister''s smile. "Calm down Abby, Jayden seems like a very fragile person, a strike like that would have most likely killed her, and now was not the time to do it, that partester!" Emilia''s words calmed Abby''s nerves, making her put her foot back down to her side with a nervous blush. "Sorry sister, I took it too far¡­ It was just when she insul-" Abby''s words were cut off by Emilia''s hand once again rubbing and patting her head, making Abby feelforted once more. "No worries, it''s not your fault that the Griffith girl is built like ss," Emilia continued, making Abby nod back as they heard Jayden''s painfilled, banshee-like screaming once again. "Stop ignoring me you slut! What the fuck did you do to my Abby!" Hearing Jayden''s words, Emilia''s already wide smile grew to almost twice its size, looking so unnatural that she now looked like aplete monster as she could not help butugh at Jayden''s words. "Do you really think I am stupid enough to answer that question? Or reveal any of my secrets? Your friends are probably listening in using your mind link from all the way at the school! Right?" Emilia''s mockingughter made Jayden''s eyes grow wide as she showed a face of anger unlike she had ever shown before, her heavy breathing filling the room, not feeling surprised that she knew about her mind-link since Abby had most likely disclosed all of their secrets. "But, lucky for you, this room is not only soundproof, but alsomunication proof, so even if you wanted to contact your friends, that would not be possible¡­" Emilia''s voice rang in Jayden''s ears like a rocket, her eyes turning nk as, from the outside, it seemed like she had lost all hope when she had tried to contact the outside. "You will die all alone... Your "genius" dying n of trying to make yourself useful before you die to get intel was never even going to work in the first ce¡­ Haha! Maybe I should have just told you everything only for you to find out that you can''t get any information out! That would have been hrious!" Emiliaughed at what could have been, Jayden looking more and more broken at the bottom, tears running down her face. "P-please¡­ I don''t care if anyone else knows¡­ I just want to know for myself¡­ I just need to know this before I die¡­ What happened to Abby¡­ I need to know¡­" Jayden spoke, her eyes almost losing all of its vision as she tried her best to fix her gaze at Emilia and Abby above. "Oh, hahaha! Me? I didn''t really do anything! This is still Abby! All I needed to do was just give her a little push in the right direction and open her mind to the truth, isn''t that right little sister?" Emilia spoke with a face of amusement, leading Abby to nod back profusely. "Heh¡­ I really doubt that¡­ This is definitely not the Abby I used to know¡­ She would never do such a thing¡­" Jayden replied with a mellow smile, almost like she no longer had a single care in the world, the pain still burning in her stomach beingpletely ignored by her. "Jayden Griffith, I never liked you¡­ Don''t be arrogant and think too highly of yourself, it seems like you have not changed at all... You were only a tool to further my agenda, and now you will once again serve as another tool, the ultimate sacrifice to fuel my revenge¡­ You will die!" Abby''s voice was cold, heartless and distant, nothing like what she remembered of her in the past. Jayden''s gray eyes grew wide once again, the tears flowing down elerating even more than before. "Abby¡­ Has everything been a lie? All those good times? All those training sessions? Your reason for even wanting to be a demon? Your long nights of none-stop work on reports that I''m sure Moby never even touched? Your "love" and "gratitude towards your lord? Were you faking all of it!?" Jayden slowly spoke in a shaky voice like she was trying to fathom everything that was happening. Clenching her teeth, a spark glowing in her eyes, Abby vigorously shook her head from those words, the sound of grunting filling the air, her sister standing beside her confused at her actions, Jayden having an idea of what it could be, as she calmed her breathing and responded. "Of course they were a lie! Why would a Reid ever befriend a Griffith!? I hated all of you!" Abby''s voice of madness resounded around the room, causing Jayden to react and delve deeper into despair. "Oh¡­ is that so¡­ I guess I have simply been a fool all these months¡­ But, I would like to warn you, if you kill me the wrath of the entire Griffith family will fall upon you¡­ Why not just kidnap me instead? What is your true motive¡­ You should let me know at least this before I die¡­" The dead expression on Jayden''s face somehow grew even further as she began tough softly at herself, the tears in her eyes seemingly never-ending, now with a mixture of blood. "What if I tell you that is what I want!? You will die here! We will pin the me of your death to you illegally trespassing onto our estate to go see me, "your friend", wearing clothing that would not allow others to see your face, thus you get killed on the spot for your recklessness, Preston doing the deed. This will lead to the Griffiths dering war on the Reid''s and ultimately destroy each other¡­ I never lied to you¡­ My wishes of destroying my family are still very much real¡­ I hate them with every morsel of my being! The only person I lied to you about was my sister, who has been the only good person to me, the only shining hope in my life and I''m never sure how I could ever repay her!" Abby rambled on and on, her eyes growing wider and her voice bing more inhuman the more she spoke. Jayden smiled softly, as she looked down at the ground,ing to terms that she was about to breathe her final breath and not get kidnapped at all, before she continued the conversation. "Huh? Is that supposed to be some sort of joke? If both families are destroyed, where would you even live? What will happen to you? Live on the streets?" Jayden mocked with a light chuckle. "Pfff! Now why would that matter when we will leave this filthy, shitty anyways?" Abby replied with immenseughter, making Emilia look at her with weery eyes, seemingly for disclosing one of her major secrets before she shook it away since it didn''t matter, Jayden had no way to get the information she heard outside of the room so she let it slide. Abby''s words sparked intrigue in Jayden''s stic soul, like she had finally gotten the first shred of useful information as she inwardly smiled to herself. "Moby Kane, you''re boyfriend, he is my true target, I could always just take you hostage but what would be the fun in that? I already have Abby as my "hostage" and adding you wouldn''t really serve much, you would be much better dead to fuel his anger. I want to see why my master wants him so badly so maybe a little rage might help him unlock his hidden potential," Emilia added, deciding to follow Abby''s lead and give Jayden a taste of the truth before she died as it did not matter, even further fueling her despair since now she knew that not only will she die, but all of her other friends and her boyfriend will suffer as well. Jayden''s eyes grew wide as she could no longer contain her emotions¡­ "lord?" did that mean that Emilia Reid was not even the leader of the Zexis gang? Or was there something else at y¡­ And why would Moby be their target, are they aware that he will be the future demon lord? So many questions sprung up in Jayden''s brain that her broken, hazy mind began to hurt even more than it already did, as Emilia and Abby could not help butugh at her anguish. "Y-you have a lord? W-who are you? Who are you working for¡­ I am so confused! I need answers!" Jayden started quietly before bing louder and louder, the insanity of her mind and body more than clear on her face. "Who? WHO? Why, he is the rightful ruler of the entire universe! Everyone shall kneel before his presence and very glory! You do not even have the right to know his name or who I truly am!" Sheughed once more, Abby beside her still smiling as she took a pause before continuing. "Jayden Griffith¡­ I have entertained you long enough¡­ I wish I had the luxury to stay here and torture your soul into oblivion but sadly this party isn''t going to give me the luxury to do that so consider yourself lucky¡­ You thought you were slick, that you had outsmarted me,ing in her so recklessly thinking you could sneak Abby away without me even noticing! What a joke! Are you really that stupid? If she had been the Abby you used to know then it might have worked, but sadly that Abby is now long gone¡­ Maybe she never even existed, who knows¡­" She took a slight pause to chuckle at her remark, before continuing. "Now look at you and your poor, pathetic state! The great daughter of the Griffith family is now in such a sorry position! You''re idiotic recklessness and wishful thinking led you to where you are today¡­ You thought you had outsmarted me using your doppelganger powers but it was I who had outsmarted you! Now pay the consequences of your actions and die a painful death!" Clenching her bloody teeth, Jayden looked up to face death in the face, no sign of fear on her still bloody, tearfilled visage¡­ She hadpleted her goal¡­ She now knew some information and gotten closer to the truth¡­ Now she could die peacefully¡­ As she looked above with her hazy, ckened vision, she still managed to make out the faces of Abby and Emilia, their smiles reaching almost all the way up to their ears, looking like pure monsters out of the depths of hell from Jayden''s perspective, bright, crimson mes glowing on both of their hands. "Die!" They both yelled at the same time, their voice in sync, blending and echoing around the room as they brought both of their ming, crimson palms out in front of them, their mes mixing together as they shot a thick stream of fire straight at Abby, rushing straight at her with the ferocity of a raging Phoenix as itpletely engulfed Jayden''s body from head to toe. She had already long epted her fate, as despite what was happening, she bore a smile on her face that was quickly incinerated and melted off into a blob of ash,pletely unrecognizable. The infamous crimson mes of the Reid family flowing and through and ravaging her entire body making her feel pain unlike any other she had felt before. She was not even able to detect the smell of her own burning flesh as her nose was no longer working and her eyes that only saw crimson now only saw ck, her cells being torn apart. Yet, even still, despite all of that, she did not scream or squirm, her mind and soul at peace. Thest thing she saw before both her body and mind werepletely burned to dust was her fake memories that, in her mind, she considered as real¡­ almost like her entire life had shed right before her eyes. The memories of her good times with Abby, still cherishing those memories despite everything that had just happened¡­ The memories of her rtionship with Alex and how they were brought back together after years and years of animosity¡­ The faces of her smiling parents who had supported her wholeheartedly throughout all these years, despite knowing she had been a bad, spoiled, inconsiderate bitch of a daughter¡­ And, finally and what was kept closest in her heart, the memories of meeting Moby for the first time and how he had opened her eyes, making her life so much better, his bright smile and blushing face as they both kissed for the first time under the purple night sky of another, and her kiss to him right after she left the dorms, promising him that she will be alright and that nothing would happen, something that she had certainly now more than fulfilled, her mind inplete peace as she was burnt to a crisp, both in mind and body, faded away into nothingness¡­ Jayden Griffith was finally dead... With looks of pure bliss and satisfaction, Abby and Emilia both inwardly patted themselves on the back, Abby trying to control her inner emotions from breaking out of her body, emotions that should have beenpletely discarded yet were for some reason trying to resurface after what she had just done, trying her best to not make her sister see them. Their gaze was focused solely on Jayden''s body that wasid t on the ground, her now ck, charcoal bodypletely unrecognizable, simply looking like a human-shaped pile of meat. They wanted to make sure that Jayden died the most agonizing death they could muster in the short time that they had, and that was the best way they could do it¡­ Despite the condition she was in, with healing abilities and autopsy abilities, identifying the body would prove to be a simple task so it was no bother to them. "Abby, store the body in your inventory un¡­ *FWOOSH*" Emilia ordered before being immediately cut off, a sh of dark light flickering in her vision blinding her for a split second before she stared back at where Jayden''s burnt, charred body onceid. She could not believe her eyes or fathom what had just happened¡­ biting her tongue, her sweat dropping on the ground, her face turned as pale as a ghost, her bloody mouth and bloodshot eyes now wide open in absolute shock, shaking uncontrobly as her mind began spinning in circles, Abby who was beside her feeling and looking the same way, taking a shaky nce at her sister for some sort offort or an exnation only to find no such thing... Emilia wore a face of mad hysteria and literally ate her words and regretted everything she had just said, her teeth clenching so hard that they began to crack. her once pale face now shifting into pure anger, her hair standing up from her raging fiery red aura surrounding and burning the area around her as she screamed at the top of her lungs an inhuman scream that shook the ground and foundation of the room itself. "AHHHHHH THIS FUCKING BITCCHHHH!!" ******************** Please read the author''s thoughts... (This message might be repeated in future chapters since I want to show all priv tiers [3) Chapter 218 - The Feeling of Death...

Chapter 218: The Feeling of Death...

*Yann* In a dark, fancy, well kept, deep blue velvety room of massive proportions, a loud, female yawn was heard all around, followed by the rocking and slight creaking of a chair that came from a female figure leaning back. *Yannnnnn* With another loud yawn, she stretched out her stiff limbs, her deep blue hair shaking immensely from her fast, sudden movements, cracks from her limbs filling the air before she leant back in her seat, looking back at herputer screen with clear intent in her eyes and a hint of worry, taking a deep breath as hints of sweat ran down her smooth, pretty face. The room once again fell silent, only the sound of her keyboard and clicks filling the air. She had only managed to reach a certain person for a split second when she had been trying to contact them many times, but she felt relieved that she got to say what she had to say, seemingly before it was toote as she waited patiently to see the fruits of her nning and hard work, browsing the web for a certain item in the meantime. Suddenly, a cold wind blew by her left shoulder, making her turn around only to see nothing there, her windows still closed, making her look around the room with shaky eyes She felt a bad feeling in her stomach, the air of death and despair filling the room, sending shivers down her spine. Shaking her head, she deemed all that she saw as simply a manifestation of her own paranoia. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her unsteady soul, yet, what happened did not ease her being at all¡­ Abruptly, she felt a deep pain in her heart that had suddenly lurched deep down in her chest, her eyes suddenly shot wide open, tears of blood flowing down her nowpletely deep, blood-red eyes from all the pain that had suddenly ravaged her entire body. Instinctively, she raised her right arm and firmly grasped her aching heart, grabbing around her massive left breast, her left arm grabbing onto the edge of her chair. As she tried to control her heavy, rapid breathing that made her feel like her heart was going to leap straight out of her chest, her entire body shuddered and staggered once again, her mind in sudden,plete turmoil, her vision filled with nothing but red as she continued to struggle, leaning back onto her seat that now felt like a hard spikey rock. Memories filled with pain, misery and despair began flowing in and out of her mind, memories of pain that was put upon her yet did not feel, the feeling of betrayal by her best friend and the reality put upon her, her slow agonizing death that she looked straight on with no fear as she slowly burnt to a crisp by a deep, crimson me, 2 monstersughing at her burning anguish, her life shing before her eyes as she knew it was all over and that she had served her purpose. She was lost in a seemingly endless limbo in her mind, seeing memories that felt more like nightmares... One after another in quick session, those memories yed over and over again in her soul, feeling more and more real the more she saw them until they were ingrained deeply in her mind almost like it had actually happened to her and she was simply reliving her own memories. However, deep down inside, part of her soul knew exactly what was going on, that nothing she saw was real, and that part had been fighting to resurface, to calm her torturous mind from all the agony. She constantly told herself that what she saw was to be expected and had been what she was waiting for, that it was real but not in a way that she presumed, her mind split into 2 halves, it being ripped apart in some sick game of tug of war. Tightly clenching her bloody teeth and grasping onto her heart even tighter as she tried to regain control, she tried to process exactly what had happened in the midst of the sea of pain and emotions until she finally understood everything¡­ After what felt like many days or even weeks, she slowly opened her still slightly bloody eyes, only to find a blurry mess of a ce that looked all too familiar, looking around only to see the extremely familiar blueish velvet of the room. When she looked down, she noticed she sat on the same chair she had sat on from before, only now broken and cracked in many ces, especially on her left armrest where her left handid, no injuries on her body despite the immense pain she thought she felt in her mind. The white shirt that was previously on her chest was nowpletely ripped, inplete tatters, especially around her heart where her hand was still grasped, exposing her bountiful cleavage and chest, her nipples nowpletely exposed. She was now certain, she was back in her own room, not in that nightmare anymore... She let her hand off of her chest covering her cleavage with no care of anyone looking as she began to feel up and down her body, noticing how real it was, making sure that it was not a dream as she began to softlyugh at herself with a devilish smile from ear to ear, she was still alive... The anguish that she had felt and been forced to endure was so excruciatingly severe that it only came second to her evolution that far surpassed the human imagination in terms of pain. The feeling of absolute death was what she felt, the feeling of pain, absolute despair, knowing exactly that she could do nothing to stop the inevitable, her fate being sealed. Sheughed softly at herself, a hint of madness on her face as she could no longer contain her emotions. She had her first-ever taste of death and it was not at all a pleasant experience, not to mention that she only experienced the memories of the death of a puppet who knew their purpose in life was to die and that everything would work outpletely fine in the end. If she had told the clone about the truth of their existence, she imagined that the pain she had just felt would have multiplied even further, making her feel extremely relieved that she had managed to contact them before it was toote. Plus, not to mention that her words no doubt made them serve as an even better source of intel gathering instead of delving intoplete, genuine madness and despair. She could only imagine how she would have felt like in a simr situation, when there was no escape from death. The only such simr time that she could think of was when she was on the brink of death, when she had lost to Natalia,ying on the ground all bloodied and losing many limbs. However, even then she had hope, a bright hope in her heart that Moby woulde back and save her before her death, which did in fact happen so those two situations could not even beparable. This made her think about how Natalia felt like when she was being tortured by her and Abby in the dungeon, and how they had snuffed out every hint of hope from her soul and left her with absolutely nothing, grinding the thought in her mind that Moby hated her with every fibre of his being and that she and he will never be together since he already had a person that he loved, and that person was standing right infront of her... She thought about how they made her feel the most painful ways of torture for days on end, making her inwardly shudder as she put her self in her shoes and looked at things from her perspective, something that she never even considered or thought about until now, her pain no doubt being hundreds if not thousands of times more soul-crushing and painful than what she had just felt. Shaking those thoughts away, she focused back on the task at hand. Natalia was long dead and deserved what she got, she could not believe that she actually felt pity for someone that deserved no such thing, especially after all the pain and suffering she had made her go through in the past as she buried her thoughts along with her pity to the back of her head and put the new information she had gained in the forefront. Herughter to herself continued, the relief, satisfaction and madness on her face clear to any onlooker as she continued to take in all the information that had suddenly rushed into her body, something that she expected to happen yet not this painfully. Yet, despite that, it was all more than worth it in the end as many things that were previously unknown to her were now crystal clear. The memories of Abby''s heartless words and demonic visage were what stuck with her the most as she never expected for her to end up like that. She interpreted the memories and thoughts of her special clone in a different and more rational way, taking in everything that happened in order to form a solid deduction about everything that happened. Yet, despite her efforts, the memories of Abby going berserk, grinding her foot into her wound and talking down to her like an insect could not be erased from her mind, shuddering every time they yed, making her anger boil and well like the core of a volcano. She tightly clenched her teeth and gripped her bloody hands tightly that still had shards and pieces of her broken chair stuck in them. "Emilia Reid¡­ You will pay dearly¡­ Mark my words," she mumbled in a low voice, her smile reaching all the way up to her ears with a shadowy, glint of death in her piercing blue eyes. Chapter 219 - The Plan

Chapter 219: The n

Jayden''s smile grew even wider as she began to quietly chuckle at herself, she could only imagine how Emilia Reid reacted to what had just happened, her anger being more and more hrious to her the more she imagined it. Jayden''s n was fairly simple, and although the best oue was not achieved, which would have been to save Abby, it still well served its purpose. Through more personal, intense training, Jayden pushed herself into improving her clone skill. Now, she was able to summon upwards of 4 clones instead of 1. Usually, those clones would be rather simple-minded, allowing the user to infuse certain memories in their body. They were used only for meagre tasks or to fake very shallow emotions,plexity was not in their nature. Even if they were inflicted with the simplest of wounds, they would cease to exist. Thus, during her training, in a moment of genius, Jayden discovered the use of a new, unique type of clone, one much better than the rest but with its own unique drawbacks. By infusing a certain part of her soul and infusing that soul with a predominant emotion of hers, she was able to make such a clone. A clone that even had the capability of creating their own clones, but only to the limit of the original user which was in her current case, 4. It was far stronger than her normal clones, being able to withstand actual punishment, yet still fairly fragilepared to her original body. And, its mind was far moreplex in nature, although its emotion range did not cover the full spectrum, being subconsciously tamed and quelled by the certain emotion that had been infused by the part of the soul used to make the clone. And thus, when the clone dies, no matter where it was, the soul would return back to its rightful owner, along with all the memories and emotions experienced by that soul as it merges into the soul of the user. Jayden used this to her advantage when she had infiltrated the Reid mansion. After she had disposed of Preston, she created a clone, infusing it with all of her current emotions, and the emotion that she infused into the part of her soul that she gave to that clone was her kindness and trust to those she cared about. She made the clone believe that they were the original, that they were not a puppet, just to make their interactions with Abby more natural and organic. The reason she chose trust and kindness to infuse into her clone was for many reasons. She knew that if there was something wrong that happened, a rational version, or non-caring version would have no doubt retreated, concluding that there was something wrong but not what and that it was too dangerous to proceed further. However, by infusing emotions such as trust in her soul, it would make her disregard subtle or sometimes obvious hints that there was something wrong, making her proceed with the original n either way, which was exactly what she had wanted. If the hints were false and everything was alright, then that would have been perfect and they would safely escape the mansion together. However, if the hints were urate and she was lured into a trap, then that would still serve for intel gathering and would have been much better than if she were just to flee. A quirk of the soul clone was that Jayden was able to connect to it at any time, seeing exactly through their vision and senses without them even knowing. However, that skill was only reserved for when there was nothing in the way hinderingmunications. Hence, when they entered Abby''s room, she had lost all contacts. But, from the hints that Abby was showing prior, it was clear that something had gone wrong with her. So, when the clone grasped the door of the balcony, it somehow meant that she was no longer under the effect of themunication crystal, and for that split second, she was able to reveal the truth about who they truly were, the truth that they were only a clone and that they were going to die, and now their main goal was to gather as much information as possible and not worry since it was the purpose they were even created in the first ce, which came as a massive surprise to the clone as it thought that they were the real Jayden Griffith. From the memories she had received from the clone, it was truly a terrifying, mind-boggling experience. She could personally not imagine how she would feel like if she were told right now that her entire life had been a lie and that she was only created a few hours ago in order to serve as part of an experiment. However, the clone seemed to have some sort of inner feeling that suppressed the shock of them finding out they were a clone, like they always knew but it was just deeply hidden somewhere in their fake minds so the pain was not at all as severe as it would have normally been. Thus, after the clone begs and pleads for them to know the truth before they die, the 2 clueless sisters would probably reveal some sort of pertinent information before killing it, only for the clone to disappear, their body and soul both being absorbed back into Jayden''s original body as she was forced into interpreting what had just urred all at once, the mental pain being far greater and more severe than she expected. The clone had initially thought that Abby must have truly been a traitor, but that was because her hazy mind did not allow it to think clearly, from Jayden''s current perspective, it was clear that she had been influenced or maybe even controlled by her sister in some way. There was no way that the Abby she saw was the same Abby she knew and loved, and that fact was even further reinforced by the fact that Emilia said that she "gave her a little push". That little push turned her into an unrecognizable, twisted monster, filled with hate, even going as far as to insult and disregard Moby as her lord, which was what was most surprising of all, something that Jayden never in her life thought she would hear willinglye out of Abby''s mouth, Jayden''s mind still in pure hurt and agony every time she thought about what her sweet little Abby had turned into. Yet, this still brought up the question of how she would have been influenced in the first ce, to her knowledge, there were no such mind controlling item that allowed the user of it to change a person to such an extent, and there were no such items that would allow someone to be another person''s ve. The only mind-rted skills that might have had a chance to do such things were demon-rted, so it brought into question her methods and how she was able to do such a thing¡­ She did mention that she had a lord, who was the rightful owner of the entire universe, talking about him like some sort of almighty god and clearly not as a fellow student. So, there must have been some sort of outside power other than her family backing her up. For some reason, she got a weird feeling in her stomach that they must have been some sort of alien overlord, which might exin how she was able to influence Abby. But with absolutely no evidence to go off of, there was no way she coulde to such a conclusion, and would have made her think about how a regr school girl would havee into contact with such a being and why they were backing her. Now, more than any time from before, she wanted to share what she had just learned with Moby, to see how he would react and what they should do now with the information they currently have, saving Abby still being her top priority, even more so than before now that she knew the truth. However, still, when she tried to contact him using her mind-link, he would not respond at all, only hearing the sound of an empty void, once again reminding her that he must have been deep in some sort of mental training. She once again took a deep breath, sitting back down on her broken chair, cracking her bones that had once again gotten stiff before sitting up straight, her gaze focused on herputer screen to continue the rest of what Moby had told her to do, not even bothering to put on a new shirt that was not tattered since there was really no one else in her room to see her half naked body. For now, all she could do was calm her nerves and continue pondering over the information and continue Moby''s n, focusing on tomorrow rather than today since there was not much that could be done. She scrolled down the page of the website, various crystals filling her vision as she continued searching for what she was looking for as she had a certain list in mind that Moby had provided her. For some odd reason that he had yet to exin to her, Moby asked her to purchase another ability crystal and to ask her parents for extra funds, begging them for it since it was an emergency, something that he seemed to be ashamed to ask her to do yet did it anyway since he knew it had to be done, Jayden fully understanding his intentions. Yet, what she could not understand was why he even needed another ability crystal and what he wanted to use it for. So, the only logical conclusion that she coulde up with was that he knew someone in the school who was abilityless and had massive potential that could possibly help them retrieve Abby. Moby already had an ability of his own so shepletely disregarded the thought that he wanted it for himself, throwing it to the back of her mind as she continued scrolling through the ck market, trusting wholeheartedly that Moby has something nned as she bore a mixture of a smile and serious expression on her face. ******************** Please read the author''s thoughts... (This message might be repeated in future chapters since I want to show all priv tiers [3) Chapter 220 - A Worried Parent

Chapter 220: A Worried Parent

Jayden was currently on the ck market website with a list of abilities she had in mind, however, there was one that Moby specified that she should go out of her way to look for, and the rest should only be extras or alternatives. She knew that Moby would have most likely preferred to find a truly unique ability, but in the world they live in, all the unique abilities were all monopolized and kept secret by all the big families, which included her shadow ability, Alex''s lightning ability, and Abby''s fire ability. For now, he was stuck only being able to obtain what was on the ck market, which was not that bad as there were many good abilities to choose from, some much harder to master than others. And, the one that Moby told her to find was one such ability, extremely hard to find and extremely hard to properly use and master, which made it possibly the most unique ability he could buy since no one, even if they had it, could properly use it, most of them probably being arrogant parents foolishly thinking their child could master such an ability. Thus, it sat in a weird spot, one that many people want for its potential and rarity but want to stay away from due to itsplexity and hard mastery, thus it was given a fair pricepared to other abilities considered to be just as good and rare but much easier to use. What was the point of having a device that you could not operate? Or a sword too heavy for you to swing? That was the mentality for the people who chose not to buy it, all behind its reputation. Jayden''s eyes grew tired with hints of red from how long she had been staring at the screen, endlessly scrolling and refreshing just for a chance to find the ability. It was an ability that Moby had found thest time the other day when he bought his ice ability. However, despite her suggesting he should have gotten it, he decided to go for the ice ability instead which she thought would be less versatile, and maybe end up being just a worse version of his pure demon energy. Although, with his time-rted ice skills, she would be lying if she said that she was not impressed as she had no idea how he was able to develop the ability in such a way, and if he was able to do the same with other abilities, maybe even her own which made her smile from her mellowly tired bored state just from thinking about it, closing her eyes for a split second. *m* "AHHHHH!" Jayden''s eyes grew wide, brimming with excitement as she could not help but yell out loud and m her hands on the table. Someone had just listed 3 of the same ability she had been looking for all at once, each for 150 million, 50 million less than they were posted the other day as she could not believe her eyes. Without a moment of hesitation, she lifted her watch and rang her father''s personal device with haste. *Brrrrr* *Brrrr* *Brrrr* "Hello, you have reached the-" an unfamiliar voice was heard from the other side of the phone, most likely his secretary. "Hello! This is Jayden! I need to talk to dad as soon as possible!" Her sense of urgency was clear, her heavy panting being heard from the other side of the phone, even increasing when she witnessed that one of the abilities had already been purchased. Them suddenly, as Jayden looked down at her watch, her eyes immediately grew wider as she inwardly cursed. she had used her school watch to call him out of panic instead of using her phone as she had never used her watch to call her father before, so the number was still unrecognized. "Ummm¡­ is this a prank call? We are in a serious situation, I don''t recognize this number, are you really Jay-" The secretary replied before being abruptly cut off, the sound of a massive crash and heavy ruffling along with a few screams and gasps were heard from the other side of the call, almost like they were hit by some sort of deadly tornado, making Jayden''s worried eyes turn into that of shock and surprise. "Jayden! My little honey bun! Is that you!? Are you okay!?" Mason''s voice rang from the other side of the phone, clear worry and distress in his voice. "Yeah, it''s me father, don''t worry, I''mpletely safe¡­" Jayden responded with a smile, her heart feeling more at peace hearing her father''s voice after everything she had been forced to go through. "J-Jayden¡­ It''s really you¡­ I''m so happy you''re safe!" He responded, Jayden having the feeling that tears were running down his face. "I received a call from the mansion saying that you were not responding no matter how many times they called your name from your room. And from the news of what happened at school, I thought that there might have been something bad that happened to you¡­ My heart couldn''t take it anymore¡­" "Oh, don''t worry about me father, I waspletely safe, I just snuck outside the house for a walk and some fresh air, my friends were affected by the attack on the school and I needed some time to take a breather," Jayden''s calmness was clear, causing her dad to feel the same as he felt his heartbeat slowly stabilize. "Oh! I hate to always be doing this since I want to give you freedom, but please let at least someone know what you are about to do before you do it¡­ You almost gave me a heart attack¡­ If anything were to happen to you I''m not sure what I would do with myself... as for your friends, were they the same ones that you brought to the mansion yesterday?" "Yeah, they were, but don''t worry, they are all alive and well," Jayden''s voice was mellow as her thoughts of Abby resurfaced in her mind once more. "Ugghh! I still can''t wrap my head around what kind of shitty school allows 30 students to be killed in a blink of an eye? And lets 1000s of kids die in a simple exam! This is too outrageous!" His anger was clear, to Jayden, it seemed there was a sound like the entire room shaking from his words. "Dad, were you going to mobilize the entire family to the school to search for me and ask for answers?" Jayden''s voice sounded like she was joking, but in reality, she was beingpletely serious as it was something she knew her father would have done. "Ummmm¡­ of course not¡­ Why would you ever think that, I was just going to go have a civil conversation, that''s all¡­" He replied nervously, the sound of ruffling in the back, somewhat admitting to Jayden''s ims before he coughed and continued what he was saying from before. *Ahem* "The school really needs to be taught a lesson, this is uneptable! This is why I kept telling you that you should train! Your family status can''t protect you from everything, there wille times where the only thing that you could rely on is your strength and your strength alone," Mason''s voice was a mixture of firm kindness and anger as he truly wanted what was best for his daughter and is having thoughts of taking action against the school and the military. "Yes father, I now more than understand¡­ I took your teaching offers for granted¡­ I now realize more than ever the truth of the words you speak¡­ I wish the next time we see each other you could train me again and give me some pointers, I don''t want to fall behind the others in strength and I want to protect the people that I care about," Jayden spoke with a bright smile. The call fell silent, no sound at all making Jayden feel like she had said something wrong before she heard what sounded like weepinging from the other side of the speaker. "I-I''m so happy¡­ You''re growing up so fast that it''s almost overwhelming¡­ Only a few months ago youughed in my face when I asked you if you wanted private lessons before you go into military school, and now here you are, asking for lessons yourself! Who would have thought! I was afraid what you would turn out to be in the future but my worries are slowly being subsided, that maybe I would have had to give the family heir title to someone else since I didn''t think you were prepared for the responsibility. But if that happened, all that it would mean was that I was a bad parent, and not your fault, no matter who you be and what happens, I will still love you as my cute little Jayden¡­" Jayden''s heart was soothed even further as she was reminded of her father''s love and how lucky she truly was to have someone like him in her life. She had heard bad stories and rumours of how the other big families functioned and she could not even fathom how it would feel if she lived there, the Reid family being the With a radiant smile, she looked down at her watch and responded in a warm voice. "Thanks dad... I know you always meant well and wanted to do what was best for me, it was me who was being ignorant this entire time¡­ none of this was your fault, I should have just been a better daughter instead of a self-centred, arrogant brat. Putting up with me must have been a nightmare!" Jayden replied,ughing heartily at herself, her father not talking as he felt a warm feeling in his soul. Her father smiled brightly, wiping the tears away from his face before responding in his usual, somewhat casual voice. "Okay¡­ I understand¡­ Even though I don''t agree with everything you said and that you are overrating me, I think it''s not bad to be held in high regards by your daughter," Mason replied with augh of his own, matching the same tone as his daughter. "Anyways, I feel like you had another reason you wanted to call me, what was it you wanted, dear?" Mason''s voice rang in Jayden''s ears in an endless loop, her eyes growing wide as she looked down at herputer screen, a hint of fear and a bad feeling in her heart as she saw what it read. { Items remaining, 1} Chapter 221 - A Worried Parent (2)

Chapter 221: A Worried Parent (2)

Jayden inwardly cursed, she had gotten all too preupied in the calming moment offorting her grieving father and listening to his words that she hadpletely forgotten the reason she had even called him for. Now there was only 1 ability crystal left, making her heart race with adrenaline as she started to panic, her hands bing shaky and her palms sweaty. "Dad! Can I please borrow 135 million dors!?" Jayden blurted out of nowhere, clear panic and urgency in her voice, making her father rather confused. "135 million dors!? Why would you need that kind of money now? A nigh-" Mason replied, before being cut off. "Please father! It''s really important! I won''t waste it on a stupid dress or something! I promise to pay you back!" Jayden''s voice rang in his head, lighting the forest of his brain aze, causing a wildfire as he struggled to fathom what his daughter just said, words that he never imagined he would heare out of her mouth in even a million years. A wide smile grew on his face, the wildfire in his head now disappeared, reappearing in his heart and eyes as he turned around to his secretary who was still on the ground trying to recover from what had just happened to her, his voice full of warmth. "Ja! Please send 135 million to my daughters ount immediately," As soon as his words reached her ears, she stood up as straight as an arrow, not even bothering to bow as customary, only saying a simple "yes sir" before going on herputer, typing on the keyboard with blurry, lightning-fast hands and a nervous yet professional look on her visage. "It should now all be in her ount my lord," She said only a split secondter, wiping the sweat off her face. Jayden''s eyes grew wide in disbelief, she could not believe that her father agreed so quickly. In the past when she would ask for such arge sum of money, he would reject until she had to beg him for hours until he cracked and gave in, sending her the money after she repeatedly threatened that she would no longer like him anymore and would leave the family, making her inwardly cringe now that she thought back at it. She had no idea what came over her father to give her the money this time and she had no time to ask, any moment of hesitation and the crystal would no doubt be bought. Focusing her gaze back on her PC, she immediately went to check out, noticing that it was still in stock, the relief on her face increasing when she noticed that Moby kept the payment information autosaved fromst time when she had reminded him a few times to not do that, part of her thought that maybe he knew that such a moment woulde and that keeping it saved would have been better which made her inwardly chuckle as she actually thought that it could have well been a possibility, almost like he had been ying 4d chess behind her back. *Click* Pressing the final button, she breathed out all her stress in one fell swoop, her voice clearly reaching her father from the other side. It was finally done, she had sessfully bought the crystal, and just like she expected, as soon as her purchase was verified, the teleportation pad began glowing a bright white as she waited for the teleportation process toplete, choosing to continue her conversation with her father in the meantime since she still wanted answers. "Father, I am just wondering¡­ Why did you agree so quickly? You would usually not be this lenient with this amount of money¡­" Jayden''s voice was casual and serious at the same time, making her father respond. "Well, it sounded like you really needed it, your tone was much different than thest time. Besides, you said that you would pay me back! Now how do you expect to do that when you have no source of ie other than from me?" He spoke with an upbeat, amused voice, hisughter reaching Jayden from the other side. "Haha! What else do you think? I''ll do it in the most sure-fire, effective way possible! I''ll start an only stans! Trust me, I''d earn millions in no time!" Jayden replied with an amused voice, making her father answer in aplete panic. "NONONONOO! It''s okay! It was a rhetorical question! I never actually expected you to pay me back! Please don''t do that!" Her father''s voice made herugh as she assumed that he thought that it might have actually been something she would unironically do in the past. "Pfff! No worries dad! Of course I won''t do that! I nned to just hunt beasts on others or maybe look into stocks using my allowance," Jayden mused, making her father wipe the sweat off his face and calm his nerves, with a mellow smile as he was now manipted into telling her that she didn''t need to pay him back when he had wanted it to be a learning experience for her to uphold her end of bargains. he always had a soft side for her and it seemed like she had gotten even more cunning at manipting him than before, making his mellow smile turn warmer as it was indeed an important skill for one to master. "You almost gave me another heart attack, well, if you want to pay me back then go ahead, if not I guess it''s fine since the money is going to good use," Mason said, calming himself down. "Thanks, dad, I''ll be sure to pay you back as soon as I can," Jayden replied, making her father raise an eyebrow since he could not tell if she was joking or not, choosing to keep his mouth shut since he knew such a conversation would lead to nowhere, and he wanted to see for himself if she was joking or not with her own actions. Suddenly, to Jayden''s right, the white light that came from the teleportation disappeared with a sound notification that she immediately muted before her father even got the chance to listen that she had already purchased what she wanted. "Anyways dad, It''s been really fun talking to you but I have to go. I had a sleepover nned with a friend today so I have to be off now. I don''t really have much time to talk since I''m runningte, don''t worry about anything! Love you dad!" Jayden spoke with a warm voice, giving him a kiss from the other side of the call. Mason had many questions to ask and many more things to tell her, "Tell a servant to take you there, "Who is this friend of yours?" "How far are they from your house?" But he chose to let her go. He had noticed how much she had matured in the past few months and he decided to have more trust in her words and let her take on some responsibility and be more like an adult, especially after the chat they just had. At least he knew that she would for sure not go back to the school where a mass murderer could be running around, that he knew he for sure didn''t have to warn her about. "Take care and stay safe sweetie¡­ I love you too..." He replied, his voice as warm and soothing as an angel, his daughter''s kiss with a soft kiss of his own before the call was closed. Slowly, the warm smile on Jayden''s face slowly dissolved into something far more serious. Without a moment of hesitation, Jayden shifted her vision to the teleportation pad to her right. On it was a ckish-deep purple crystal, shifting and cackling, the very fabric of time and spacepletely distorting the air around it, making objects behind it appear even bigger than they actually are with an ominous aura surrounding it. It looked far more different in real life than in the pictures provided with all of the effects that could not be perfectly replicated on a digital screen. Yet, she did not have time to gawk at how otherworldly the crystal looked, the shadow crystal for her family, in her opinion, looked far better anyways, and she had seen it many times already. Immediately, she reached her hand out and grabbed the crystal, feeling nothing when she held it as she stored it in her inventory for safe transport. Then pulling up a piece of paper, she wrote down a quick note telling her servants that she will be gone for a while and that they should not worry, just in case they felt the urge to call her father again and him starting an all-out war with the military, something that made her head hurt to even think about. Then, after checking the weather to make sure that it wouldn''t rain, she immediately transformed into her wisp form, opening the window of her room, making sure to close it behind her just in case they suspected some sort of kidnapping, before flying away in the direction of the school to meet Moby and the others at her top speed, the brilliant light of the night time city underneath her and the full moon above as she flew far higher than any car could reach. She had so much pertinent information to share with Moby, along with giving him the ability crystal which she was still curious about what he even nned for it. Chapter 222 - Demon Training Camp

Chapter 222: Demon Training Camp

Moby sat on his soft bunk bed with his eyes closed, a clear vein bulging out of his forehead as he tried his best to concentrate, his frustration only growing the more he tried. For the past few hours, he had only 2 things on his mind, strengthening his household, and strengthening himself. The main way he had in mind to do such a thing was to try and teach every one of them how to ess their demon transformations. As Avilia exined, just like how he, as a sin demon had sin mode, so did his household, each one possessing their very own special transformation, although admittedly weaker than sin-mode which was considered near or even at the pinnacle of theherworld. Despite the fact that he now had a very in-depth control of his sin-mode, the fact that he did not actually learn it himself, as Avilia had simply transferred the knowledge of it into his brain, made him a rather bad teacher. He knew the feeling, the sensation, the trigger, most that there is to know but he could not properly exin,or teach how to ess it, so he had to rely on Avilia for most of the exnations and teaching as of course, her knowledge was far more in-depth on such topics. In a ne of reality that time was slowed, talking and exining, even when using mind-link proved to be an even bigger task than he had first assumed. To be able to be properly heard and understood, he had to talk 14x faster than he usually talked just to sound at normal speed. Although he had superhuman agility, for the first hour or two, he was not even able to speak coherent sentences, the wordsing out of his mouth sounding more like gibberish than actual words. Talking so fast was something that neither he nor anyone else in the room even tried, and it really showed. So, until he got used to speaking, he decided to write down his sentences and exnations in a text-to-speech app, and set the speed to 14x for the words toe out at perfect speed, everyone sitting in a circle around him to listen to his exnation, him trying to practice talking in 14x speed along the way. Ray who had been previously unconscious from extreme stress and fatigue also woke up and join the rest in the circle, of course not before asking them for an exnation of why time was slowed and what they were doing in a circle, his movements much wonkier than the others due to his low power level, him not being 14x faster than a normal human for him to go at normal speed. Using text to speech to once againmunicate, he asked his questions and received his answers, nodding back at Moby in slow motion as he readjusted his gaze at him to focus on his exnations. The Jayden clone who had also been there the entire time, sitting in the circle as they listened intently to Moby''s words also struggled to even move, it beingpletely in slow motion like it was frozen in time as they were only slightly stronger than the average regr human in terms of strength. While Moby was still in the process of teaching, there was a time when 2 military soldiers opened the door in order to check the students present in the room and to keep a headcount and ensure the safety of everyst student. They took note of everyone in the dorm, Moby, Jason, Nags, Alex, Jayden, and Ray, their gaze fixed on Jayden and Alex whom there recognized as very important, asking them a few questions before they left, it being extremely tense and stressful since they were both talking in extremely slow motion, so Moby had to push his senses to the limit in order to hear and interpret what they had said, his heart elerating as he forced a look of natural calmness on his face. Luckily, by this time, Moby had gotten used to talking at 14x, so he managed to almost perfectly respond to their questions, it only sounding slightly awkward in a few instances, which the 2 soldiers took no heed to and simply left the room after they had finished all that they had to say. It was an extremely, painfully slow, stressful experience for everyone in the room, what was only 5 minutes in real time was actually 1 hour and 10 minutes for them instead. If they had simply stepped even 1 foot inside, they would have noticed that time was slowed, since, from their perspective, everything seemed to go at normal speed since they were not under the mana crystal''s influence. After Avilia, talking through Moby finally finished exining everything to the entire household, he left them to do their own personal training just like he went to do his own, strengthening their ability and spirit, or trying to unlock their new demon transformations. They seemed to have understood everything that Avilia said and he had faith that they could all get a grasp of at least the basics, all but Jason who he doubted was even able to understand a single word of what Avilia had said. Now, Moby went to his bed at the top bunk to meditate in seclusion. Since he had already unlocked his demon transformation, there was no need for him to bother with such things. Now, all he wanted to do was unlock his spirit mode, Moby really hoping that it would be some sort of powerful ice dragon that would crush everything in his path. Just like before, like he was taught in ss, he closed his eyes and deeply concentrated on his flow of mana, following it straight to his core as he stared deeply inside it with a calm mind. He wanted to enter a trial simr to the one he had done in ss, since it served to greatly boost his power in the process. For hours on end ofplete silence, he sat in a single position with his eyes closed trying his best to strengthen himself and make things work. Yet, no matter how many times he tried, no matter the effort he put in, he was not able to replicate what he had done in ss, a mental trial to boost his abilities did not start at all, causing his frustration to grow until he almost reached his breaking point of patience as it seemed like his training was leading him absolutely nowhere, his confusion also growing as he had no idea why it did not work now but worked perfectly then earlier in the day. Giving up on his futile attempts, he opened his eyes, looking down at the room in front of him with a deep sigh as he witnessed everyone else in the room deep into their training. *sigh* ''Avilia, can you help me? I can''t get this to work! Is there something wrong with my body?'' Taking a moment to think, Avilia immediately responded. ''I''m honestly not sure¡­ I think everything seems the same asst time¡­ Maybe it''s because you had only just taken a mental trial earlier in the day? Maybe there is some sort of cool down until you can enter another trial?'' Avilia''s sounded like she had no idea what she was talking about, yet Moby knew that her words could indeed had a very high chance of being true. Yet, at this point, they were both stillpletely clueless about abilities and their nature so they could note to a solid conclusion as there might have fully well been another reason that they were both unaware of. Moby had the urge to gowgle his question online, but after noticing how frustrating the connection was 14x slowed, he immediately gave up and disregarded the idea as a waste of time, since he doubted that he would even find the answer online. So, for the next few hours, he decided to train his eyes of sin and his freezing time skill, using them over and over again until they levelled up, which was his favourite method of training, one that he could do anywhere with no hindrance. The only downside now was that it was no more efficient than if he had simply done it at normal speed, but until he could figure out why he was not able to enter his trial, it was the most efficient way to spend his time. However, even before he got a single cycle in, him still being in the middle of his nature''s stimtion to regain his mana and demon energy, he heard a rather loud whooshing sound enter the room, Moby, whose mind was still inplete focus and concentration, totally ignored and dismissed as simply wind from the open window as he calmed his mind once again and focused on his skill, even the slightest interruption would have been enough to make him fail and start all over again, this time having to wait 14x as long as usual which was well over an hour. Then as soon as he was about to finish, only a split second to go, he heard a small whisper and a nudge on his shoulder,pletely breaking his concentration, the vain on his forehead almost popping out of his head as he simply wanted to let out his frustration at who dared interrupt him in the middle of his hours of meditation, making his past few hours of training go to waste. However, as soon as he opened his eyes, his mouth instinctively open as well, he was not able to let out even a single word as he noticed exactly who it was, his expression taking aplete 180-degree turn as his anger turned into calmness and his expression turned into that of a mixture between relief and warmth as he could not help but let out a bright smile at who was now sitting on the bunk bed to his side. ''Jayden?'' Chapter 223 - Reunion

Chapter 223: Reunion

Jayden sat next to him with a mellow smile on her face and a hint of nervousness, her hands to her side as she tightly grabbed the bed sheets underneath like she was trying to hold something in, the Joy and relief in Moby''s heart feeling immense from seeing her alive and well overwhelming all his previous thoughts. Due to the time in the room, although it had only been a few hours, for him, he had not seen her in what felt like a few days as he wanted nothing more than to hug her tightly seeing that she had returned safely, somehow knowing that the person sat next to him was not the clone but the real Jayden instead. However, when he took a closer look at the expression on her face, he decided against it, yet the feeling of purefort could still not be shaken away from his heart. "So¡­ Where''s Abby? Seeing you here alone I assume that you couldn''t get her right?" Moby said, his smile dissolving into a serious expression as he asked Jayden the important questions, not bothering to beat around the bush as he got straight to the point. "Well, yeah, I couldn''t get her¡­ Things might be even worse than we expected¡­ I don''t really want to waste your time exining everything since we really do need all the training time we can get¡­ Although, since you need to stare into my eyes for 1 minute, why don''t we kiss?" Jayden spoke in a shy, shaky, yet normal voice, unhindered by the time crystal. She had no idea what came about her, she had beenpletely calm, thinking she had everything under control before she had arrived. But, the moment she entered the room and saw Moby once more, It was like the gates of adamantite guarding the flood gates of her suppressed emotions were suddenly thrust wide open. She just could not help but vent and shed everything bare to Moby as her emotions began to overwhelm her, seeking him forfort. With a jittery smile, tears running down her face still in slow motion, she leaned in closer towards Moby before she was abruptly tugged his way, as he gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. He did not even need his emotion sensing to feel the pain in her heart, just by looking at her state, he could more than assume that she had gone through hell and back in the time that they were apart which was exactly what he feared. They both kissed passionately with no aggression, their gaze locked onto one another, deep into each other''s eyes. What was only meant to be a 1 minute kiss turned into 14 minutes. The sensation of unease in each other''s heart began to slowly quell the more they kissed, the feeling of bliss overwhelming their senses as they felt like time had stopped as they were lost in each other''s embrace, it being almost a fact as slow-motion tears continued to fall down Jayden''s eyes. Then suddenly, as Moby was still kissing Jayden, her lips disappeared as he could feel her no more, his vision turning pitch ck. Before Moby even realized it, he was abruptly thrust into Jayden''s mind, sucked out of his blissful reality and shoved into somewhere far more morbid and painful... He witnessed everything that had happened as it began to ravage and overwhelm his mind. He bore witness to everything¡­ How Jayden had infiltrated the mansion using a clone in a way she had not mentioned to him before¡­ How the Reid mansion functioned and looked like from the inside... And even who the true identity of the Zexis gang leader was, it being Abby''s sister just like he assumed, a ruthless second year who had reached the pinnacle of the S rank in her base, maybe even X rank while he was still an A-rank, making him know that he needed to train even harder and there was still a long way to go if he did not want to be swatted like a bug. However, what hurt the most and came as the biggest shock was to see the state that Abby was in, the girl that he saw almost as his own daughter¡­ she waspletely unrecognizable from what she was like before, even going as far as to torture and insult Jayden like she was a dumb, dying waste of space, even going as far as to curse him as her lord, something that he never even fathomed coulde out of her mouth, making him feel a pain in his current ghostly non-existent heart that was slowly cracking and eroding away¡­ Yet, no matter what he saw, he inwardly knew that what he saw was not the Abby that he knew and loved, without a doubt a fake. From the number of questions he had asked her to prove her loyalty when they had first met, her being underneath his full control at the time, along with all of his emotional senses, all the actions of loyalty she said and did,pletely contradicted what he witnessed. Part of him doubted that it was even the same person¡­ The fact that he knew that Abby did not betray him but was being manipted settled his heart. If she had truly been a traitor, then he would have to kill her with no mercy, there was no room in his heart for betrayal¡­ Although it was back when he was arguably brain dead with his negative emotions being suck, he had been betrayed so many times by so many people he thought he trusted in the past that the sight of another one would lead to their unquestionable death¡­ Yet, the thought of her being a traitor could also have some merit the more he thought about it¡­ If she was mind-controlled before she had met him, and had only just now returned to her original, unaltered state of mind. Now he knew that the enemy had some sort of mind skill. Yet, to his knowledge, there were only a few abilities that actually gave stats in mind and most of them were fairly weak, same with devices. So, he hade to the same conclusion that Jayden came up with, that Emilia Reid, Abby''s sister and the leader of the Zexis gang''s lord must have been some sort of alien overlord that helped her get a hold of a way to mind control her sister and wanted to capture him, meaning that he must somehow know about demons, maybe even about Avilia. Still in Jayden''s memories, he took many deep breaths to calm his psyche¡­ His soul and mind had been broken, incinerated, and destroyed so many times in such a short amount of time that he had been begun to feel like suppressing his emotions and thinking clearly was slowly bing easier. However, despite that fact, when it came to his family, those thoughts could never bepletely suppressed, always hints of his inner emotions leaking out no matter how many times he tried to suppress it. ''Avilia¡­ Do you think the angels have found you?'' Moby asked, pure seriousness in his voice as he knew that if that was indeed the case, there would be 0 chance of his survival, he along with everyone on the. ''I honestly doubt it¡­ The mortal realm is bigger than you think, we are but a small grain of sand in an endless desert, each grain of sand representing a, the chances that they were able to find me is almost none. Plus, I just have a feeling that that angel friend of yours could most likely lead the angels away from us if the opportunity arises,'' Avillia calmly replied, not worried for her own safety at all as she seemed confident in her words. ''So, you''re saying that there is still a chance? Who else could it be that is looking for me specifically from outer space and has the ability of mind control?'' Moby continued. ''It might be some alien species that worships demons, our existence isn''t exactly a secret you know, we did invade this entire realm after all. Some mortal tribes worship me as the goddess of destruction which is rather hrious, maybe one of them noticed the resemnce between you and I and now want to get you.'' ''Wait, worship? Wouldn''t worship make you weaker?'' Moby interjected, making Avilia immediately respond. ''It neither benefits me nor makes me weaker, it does nothing honestly, only angels benefit from worship from mortals, we benefit and get weakened from no such thing, just like how angels don''t get weaker every time they kill,'' Avilia exined, making Moby nod. She paused, taking a deep breath before she continued where she left off, deep in thought. ''These Shalker Aliens that attacked your seemed to be very proficient with technology, maybe they were smart enough to manufacture a kind of ve item using some sort of demon energy residue from the air around them, I''m not sure if they worship me as a goddess but I don''t think it''s out of the question,'' Avilia spoke, her voice unnaturally calm, somewhat bothering Moby. ''Why are you so calm about this!? The shalkers are really powerful, right now I doubt I could eveny a finger on even the lowest of their troops!'' Moby''s voice rang in Avilia''s ears, her staying casual as always. ''Well, as long as they are from the mortal realm, everything should be fine, the warriors on earth should be able to take care of them. They can''t just kidnap you out of nowhere, and if the unknown overlord is a shalker then he would not be able to step foot on the without the entire human race destroying him, so the only logical thing they would do is lure you to another with Abby as a hostage and then they would fight you or try to ambush you there. Then, all you would need to do is inform either the Griffith or the Hart family about what was happening and they would take care of the rest if a shalker showed up or if they tried to kill or kidnap you, simple as that, no need to panic,'' Avilia exined. ''I see¡­'' Moby took time to himself to ponder. He had already thought of such a strategy, however, he considered that there might have been many things that could go wrong with it, so he decided not to put too much faith in it. He was not about to disregard his training to count on just a theory, and Avilia also thought the same. However, the way Avilia was so confident in her n and words put a small hint of hope and relief in Moby''s uneasy heart, something that he desperately needed from the dark times he had just experienced, the memories of Abby''s distorted smile causing him pain every time it showed up in his head, exactly like Jayden. Moby had almost lost track of time, he had almost used up all the time in Jayden''s mind and was about to be forced out. So, in thest few seconds, he was inside her mind he decided to transfer the information about what Avilia had told him about demon transformations, just so she could join in on the training without him having to take too long exining it to her in person. And, just as he finished injecting those thoughts in her memories, Moby was suddenly snapped back into reality. When he opened his vision, the first thing that he noticed was Jayden''s fair skin, closed eyes, and dark blue hair. They were both still on his bunk bed, him on top and her on the bottom as they were still interlocking lips where they had left off, his chest pressing firmly against her massive breasts that were under her school uniform. Keeping his calm, and suppressing his urges, he took a deep breath before he lifted his body from her as it was not the time for such things, feeling d that the rest of the group were still deep into their mental training. Then, not even a secondter, Jayden slowly opened her eyes, blinking quickly before she too sat up straight, her mind feeling a little hazy, red under her eyes from her dried tears. She felt much better and more relieved than before, her heart more at peace as she felt like most of her built-up pain, stress and anxiety had been flushed out of her body in the form of tears, only pure determination left in her soul. "Thank you for everything, I get what''s going on¡­ I appreciate everything you''ve done¡­ You''ve suffered long enough¡­ If you want you can just rx and leave the rest to me," Jayden shook her head at Moby''s words with a bright smile on her face, before she responded, shaking her head. "hmm, hmm, I''m okay trust me¡­ You somehow always find a way to make me feel better even when I don''t even know I am down bad myself. I''m much better now, and I''m won''t rest until we get Abby back!" Jayden''s smile removed any doubts from Moby''s heart as he smiled back to her as well. "Do whatever you want, I gave you a training method, you could use it to get stronger if you so chose," Jayden nodded before a sudden realization dawned on her. "Oh! You had also wanted me to get this, I asked my father for the extra money so thank him for it as well," Jayden lifted her hand before a deep purple crystal appeared out of her inventory and into her hands. The crystal distorted the fabric of space and time around it, him knowing it was exactly what he had asked for. "So, I am assuming that you have someone in mind to give this ability to, there aren''t many non ability users still alive in the school so I''m really curious who you chose¡­" Jayden spoke with clear intrigue in her voice, the crystal still firmly in her right hand. Moby could not help but crack an amused smile from ear to ear hearing Jayden''s words before he responded. "No Jayden my dear, this crystal is for me¡­" Chapter 224 - Attempting the Impossible

Chapter 224: Attempting the Impossible

Jayden looked at Moby with wide-open eyes and one eyebrow raised. She had heard many obscure things today, but what she just heard had by far been the most obscure of all. Yet, despite Jayden''s look at him, Moby''s smiling face stayed unchanging, making Jayden slightly chuckle thinking that Moby was ying some sort of prank on her to raise her mood. For all her years of living, the thought that humans were only able to use 1 ability at a time, and once they chose one they were stuck with it for life was beat into her brain constantly, and here was Moby saying he meant to use a second crystal on himself, which wentpletely against her way of thinking. But the more she thought, and the more she looked at Moby''s smiling, unchanging face, the more her chuckle faded away into an expression of shock. Moby had alreadypletely shattered many things she had previously thought impossible and flipped them on top of their head, so was now one of those times? "You''re being serious right? This isn''t a joke... right?" Moby could not help but smile wider seeing Jayden''s immediate change of expression as he responded. "Well, for now it''s only a theory, I have nothing solid, but I want to experiment and test things out¡­ If things go well then I might be even able to figure out the origins of abilities themselves¡­ I know this experiment was very costly. But, I think even if it fails, it''s well worth the investment," Jayden''s eyes grew even wider, nowing to theplete realization that Moby was indeed not joking at all. She was lost for words, all she wanted to do was see if this experiment of his was going to work, because if it doesn''t¡­ Then things could go very badly¡­ "Moby, you understand that most people that try to absorb a second ability die a very horrible death? It will really hurt, and if you try to force it in, you will die¡­ I''ve seen many videos of people attempting it and it''s not a pretty sight," Noticing the clear concern on Jayden''s face, Moby ruffled her hair yfully trying tofort her. "I am well aware of everything, just trust me on this one, I know what I''m doing. No way I''m going to die doing this, I''m confident and adamant in trying my theory. So, can you toss me the ability crystal?" Moby spoke with his hand out. And, reluctantly, Jayden nodded and handed over the purply void-like crystal on her right. Moby looked down at his hands, the ice ability crystal he had previously used felt extremely cold to the touch, however, the crystal firmly between his fingers made him feel an odd tingly feeling on his skin that he was not able to describe. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath¡­ It was finally the moment of truth, he had been patiently waiting for this moment¡­ The moment when many of his questions could possibly be answered, sweat running down his face and his heart pumping abnormally quick. He opened his eyes to take another quick nce at Jayden''s still worried, sweating face, her right hand on her mouth, tightly gripped into a fist as the anxiety was beginning to get to her once more. With a confident smile and a nod, Moby somewhat put her heart more at ease yet she could not shake off the feeling of sudden suspense. The thought that it was possibly thest time they meet eye to eye slowly became ingrained more in her mind ever since the reality of the situation arose. ''Avilia? Are you ready? The rest is up to you¡­'' Moby''s voice reached Avilia, whom he could feel like could not contain her emotions, a feeling of subtle stress and excitement on her non-existent visage. Avilia was finally going to learn more about the world, the nature of these odd abilities and get one step closer to finding the truth about her people. So, such emotions could not be helped, her body inside the subspace in Moby''s mind quivering from her thoughts alone. ''Of course! I''ve never been more ready in my life!'' ''If I can get past the first step, please don''t let it kill itself again¡­'' ''O-of course I won''t do that again! It was just an ident thest time! I have the best binding skills in all the 3 realms! If I sense anything odd from them then they''re toast!'' Avilia still could not shake off the feeling of her embarrassing failure thest time they had attempted such a thing and she nned to redeem herself by doing it right this time, not just as an apology to Moby but for herself and her own pride as the demon lord as well. Moby inwardly nodded back at Avilia before focusing on the ability crystal once more. He closed his eyes and began forcing the essence away from the crystal and transferring it into his body, guiding it all the way into his core, the once purple crystal now beginning to lose its colour as it was slowly turning into a dull gray, various cracks of different sizes forming on its surface. Moby tightly clenched his teeth, grinding them against each other as he grunted the pain away, his entire body sweating buckets as he tried to endure the pain as pure anguish began to ravage his entire body, the agony very clear on his face, making Jayden gulp her saliva as she prepared for the worst and hoped for the best, her hands clenched so tightly that her palms began to bleed all over the bedsheets. Anywhere the mana went and flowed around his body was where the pain mostly was, giving him a slight, odd burning sensation that he did not experience thest time. Yet, for some reason, deep down he knew that the same burning sensation was meant to be more painful and was now being oddly quelled by something else hidden within him. However, his thoughts did not stay as such for long as his brain was not able to function properly with all this pain he was experiencing, not giving up as he used every fibre of his being to endure everything, for the sake of Avilia and for the sake of his family and his own self-improvement, Moby''s face grew even tenser as his determination and suffering grew, cracksing from his direction, both from his clenched teeth and the crystal in his hands that was almostpletely gray, the cracks now extremely visible making it look like it would fall apart in any second. Jayden put her bloody hands on her thumping chest as it was finally the moment of truth, the moment when the people attempting the impossible would normally lose all colour in their skin and be like a shrivelled leaf, turning to dust, her shaky eyes nted firmly on Moby and the crystal in his hands, not wanting to look away as she wanted to bare witness to the oue no matter what. As thest drops of purple were extracted from the crystal, the cracks had grown so much that itpletely fell apart into gray shards, those gray shards quickly turning to dust as they were taken away by the wind from the open window. Suddenly Moby went silent and unmoving, the sound of his grunting and grinding teeth no now nowhere to be heard, his hands still in the air like the crystal was still in his hands, almost like a statue. Oddly, despite Moby''s state, Jayden felt a massive sense of relief envelope her entire body as she could not help but smile, tears of joy running down her face. She was not yet ready to remove all doubts and worries from her heart, he had not turned to dust like every other person she saw but there was still a great chance that something could go wrong and he would die. With a mellow smile and a lingering pain in her heart, she watched Moby''s statue-like body flop on the bed beneath, his head falling in an unnatural position. She picked him up tenderly, checking his pulse to make sure he was still alive, and slowly set him down on his bed''s ce, covering him up in his nket before giving him a kiss on his forehead for good luck as she stared at his unmoving, peaceful-looking, unconscious body wishing him the best of luck from the deepest parts of her soul, trying her best to stay positive, her boyfriend just might as well have created a miracle that mankind had never seen... ''Please be safe¡­'' ****** Checkments for cover progress! Chapter 225 - Courting Death

Chapter 225: Courting Death

Avilia calmed her soul, waiting patiently in the subspace in the dark, void-like ce in Moby''s mind as she couldn''t help but be slightly agitated and excited thinking about what was going to happen and what she was about to learn Moby had alreadypleted his part, and now everything was up to her. Her arms crossed, floating in mid-air in a cross-legged formation, she stretched her arms out wide in anticipation of the beast that would undoubtedly trespass on her domain any second now. And, just like she expected, not even a secondter, a bright light suddenly appeared in the darkness of her subspace, illuminating the void below with a magnificent violet glow that consumed everything in its path. Out of the star-like radiance in the sky emerged a beast, the feeling of their power and aura radiating to every edge of the void, Avilia barely even noticing it due to its thinness. The beast was undoubtedly a cat, no, more like an overgrown kitten that looked unnaturallyrge, being a quarter the height of an average human, its deep purple, almost see-through fur shining brightly from the light still behind it. Its red eyes were able to be clearly seen through their closed, see-through eyelids, the glow in them strong and profound, streams of void flowing out of it along with most of its joints. Exuding with elegance, grace, and a hint of superiority, the kitten flew down to the ground, its purple glowing tail wagging as itnded on all fours, scratching its head with its hind legs before licking its fur. The scene looked almost identical to what had happened thest time, giving her shbacks that she immediately ignored and did not let linger or distract her. She inwardly took a deep breath, suppressing her power level down all the way to 20,000. She did not want to scare them or repeat the same mistakes asst time. She prided herself on her smooth tongue, and her ability to negotiate, manipte, and extract information, those skills had gotten her out of too many situations in her past to even count and she would be damned if a little kitten would prove her wrong. She put her hands to her side, no longer crossed as she floated towards the kitten who''s back was still turned to her, not noticing her presence at all. "Hmm... it seems like I have a guest in my domain... Hello stranger, its nice to meet you, it gets lonely here so I''m really d that I can have somepany," Avilia spoke, attempting to start a casual conversation, trying her best to seem as least intimidating as possible. The kitten was startled, both inwardly and outwardly shivering as it had no idea who it was that was in their sacred domain and how they were able to sneak up on them. Yet, it did not care as whoever it was, they were about to pay miserably for their actions. It had orders toplete and could not entertain the yful wishes of a child that was simply a fake, lingering ghost in the boy''s mind it was controlling, it being a slight possibility from what it had been previously informed. "Insolent fool! You are being far too arrogant for sounding like a little girl! This is no ce for you! How dare you call my sacred chamber your domain? You are courting death! I''ll have yo-" The kitten''s surprisingly rather deep voice was abruptly cut off as soon as it turned around to see who it assumed to be a simple ghost of a little girl. However, what it bore witness to was far, far different from what it had imagined¡­ It was an adult humanoid girl, her fair white skin and appealing figure did not catch its eyes, but the cold, indifferent look in her purple eyes and red pupils that sent shivers down to its very core, horns growing out of her head and her wings spread out wide in between her back and silky purple hair. Although it sensed no real powering from the person in front of it, danger signals were flying off left and right in its head, is entire body urging him to shut up and run away almost like it had been programmed in its very being as it knew exactly what it was going up against, the fear so intense that its smooth fur immediately became dry and shrivelled, its entire body shaking faster than a vibrator as it could not help but let out a terrified shriek, it''s voicepletely unrecognizable from its deep state. *EEEK* "D-DEMON! STAY AWAY!" "Ahh!" The kitten screamed once more, its eyes growing even wider as it instinctively put its tail almost like it was stopping its self from speaking any further, clear fear and regret in those wide eyes, realizing that it had revealed too much... With the mention of those words alone along with how it so quickly wanted to hide what it had so impulsively said, something inside Avilia snapped, her state unlike anything she had been like in months as shepletely dropped the act, clearly noticing that the kitten was not willing to cooperate, her confident that it was not her acting at fault, as she now looked at it with a deadly glint in her eyes instead of her usual, casual expression that she bore before. "What did you say¡­ Demon? Exin yourself now before I forcefully suck the information right out of you and make you feel the worst, most unimaginable torture in all the 3 realms, ignore all you knew about pain before, this pain will far exceed anything you thought was possible," Avilia removed the suppressor that she had put on herself, making her power level raised to her original, unimaginably high, almost unquantifiable level that was still considerably weaker than in her prime, her suffocating aura overwhelming everything around it as she slowly inched closer to the kitten in front of her that now lookedpletely unrecognizable as it struggled to breathe, its body shaking over twice as fast, its fur now a dull purple instead of it''s normal deep, luscious colour, the void-like aura around its body and tail disappearing as it dropped ass first on the ground with eyes filled with sheer terror as it watched the grim reaper of absolute wretchedness slowly walk towards it. "I-I SAID STAY AWAYYY!" Chapter 226 - Courting Death 2

Chapter 226: Courting Death 2

Avilia ignored the kittens cries for help and continued slowly walking in its direction as all she saw was a b of meat that knew too much information for its own good, almost reverting back to her demon lord instincts that consumed anything and everything around her with her aura, and her piercing gaze that was 10 times worse than any hell imaginable to stare at, making it feel like its spirit was being forcefully torn and ripped apart from the inside, not to mention it''s inner instinct almost programmed in it''s being screaming at him with every morsel of his existence to get the hell out in any way possible. "Talk you filthy mongrel, talk now if you know what is good for you¡­" Avilia''s now unrecognizable, distorted, echoey demonic voice rang through the entire subspace, sending shivers down to the kitten''s very core, causing the entire subspace to shake and rattle like it had been hit by 1000 earthquakes all at once, something that the kitten did not know was even possible. "I SAID STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME YOU FILTHY HEATHEN!" The kitten yelled once more, still on the ground as it began to slowly crawl away with what little energy and life it still had left in its body, making Avilia''s anger grow even further to see her threats and insults ignored like they were nothing. As the kitten crawled away, it turned around, forming a ball of unknown energy in its hands, throwing it straight at the still approaching Avilia''s face in a panic, almost like when a coward throws sand in the eyes of their opponent. Despite it being a form of mana so pure that it had yet to see anything like it before, the attack was still painfully slow and feeble just like she expected, allowing it to hit her straight in the face to prove a point and instill even further hopelessness and despair in the eyes of her opponent. The attack hit her dead in the face, not slowing her down at all in the slightest. Yet, to her surprise, she felt a small, slightly lingering sting or burn on her forehead where the attack hit that immediately regenerated as soon as it damaged her, which she simply disregarded as simply nothing as it continued walking towards the kitten who had yet to crack or give up. Despite everything that was going on, despite the clear pinnacle of terror standing right before it, it still refused to speak for some odd reason. Avilia felt it almost like an insult straight to her face to be treated in such a way by such an inferior being. At this point, she was unsure if the beast was just mocking her or there was something stopping him from saying what he wanted to say. The kitten continued crawling away, taking nces back at the demonic incarnation of pure terror still walking behind it, cursing its entire existence. The only known exit to the subspace was extremely far away and the demon behind her would definitely not allow it to escape, even if it tried to teleport away, the demon would still no doubt be somehow faster, meaning to protect its self and the information it knew there was only one thing left for them to do... Instinctively and with no hesitation at all, fully understanding the weight of its actions, it closed its eyes and lifted its still shrivelled paw up in the air, its ws extending wide as it did what it had to do to survive¡­ From directly behind it, Avilia had witnessed exactly what was going on, a wicked smirk sprouting on her face as she could not help but be amused by her pray''s futile attempts and false hope¡­ What was happening infuriating beyond belief but she would be lying to say that she wasn''t amused at the same time¡­ She had never felt so alive in many, many years¡­ "Anti Death Cacoon," With but a flick of her wrist and gleam in her blood-red pupils, she spoke in that same indifferent, distorted, otherworldly voice of a higher being. before it even realized, the kitten''s entire body, the kitten''s entire body was abruptly consumed by a purple aura that covered the outside of its body. As the kitten''s ws approached its body at breakneck speed, it was abruptly halted seemingly out of nowhere, making it open its eyes only to see its hand forcefully stopped by a light aura of purple that it could not shake away. When it looked up, it once again witnessed death itself, smiley wrying, walking with that same drawing aura and ugly, hellish appearance only a few meters away from it, causing its entire body to shake once faster than the imagination could conceive, tears running down its face as it screamed a banshee like-scream with its now ghostly face. "AHHHH FUCKING STAY AWAY!" It lifted its w up once more, stabbing it straight at its heart. But, just like before, it was stopped by the same purple aura surround its body, causing its despair to somehow grow even further, looking back up to see the demone even closer. The panic in its heart multiplied, now doing something even more painful, yet not as painful as what it currently felt still being alive. In the blink of an eye, it opened its mouth and quickly chomped down to swallow its own tongue¡­ Yet, just like before, its attempts were futile, its teeth stopped by the same purple energy as before, mere millimetres away from its own tongue, even when crunching down with all of its might, it was not even able to make any progress, the haziness,? frustration, panic, and horror in its eyes increasing somehow even further, it''s breath and heartbeat inplete sync, going even faster than a machinegun. "WHY CAN''T I DIE! LET FUCKING ME DIE! ARGGHH!" He screamed a banshee-like cry as he continued his futile attempts at killing itself. *sh* *sh* *sh* "WHY! WHY! WHHYYY MEE!!" Continuing its futile attempts, a river of blood flowing down from its eyes as it felt like it was living in a pure nightmare, falling into deep madness, refusing to give up its clear, futile attempts at self-harm, Avilia looking down at it with a mixture of various emotions on her overbearing smile. For one more time, the kitten tried to stab away at its heart, however, unlike the other times, this time its hand was stopped far away from its own body, its entire body no longer able to move, almost like it was being bound by invisible chains, its screams no longer able to be heard as its throat was tightly gasped and choked. It was lifted high up in the air by some sort of unknown force, like being held up by invisible hands as it was floated and brought closer to Avilia by a simple flick of her wrist, now being forced to peer deep into the bottomless abyss of her purple eyes and demonic visage, the tears of blood on its face elerating, its eyes losing its bright red colour as its fur turned almost gray, trying its best to scream its pain away only to be not able to. "Stop your useless attempts, you look like a mad fool! Your life and death are nowpletely in my hand¡­ You seem to be not wanting to cooperate¡­ So bet it¡­ You buried your own grave... All it means is that now I have to MAKE YOU COOPERATE!" Avilia spoke with a cold, indifferent expression on her face that bore a hint of excitement and amusement as she looked at the clearly grieving yet expressionless kitten in front of her that was bound by her anti-death cacoon and various invisible devil hands. The kitten managed to force its still shaky, bleeding eyes closed as it epted its fate, giving up on its life that it now knew it could not lose, its soul trapped in its body that was still shaking so fast that it would put any vibrator to shame ¡­ Thest thing it saw was the purple sh of the demon''s eyes and her hand slowly nearing its head, getting bigger and bigger as everything was consumed by it. Avilia''s left hand was now firmly yet lightly grasping the wolf''s soft head, making sure to not crush it like the grape it felt like. With a smile on her face, she inserted her demon energy into the still alive kitten''s brain, safely navigating it where it was supposed to go with unbelievable uracy. There were no secrets that could be kept from her demon magic, the truth would all be revealed, even if their mind had been altered... It was finally the moment of truth¡­ When she would read its mind, to see the unknown truth that the beast was so desperately trying to keep secret, and how it even knew its origin as a demon, and why it was so instinctively afraid of her despite her nice demeanour and suppressed strength, almost like it was programmed inside of them. "It''s time¡­" Avilia calmly mumbled to herself with anticipation as soon as all was prepared, as she dived straight into the kitten''s mind with no more than a deep breath for preparation. However¡­ As soon as she plunged in, it only managed to see nothing but a single sh of white light, she was thrust out, back into her original body¡­ The body that was once grasped in her hand was no longer felt by her. She opened her eyes, full of shock and anger as she watched the body of the purple kitten turn a see-through bright wide as it slowly faded away into bright white dust, nothing left of him anymore despite Avilia''s best efforts to stop the process¡­ "WHHHATTTT!!" Chapter 227 - New Ability!?

Chapter 227: New Ability!?

Despite her best efforts, she, Avilia Graymore, the demon lord, had failed¡­ A feeling that she had not felt in years¡­ Nothing but her heavy breathing filling the once again silent subspace. Avilia stared at the white dust in front of her fade away into nothingness with eyes of bewilderment. A flurry ofplex emotions on her face as she tried her best to fathom what had just happened, her hands tightly clenched into a fist, no longer bloody from the kitten''s innards as even that faded along with its body, stomping her feet with such vigour that the entire dimension shook once more from her might. The entity that was supposed to serve as her answer and key to what Abilities were was now gone without a trace, its essence now being absorbed by Moby''s dragon blood just like thest time. Her magic that did not allow for self-harm was still in effect, which only meant that there had to have been some outside influence¡­ Some sort of death spell that only activated when mind-reading magic was in y, all to protect their secrets, a powerful spell at that, even being able to prevent Avilia from doing anything against it, although she was far from full power. The first thought that crossed her mind was that the only magic that could be so powerful could only suggest angel magic. Yet, she knew for a fact that what she felt was not angel magic at all¡­ She had felt and been on the receiving end of almost every conceivable angel spell imaginable and the sensation was nothing like it, as it waspletely foreign to her. Had it had been a new type of magic originating from the mortal realm? Had her magic gotten so rusty and sunk so low that even mortals could be effective against her or was that type of magic stronger than she expected or have some sort of irreversible condition that would always block outside tampering and work 100%. At this point, she had absolutely no clue, but she was leaning more towards it being a new type of magic the more and more she delved into her thoughts¡­ In that split second that she was actually able to enter the kitten''s mind, it did manage to extract a few images, albeitpletely corrupted and unreadable, too blurry and shadowy for her to interpret, the most she was able to make out was sparkling white liquid and the ominous smile of an old man she could not at all recognize no matter how hard she tried. She also managed to make out a few sounds. However, just like the images, they also served her no purpose. To her, all they sounded like were really odd static with a few letters mixed in which was not much at all to go by, the voicespletely unrecognizable. On the surface, a n that was meant to serve as an exnation somehow ended up making her even more confused than before. Yet, that was not entirely true. Now, she was more than sure that these beasts were not just a manifestation of a person''s spirit and ability as the humans previously assumed but being specifically sent there by an unknown group, powerful ones that were more than adamant about secrecy. Their motives and identity still unknown, as well as if they were friends or foes. All that she was able to go off of was that they either hated, or were afraid of demons and knew about their existence, which she only managed to know by apletely idental blurb from the kitten which was the reason that made her snap in the first ce. She took a deep breath to calm her mind, she had never been the type of person to bepletely overwhelmed by her emotions but what had happened to her was a valid exception in her opinion as the initial shock was too great for even her toe to terms with. She now fully understood that what happened was not her fault and was out of her control. She had tried her best and that was all that could have been done, although the failure was still hard to stomach for her pride. She had patiently waited for many, many years to find the truth so what difference would a few more do? All that things meant was that it was not meant to be revealed now but at ater time. She had just been too unrealistically optimistic about things. Now, all she needed to do was wait until Moby woke up to deliver the news of her failure and what she had discovered, a hint of embarrassment and unease in her heart, feelings that she never even thought she would able to feel, especially in such a moment as she had failed despite acting so confident right before. It was a feeling really obscure to her, as she was more than sure if it were the same her just before she and he had met, she would have felt no such thing¡­ **************** Moby slowly opened his eyelids that felt to him, even heavier than a ck hole, his vision all blurry and clouded as the world slowly came back into view, making him instinctively raise his hands to wipe his eyes, his hands moving in extreme slow motion since he had almost forgotten the situation he was in and the fact that his entire body was still extremely stiff. As he wiped his eyes, everything became far more clear, his hazy mind snapping back into reality as he remembered exactly what had just happened from before. With wide-open eyes, he sat straight up, his head no longer on his pillow and his back no longer on his soft mattress as he looked around, his eyes wandering to inspect his surroundings, a little off-put since he could not see any ability notification pop up like he had expected. What he saw was the same still room as before, time extremely slowed. When he looked down to his side from his position on the top bunk, Alex, Ray, Nags, and Jason were all still exactly where he remembered they were, their eyes still closed deep into their meditation. As he looked more straight ahead, he noticed that Jayden was still on his bed meditating right next to where he slept, making a smile appear on his face. As he moved, he began to hear the ruffling of what could only sound like paper. When he looked under him, he noticed a folded paper ced on the blue nket still covering half of his body which greatly piqued his interest, making him pick up it and read its contents. ''Hey babe, I just wanted to let you know that I''ve been patiently waiting for you to wake up, it''s been over a day now and I''ve yet to notice you move a single inch¡­ I''m really scared something happened to you. If you wake up and find me meditating, just know it''s only because I know that you would not want me to waste the time I could have used on training on just aimlessly watching you and holding your hands¡­ But, I guess if you''re reading this then it means that you''re alright hahaha! Maybe even the first person to ever possess 2 abilities! Love you! -Jayden" Moby''s eyes became broad, his smile growing even more with an immense warm feeling in his heart as he looked down at the letter and back up at Jayden who was still to his side. When he looked down at his right hand that was still holding the paper noticing that it was far sweatier than the other one, a clear, red handprint on it which could have of course only suggested one thing. He inwardly tried to suppress his tears, he felt undeserving of such affection and only showed to prove how truly worried Jayden was about him, as it became more than clear that she thought that there was a high possibility that he had actually died. It made him reminisce about how their first encounter was like and how they had both grown so much together since that point. If he was being honest, back then, he never expected to ever be with such a person but now he could not imagine himself with anyone else. [ System Alert! ] [ The user has gained the ability Dimensional Shift] [ New skill unlocked! ] ************************** [ Body of Void ( level 1) ] Due to the user''s void ability, their body is now enhanced and more powerful. Effects: +100 strength +105 agility +130 intelligence +70 endurance ************************** [ System Alert! ] [ The user''s ability has mixed with their draconic blood and has unlocked the "Void Dragon" Skill tree! ] [ New skill unlocked! ] ************************** [ Faze (level 1) ] The ability to phase through any physical object like it was not even there, (various magic exceptions do apply) Effects: Fazing Cost: 100 demon energy/second, 100 mana/second ************************** All of a sudden, a barrage of notifications flooded his field of vision, almost like Avilia had been waiting for him to finish his thoughts and get ustomed to his surroundings once more before she sent them out, which now that he thought about it, it was probably exactly what she did¡­ Moby''s mind became flooded with information as he read every notification 1 by 1, his eyes and mouth growing wider the more he read as it seemed almost too good to be true¡­ Like he had confirmed his theory to cheating life as 100% real... ''It worked? Do I really have 2 abilities now!?'' ****** Please read the author''s note ?3 Chapter 228 - New Ability 2

Chapter 228: New Ability 2

Moby read thoroughly through everyst detail of each notification, unable to control his shock and excitement as he opened his stats to see what he was currently at right now. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 8 Ice Level: 65 XP to next level 1,900/65,000 Dragon skill tree level: 2 Dragon skill tree XP to next level: 0/500 Power Level: 30,052 Hp: 188/188 Demon Energy: 817/817 Mana: 817/817 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 9.1 Energy/ minute Strength: 766 Agility: 852 Endurance: 617 Intelligence: 817 Mind: 100 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** Moby''s eyes grew even wider as he witnessed the difference in his stats and that he was now firmly in the middle of the A rank in his base form with no armour at all, his smile going wider as he began to mellowly chuckle at himself. The new ability that he gained was extremely powerful and versatile in more ways than one if it was executed properly by apetent user, not to mention everything he can do using it in tandem along with his other skills. in his opinion, this should have been the ability that he should have gotten in the first ce¡­ *************************** Dimensional Shift The ability to teleport to any marked location, the farther it is the more mana it will cost. The maximum amount of marks the user can have at the start is 5 and will grow more as the ability is progressed. Once the amount of marks exceeds the maximum, the oldest mark will be removed to make room for the new one. *************************** The uses and possibilities of such a skill were seemingly endless in his mind and he had so many things to test out. He knew full well that it was one of the most difficult abilities to master which was part of the reason he did not pick it up thest time, but with a week inside of slowed time to practice and get adjusted to it, he felt like it would be no problem as he thought of such things as his forte. Not to mention that with his current stats, if he was able to enter andplete another trial before he was out of time, then he might even be able to reach the X rank, which he assumed Abby''s sister to be considering that she was a second-year from one of the most important families in the country. Every time Moby receives such powerups, he could not help but feel like a child who had gotten his favourite Christmas present, almost forgetting his worries. However, this time his worries were still in his head yet slightly less, since his chances of victory seemed more and more usible the more he thought. However, his stat sheet told apletely different story¡­ The more he read them, the more perplexed he grew, to the point that his smile slowly faded away and his expression turned into a look of confusion with one eyebrow raised. ''Hey, Avilia, you there?'' ''Yeah, I''m here¡­'' Moby''s eyebrow raised even higher with a look of concern hearing Avilia''s voice that was calm with a hint of what he could only guess was sadness or embarrassment. ''Are you alright? What happened? Did you get the answers you wanted?'' Moby spoke, immediately pushed his question to the back seat. ''I don''t really have time to exin right now so be prepared for a mental rush of everything that happened. But, I''ll be needing that 1,000 XP you have saved to do it,'' Avilia''s voice stayed the same,pletely unlike the upbeat version of her that had been so confident before he had absorbed the new ability. Something must have gone wrong, either the information she received was not to her liking or she did not receive any information at all, and he needed to know what. ''Of course, 1,000 XP is nothing, take it and show me,'' They both grew silent, the atmosphere was tense before Avilia broke the ice and spoke. ''Alright, be prepared¡­'' As soon as Avilia spoke those words Moby''s vision went instantly pitch ck with many scenes being sted into his mind all at once. Yet, for some reason, instead of him being overwhelmed by everything, the memories and information flowed smoothly into his mind like a calm river, no pain at all as he managed to fully understand everything in what only felt like a split second. He would definitely describe it as a pleasant experience. Inparison, when he tried to mentally transfer information, he could clearly see the pain and anguish of the victim getting their memories over flooded with new information that was not their own. Avilia''s technique did no such thing, which clearly showed how far their power and control over demon energy was, showing him that not only did he have a long way to go in terms of power, but also in mind. Moby saw and fully understood everything from how Avilia tried her best to act but failed as the beast somehow knew about demons, how her mind skill did not work and she only received memory fragments that neither she nor he could fully understand. Yet, he kept those memories safely imnted in his head just in case they served as clues for the future as he could feel something particrly mysterious about them... Moby was immediately snapped back into reality, his vision now back into the room as he spoke at the still silent Avilia with a bright smile. ''Trust me, I don''t me you. None of that was your fault. You did your best and there seems to be nothing that could be done, the answers wille to us eventually so don''t let it bother you.'' Avilia felt a weird feeling in her heart seeing Moby expression of concern and how he was so positive, not mad at her at all. The only times he ever got mad at her was when she refused to share information in the past and that was all that she could remember. He did not at all feel disappointed in her. If anything, what he witnessed made him far more impressed, making him now hold her in a much higher regard than before. ''Huh? Why are you talking to me like a child? I was just tired from watching yourzy ass sleep all-day! The information I got was fairly bad but it is sufficient for now, we at least know that someone is behind all of these abilities and its not just part of the mortal world itself,'' Moby could not help but inwardly chuckle, taking any offence at Avilia''s response before he replied, calming down into a more serious expression. ''I have a theory of my own¡­ Maybe it really are the angels? Thest time I gained an ability my angel blessing levelled up, do you think? I''m not sure why it didn''t happen this time too if I am being honest,'' Without a moment of hesitation, Avilia responded. ''I already took that into ount, I do agree that there might be a sliver of angel energy but that doesn''t necessarily mean its angel powers, especially since it was in such a slow amount. Demon energy and Angel/Holy energy could be found all around us and in every inch of the universe from the leakages from when we fought wars here. Anyone could harness and collect the energy and use it for whatever experimentation they want with it. And now, there is this mana thing also in the air, but in my current state, there would be no way for me to properly analyze it¡­'' Avilia exined, making Moby inwardly nod and understand before she continued in apletely different tone. ''Okay, well let''s just drop this question for now. You clearly had a question to ask, what is it?'' Moby''s eyes immediately grew wide as he immediately remembered what he had to say. ''It seems like I have gained a new ability but why does my stat sheet still show up as ice? And when I try to imprint something with my mana to teleport to, it also seems not to work¡­ Why is that? Did I fail to absorb the ability but simply absorbed its essence for the stats?'' The concern in Moby''s voice was clear, making Avilia smile as it was finally her time tofort him instead of being the one to beforted. ''You are really low on time and it''s a lot to exin, so give me the remaining 900 XP you have and all will be clear. I am not 100% sure about everything but I can give you what I had analyzed,'' Desperate for answers, Moby responded in haste. ''Do it, I need as much time as possible to train so do it," Moby nodded, Avilia figuratively nodding back she once again thrust his vision into darkness, only for a split second, all the information calmly flowing in his mind before he was snapped back into reality. With heavy breathing and wide-open eyes, he put his hands on his mouth as he went into deep thinking¡­ It seemed like he indeed did have 2 abilities yet with heavy restrictions put on both. What he thought was going to be an overpowered cheat now only seemed far worse, bringing his ideas back to earth yet still making him fairly satisfied as it still served to make him stronger. Despite the restrictions, he was certain that as he grew stronger, the restrictions would be more lenient until they faded away. He should have expected as much considering his inexperience with abilities, only having been using them for a little over a day. The restrictions put upon him did not allow him to test out his new ability in a way that he would be able to use it along with ice ability in the middle of the fight, so he had to hold off on trying the many things that he wanted to test. Snapping out of his thoughts, he was thrust back into reality. ''Thanks for that information, everything somewhat makes sense now more or less. And, thank you for that surprise you promised me before, I noticed it but I had no time to thank you for, the extra stat points on level up,'' he spoke to Avilia with a smile, yet still trying to ept all that he was informed. ''No problem,'' Avilia replied proudly in an upbeat tone. ''Anyways, you said I was running low on time and that I have been asleep for days, I need a lot more time to train and try my shot at another trial since I got the new ability. So, how long have I been ass-'' Moby''s words were abruptly interrupted by a loud, slow-motion beeping sounding from his watch, a sound that he recognized all too well as the sound of Alex''s morning rm. Moby''s eyes grew wide, sweat running down his face as took a gulp of saliva, looking at the window to his side noticing the bright light shining in. He lifted his hands and scratched his eyes to make sure that he wasn''t hallucinating only to see the bright light still there, as he looked at his watch to see the time¡­ ? 7:40 am ? Chapter 229 - An Angry Parent...

Chapter 229: An Angry Parent...

Moby''s mind began spinning in circles taking in what he had just realized¡­ He had only assumed to be asleep for an hour or two but it was much longer in reality. No wonder Avilia was in such haste to exin everything¡­ He had been asleep for a week straight? Had the absorbing process for his ability taken that long and been that painful and taxing on his body? He now only had 20 minutes left before the start of school¡­ He lost all the time that he wanted to train, go into a trial, study his new ability that was rumoured to be extremely difficult. But now, all those thoughts were ripped to shreds and discarded with nothing he could have done but suck it up. Knowing that it was not Avilia''s fault for not informing him since she most likely wanted him calm during her conversations, he did not reprimand her. And, seeing how his teammates were slowly waking up, feeling greater power exuding from them than before made him immediately tense up. He had to keep his persona of a calm and collected leader in order to not affect the morale of his troops so he immediately thrust his many worries under his poker face, his expression of shock and panicpletely disappearing along with it. "Hwaaaahhhh¡­ It''s morning already?" "M-m-moby¡­ You''re okay!?" Tears filling her eyes, Jayden immediately jumped on Moby like a pouncing cat, pushing him down towards the bed with a waterfall of tears running down her face. Moby not at all surprised by her actions hugged her back and petted her head tofort her with a smile on his face, running his hands through her smooth dark blue hair. He held her by the shoulders and stood right up, wiping the tears from her eyes and spoke using his mind-link. "Don''t worry, I was never in any real danger! I''m the future demon lord after all! We don''t have much time now, we need to catch the others up on what happened and exin the rest of the n," Giving her a small kiss on the forehead before looking down to the rest of his team, Jayden wiping away the rest of her tears with a smile as she sat by Moby, her expression slowly turning more serious. "Jayden! You''re back! How did it go? Where is Abby? Is she safe?" Alex spoke with clear worry in his voice as soon as the room came back into view, looking at Jayden and Moby sat up in the top bunk. "M-Moby¡­ What''s this feelinging out from you?" Ray mumbled in a low yet audible voice, Jason and Nags sat a few meters to his right, Jason wearing a look of frustration while Nags sat there with his arms crossed, exuding with calmness. With a wave of his hands, Moby put the room to silence before he spoke. "Okay everyone, listen up! School starts in 20 minutes meaning that in slowed time, I only have 2 hours to tell you the new n and exin everything if we want to make it to ss on time. But in short, Abby is captured and has been brainwashed, Jayden couldn''t get her back and I now sort of have 2 abilities¡­" *********************************** Walking through the blue hallways of the school, the entire building shaking under the wake of his presence and stride, his suit well put, his beard well-kempt and his long blue hair flowing in the back with an angry scowl on his face walked one man, followed by a fair, brown-haired girl half his size who seemed clearly concerned as they both approached an ocean of people screaming and crowded ahead. "M-my lord! Calm yourself! It is not our turn to go in! It''s only 50 people at a time! We might get in trouble!" The worry and sweat running down the girl''s face were clear as she continuously tried to hold him back and discourage him from doing what he wanted to do. "Does it look like I care!? Stop bugging me and let me be! It was your fault we werete in the first ce! My daughter was in this school the entire time and never came back home and I was only just informed from a note that was hidden under the fucking door! She was in deep trouble all because of these careless shitty teachers and rules! I can''t sit idly by anymore! This shit is too much!" The killing intent and cold stair of the man in front of her was too much for her to bear as she gave up her futile attempts of holding him back as she watched him walk towards the people ahead. She had been working under that man for so many years and all that he had been to her was kind and generous, this was the first-ever time she had seen him in such a state. The way he looked at her was unlike anything she ever imagineding out of him, making her face turn paler than a ghost and her heart lurch deep down in her chest with the feeling of cold death running down her spine¡­ However, considering his situation and circumstances, she could not really me him and her loyalty did not at all wane. If anything, her concern for him grew¡­ "Get out of my fucking way!" Like a bulldozer, people flying left and right, the man walked right into the crowd of screaming adults with no care in the world, shouting at everyone to let him enter. "Hey! Buddy! Wait your turn! What do you th-" As soon as the man noticed who he was talking to, his shadowy eyesing into view, he bit his tongue to stop his words. However he had been far toote to react... before he even had the chance to scream in fear, he was immediately thrust out of the way like a rag doll, crashing on the ground with an impressive thud thanking god that it was only what he had received as it could have very well been much worse considering it was the shadow of death himself he was addressing in such a tone. As soon as the crowd noticed who it had been that had entered the crowd like a bullet train, they immediately wentpletely silent, their faces bing paler than a ghost, sweat running down their face as they parted akin to Moses parting the red sea, allowing him full, unhindered entry to the general''s office, his shadow aura exuding on full disy as he made his way to the General''s front desk. "RYKKKERRR!!" He screamed, mming his hands straight on the general''s metal desk, making cracks form around it, everyone that was once standing around him screaming now inplete silence, staying away from that man as they knew full well who he was¡­ "What is the meaning of this!? First thousands of students dead on another and now mass murderer running around in your own damn school!? My daughter was at risk of dying both of those times! What is the fucking meaning of this! Exin yourself! What kind of shitty hellish school is this?!" Despite the man''s screams that echoed around the room and the angry crowd to his side, the general kept his calm, a cool smile on his face, the nurse standing right next to him on standby. Unlike his normal attire and look, he seemed extremely professional, his orange hair gelled back, his beard perfectly trimmed and his clean and bright, bags still under his eyes, "Mason my old friend it''s been a while and that''s how you want to greet me?" *m* "Heh heh, you know, I enlisted my daughter in this school when I found out you were the general because I trusted you! But now that''s all behind us! I don''t care how close we were before! You fucking crossed the line! I know you''re already going to be fired but that is not enough! You are a danger to society and need to be either locked up or executed! I''ll go out of my way to make sure of that!" Still unhindered by Mason''s words and cold, shadow stair he spoke once more, the smile on his face growing evenrger. "Oh! Don''t be like that! I promise it''s all a misunderstanding! The exam situation had already been exined to you since all I did was follow proper protocol and now the entire school system around the globe already adjusted themselves so such a mistake would never happen again, yet I was still getting fired to appease the masses. But this time, it''s an entirely different story¡­ My team and I have done some investigation around the crime scene with every expert we know and we have evidence that could suggest alien activity¡­" The entire crowd gasped at once, almost unable to believe their own ears as they knew exactly what the general was insinuating. Yet, Mason wanted to hear ite out of his own mouth¡­ "Are you saying¡­" "Yes my friend¡­ I do believe that it was the work of a Shalker¡­" The eyes of everyone in the silent crowd grew even wider and gasped once more hearing ite out of the general''s mouth, despite them knowing that it woulde out¡­ "Is that the only excuse you got? Are you really that desperate? How would a Shalker even be able to enter the school undetected? Stop your bullshit!" The room fell silent once more, the smile of the general for some reason still growing wider as he responded. "Like I told you, I have already found evidence¡­ The Shalkers probably have all matters of technology at their disposal that might allow for such a thing... It might sound farfetched now but trust me it won''t soon¡­ Just give me a week¡­ 1 week is all I need to prove everything¡­" Chapter 230 - Face to Face

Chapter 230: Face to Face

"Even the military is behind me on this one, I am just the victim of an unfortunate coincidence, my student''s safety is always my top priority. This is the first time that any such thing happened in my many years of being general. If I don''t show you proper evidence in a week I am fully epting jail time or execution," The smile on the general''s face was calm yet from knowing Ryker all these years, Mason could also sense a hint of madness in his words. "So be it! You will have a week before your execution! Savour it well! In the meantime, I''ll be taking my daughter back home until all of this is settled!" With a mixture of heavy emotions, Mason scoffed at the general before turning around, his blueish shadowy aura of death expanding across the entire room as he walked away, making the crowd part once more. "Hold on sir Griffith, but I am sorry to say that your request will not be possible¡­" Slowly, Mason turned around with heavy killing intent that consumed all in its path, staring cold, shadowy daggers at Ryker''s eyes who still seemed rather calm, handling the heavy killing intent that sucked the air out of the many silent spectators rather well. If it were anyone else in his situation, they would have wished they were turned to dust, piss their pants before fainting or even dying from the shock. "What did you say¡­ Exin yourself now before I snap your neck¡­" Mason''s voice was low yet powerful, sending waves of energy in all directions around the room, papers flying everywhere. "Well, I don''t want any students to leave the premises, the ones that were outside before are now required toe back in. Today, we will continue our investigation and analysis on the crime scene and tomorrow every single student in the school will be questioned using a lie detector. Letting students outside could lead to some unwanted variables so this is the decision that we came up with. If you are concerned about safety don''t be, we have upped the camera counts all around the school and increased security 10 fold, I''m sure you noticed it on your way here¡­ I know that the extra cameras and monitoring ispletely against normal guidelines that were put in ce so we respect student privacy and so we don''t gather intel from students about their families but this is an emergency situation so it had to be done, at least 24/7 tracking and listening is not in ce. And, If you want to call your children it will have to be heavily monitored for safety reasons," Mason''s eyes grew wide, everyone else in the room following his lead. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into a bloody fist. He wanted to do nothing more than to kill Ryker right then and there, grabbing his daughter and leaving the premises, but he knew all too well that it was not possible to do such a thing even with his authority. The military seemed to be backing Ryker on this one, going against the entire military would mark the end for both him, his daughter, and his entire family, so for now, he had to deal with and abide by the rules. "So be it! For your own sake and everything that me and you have been through, I hope you aren''t bullshiting me¡­ I''m leaving!" Mason spoke once again, his shadow gaze and cold killing intent fixated on the calm, smiling Ryker, opening his now bloody palms before walking away, everyone making space for him instinctively, not even daring to look in his direction as they still found it extremely hard to breathe in his presence. "Okay! Now, all of you should follow his lead. The school will open to students in a few minutes and you all are not even allowed on the premises when that happens. You should be lucky that I even allowed for this meeting to happen in the first ce¡­ Now, goodbye!" The crowd still inplete shock and silence from the previous disy of power and how Ryker was unaffected. Out of instinct, they followed orders without a single word, some of them with a heavy look of pure sadness or disgust on their faces as they exited the room knowing full well they could not do anything about it. "Nurse Joi, could you please be so kind as to close the door for me?" With a nod, the nurse responded and did as she was told before turning around to face the general as they were the only 2 people in the room. "So, how has the analysis of the battlefield been going?" He spoke, sitting back in his seat confortably with his hands sped against each other nted firmly on his empty desk. "Well sir, we found no bodies at all, no DNA evidence of anything, only a single footprint on the ground and a few on trees of some sort of unknown armour.? There was also clear tampering in the battlefield to hide evidence, maybe some sort of dimensional ability or device involved. Cameras from outside of the school managed to witness 2 flying figures fighting, but they were so far away that nothing but specs of dust were seen. Everything is indeed quite mysterious but we have found no evidence suggesting it being the work of a shalker¡­ Sir¡­ Lying to the masses like this is very wrong and lying and faking evidence to the military higher-ups is probably even worse¡­ If word got out then you''re finished¡­ " The nurse responded with a heavy voice. "Nurse, think about it like this, if I said nothing then I would have died or been ruined anyway, this was the only choice I had left. And besides¡­ I''m not even lying! The evidence will show up eventually I''m sure of it¡­ If not today when we do a more thorough investigation with a bigger team but tomorrow when we question all staff and students¡­ I''m just sure of it¡­" The smile on Ryker''s face was something all too obscure to her, nothing like the Ryker that she used to know and love as she could not help but stare at his smile in silence, clear concern on her face for both his health and sanity as she knew he did not deserve any of what he was receiving. **************************** The secretary that was apanying Mason Griffith stood outside of the general''s office ying with her fingers, hoping that all was alright when suddenly, *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* She was able to hear loud footstepsing her way in such a pattern that was all too familiar to her, not being able to forget in a million years from how long she had worked under that man, looking up to see exactly who she expected, the shadow aura exuding from him and the look of pure anger on his face somehow even greater than when he had walked in. "My lord¡­ How did it go? Is everything okay?" She asked, now walking directly to his side. Mason took a quick nce at her, slightly calming his nerves and aura, sighing before responding. *Sigh* "Yes, I''m fine¡­ I apologize for my previous outburst, it was just uncalled for. As for what happened inside¡­ All that you need to know is I''ll do what I have to do to keep my daughter safe, even if it means I have to slightly bend the military''s rules to my will¡­" ***************************** With a long, deep breath, Moby took a nce at the slightly cloudy bright blue sky through the window to his side, ying with the pen on his right hand as he patiently waited for his ss to start, his mind still in deep thought pondering over the next few steps of his n. "Hey! Do you have any idea what the lockdown yesterday was about?" "I have no idea¡­ It seemed toe out of nowhere¡­ Why does this shit keep happening to our school? Are we cursed? First the exam shit and now this¡­ I feel like death is around every corner..." "I think there is a mass murderer around the school¡­ But I''m not sure¡­ I haven''t heard from one of my friends ever since he said he was going to go hunting in the forest yesterday..." "Wait really!?" Rumours had already spread like wildfire, people making their own theories on what had happened, those small whispers entering Moby''s ears were filtered out like they were not even there. He had heard too many theories and whispers on his way, through the hallways and the outside of the school. Also, on his way, he could not help but notice all of the extra security all over the school, cameras and guards in almost every corner, especially around the forest where everything went down the other day, something that Moby fully expected to see. From what he had witnessed, it seemed like he had done a good enough job hiding all the evidence, the military should have no clue about anything. Yet, that was of course only natural and was nothing to celebrate considering how thorough he was hiding everyst spec. Moby took another deep breath and turned around to face his ss. Few of the seats were still empty from the massacre exams that had just urred and the seats that were still being used either had a kid silent or gossiping with their friends. Everyone seemed to be present, simply waiting for professor Leo to arrive, all but one person that he had been waiting so long to see face to face¡­ *m* Suddenly, the door of the room was thrust wide open, making the entire ss go silent. A man of tall stature entered the room exuding confidence, papers in his hands, a rather odd look on his usually up-beat, casual face. He wore a standard striped button-up shirt, his sleeves rolled up revealing his thick forearms, his broad shoulders and biceps looking like they were ready to tear the entire shirt to shreds, his usual spikey hair looking less sharp and pointy than usual. He threw the papers on his desk and spoke with a heavy voice. "Good morning ss¡­ Damn, this has been one heck of a few weeks, hasn''t it? One problem after another... I haven''t been able to properly sleep for weeks from everything that was going on¡­" *Yawnnn* "Anyways ss, ording to what I''ve been given, I need to exin to you the new protocols and rules that will be going on in the school. The reason for yesterday''s lockdown is still considered a military secret of high order so I''ll not be able to tell you guys what happened until I am given explicit permission, which will probably be when they find a definitive answer to everything. Now, does anyone have any questions before I get started?" Leo''s heavy voice rang throughout the entire room, the whole ss turning tense as a usual silence enveloped the entire ss since no one was willing or even dared to ask a question. "Well, seems like there are no questions, then I''ll just get star-" *m* With a rather quiet sound, the door opened once more, making everyone''s attention focus on it, Moby suppressing his various emotions under his cool, calm, and collected poker face knowing exactly who it was that had arrived. "Good morning professor Leo, sorry for my tardiness, I had some trouble arriving to school today, I beg for your forgiveness," The figure of a beautiful red-haired girl wearing standard uniform spoke from the door, her face not being able to be seen from her deep bow and from her hair covering her face that was not tied in her usual ponytail that everyone always saw her with. "Miss Reid, yes, you are indeed a bitte. But since today is rather special, I won''t hold it against you this time, please take your seat and listen to my rundown of the new school rules and protocols, it might take a while so bear with me," Leo spoke in his still tired voice. The red-haired girl lifted her head, revealing her serious expression and beautiful face, making tomatoes out of the faces of some of the male students. "Yes sir! I thank you for your leniency and generosity," With a still serious expression, she spoke, making Leo nod back at her. She lifted her body up and stood up straight with elegance, walking past Leo''s table to get to her desk at the front of the ss. However, not before taking a nce straight at Moby''s direction, a clear yet subtle ominous smile on her face that no one else seemed to notice, Moby, still with his calm demeanour ying with his pen staring back at her with a serious, cold and indifferent expression. Their gazes onlysted a split second in reality, no one noticing a single thing. Yet, for them, it felt more like minutes of cold, ominous staring instead, before Abby''s face reverted back to normal and she sat down quietly to listen to what professor Leo had to say, not before looking back at Moby once again with a cute chuckle that Moby knew all too well was not out of love, loyalty or affection, but simply out of amusement, and maybe even a hint of contempt like he was a poor little mouse stuck in her trap. Chapter 231 - New Rules

Chapter 231: New Rules

Still ying with his pen, flicking it back and forth with his left hand with exceptional skill, Moby took a deep breath once more, looking to his right to see Leo as he began addressing the ss in his tired, yet still manly voice, exining all the new rules for the next week of school. He had already mentally prepared himself to confront Abby once more, so the shock of seeing her in the state that she was in, the daughter that he knew and loved now being no more¡­ did note as a big surprise as it was all something that he predicted. Yet, despite that fact, he still inwardly felt pain seeing what he saw, like small daggers slowly poking away at his heart that hepletely suppressed under his poker face of calmness andposure. "So, ss, first things first, the security of the school has been bolstered tremendously, you can now find¡­" Keeping half his focus on Leo''s words so he did not miss a single detail about the new rules that could cause him some trouble in the future, he attempted to open a mind-link between him and Abby, only for him to find out that it did not work despite them being in such close proximity, just like he had expected. That very much confirmed to Moby all that he needed to know. She had gonepletely rogue and was now outside of his full control, that was the only exnation since he doubted that she had some sort of antimunication crystal on her. Since his 1 week ofplete control had faded away, if a servant''s disloyalty and hatred reached a certain point, they would cease to be under their master''s control which was exactly what had happened with Abby, as no matter what order he tried to give her such as "jump", "yawn," "stretch" and more did not work on her, that along with his emotion sensing. He had alreadye to terms that the Abby he knew and loved was gone but seeing reality in front of him hit very different, yet not hard enough for him to lose his cool and rationality. There was no doubt in his mind that brainwashing was involved and the Abby in front of him was either the real Abby he never knew, reverting back to her normal self or a brainwashed Abby manipted into hating him, of course wishing the truth to be thetter. Yet, he did not dwell on that thought for long, he would surely find out soon enough so there was no use bothering with it. For now, he once again focused his full attention on Leo who was still giving his speech ahead, the thoughts about Abby still biting away in the back of his mind. For the next hour or so, Leo exined many things from areas that were not allowed to be in, force fields around the school preventing any exit, more cameras and guards, how all contact to the outside world had been severed, the connection to the intepletely off from the entire school and if they wanted to contact their parents or anyone from the outside, it would have to bepletely monitored. And, finally, how they would all be questioned using a lie detector all by the general himself the next day, solely to ensure that there is no tampering and that the results were 100% urate. Moby found the new rules and changes to be fairly standard. He did not mind any of them, even the lie detector test. He was confident in being able to bypass it once more, but people from the gang that knew about what happened might pose a problem so he would have to find a way to either kill them with such bolstered security or speak to Emilia to ensure that she had things under control, because he was confident that she did not want to be caught by the military as well. However, he understood that it was all doable but all of that would be a massive headache and hassle so he would rather have everythingpleted by the end of the day before any lie detector test urred. For seemingly the first time ever after their firstbat practice in the arena, the ss was unnaturally active, asking various questions which clearly surprised Leo and slightly elevated his previously down mood. This was because all of the students knew the severity of the consequences to anyone that broke the rules so they wanted to ensure that they understood everything. It did not mean that their fear of Leo faded away, all it meant was that they were more afraid of breaking the new rules than afraid of Leo himself who was too caught up in the moment to even realize. After the first hour of exnations finished, the ss went on like usual, continuing their lessons about abilities, the ss still being rather morbid from everything that had previously urred, now going into the lesson about spirit-mode, something that he wished was taught to him the other day before he went against Jason and Nags. Everything that Leo exined was something that he had already known, probably since for the first ss, he had only touched upon the very surface details, yet some of the things he said Moby foundpletely false like about the origin and creation of spirit beasts, them being an actual manifestation of a person''s soul and ability which Moby now foundpletely sphemous. Yet he still took note of what he said just so he could write it on a test when such a question arises, knowing full well that if he wrote what he knew he would be marked wrong in the best case and be questioned by the military for possibly knowing something they didn''t and where he had gotten his new information in the worst case. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* Suddenly, as Leo finished exining most of his lesson, the sound of a loud bell filled the ears of the still quiet ss that seemed to have no reaction like they usually did. "There goes the bell for lunch, keep the new rules in mind and stay safe! A copy of the rules has been sent to all of your watches just in case you wanted a refresher! You are now all dismissed," Leo spoke, sitting back in his chair to pack up all that he had used in his military-approved storage ring to get ready for his own lunch break as well, the ss nodding back at his words in silence as they packed their belongings and tried exiting the ss with haste. The sound of birds chirping from the outside and the bright sun unhindered by the blue sky shining on his slightly tanned skin and jet ck hair that had highlights and streaks of red, a calm air to his movements and expression, Moby packed his notes and belongings in his bag, hearing the sound of subtle footsteps slowly approach him from up ahead using his enhanced hearing. "Hey "my lord!" Can we talk privately?" A low, familiar yet unfamiliar female voice was heard straight from above him as he was still sat in his seat. "Oh! Hello there my loyal servant! Why talk to me like that? Why don''t you just open a mind link? Wouldn''t that be easier and more private?" Moby responded in an equally low voice, a subtle smirk on his face. "Haha! Very funny as always "my lord"! But, you and I both know that is not possible¡­ Jayden had already informed you about everything I''m sure of it¡­" The pure contempt in her voice saying Jayden''s name was clear, like she wanted nothing more than to tear her to shreds. "I''m not sure exactly what that slut told you but If you think I am being brainwashed or something I would urge you to reconsider¡­ This is who I truly am so ept it!" Moby''s smile grew even wider, looking up at her with a purple glow in his eyes that sent shivers down her spine. "So be it! If you are truly a traitor then prepare yourself to die¡­ I will not hesitate or show any mercy¡­ Don''t test me¡­" The shine and demonic expression on Moby''s face onlysted a split second yet it was more than clear to share Moby''s seriousness and intent, a side of him she had never seen before which made her struggle to regain her previousposure, scoffing at his threat. "So, anyway, you said you wanted to talk in private, I can do that. Although there is nowhere in the school left private, there are cameras everywhere, we are always being monitored, even right now but I doubt they could hear us talking this low," He continued, his arms crossed as he closed his eyes with a deep breath. "That does not matter! As long as they don''t hear what we say, everything should be alright, besides, it is not me who wanted to talk to you, it was my sister¡­ She wanted to discuss something very important with you¡­ A sort of deal or agreement that is sure to pique your interest¡­" The smile and confidence on Abby''s face intrigued Moby greatly, and with no reason to refuse, he of course epted¡­ "My interest is indeed piqued! Very well, lead me to her then, I''ll be d to listen to whatever she has to say," Moby responded with an equallyrge and confident smile as everything so far was going along exactly like he had expected. Chapter 232 - Bewildered

Chapter 232: Bewildered

Moby stood up out of his seat, wearing his school bag as he casually followed behind Abby, them not talking a single word as the atmosphere became tense yet rather casual and familiar at the same time as they walked out of the ss and into the busy hallway that seemed far calmer and tamer than usual, most likely as a result of the new rules and extra security all over the ce. Bullying and abusing students with such high security right after a mass-murdering did not seem like a good idea for anyone. There was once again a mixture of different staresing in his direction, contempt, envy, fear, and a hint of admiration which really surprised and elevated his mood seeing that his earlier ns of acting nicely in the school were somewhat working, all the different stares of courseing from entirely different groups of people of various strength and status. As long as nobody followed them or attempted to interrupt them, there was no reason for them to worry about the usual stares as they simply continued walking casually and confidently through the hallway, trying their best to keep a low profile despite how hard it was knowing they were very revered and well known around the school. During his search for Ray the other day, Moby had almost memorized the entire school''syout, despite the fact that it was huge beyond his previous imagination, at least 10 times bigger than his previous high school, maybe even more. So, from the direction Abby was headed, he knew that she was going to one of the back exits, one that was allowed for students to use yet not very used by anyone other than the crack heads and druggies which Moby found rather smart since he knew they would no doubt not be there anymore since there were now no doubt cameras all around that area. ''Avilia, do you sense any mind-rted magicing from her?'' Moby asked, still walking through the crowded hallways. ''In my current state as a simple voice in your head, it''s very hard for me to tell¡­ But if I focus hard enough I can sense something odding from her. I would say mind magic is a very safe bet,'' She confidently responded, making Moby inwardly nod back. Currently, since there was nothing to do, he decided to use his free time to do something that he knew he needed to do as soon as possible, try and find as much information about Abby from every resource he knew. ''Inspect!'' ************************** Name: Abby Reid? Race: ????? ????????????? Ability: ????? ? ???? Level: ?? XP: ?????/????? Power Level: ????? Hp: ???/??? Mana: ???/??? Demon Energy: ???/??? Strength: ??? Agility: ??? Endurance: ??? Intelligence: ??? Mind: ??? ************************** Moby''s eyes grew wide, unable to hide his shock under his poker face for a split second before calming himself down as to not break his expressionpletely. ''Q-Question marks¡­. Why does her name have a question mark? Is that even Abby?'' Moby had only seen such a thing when inspecting people way out of his league in strength such as most of the teachers and Jayden''s father along with people that had some sort of concealing item like Natalia with her golden ring. However, he knew for a fact that Abby was none of those, unless she somehow received a massive power boost bringing her to such strength overnight which he thought waspletely impossible. Suddenly when his mind was still in turmoil, Abby turned her head to face him with a wide smile and a simple chuckle that seemed cute or almost flirtatious to anyone looking at them from the outside, yet it was hard for Moby to ignore the obvious mockery, almost like she had known what he wanted to do, the "cute" smirk on her face still there despite seeing Moby''s seemingly natural and indifferent expression. ''Don''t worry, that was to be expected considering that she is now outside of your control. The inspect skill is actually mind-rted, it does not work on anyone whose power level is way out of your reach and people with a high amount of mental fortitude and resistances such as, of course, a demon. Seeing how low your mind-stat is, no wonder your skill was detected and immediately blocked. Her name has question marks beside it most likely to screw with you and make you go crazy, she probably did that herself I am assuming,'' Avilia exined, calming Moby''s mind again, once more regretting not put more stats in mind as it waspletely new to him that his inspect skill and his mind stat were rted. ''Avilia¡­ Sometimes I wonder what I would ever do without you¡­'' Moby responded feeling great relief. The atmosphere went silent, Avilia not responding back like something odd had happened to her. ''You just gave me a genius idea¡­'' She spoke in a joyous yet cynical tone that made Moby worry about what she had nned for him before she continued her words in a normal tone. ''Oh! And no problem! I''m always d to help!'' Inwardly shaking his head to remove any currently unneeded thoughts about Avilia''s words, he continued following behind Abby until they reached a long staircase down, closing the hallway doors behind them, Moby using his energy sense skill to ensure that no one was following them despite him always keeping a close eye to such a thing. As they continued walking down the stairs, the usual smell of drugs was not there, Moby noticing all the cameras in the area. They walked out of the back door, a small beep being heard as they opened the door almost like they were being scanned. They now walking in a secluded area behind the school, the sun shining on both of their faces as they continued walking to one of the various alleyways and dark areas of the massive building. Usually, Moby would not be dumb enough to fall for such an obvious trap or ambush. However, from professor Leo''s exnation in ss, he understood that even such areas had various cameras embedded in them to cover every possible angle, and he doubted that Emilia would be dumb enough to ambush in the face of such cameras that he was certain she was not able to manipte since the general seemed to be on top of everything going on. "We''re finally here," Abby spoke, now standing in front of a dark, alleyway-like area, the small red glows of the cameras the only thing to be seen. The entire hallway of course fully able to be seen by Moby and his night vision, as he managed to spot the figure of a smirking woman, her resemnce to Abby almost uncanny, a few inches taller than her with arguably less to offer in the looks department in his opinion, instinctively using his inspect skill as soon as he noticed her. ************************** Name: ????? ???? Race: ????? ????????????? Ability: ????? ? ???? Level: ?? XP: ?????/????? Power Level: ????? Hp: ???/??? Mana: ???/??? Demon Energy: ???/??? Strength: ??? Agility: ??? Endurance: ??? Intelligence: ??? Mind: ??? ************************** And, just like he expected, he received absolutely nothing of use, this time not sure if she was simply too strong or if she also had some sort of mind resistance item by preparing herself with the knowledge she extracted from Abby. With a confident walk full of superiority, she walked from the darkness and into the light, her arms crossed as she spoke. "So! You are supposed to be the new king of demons? It''s great to finally meet you¡­ Moby Kane..." "Cut the crap and get to the point, I am in no mood for chatter," Moby immediately retorted, his purple, demonic air of dominance overpowering and almost overbearing, spreading throughout the entire area, making Emilia smile wider out of excitement, releasing her own fiery aura that equalled or even overpowered that of Moby that struggled to keep up with his might, a smirk on his face from all the blood and adrenaline pumping through his veins, Abby standing back in shock staring at the two titans. "Haha! That was great! I haven''t felt so alive in many years! That was unlike anything I''ve ever felt in my life! Almost like my lord! No wonder he was so adamant about finding you! You indeed have great potential," Emiliaughed as both of their auras disappeared, her expression changing so drastically that it caught Moby off guard. "Hmmm? Almost like your lord? Who is this master of yours? Exin yourself..." Unlike his opponent, Moby kept his calm andposure, not making any effort to lower his voice since from how loud Emilia was, he was more than certain that the cameras in the area only served to pick up video and no sound. "Oh? Well you will find out soon enough¡­ I have an offer for you¡­ Why don''t you just give up now and save your friends all the pain and agony of what is about toe? Why don''t you just surrender ande with me to see him for yourself?" She asked with a smile on her face, circling all around him. "I of course refuse, who the hell do you think I am?" "Ha! So be it! All that you are doing is dying the inevitable!" The amusement in her voice increased even more, like she was excited for what was toe. "I had a feeling that you would decline so I had a backup n¡­ Your main goal is to retrieve Abby correct? To annihte me for what I had done to her¡­ Correct? So¡­ I will give you the chance to do everything that you wanted to do and more¡­" Her voice became calmer and more ominous than before, making Moby smile and respond, his arms still crossed. "I''m listening¡­" "I have a portable teleporter that can transport us to apletely different where we can all fight it out since we clearly can''t do it in here. All we need is an area of the school that is not covered by any camera which I am confident to find¡­ The steaks are obvious so I won''t go into details about that¡­" Emilia''s offer was exactly like he had expected, she must have known about the lockdown and brought such an expensive teleporter inside Abby''s inventory just for this moment for her to be able to capture him on a different. But now, all he needed to do was inform the Griffith or Hart families about what would happen and it would be a 100% victory for them, even if her master did arrive, he was sure that the power the Griffith, and the Hart families along with the military should be more than able to suppress them. Yet, before Moby even had the chance to speak, he was immediately cut off by Emilia and her words that were still full of confidence and amusement. "Well, first off, after we discuss the details of the agreement, I''ll need you to sign this¡­" She spoke, unzipping her bag and pulling out a very peculiar piece of paper with very odd pulsating purple and golden words written on what seemed like yellow, old parchment paper that had an ominous yellow glow surrounding it. Moby''s eyes grew wide starring at such a thing, unable to fully hide his surprise under his poker face¡­ For some reason, Moby felt something extremely odd and ominous about the piece of paper¡­ a familiar yet unfamiliar aura surrounding it, unlike anything he had ever felt before as he was lost for words. Despite his efforts to calm himself down, he was unable to shake the obscure feeling filling his senses. So, just like he usually did in situations beyond his understanding, he turned to Avilia for answers, having a feeling that she might know what he was witnessing in front of him. Yet, beyond his wildest dreams, he did not imagine what he was about to witnesses, using every ounce of his being to keep his confident poker face in check and not be like that of a pale ghost¡­ Avilia seemed to be bewildered even more than he was¡­ If she had a body, he was certain that she would have been sweating buckets, her eyes wide open in shock like she could not believe her eyes, a sight he never imagined Avilia to ever be in after she just scoffed andughed off powerhouses such as Mason Griffith like they were nothing¡­ Thest time he ever saw her like this was when he had received an angel blessing or when she found out that he was part dragon, maybe even more so now than then¡­ "H-How did she get that? That is¡­ THAT IS..." Chapter 233 - The Book of Resurrections

Chapter 233: The Book of Resurrections

''THE BOOK OF RESSURECTION!? That piece of paper belongs to the book of resurrection! How the hell does she have something like that?'' Avilia inwardly screamed in his head, unable to believe what she had just witnessed, leaving Moby dumbfounded and confused about what was happening and what Avilia''s words meant. Yet, before Moby had the chance to ask her what was going on, sweat running down his face showing small cracks in his outer face of confidence, Avilia yelled in his head once more. ''Use your inspect skill on that paper! Use it now! I know what I am seeing but this is too unreal for me to believe! I need a confirmation,'' Avilia''s hysteria and heavy breathing was unlike anything he had ever heard from her in the past, making him inwardly nod and do as he was told, taken off guard by how odd Avilia was acting, immediately doing as he was told without saying a word as he too was also extremely curious. ''Inspect!'' **************************** Resurrection: the book of new beginnings (Fragment) A ripped piece of paper from the legendary and all-mighty book created from thebined magic of over 1000 greater demons in the pursuit of properly resurrecting their demon empress whose soul was imprisoned in her legendary golden ne. Adjustments added: Pitiful contract binding enchantment: An extremely weak enchantment allowing 2 parties to decide on a set of rules and bet their lives on it. If a person had lied and broken the rules before the contract was signed, the signer would die on the spot. The effects of the contract can be broken or overwritten by a being that exceeds the power of the contract itself. **************************** Moby took his time carefully reading everything that popped up in front of him, only needing a split second to finish reading everything, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets reading such a thing, leaving himpletely speechless. ''IT IS! It''s the book of resurrection! How the fuck does she have that!? What happened!? Was the book lost along with my ne or something!?'' Avilia screamed once more, her breathing growing more and more irregr. ''And! What kind of ipetent fool wasted such a high-quality paper with such aughably weak enchantment!? My people poured their heart and soul into it and they sullied it in such a way!? How dare they!?'' Avilia bellowed, shaking the foundation her subspace once more, her brain spinning in circles trying to understand everything that was going on, and the underlying meaning of everything. ''I only saw the initial formation of this book before my true deep sleep, something must have happened to the book along with my ne! Such a weak enchantment on such a valuable piece of paper isughable! No demon would be so ipetent to waste such a thing like that! This must mean that the fucking shalkers, not knowing the true power of the book, managed to enchant it using a very basic knowledge about demon magic, just like how you did before bing a demon. So, these fucking shalkers might have more pieces of the book! I''m gonna need answers! Such powers do not belong in the hands of any mortal!'' Avilia continued, her anger and hysteria still on full disy, only slightly less as she was beginning to calm down and take things in before she wentpletely silent, only the sound of her heavy breathing in his head. Trying to stay calm, both inwardly and outwardly, Moby focused on Avilia''s words, the information rushing into his head like a tsunami as he spoke. "Avilia, calm down¡­ The world has changed a lot since you werest conscious. This is good, you are learning more about what happened while you were in your slumber,'' Moby tried his best to calm andfort Avilia''s madness that clearly stemmed from reality hitting her in the face and bad omens about the state of her people. Heavy breathing still in his head, he heard 1, massive breath far louder than any other before it before he once again heard Avilia speak ''I apologize for that unsightly outburst¡­ Right now, I want nothing more than for you to fight and get that paper back, but with all the cameras in the area and the fact that she is stronger than you and it being a 2 on 1, that would not be possible¡­'' Her voice was odd and shaky with a hint of unease, like she was trying her best to suppress her many emotions. ''It''s fine Ipletely understand, we can figure out everything we need to know after we finish what we have to do¡­ I''m positive that your people are fine¡­ Stay confident,'' Moby continued, his smile and faith making Avilia feel slightly better in her dark times. Taking another long breath, she responded. ''For now¡­ Let''s get back to the big problem ahead of us¡­ That contract¡­ I know it''s extremely weak, but since it''s written on such a powerful piece of paper, with your current strength, there should be no way for you to override it. The conditions she will give are obvious, meaning that ourst n is pretty much ruined. But¡­ to get that paperback and ensuring Abby''s safety, the only way we could do it is to ept the contract¡­ This is our only chance to actually get it...'' The unusual pain and shakiness in Avilia''s voice remained, making Moby want tofort her mind even further but knowing that there were more pertinent things to discuss. ''Well, it also means that her lord wouldn''t be able to join the fight, so the real question is if me and my group and can defeat Emilia, HikariYami, Abby, and a possible first seat in their gang with no outside help¡­ They all did get stronger but considering how strong Emilia and HikariYami are, and possibly someone else just as strong, I''m not confident of winning¡­'' Moby spoke with a heavy voice. ''There is a risk in everything, I''ve gone into seemingly unwinnable fights many times and came out on top. You are extremely lucky to be in the situation you are in now. If it weren''t for all the camera and security around the school, you would have gotten instantly ambushed and captured by Emilia and HikariYami and that would have been the end of everything, once the secure school is finished, then you are as good as dead unless you heavily protect yourself at all times, but then the chances of you getting the paper and Abby back would be virtually 0. Now you have a shot at a seemingly fair fight to win everything, it is the best offer you will ever get seeing that Emilia is being extremely confident and is desperate in trying to capture you as fast as possible. There are surely many ways you could win this...'' The more Avilia spoke, the more it made sense in his head as he inwardly took a deep breath to calm himself down. Running away was never an option after getting as far as he did, his teammates who had trained so hard would not forgive him if he did, nor would he be able to forgive himself for abandoning Abby and the item that meant so much to Avilia out of the fear of defeat. Inwardly nodding back to Aviilia''s words, his mind now set, and his resolve more indestructible than bedrock. Moby''s conversation with Aviliasted around 15 seconds in real-time, Moby''s sweaty face of surprise shifting and shifting many times as he continued staring at the paper, clear confusion on Emilia''s face. To her, since she was not able to see the demon energy exuding from the paper she was holding, an extremely valuable paper that her lord had generously sent her to both confirm the identity of the person she had found and to lure them away from the in the form of a binding contract that he had written himself with his infinite power and wisdom, Moby must have seen somethinging from the paper that she did not see, most likely the shocking power of her lord which made her inwardly smile at his bewilderment, Abby behind her looking at the paper with open eyes as she too was able to sense an aura from it, although to her it was rather faint. "Okay Emilia, I''m listening," Moby spoke, his face nowpletely calm making her even more amused seeing how this lesser demon earthling was trying to feign confidence in face of such great power that is her lord''s very own enchantment. "This is a contract, everything is very simple, we will both bet our lives and agree on a set of rules and conditions, if a rule is broken by any party then the party who signed the paper will die. Even if the rule is broken before you sign the contract, then the rule will still apply and you will die on the spot. Such is the power of this paper that my lord bestowed upon me! The power of my lord''s magnificent writing and enchantment on full disy!" The confidence and pride exuding from her words were rather unnatural, her tone always shifting when the topic of discussion went to her lord. Moby''s eyes grew wide hearing her words, gritting his teeth and grasping his fists tightly before he responded, finding it hard to keep his poker face from Avilia''s hystericalughter in his head, like she had heard the funniest joke of her life, a hint of contempt in herughter which made Moby inwardly smile seeing Avilia''s state. "Fine! I''ll agree and listen to your conditions!" He spoke confidently yet slightly reluctantly, Emilia''s smile growing even more seeing his struggle. "First off, let us set things straight, the we will go on will bepletely barren, nothing to give an advantage to either party, meaning no ambush. The only people allowed to be informed about such a thing is you and any demon in your household, and for me, it will be Me, HikariYami, and Abby, meaning that my lord and the military, Reids, Harts, and Griffiths cannot be informed about any of this. Please let me know if you had already broken this rule because if you did, signing this paper will be the end of you¡­" Without hesitation, inwardly scoffing and inwardly cursing at the rules like his ns were ruined, Moby responded. "No, I have yet to break any of those rules¡­ And, I have a question¡­ Why only you 3? What of the number 1 seat in your gang?" Moby''s words made the already amused Emiliaugh at hisments before she responded with her arms wide open. "Why I am the first seat of course! Good news for you right?" "Well, those are all the conditions I have made, it''s a fair fight right? If anything you are almost doubling our numbers¡­ Do you ept?" She continued, her arms still out wide, Abby behind her smiling as she waited for the obvious response. "What''s the point in asking? Does it look like I have a choice? Of course, I ept¡­" Moby spoke in a heavy yet disgusted voice. The paper still in her right hands, she lifted her other hand up to her mouth and bit her thumb, making blood drip out from it before she imprinted her blood on the piece of yellow paper, Moby seeing the paper glow a faint red, Emilia and Abby seeing no reaction at all which did not bother them. "Now it''s your turn¡­" She spoke, handing the paper still in her hand to Moby, making sure not to let go of it just in case he ced it in his inventory and stole it. Just like Emilia, Moby bit his thumb, making it bleed before he reached his hand towards the paper, imprinting it with his blood right next to where Emilia imprinted hers. As his hands were firmly nted and rubbing on the paper, he could not help but feel like the texture was something unique yet extremely familiar at the same time yet he could not properly remember. Making sure that his blood was properly absorbed by the paper, he lifted his hands away, only for the paper to suddenly shine with the intensity of 1000 suns, the mixture of white and ck light exuding from it almost blinding, catching both Moby and Aviliapletely off guard as it enveloped his entire vision, tumbling back onto a wall with his eyes closed and his hands blocking his vision, the light so intense that it still managed to break through his eyelids. The energy was so great that even with Abby''s and Emilia''s inferior vision, the light was still visible, which was the confirmation she was told from her lord that she had found the correct person that he was looking for. As the light gradually faded away, Moby slowly opened his aching, blurry eyes, rubbing them profusely as he tried to snap himself back into reality, the entire world spinning incircles all around him, Emilia and Abby watching him struggle, looking down at his kneeling figure from above. *Ding* A loud, familiar dinging noise was heard in his head, one that he recognized immediately, that along with Avilia''s heavy breathing like she was not able to believe her own eyes. [ System Alert! ] [ Oh great demon lord! Your glorious blood has been recognized and approved! ] [ New skill unlocked! ] [ Temporal mind shift ] Chapter 234 - Agreemen

Chapter 234: Agreemen

Emilia stood up straight up above looking at the panting wide-eyed Moby, his hands clenching his heart, with a clear air of pride and amusement around her, her arms crossed and a visible smirk on her face. It seemed like he had finally realized who he was going up against by experiencing her lord''s great power of enchanting. However, sadly for him, although it was clearly an idiotic idea, now even if he wanted to run away out of fear, due to him already signing the contract, that was now simply impossible. To her, Moby seemedpletely broken, now staring nkly at what seemed like nothing ahead of him, his eyes moving up and down, the realization of his imminent failure most likely too much to bear. ''''Hmm?'' Suddenly, as she was staring at him, she could not help but realize what seemed to be a small yet extremely confident, dark, demonic smirk appear on Moby''s face with a pulse of unknown auraing from his direction, yet when she blinked, that face waspletely gone like it never existed in the first ce. Emilia''s confusion was immense, she had no idea if what she saw was real or a figment of her imagination as she could not help the sudden cold feeling running down her spine. Instinctively and in a casual, unassuming manor, she took a nce at her sister to see her expression, only to find her normal amused face looking at Moby''s pain beneath her. She clearly did not see what she saw which was quite the relief. She took a deep breath and inwardly shook her head, what she saw must have been a figment of her imagination, there was no way what she saw was real, she knew that for a fact. If she epted what she saw, she would also have to take back her thoughts about her lord''s power which was somethingpletely absurd, even treacherous in her mind. The contract paper in her hand still glowing with a brilliant ck and white aura, it nowpletely golden from Moby''s perspective was now stored back by her where she got it before focusing her gaze back at Moby, his teeth now clenched tightly and his hands in a fist, finding the power in himself to slowly stand up on his two feet which Emilia found quite brave yet amusing at the same time. "Okay¡­ The deed has been done¡­ But we still need to discuss many things, what time will we meet up and where? I am assumingter today to avoid the lie detector test but with all these camera''s I''m not sure where. You said you had a ce where no cameras could catch. Do you mind sharing that with me?" Moby''s sweat, panting and heavy voice showed that he had clearly not recovered from what he had just experienced, but she could at leastmend his efforts and determination. "Indeed¡­ We''ll meet up right here!" Her words seemed to have caught Mobypletely by surprise since he could clearly see the camera''s in the area, continuing before he was able to ask any further question. "You see that spot in the corner?" She pointed at the exact direction she was referring to with a crimson me on her index finger. "That spot is actually the only blind spot I could find in the entire school, other than the bathroom stalls of course. There is a 2-meter by 2-metre area where nothing could be seen there which is more than enough for the teleporter I have prepared. We should meet up here at around 5 pm since they reduced the curfew down to 7 pm, 2 hours should be plenty enough to settle everything," Moby slowly took in everything that was said to him before he responded, trying his best but failing to seem ordinary. "Wait, if you knew about the blind spot, why didn''t you lure me there and take me out? Then teleport me straight to the other?" Moby''sment made Emilia chuckle, the look of amusement still on her face. "Well, would you have really been dumb enough to fall for such an obvious trap such as me luring you to a corner?" "No, I suppose not," Moby nodded back. "Now, do you have any other questions? I think all should be clear,e here secretly with all your demon buddies, make sure that the cameras don''t really see your faces and that should be it¡­" Moby put his hands on his face, deeply pondering over Emilia''s words before he took a deep breath, sweat running down his face, his fists clenched and spoke. "Everything seems to be fair¡­ I''ll be sure toe¡­ It''s not like I have a choice in the matter..." Moby once again epted the proposal, nodding to Emilia. "Very true," She replied with a sudden burst ofughter. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* Suddenly, interrupting their conversation, the bell that marked the end of lunch suddenly rang, catching everyone off guard. "Well, seems like we have discussed all we need¡­ My ss has outdoor training today so I''ll be off now. I hope to see you there!" Emilia spoke with an ominous smile, looking into Moby''s eyes like he was a little rabbit that had fallen into her trap and has no escape from her grasp. Immediately, using a simple light step, she effortlessly jumped up to the top of the school which was at least a hundred meters in height, looking down at Moby and Abby below with that same prideful, overbearing smile before she looked back and prepared to leave. Yet, before she did, she heard a voiceing her way from below, making her look back once again. "I have another condition to add, you must bring the contract along with you to the battlefield!" Moby''s voice was low yet still audible for her, making her respond back with a rather unnaturally wide smile. "Of course! I will never go anywhere without it! What kind of question was that? It is my lord''s prized possession that he had so graciously trusted me with and bestowed upon me! I wouldn''t be caught dead without it!" She answered in the usual voice that she always used when she was addressing her unknown lord, looking back at Moby like a dead b of meat before disappearing for good, leaving Moby and Abby alone, both of them unable to do anything to each other due to all the cameras in the area. Moby immediately looked at Abby''s confident visage, her arms crossed with a crimson, fiery glint in her eyes and spoke. "Abby¡­ What is your true motivation behind all of this? I can''t imagine you''re doing this all for your sister right?" The mood stood still, nothing but the sound of the howling wind and the chatter of a few students in the distance that seemed to be headed back to their ss. "My motives have always been the same for the past few months and nothing will change that, and if I have to stomp on you, Jayden, Alex, or anyone else to get what I want then so be it! Now! Let''s get out of this alleyway and head back to ss before anyone elsees, a boy and a girl alone in such a ce is not good for our image," Abby spoke, a hint of disgust in her voice, the sound of the students in the distance getting ever so slightly louder. With a long sigh, no sign of blushing or being flustered at all, Moby nodded and spoke. "Yeah, you''re right¡­ Let''s not bete for ss," Just like they came, they both walked back in the same obscure direction where no one would usually go, the atmosphere between them rather tense which made the small daggers imnted in Moby''s heart sink in even further seeing how different his rtionship with her had be, which only steeled his resolve even further. As they both walked, since they did not talk to each other, Moby used the opportunity to open a conversation with Avilia to continue where they had previously left off. ''That temporal soul swap skill I got must have been some sort of technique or foundation they developed to help get you a new body. I''m not sure how exactly it''s gonna work but it''s gonna be my trump card. With it, I actually feel confident to defeat her,'' Avilia inwardly nodded back to his words in approval and responded. ''Indeed, if it everes to it you could count on me! No way we''ll be losing when so much is on the line! My servants have really outdone themselves, it seems that you only need to imprint your blood on a piece of the book and you would gain both the knowledge and the technique associated with it. Maybe they found out a way to resurrect me and give me a new body but something happened to stop them¡­ If you find the rest of the book, I''m sure we could work something out to both make you stronger and get me a new body,'' After seeing that skill, Avilia slowly started to feel excited, a tingle throughout her entire body as she began to practice techniques and punch the air in her subspace, almost like shadow boxing, almost like she was ready to punch someone all the way to the moon. Yet, despite the exterior she was trying to portray to Moby so he does not worry about her, the feeling of extreme pain and unease still lingered in her mind despite trying her best to stay positive. ''Indeed!'' Moby smiled back at Avilia''s words and withheld a statement he had in mind about the paper being familiar since even he was not sure about his own words, and seeing how he had thought of it so much, she had probably already read his mind and found out about it and dismissed it just like he did so he did not bother to speak about it. Before Moby even knew it, he and Abby were already back in ss. Just like before, they both looked at each other with a casual smile that had many underlying meanings before they sat down in their seat and focused on Leo''s teachings who arrived a few seconds after everyone in the ss arrived, continuing his lesson on spirit mode, most of what he was saying being something Moby already knew. So, Moby focused half his attention on Leo''s words and his other half on contacting his family members, including Jason and Nags as he ryed everything that had transpired between him, Abby, and Emilia, leaving out the part about the book of resurrection of course and simply referring to it as the contract, that along with his newly learned skill, all of them despite being in ss,pletely in focus and listening as he spoke with clear intent and a solemn, serious atmosphere in the mind-link. Chapter 235 - Last Minute Preparations

Chapter 235: Last Minute Preparations

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* Moby looked to his left towards the now orange sky before packing his bags. The bell for the end of school rang at its usual time at 3:00 pm. He only had 2 more hours to prepare for the uing battle so he needed to move fast, yet not fast enough for him to look suspicious in the eyes of others. For the past few hours of ss, Moby had ryed everything to his teammates. And, just like he expected, despite knowing what they now knew and the fact that some of their fool nning and backup ns were ruined, they were still as determined as ever to see this through to the end and simply readjust a few things to fit the current situation. Abby had suffered long enough and they had no ns of stopping aftering so far, Alex being the most passionate one of them all, which was exactly what Moby had expected which put a mellow smile on his face as he knew that they were all fully aware they were now going in with a high chance of death¡­ The only people that seemed indifferent to everything were Nags and Jason, since they were both forced toe and had no real say in the matter or any connection to Abby, Ray being somewhere in between. As Moby was leaving the ssroom in haste, he noticed Abbying in his direction as she whispered in his ear in such a low voice that only a demon would ever be able to pick up on it. "5 pm, don''t forget or else you die¡­" She spoke with a cold smile and a slight chuckle before walking straight past him. "Of course¡­ But you should prepare yourself for a punishment for such disobedience¡­" He replied, walking in his own direction, hearing a small snarling from behind him as he walked towards the exit of the school and back to his dorm. On his way, he once again noticed how tame the school had be after all the new policy changes and security since nobody wanted to be used of the murders, Moby ignoring the many staresing his way and inwardly smiling at the few looks of admiration. When he reached his dorm, he noticed that everyone had already been there, the room dead silent with a tense atmosphere, orange light shining through the window illuminating the rest of the otherwise dark room. It seemed like they were all deep into their training, the struggle on Jason''s face very apparent, all but Ray who had other ns in mind. This time, there was no time slowing to help them train since the time crystal had expired, so they had less than 2 hours to get in the most amount of training and preparation before it was toote. Unlike the others, Ray was sitting at a table with many extremely small machine parts in front of him, his arms once again turned into part robot arms, his eyes blue with many symbols running up and down them like aputer screen as he used that along with his telekinesis to meticulously put everything together. He seemed to be much more proficient at his craft than before, his movements looking far more effortless, which was most likely as a result of his 1 week of mental training that certainly helped him control his demon energy. Taking a deep breath, he hopped up to his bed at the top bunk and looked down at his teammates below with a soft smile filled with many emotions, taking in once more that there is a high possibility that one of them might note back alive¡­ The frustration and hatred welling up in his heart immense. If he could bear everything on his own with no repercussion he would have done so in a heartbeat, but in his situation, that was far from possible. If he went in alone and won, they would have gotten furious, lose their trust in him and maybe even abandon him, not to mention that winning in a 3 on 1 in the first ce was virtually impossible, even with his newly unlocked mind skill trump card. He closed his eyes and once again took a deep breath to calm his still distressed mind and focused on his training, he did not have much time to lose. Now more than anytime before, he wanted to enter into a mental trial, a feeling on the inside was telling him that he was now allowed to take another one. Without a trial and the extra skills awarded to him, he was not even able to use his ice ability at all, his control, power, and efficiency being far too weak and immature, it was almostughable. And, he was almost certain that it would also be the case for his new void ability, which would make it virtually useless in battle, dangerous even, considering the history behind it. Yet, part of him simply not worth it. Unlike the first time he absorbed an ability which took him only a few seconds, this time it took him many days and he had a feeling that it would be simr for the trials seeing how professor Leo said that some people meditated for days or even weeks on end. It was simply not worth the risk, if he missed his appointment, not only would he die by the contract, but all of his friends, including Abby, would suffer miserably as a result. So, in the end, Moby decided to work on his usual skills, his eyes of sin and freezing time, regenerating his energy with nature''s stimtion in between. He did that for the next hour and thirty minutes before opening his eyes, knowing full well that he was very unlikely to level any of those skills up considering the amount of time he had used to train them prior. When he woke up, he noticed his teammates were still sleeping and that he still had a few minutes to go, giving him the time to leave the dorm andplete his daily quest, something that he had nearly forgotten about due to everything that was going on in his busy, distressed mind. When he received the 3 stat points, he immediately invested them into his intellect knowing how fast he drains his energypared to all of his opponents, since unlike them, he only had a few months of practice with his powers while they had been training their abilities their entire lives, making his energy usage rather inefficient inparison. Mind was a stat that he promised himself to invest more into, but with an uing fight and the fact that a simple 3 stats in mind would not serve much if anything in helping him, not giving him any new skills, he decided to withhold that for now. In a calm, confident manner, he ran back into his dorm room and opened his door, only to find out that all of his family members were all awake, having simple yet serious chatter as they awaited his return. He looked at all of them from above with a confident yet solemn expression, them returning the look which made him understand that they were all ready, as he spoke a single word to them all¡­ "Let''s go¡­" In the blink of an eye, they all stood up and left their previous spot, the sound of blowing wind filling the air and entering into Ray''s ears who was still sat in the room, now all alone, the many machine parts that were once on his desk nowpletely gone without a trace. Slowly and with a look of worry and disappointment on his face, he walked towards the door and mmed it shut. Taking a deep breath, he turned around and strolled back towards his bed, jumping straight onto the bottom bunk, looking at the ceiling of the bunk above before pulling out a ratherrge screen disy from his inventory that he had just learned how to use, waiting for it to boot up, the same look on his face as before. He was fully aware of why he did not go with them, and he fully understood and epted it as it was the only logical conclusion to make¡­ it was simply the fact that he was far too weak to be able to do anything in his current state. If anything, he would just be a hindrance and be simply taken hostage. With only a few hours practicing with his new skills, he was not able to make anything significant that would allow him to go like a mech suit of some sort. Yet, despite everything and the fact that he was not putting his life on the line like the others, he refused to be useless. That was one thing that he promised himself he would no longer be¡­ He just hoped that what little he was able to provide them would prove to be useful to them in the end¡­ Underneath the dark sky and setting winter sun, ran 5 figures, fully enshrouded in shadows making them very difficult to see by the naked eye, trying their best to avoidrge crowds of people as they quickly yet stealthily made their way towards the back of the school, in an area that waspletely barren, no students in sight. When they reached their destination, the cloak of shadow disappeared by a simple wave of a girls hand as they focused their gaze all on the dark alleyway ahead, the figure of 3 girls waiting patiently for their arrival, their faces that were covered by the shadow of the school building were illuminated by their night vision, revealing the smirks and looks of confidence thatid underneath. ''We''re finally here¡­'' Chapter 236 - New Destination

Chapter 236: New Destination

The atmosphere was dark, quiet and ominous, only the sound of the wind howling in the back as the two groups stared daggers into each other''s souls, Jayden''s eyes looking slightly worried and Alex''s teeth and fists clenched with pure, unfiltered hatred as he stared at the 2 girls in his view, both of whom he wanted dead no matter what. "Emilia! We''re here," Moby, the leader of the first group spoke, still in his school uniform, walking towards the alleyway where the 3 other females stood, one of whom was hidden slightly at the back. "Finally they''re here¡­ I was getting tired of waiting¡­" Moby managed to pick up a mumbleing from straight ahead, from a ck-haired girl with short hair, her mouthpletely covered by the fabric of her school uniform, a Rubik''s cube in her hand as she finished putting in the final piece where it belonged, Moby recognizing exactly who it was, pure hatred welling up in his heart that he managed to suppress under his demeanour of calmness. "Well, well, well! You''re 5 minutes early! Howmendable! Seeing that you''re still alive, you have yet to break our deal¡­ So, let''s not waste any time on useless chatter and go¡­" Emilia walked out of the alleyway, her face that had already been illuminated by her opponent''s night vision now illuminated by the moon and setting sun, lifting her finger up with a crimson me, motioning them toe closer. Seeing their boss''s face for the first time, Jason and Nags could not help but be caught by surprise, especially after they felt like she took a nce at them with a hint of clear malice, like they were her dinner, making even sweat run down their visage, the nervousness on Jason''s face clearly apparent while it was more subtle on Nags who knew he was a simple sacrificial pawn in his current situation. Yet, for some reason, unlike his old partner, Nags had no regrets in his forced betrayal, if anything, he was grateful for the new powers he received and wanted to build upon what his new life had be which was the most logical course of action in his mind, and that all started with this battle. Moby nodded back to Emilia''s actions and followed her into the corner, his group following right behind him. "Abby, if it would be so kind of you, please ce down the teleporter in the corner, that would be great," With a simple nod, the girl that was standing behind Emilia walked out, not before looking towards the group ahead of her. When her and Alex''s eyes met, Alex''s cold gaze of hatred slowly faded away like a sandcastle left too close to the sea, he could not shake away the warmth in his heart seeing her alive and well with an odd feeling in both his heart and stomach. Although they had only not seen each other for a day, in Alex''s mind it felt much longer, not just due to his training in slowed time. Yet, the look that she gave back did not reciprocate the same love and emotions that Alex bore which caught him extremely off guard despite him knowing deep down that it should have been expected, her gaze being far more cold and distant than he could ever remember her looking at him, nothing like her usual shy, yet tender loving smile he had of her in his mind, snapping him back into reality with a mellow grin and daggers in his eyes as he once again steeled his resolve and promised himself he would do absolutely anything to save her, not to repeat the same mistakes as before... Now outside of the camera''s reach, Abby pulled out a small teleport pad that was only fit to transport 1 person at a time, the design looking unlike anything they had ever seen in their lives as it was not plugged into any power source and it was glowing a dim yet visible white on the tform, almost like it was out of this world, making 1 thought run through everyone''s mind. ''The Reid family is more dangerous than I thought¡­'' As it seemed like new, groundbreaking innovation in human science that the Reids had been keeping hidden all to themselves, that or it was simply another present from her overlord. "You go in first and our group will best since we need Abby to pick up the teleporter after we leave so there is no evidence," Emilia spoke in her usual voice, making Moby agree. "I don''t mind," With a nod, Moby walked past the 3 girls, them making way for his team, the fear in Jason''s eyes very apparentpared to the rest of the serious group, Alex''s eyes locking with Abby''s for a split second before they both looked away, Abby''s fists suddenly clenching tightly, Yami, who was now in control storing away her Rubiks cube with a dark smirk on her face that was covered by the cloth it was hiding underneath. All of them now standing in front of the teleporter, the first person to enter was Alex, standing on the teleport pad, looking at everyone ahead of him only to be teleported away a few secondster with a deep breath, Abby''s fists clenched tighter as he and she looked at each other once more. Who followed were Jayden, Jason, and Nags, all in that order, many emotions running through their minds and showing on their face, leaving Moby forst, the whiteness of the teleporter enveloping his field of vision only to look up to see Abby heavily breathing for some odd reason, trying her best to hide her tense expression, Yami''s casual demeanour, leaning back towards the wall with closed eyes, opening them only to stare coldly at him just before he left, Emilia bearing a confident smile as she waved back at him. "Good luck!! ¡­. ¡­. You''re gonna need it¡­" She spoke in a bright, upbeat tone before turning all dark the instant that he disappeared, his brain spinning in circles and his vision nowpletely white. Before he even knew it, he was thrust into apletely different environment, his vision still white and hazy from the teleportation yet nowhere near as bad as every other time he had attempted to teleport. As his vision became once again clearer once again, the entire and itsndscape came into view and no longer white from how it was inside the teleporter that was now nowhere to be seen. The first thing that came into view was the extremely orange light that was immediately filtered out by his vision and the slightly sandy wind blowing on his face that was unlike anything he had ever experienced in the past. The ground waspletely arid, nothing but orange rocks covering it, various cracks in the ground. Small, rocky hills in the distance in the abnormal shapes of semicircles or half rainbows covered some of the orange sky that had various orange glowing balls that Moby could not tell were either moons or stars. Out of the seeminglypletely dry, dead ground grew purple flowers of dazzling beauty, its deep purple glow very profound, some of the growing straight out of the tiny cracks on the ground. From the pressure being exerted on Moby''s body and the deep breath that he had taken in, the''s gravity seemed to be nearly identical to that of earth, that along with theposition of the air not being poisonous at all, feeling fresh, no notification warning him about poison. Straight ahead of him, he noticed all of his teammates, their full sets of armourpletely dawned, the looks of their armour quite different from modifications that Moby had made as for them not to corrte any possible evidence like footprints he might have missed on earth to one of their armours. All of their faces lookingpletely calm, quiet and serious, even Jayden who seemed upbeat and happy in most situations in her past. Moby decided to follow suit, opening his inventory with no movements, now wearing his very own set of armour that he had greatly modified, now looking like sleek, elegant purple cloth fit for a leader instead of his previously bulky armour. Instinctively, just to ensure everyone was prepared before his opponents arrived, Moby decided to inspect them all and himself who had gained some new stats from the paper of the book of resurrection using his inspect skill, he had the time and there was no reason not to, he would rather be safe than sorry. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 8 Ice Level: 65 XP to next level 1,900/65,000 Dragon skill tree level: 2 Dragon skill tree XP to next level: 0/500 Power Level: 42,350 (37,650 + 4700) Hp: 188/188 Demon Energy: 817/817 Mana: 817/817 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 10.1 Energy/ minute Strength: 1026 (871? + 155) Agility: 1127 (1002? + 75) Endurance: 872 (722? +150) Intelligence: 1210 (1120? + 90) Mind: 140 (100 + 40) Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** ************************** Name: Jason Faust Race: Demon Harpie Ability: Level 9 Sound Power Level: 31,160 (27,160 + 4000) Hp: 175/175 Mana: 621/621 Mana: demon energy 621/621 Strength: 912 (812 + 100) Agility: 702 (602 + 100) Endurance: 801 (601 + 100) Intelligence: 621 (521 + 100) Mind: 120 ************************** ************************** Name: Nags Alder Race: Demon Juggernaut Ability: Level 9 Barrier Power Level: 37,390 (32,790 + 4600) Hp: 180/180 Mana: 879 /879 Strength: 892 (762 + 130) Agility: 782 (687 + 95) Endurance: 1186 (1036 + 150) Intelligence: 879 (194 + 85) Mind: 80 ************************** Chapter 237 - A Mother and Her Daughter

Chapter 237: A Mother and Her Daughter

************************** Name: Jayden Griffith Race: Demon Doppelganger Ability: Level 8 Shadow Power Level: 26,990 (22,190 + 4800) Hp: 170/170 Mana: 601 /629 Demon Energy: 629 /629 Strength: 710 (565? + 145) Agility: 827 (732? + 95) Endurance: 533 (383? +150) Intelligence: 629 (539? + 90) Mind: 125 (105 + 20) ************************** ************************** Name: Alex Hart Race: Demon Knight Ability: Level 10 Lightning Power Level: 34,560 (29,760 + 4800) Hp: 180/180 Mana: 591/591 Demon Energy: 629 /629 Strength: 1028 (893? + 135) Agility: 1001 (916? + 85) Endurance: 836 (686? +150) Intelligence: 591 (491? + 100) Mind: 75 (55 + 20) ************************** Moby inwardly nodded as he finished inspecting his entire team''s stats, taking in the hierarchy of power, him at the top, then Nags, Alex not too far below him, then Jason who, unlike Nags, did not seem to get as big of a power level boost, and finally Jayden at the bottom which did not matter as much considering her race. They all did not speak a single word to each other, waiting patiently ignoring the sound blowing on their face and the cold breeze that they would have assumed to be hot considering all the red and orange around the. Not even a secondter, a bright light appeared directly in front of them, and out of that light emerged a short, ck-haired girl whom they immediately recognized as Yami, her face half-covered not showing any expression. Then she was followed by Emilia, her eyes closed, looking unnaturally calm, and followed by Abby at the end, her expression more open than that of her sister. The two groups stared silently at each other, nobody talking a single word¡­ Suddenly, breaking the tense atmosphere, a dim light emerged from both Yami''s and Emilia''s rings that they had on their right. And, not even a secondter, their school uniforms were immediately gone, now reced by a full set of equipment in the blink of an eye, now that there were no school restrictions on their rings, they were free to do whatever they wanted. Emilia now wore a set of red and gold armour that perfectly matched her untied, long red hair flowing in the wind, the armour being a mixture of light and heavy armour, revealing a fair amount of skin, the insignia and patterns of the Reid household emzoned on various parts, glowing brightly with phoenix, crimson mes, A rapier sheathed around her waist in a magnificent golden scabbard, the rapier looking rather thick and sharp just from how it looked. The energy emitting from her was immense almost drowning, making all that looked at her instinctively take a step back, all but Moby who stood firmly in his position. When he saw the armour, he could not help but have shbacks, shbacks to when he had faced Natalia who bore an extremely impressive set of armour, this one possibly being even more powerful than hers, perhaps also a family treasure of some sort, something that he had fully expected considering that the Reids were even richer than the now-deceased Xanes. To her right, wearing something far nder was HikariYami, Yami still in control, now wearing a long coat that covered up her mouth yet still fit somewhat snuggly around her skinny body, wearing a pair of leggings for pants, almost exactly like how he remembered seeing her when he went into Alex''s memories, no weapons to be seen on her body, most likely hidden. And, Abby who was still at the back had opted into changing her armour as well, only she used her inventory instead, Moby looking at her with wide eyes as she wore the exact set of armour that he gifted her, now only died blood red, the specific markings that Moby had designed for her nowpletely gone, reced by a dying red phoenix that seemed to be getting devoured by its own mes, the same thing also happening to her previously ck scythe that towered above her head. Moby knew that the purpose that she did what she did was to prove her hatred and betrayal towards him, and her disrespect to everything that he had bestowed her. Yet, Moby had already been hurt so much by Abby''s change that he had grown almost numb to it as it was fully expected in his mind, nothing that he could do but fight on to receive his answers¡­ "Emilia! I have a request to offer you!" Moby stepped up confidently, a smile on his face and his hands out to the other group, Emilia still with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, looking far calmer than usual. "I''m listening¡­" "I request to have a 1 on 1 with you in private away from everyone else¡­ You are so confident and willing to show me the glory of this unknown master of yours so why not do it all by yourself?" Emilia raised an eyebrow and opened her eyes. "Do you really think you are in any position to bargain? Do you think you are some sort of hero trying to save all your friends and do things on your own?" Moby smiled at Emilia''sment and responded with no hesitation. "No! Of course not, I would not be that ignorant, all that I am saying is that we settle things on our own, and we leave the rest to fight it out here¡­ I believe that would make things more interesting¡­ Or are you afraid to die disgracing your lord''s name?" Still smiling, Moby noticed small cracks form in Emilia''s face of confidence before it immediately faded away. Suddenly, the wind blowing in the area picked up, blowing from all around Emilia''s body, crimson mes being thrust from her with the heat of 1000 suns, her aura burning and crackling through the air, her slightly amused killing intent clearly shown by her grin and piercing, glowing red me-filled eyes, her hands tightly gripping the hilt of her rapier, sending shivers down Moby''s spine as he struggled to stay in ce, forcing himself to cover parts of his sweating body with purple ice in order to withstand the heat. "Fine! So be it! It makes no difference to me! But don''t expect any mercy you filthy demon scum!" Emilia''s aura only became stronger and stronger as she spoke, even her team members taking steps back from her intense heat, the only one staying firm in his ce like an imprable fortress being Moby. "Follow me then, we can go somewhere more¡­ Private¡­" Emilia spoke with no hesitation, using her mes to propel herself to one of the half rainbow-shaped rocks behind her, her ming hands wide in the air addressing both HikariYami and Abby. "No mercy! They are all worthless to me! Kill them all but leave their bodies intact just so I can show their faces of despair to their leader before I bring him to my master!" "Yes sister!" Abby nodded, the smile on her face growing wider as her now red scythe began to burn with fury, answering her call with no hesitation, almost like it was programmed in her very being... "Emilia! Listen up! You don''t order me around! You got that!? I''m just doing this for 1 reason and 1 reason only so you better uphold your end of the deal! This is thest mission I will ever do for you so you better not bullshit me or else you''re dead! Don''t manipte her! Hikari might trust you bu-" Yami''s confidence, words and cold gaze caused mass confusion from everyone around as they did not expect to hear what they just heard, however, it was all cut off by the sudden appearance of her white, brighter other half. "Yami! Stop being so rude to the boss! Emilia-tan is a very nice person! Why do you keep doing this sister? If you threaten her one more time, me and you won''t be friends anymore!" Hikari spoke exactly like a little girl throwing a temper tantrum, stomping her feet on the ground before looking back at the smiling Emilia with a thumbs up. "*Sigh* Yami is parroind as usual¡­ I promise you a big reward if you do what I tell you!" "Pinky promise?" "Yes, pinky promise!" They both spoke, Emilia''s tone shifted to something almost motherly with her pink out, their conversation so out of ce that everyone could not help but look in confusion at the scene ahead of them, Emilia looking far too natural doing what she did for any of their likings... "Yay!" Hikari celebrated jumping up and down before looking at her four opponents ahead of her, "Let''s have some fun!" Moby could not help shake off that weird feeling in his stomach when he saw what he just saw, and why Emilia whose personality he clearly knew would stoop so low as to do what she had just done unless she 100% had to. Yet, when he looked back at his smiling teammate''s faces, those worries faded away seeing the expression they wore looking at him like he was their true leader, a feeling of pride welling up inside him as all he could do now was trust them and leave the rest up to them. "Alright, Emilia! Follow me!" Moby turned around, instinctively taking a nce at Abby who smiled back at him before looking up at the still angered Emilia from above, her fiery aura now once again on full disy like she flipped a single switch. "With pleasure¡­" She responded, boosting herself with her fire as she followed Moby far away into the, a mellow smile on his face as he left his team alone and trusted them to fend for themselves as he took on their leader all on his own. He had no doubt in his mind that if they all fought together, he would not be able to defend them all against Emilia who he felt could no doubt kill some of his teammates with ease like they were simple flies¡­ In his mind, this was the highest chance for them to survive, something that they had all agreed upon prior, although very hesitantly for obvious reasons... Chapter 238 - The Crimson Phoenix

Chapter 238: The Crimson Phoenix

Underneath the reddish sky, running on the cracked, dry ground that had various purple flowers ran two figures, dashing like 2 blurs. Moby leading the way, he did not look back even once to face Emilia, although he always kept his guard up against sneak attacks. Many thoughts ran through his mind, disregarding all the unimportant ones clouding his thoughts and focusing on what was now truly important¡­ He had tried to do some research on Emilia before the fight, in order to gauge her strength and fighting style, yet, to his surprise, he had found absolutely nothing of use, nothing but what her main weapon was, being a rapier and her ability being fire which did not serve much help to him¡­ The only thing that he could assume about her was that her skills and styles are simr to Abby, but that was just him grasping at straws trying to make an educated guess... He did manage to find a few videos of her fighting in tournaments and such back when she was a first-year student, but even then it did not serve any help at all, all of the videos showing her defeating her opponents with ease, swatting them like a fly in 1 or 2 hits with no remorse at all. On the other hand, now Moby had his fights posted from when he fought at the Griffith mansion, which was not entirely a bad thing since he concealed most of his moves and trump cards. Yet, he was also sure that Abby told her everything she knew about him, yet at the same time, he had a lot hidden from her such as sin-mode''s power to absorb emotions. He could still y to her knowledge and catch her off guard, as he had a n brewing and forming in his mind, making a smile form under his serious poker face. "Here is good enough!" Moby spoke in a calm voice, halting his movements immediately with a simple step, turning around to face his opponent who had also stopped her movements. Stalling for time was thest thing he wanted to do, he had no time to waste while his friends were busy fighting a few kilometres away so he only ran for a few minutes. "Hmmmm¡­ So this is what you chose for your grave¡­ very flowery indeed¡­" Her voice was ominous yet calm with a hint of malice, the emotions on her face, unlike anything he had seen from any human before as she examined the abundant amount of purple flowers in the area along with the two rainbow-shaped rocks above them directly adjacent to each other. "Enough of your empty words, let''s see you put them to action¡­" Moby taunted her, tightly grasping his katana, with a smile on his face. "Heh¡­ I''ll have you know that you brought this onto yourself¡­ Your pain could have been far more peaceful if you had just kept your mouth shut," The fiery aura around Emilia exploded once more, the smell of burnt rocks and the sound of crackling and raging mes filling the air, her eyes that had already turned into deadly, fiery slits, now were even more serious yet amused, staring straight at his very core, her hand firmly holding the hilt of her rapier. "Well then! Come at me! Or do you want me to start instead!?" She yelled once more, sweat running down from Moby''s face from the immense heat and power exuding from her, the ground shaking and turning ck in the face of her crimson mes that devoured all. Moby once again stood firm in his ce, unmoving in the face of such great power. He could not risk being careless, he knew that she entertained no games. He had to go seriously, full strength from the start. This was no anime where the main character could afford to go easy on his opponent to gauge their strength before transforming, he would no doubt be dead if he was stupid enough to try that. He had to go all out and go straight for the jugr to take her out when she least expected it¡­ Suddenly, Moby closed his eyes, a deadly, ominous aura of ck, blue, and red surrounding him from every angle, flowing and ravaging his body. The ground underneath his feet began to crack and shake with an immense earthquake, making the ground swallow many of the purple flowers underneath his feet that was slowly sinking into a crater, shadowy lines beginning to ravage his entire body, his previously green eyes now glowing aplex purple with viper-like shape, red pupils in his eyes as he felt wings and horns beginning to form and sprout from his back and head respectively, his arms crossed in the form of an X as he aura of death and despair began ravaging all around the air with a cold, raging killing intent, his aura now shing head to head with that of Emilia''s. "What do you think you''re doing!? Do you really think that I''m gonna let you do that right in front of my face!?" She seemed annoyed and disrespected at what Moby was trying to attempt, an intense ball of fire forming around her open left arm as she shot a burst of crimson mes from it, mes that looked straight out of the zing core of the sun, far stronger and deeper than he ever remembered Abby''s mes being. Instinctively, Moby erected a wall of purple ice, infusing it with as much energy as he could which managed to just barely stop Emilia''s attack that was far stronger than he ever expected, using up arge chunk of his mana, the steam from the sh being blown away from the strong wind. Yet, before it all cleared away, Moby thrust his arms that were previously crossed in an X wide open, using a technique that he had been mentally practicing in his head yet had never tried in battle before. ''Dark Blizzard!'' Out of his entire body emerged a burst of purple cold that ate everything in its path, the ground now consumed by a thick sheet of ice, purple ice pirs growing from them, a cold wind breeze flowing around the entire area blowing small shards of purple snow and ice in all directions clouding vision and slightly poking at the skin, the previous dry orange desert now turned into aplete purple tundra of ice in almost a blink of an eye. With a visible vein popping out of her forehead, her crimson aura surrounding her and protecting her from the elements, now only Moby''s shadowy figure in her sights, her feet nted on dried rocks with a twitching smile on her face, she once again lifted her hands with a crimson me, grasping it into a fist. "Useless! Do you really think such a small snowball can do anything against me and my royal crimson phoenix mes? Pathetic!" With a simple swipe of her hand, crimson mes flying everywhere, everything in its path waspletely destroyed, evaporated into nothing now but simple mist that blocked vision and enveloped the entire battlefield in a thick fog which was not a big deal as in her opinion, she now removed his environmental advantaged with her superior, higher than average vision, she could still make him out in the aftermath of the thick cloud of purple mist surrounding her. She didn''t think it was a bad n, he bought time for his transformation and gave himself the vision and environmental advantage with water floating all around them. However, he underestimated her power and overlooked many vital details about her that would lead to his eventual doom¡­ Suddenly, her grin grew wider, now covering her entire face from ear to ear, the look of an absolute devil on her face. In the distance, she managed to spot a clear shadowy outline of a man in the mist, his horns standing tall as it seemed like he was trying to be slick, sneaking around to circle behind her who was clearly visible from her fiery aura that put a big target on her head, the sight of his almost cute, futile attempts made her not help but find everything amusing, herughter filling the air, a mixture of hatred in her voice. "HAHAHAHA!! I FOUND YOU YOU LITTLE RAT!" Without a second of hesitation, holding onto the hilt of her sheathed sword, she covered her feet with fire and boosted herself straight at the clear yet shadowy figure ahead of her at her top speed, reaching him in what only felt like a split second, leaving arge crater in the wake of her first step. The still shadowy figure in front of her stopped what he was doing as he began quaking in fear, his nspletely foiled and flipped on his heads, clear fear and despair in his actions. Unsheathing her rapier in one swift motion with a demonic visage, she shed straight at his stomach, making sure not to hit any vitals yet making sure to bring him to the brink of death¡­ "NOW PERISH AND SUBMIT TO YOUR NEW MASTER!" With a simple yet lightning-quick sh of her fiery rapier, she cut through Moby''s armour like it was simply not even there, the sensation feeling more like shing at air than shing at a piece of magical armour which only made clear the power difference between him and her in her eyes, her opponent now knelt down at the ground grasping his wound as she looked at him with a victorious, smug, overbearing smile through the thick, purple mist. "Hah! How pitiful! You? The future demon lord? Don''t get too cocky! That was way too easy! You thought that-------" Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a deep, shing sound was heard entering her ears, making her eyes grow wide, first, the sound of metal shing against metal which was then followed up by the sound of tear flesh and a nk¡­ "H-huh¡­" She muttered, coughing up a small mouthful of blood on her red gauntlets, as she looked down only to see a ck and purple de stabbed straight through deep in her human heart, the immense pain only now registering in her previously numb mind as she coughed up even more blood that before, her eyes growing tired and weary in disbelief, the figure of Moby still clearly right in front of her¡­ Nothing made sense in her mind... "H-how did this¡­" She muttered to herself, not even getting to finish her own question as the wind blew away the mist in her path, revealing it for her¡­ The figure of Moby that was in front of her being nothing more than a human-shaped figure of him made with dim,pact purple energy and nothing more, the sh mark clearly showing on its body before it faded away into nothingness like it never even existed¡­ "How tragic it is¡­ The overconfident crimson Pheonix falls and meets its tragic end¡­ only you won''t be returning from the ashes¡­" Chapter 239 - Rising From The Ashes

Chapter 239: Rising From The Ashes

"Y-you! How did you-" Emilia managed to mutter once more before coughing up another mouthful of blood, her vision growing hazy and her body bing numb, yet not numb to the pain in her burning heart that only grew more and more painful as the aura of purple around the de slowly and slowly increased with her anger, embarrassment, and disbelief. "Simple¡­ You underestimated my tricks and yed off what you already know I could do¡­ It seems like you got too used to fighting predictable ability users and let your guard down¡­ That will be your downfall¡­" The man behind her spoke as he infused more and more of his energy into his de. Instinctively, Emilia went down on one knee, her hands tightly grasping the wound on her heart that still had a sword stabbed into it, coughing up even more blood on the ground, her vision nowpletely dark. Using every ounce of energy left in her body, she forced herself to look back only to be greeted by Moby, a devilish smile on his demonic, shadowy figure, his wings spread out wide and his horns standing tall, his red pupils looking rather serious yet amused at the same time, the aura of death and despair, unlike anything she had felt before, staring into his eyes feeling more like peering straight into the depth of hell itself. No matter how hard she tried, she could not force her body into producing even a single spark of mes, she hadpletely run out of fuel, not out of mana but out of energy, her body too wounded to even function properly. She could not believe what was happening to her, it felt unreal, almost like it was straight out of a nightmare. She had not felt like this in many, many, many years, the feeling of pain and suffering that had only been a distant memory to her prior nowpletely surfacing into her mind¡­ She had underestimated her opponent''s strength and knowledge instead of going all out from the start, considering the fact that his power level was 10s of thousands beneath hers¡­ She, the great Vinova Igris, one of the first ever ability users in the shalker army, defeated so easily in such a pathetic way¡­ The disgrace to her lord''s name would be immense if she lost, no, more than immense¡­ Her entire legacy would be tarnished¡­ As long as she still drew breath, she could not allow for such a thing to happen. She could not give up... Her teeth clenched tightly to the point of almost shattering, her weary eyes turning into deadly slits with small sparks of crimson in her otherwise gray eyes, her hands gripped into a fist, she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying her best toplete something that in all her many years of living had never attempted or even knew existed as it was the only way she could think of to get out of her predicament. If she died doing it then so be it, death would be a certainty if she did not try anyways. "AAAHHHHHH!" With all the remaining energy left in her human body, she lifted her clenched fist up to her face, making sure to hide her hands from the demonic figure of death who she knew was no doubt peering above her with a confident smile, thinking he was god as he stared at her agony, infusing more and more of his energy into her heart. Then, opening her fist, she swiped her hands from the left side to the right side of her blood-filled face, yelling at the top of her lungs, trying to get out everyst drop of power left in her body. The look of pure anguish and distress still on her visage, using everyst ounce of her being to do what she wanted to do, her previously beige skin began to crackle with a faint sound almost undetectable to the ear as it waspletely overshadowed by her screams of desperation, slowly but surely turning from beige to ghost white, not showing on any part of her body since it was all covered in armour other than her face that was facing away from her oblivious opponent. Her previously crimson eyes now turnedpletely blood red with a different shape to them, her red eyebrows now glowing a firey silver colour. His sword still imnted in his opponent''s still-beating heart, Moby patiently waited for the notification telling him that he had defeated his opponent or to when he noticed her fall unconscious, a smile on his face as his n worked out even better than he ever expected for once in his life. For now, he did not n to kill her, but turn her into a demon instead. He needed to find answers to his many, many questions and she would serve him no good if she were dead. Plus, once she turns into a demon, she would also be able to help him fight off Abby and HikariYami. It was a win-win, no downsides to it. The amount of anger, fear, embarrassment, and annoyance exuding from her was beyond immense, almost matching that of Natalia who was infatuated with him beyond a person''s wildest dreams, a feat that he thought could never be matched. She was extremely resilient, being able to withstand his demon energy-infused de straight through her heart for so long, it was almost unnaturally scary, yet he was not scared at the same time considering his massive advantage on her. He was confident she was as good as dead with his sword through her heart. It made him feel immense relief like never before. It just went to show how big of a power gap between him and her was and how he managed to best her simply by outsmarting and catching her off guard. ''MOBY!! I feel like there is something offing from her, I think you should kill her now! It''s not worth keeping her alive!'' A sudden female voice popped up in his head, startling him and catching himpletely off guard. He could not believe his ears, he knew that it must have been an emergency of massive proportions, if Avilia, the person who wanted answers far more than anyone else was urging him to kill and destroy her along any chance of knowing her secrets. However, by the time Moby heard Avilia''s voice in his head, it was already toote¡­ Suddenly, the pumping heart that was previously stabbed through by his sword had begun to move and shift, now no longer in its previous spot, his sword no longer stabbed through it¡­ The sound of bones cracking filled the air, the body in front of him jittering and moving with a feeling making it seem like it almost grew¡­ A horn suddenly growing out of the right side of her head with a blueish silvery burning me growing and sparkling from it, her hair suddenly turningpletely silver as she quickly stood up from her previously kneeling position despite there being a sword nted through her chest. ''What the hell is going on!? What the fuck is she!?'' Moby inwardly screamed in panic, adrenaline-pumping threw his veins and immense power from the outburst of emotionsing from his opponent. Instinctively, his katana still in her chest, he shed horizontally, aiming to split her in half, yet before he got the chance, he felt a sudden pain in his stomach, lightning-quick that he could not even perceive what had happened, making him cough up a mouthful of blood on the orange ground and tumble back, his sword no longer in her chest. And, before he even realized what had happened to him, no chance to move or catch his breath, he was once again hit in the same area once more, only this time it was even more powerful than before as he saw the sh of his opponent''s foot crashing against his stomach, causing him to fly away at incredible speed causing several sonic booms, his vision growing hazy from the unexpected shock. He skitted on the hard, rocky orange ground, smashing straight through several boulders like they were not even there, his bones cracking and his face bing bloody, holes through his ck wings and several cracks on his horns before he ended his journey by crashing into a mountain a few hundred metres away causing a massive crater in the wake of his collision, making the entire mountain shake from the impact which was so powerful that he coughed up buckets of blood and felt like his eyes were going to pop straight out of their sockets as he was now glued straight to the wall with gray, dead eyes, the pain almost too sudden and extreme for him to stay conscious as he dropped face-first on the ground, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, heavy breathing through his broken, bloody teeth. He could not believe what just happened¡­ He was winning, his victory all but imminent before everything suddenly changed out of nowhere in the matter of a split second¡­ It was too unreal to him¡­ What did his opponent turn into? What happened? So many questions ran through his busy clouded mind, Everything happened so fast that he was barely even able to take in and witness what had happened to him and there was only one way to know for sure¡­ Using every ounce of energy left in his still rapidly strengthening and regenerating body, he managed to look up and nce at his opponent only to find that they were no longer there, his panic and confusion growing even more than before, only for his thoughts to be interrupted once more by what he was only able to described as a bird, making him look up above. When he did, his bloody eyes grew wide, the disbelief and shock in his eyes now even more than before as the sight in front of him was unlike anything he had ever imagined seeing¡­ Flying up above in the orange sky was Emilia¡­ Only that it was not Emilia... her face, skin, hair, height, everything about herpletely different than before almost like she was an entirely different person, the only reason he was able to recognize who she was due to the distinct crimson armour that she wore. Her skin was now fair and white as snow with what looked like slight silver mes on her eyebrows, her pupils bloodshot red, a single, white ming horn growing out of the right side of her face, a single red lineing down from her right eye down past her neck, her hair long and silver falling down a little past her waist that seemed to be even slimmer than before, a demonic,ughing expression of a mixture of many, many, emotions all on her face fighting for control like she was aplete maniac, pping her blueish, silvery phoenix wings up and down in the air with a blueish white fire surrounding her and her armour in the form of a phoenix which was no doubt her spirit mode. The doubts and questions in Moby''s eyes were immediately washed away as from but a single nce, he was able to tell exactly what she was¡­ ''SHALKER!'' It was the same creature that had taken his parents away from him many years ago, something he could never forget or forgive as now, they too once again nned to take away everything he knew and loved and leave him with absolutely nothing¡­ "HAHAHA! How does it feel now you little arrogant piece of shit!? That was the taste of your own medicine! Not very pleasant it now is it? You should have gone for the head! Killed me when you had the chance! But now, I will make sure to make you suffer and pay! Pay dearly! I''m going to make you wish that you were long dead, buried in the ground and forgotten about for the rest of eternity for what you have done to me! The Great Vinova Igris! Now fucking perish you, little runt!" Chapter 240 - Survive...

Chapter 240: Survive...

Still on the ground, his broken hands clenched into a bloody fist, Moby was still finding it difficult toe to terms with exactly what had just happened, trying to suppress his inner emotions from exploding out of his body. He had of course considered Emilia''s master to be a shalker but never in a million years did he think that Emilia herself was one as well considering that she had the use of an ability, which was unheard of for a shalker, maybe even 2 abilities in her case, fire and shapeshifting. ''Fuck my life! Whenever I think things are going my way I always get shit!'' He inwardly cursed once more, smashing his rapidly regenerating hands on the ground. Part of him thought that it wasn''t his fault, that there was no way for him to predict the Emilia was a shalker but arger part of him kept nagging away at his conscience telling him that he was an idiot for not ounting for absolutely everything like he usually did. Moby was a martial arts master with impable knowledge of the human anatomy. To him, a sword to the heart was an assured, 100% victory, not to mention a draining, demon energy-infused de. But what he overlooked was the fact that his opponent was not even human to begin with¡­ He felt her beating heart being thrust through by his de. However, it was a well-known fact that a shalkers heart was at the right side of their body and not the left like a human, which she was until her transformation that felt almost like Jayden''s doppelganger powers only feeling even more real, which allowed her to meticulously move her heart away from his de, allowing her to once again move... If he had only reacted faster to Avilia''s words or been on higher alert everything could have been averted¡­ If only he had decided to kill her instead of suppressing her, things would not have gone this way¡­ He had bit more than he could chew and had gotten too greedy in his pursuit for knowledge. Moby stared up once more, his gaze fixed at Emilia, or who he should now call Vinova still in her previous position, noticing the deep wound in her chest rapidly healing with the white mes, almost like a true phoenix. Despite her clear winning demeanour, the emotionsing from her only seemed to grow stronger and stronger, the energy from his sin mode flowing through his veins, his broken bones now rapidly regenerating, immense power like never before invigorating his body. His teeth gritted tightly and his sword grasping at his sword, he forced his body up with all his might as his bones snapped back into ce, a deadly glint in his eyes staring daggers at the shalker up above who had a look of surprise, anger, annoyance, and embarrassment on her face seeing Moby being seemingly unharmed after her attack and everything he had gone through. The power rushing into Moby''s body from her emotions was unlike anything he had ever felt before in his life, he had fucked everything up, he had a chance to kill her and quickly head to his friends but he had lost it¡­ But with the new power within himself and 1st trick up his sleeve, he was not yet ready to surrender in face of such great power¡­ He did still have his trump card, yet he hesitated on using it now¡­ He had never tried it before, and from the description of the skill, not only did he not yet meet the conditions but he knew the risks associated with it as it had a high chance of causing irreversible damage, if not even killing him, so he had to hold off on using it as it was not yet worth the risk... Moby''s small, calm, ck and purple aura continuously grew stronger and stronger, his hands firmly around his hilt as he flew up into the sky, the wings on his back now no longer filled with holes as that too was all regenerated, now Moby almost at full health. "Emilia! You did absolutely nothing! Don''t think of yourself too highly! Did you really think you could beat me, the future king of all demons so easily? What really happened now!? You grew a horn and be pale as a ghost, you''re ugly as fuck! I''ve never seen a shalker so ugly online! No wonder your lord wanted you gone! Or is he even uglier than you?" Moby mocked andughed at her, a hint of seriousness in his confident voice. The more Moby spoke, the more powerful he felt, the gruntinging from his opponent and her phoenix, bird-like cry and scream of anger on full disy, with white, fiery glowing eyes, her body shaking like crazy, not from fear, no¡­ far from it¡­ Emilia was usually very calm and collected, but anything that pertained to her lord made it a far different story¡­ "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT TO MY LORD! If it''s thest thing I do, I will make you suffer! SUFFER! Both you and you''re friends!" Her voice was otherworldly, nothing like he had ever heard before, not just from her shalker vocal cords, but from her passionate expression as well as he was almost reminded by Abby''s fanaticisms towards him... pping her white phoenix wings, she dashed straight at Moby, her rapier drawn and aimed straight at his chest, still finding sense in herself to not immediately kill him for the sake of her lord''s orders. Even with his eyes of sin activated and the immense amount of energy running through his veins, he only managed to barely block and parry her de, shing back at her with his superior skills only to be blocked by her sword as well. "Pathetic! A shalker with an ability and you''re still so weak! No wonder you shalkers could not even defeat such a small, insignificant such as earth!" Moby mocked once more, a cloudy dust of ice emerging out of his hands as he tried to freeze his opponents, followed up by a st of pure demon energy out of his palms. "HA! SHUT UP YOU PUNY INSECT! I could not care less about those shalker fools! Just keep running your mouth you sorry excuse for a demon lord and see what happens!" Her response caught Moby off guard as she seemed to be not offended by his words, his power not increasing like his previousments. With a small st of fire, she flicked away Moby''s demon energy and ice attacks like they were nothing, shing her de with him again, this time winning the exchange, sending him flying away once more, dashing right towards him at breakneck speed using her wings as she kicked at him from below with a fire in her boots that Moby barely managed to block by surrounding himselfpletely in a dome of thick purple ice, causing it to crack from her attack. "You call me a wanna be demon lord when it is your lord who is seeking me so hard? Maybe he is a fan? Who do you think is the real wanna be?" Like his firstment, Moby''s words once again struck a nerve with Emilia, her anger growing even more as her white mes began to melt quickly through his thick ice until it was nearly gone, clear struggle on Moby''s face, his body glowing with an ominous, ck and purple void-like energy that Emilia paid no heed to as she continuously kicked at the ice. The extra power and moment of hesitation brought upon by Moby''s words allowed him to roll in the air to dodge her attack, now putting his own palm on her exposed waist from underneath, a ck and purple glow emerging from his hands as he began to drain Emilia''s power. "Stop your useless attempts and perish! That tickles! It will do nothing to help you!" Emilia kicked down with all her might, Moby blocking the attack with his sword as soon as he finished what he was doing and saw the outline of her movements using his eyes of sin. Her attack so powerful that it made his entire body rattle and shake in pain, blood gushing out from various veins as he was thrust hurling at the ground, his sword now severely cracked, only for Vinova to follow him down, kicking him down to the ground even faster, causing a crater of massive proportions, rubble flying everywhere from all directions, Moby''s eyes going white for a split second before turning back into their usual purple as he crashed and found himself stuck at the bottom of a massive hole. With blurry vision, he looked up only to see Vinova''s amused yet angry face, a massive white me surrounding her right hand¡­ Moby''s body still rapidly regenerating, he forced it to stand up, his bones still broken as he had no time to fully regenerate, heavily panting, blood falling from his eyes and various parts of his extremely wounded, dusty body as he used every fibre of his being to do what he wanted to do¡­ Seeing his opponent charging up an attack, he charged an attack of his own, a purple ball of pure demon energy, using most of his reserves, an immense amount of energy forming and crackling around his fingers. "Don''t worry¡­ I''ll hold myself back as to not kill you¡­ But prepare yourself to sizzle and burn in my hellish mes until you are very, very, near-death¡­ NOW SUFFER!" She sted a massive stream of mes out of her right hand, the heat from at as if he was staring straight at the core of a white dwarf star, roaring and raging in his direction like a white, angelic phoenix. Yet, despite everything that happened, Moby stood firm in his ce, no fear in his eyes as he shot out a stream of pure demon energy, absolute energy from the depths of hell, the essence of sin itself embedded into it. The two beams of equal size now shing against each other in a beam struggle. The sound of the sh, struggling and ravaging against each other filled both of their ears sounding like a hurricane, and the light emitting from it was almost blinding, the previously orange ground and sky now a mixture of white and purple, no party seeming to gain an edge on one another. Yet, one look at the faces of the two opponents and that statement would have been debunked without a doubt, a clear contrast between Vinova''s amused, calm visage and Moby''s shaky, sweaty struggle, his feet sinking deeply into the ground, his teeth cracking and regenerating over and over again from how hard he had been gritting his teeth, looking up above at the st with wide, bloody eyes. "USELESS! USELESS! USELESS! USELESS!" "Is that really all you''ve got!? I guess it wouldn''t hurt if I added a little bit more energy¡­" Sheughed heartily, a burst of white fire flowing from her hands, adding onto the main st below, making it muchrger, burning and crackling with far more energy than before as it began to eat up all the purple energy it was shing against¡­ Sinking in deeper into the ground, his teeth cracking even harder, Moby was already at his limit, no more energy left to add. The white fire in his vision growing more and more as it seemed like his doom, as it was all but inevitable, knowing Vinova only using a mere fraction of her true power. Yet, even still, Moby''s will was unbreakable, no fear in his serious eyes, seemingly staring at death, as his purple fire became all but gone, now consumed by the hellish fire of the white mes below with a massive explosion, the fire continuing to burn. "HAHAHHAHA! NOW THAT''S WHAT YOU GET FOR INSULTING MY LORD! SO MUCH TRASH TALK FOR SUCH LITTLE STRENGHT! SO MUCH FOR THE FUTURE KING OF ALL DEMONS!" Sheughed in hysteria like a madwoman, her wide eyes staring at Moby''s figure, on his knees writhing in agony in the depths of the white fire below, the experience feeling refreshing, she had not felt so alive in many years, ignoring the ticklish part on her waist as she continued tough even more thinking about what this all meant for her. She could not remember thest time she had felt this happy in many years. Living on earth for 17 years felt more like hell, and now with Moby''s body, she was once again ready to ascend to heaven and meet God himself... The god who is her one and only lord... She hadpleted her mission... Her lord will be so happy to learn about the news, imagining his face when she reports to him that his over 1000 year quest had been fulfilled made her unable to control her joy, her previously down and elevated mood now nowhere to be seen. *Whoosh* Suddenly, out of the corner of her ears, in between her ownughter and the cracking of the fire beneath her, she heard a subtle void-like whooshing sound, startling and catching her off guard, her amused expression of victory turning very serious in an instant, looking around only to see the tip of a cracked Katana hurling in her direction at eye level, an injured, shadowy figure behind such a de. "H-how!" She yelled in panic and disbelief, her reactions dyed, immediately thrusting her rapier up to her face to block the slow katana headed to her face from the clearly injured figure ahead. Her far superior strength and physique were immense, despite her slow reaction speed and being caught off guard, she still managed to get her sword up to her face mere centimetres before it was toote, a confident smile on her face, no time to question what had just happened. "Hahaha! Insect! You''re too sl-----" "Huh¡­What the..." A piercing pain struck her in the skull, something that she did not expect in a million years, nothing made sense to her¡­ It was almost like his katana hadpletely gone through her rapier like it was not even there, his sword now deeply imnted into her skull, the look of pure, unfiltered horror disbelief on her now bloody face and wide-open eyes¡­ "H-how did you¡­" Chapter 241 - Panic and Haste

Chapter 241: Panic and Haste

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED! I BLOCKED YOUR ATTACK! HOW ARE YOU HERE!? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BURNI-" *Sqrish* "Shut up¡­ Your annoying ass voice is making me lose what little humanity I have left..." Moby spoke with a purple, deadly glint in his bloody purple eyes, a serious expression on his rapidly regenerating burnt, ck and red face, blood flowing down from various scars, especially around his right eye that hadpletely exposed flesh, his face almost unrecognizable, his teeth clenched tightly as he delved his sword deeper and deeper into her brain, infusing his depleted demon energy into his sword as soon as it regenerated, his powers still being fueled by her emotions, his burnt armour inplete tatters, ck burn marks and exposed flesh clearly able to be seen through the various holes. "AHHHHH!" She yelled her heart out as she felt the de digging deeper and deeper into her brain, the burning pain of his energy unbearable, it felt unreal, unlike any pain she had ever experienced in her past. In her broken and torn mind, if hell had a feeling, it would be what she was experiencing right now. Unlike thest time, there was absolutely no hope, no escape, even now, the damage was too critical. Despite all her efforts to heal her wound using her super regenerating white phoenix mes, it was not enough, the damage that was being dealt to her cells was far faster than she could ever dream of regenerating. And, the worst part was with a sword stuck in her brain, she was not even able to properly move her body, no chance to counter attack¡­ The more she thought the bleaker her situation got, her mind spinning in a never-ending circle of madness, tears of blood falling down her face as she continued to scream like a crazy woman unable to ept reality. "EIIYYYAHH!" She wanted to insult him, curse his name, talk about her lord, which even in a moment such as this was her top priority and the source of most of her pains and regrets. The pain that she hadpletely failed and disgraced him in such an idiotic manner and that she would never see him or be loved by him ever again, even in death... Yet, despite her best efforts, she was not even able to speak coherent sentences, anythinging out of her mouth sounding more like the mad screeching of a banshee as it seemed like that part of her brain no longer functioned as her body turned numb and her vision continuously became more and more hazy and ck, her blood-red eyes slowly turning gray, her screams seemingly never-ending, even until herst breath¡­ "Fucking die and perish in the deepest depths of hell¡­ You''re lucky this is all you''re gonna get¡­ A death so light and lenient is far more than you deserve... Filthy shalker¡­" Moby''s voice was dark, distant and otherworldly, nothing but hatred in his voice with an ominous aura of death surrounding him, making him look almost monstrous. Subconsciously, he was pinning all his pains and problems on Vinova, like she was the root of all his problems and all evil, seeing her shalker face unleashing some sort of primal instinct in his mind, the same race that had killed his parents, his hatred directed at her for that. despite him knowing that it was most likely not her who did the deed and that she for some reason, imed to hate the shalker army as well¡­ And, not to mention that she was the reason for Ray''s torture, and what his sweet little Abby had turned into just now... With zero remorse and pure hatred on his face, he sent one final burst of demon energy into his cracked de,pletely frying his opponent''s brain, killing them on the spot¡­ ? System Alert! ? ? You have killed an X rank enemy! ? ? +500,000 XP ? ? Level Up! ? (x8) ? Skill Level up! ? [ Sin Mode (lvl 2) ] ********************** Changes: Power increase now slightly greater Duration increase from 5 minutes to 15 minutes ********************** Emilia, or should he now say Vinova was finally dead¡­ Moby heavily panting, his serious expression still on his face as he stuck his sword out of her head that lookedpletely distraught and inhumane, her eyes filled with blood, her mouth wide open in the most painful, ugly expression he had ever witnessed, despite his rather extensive experience and the many tortured and hopeless faces he had seen, he could not help but be revolted at her visage as he watched her dead, lifeless body drop down to the ground with an impressive thud filling his ears along with a massive dust cloud below, as he sheathed his sword, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes. Things were close¡­ Too close for his ownfort¡­ His teleportation skill had almost failed¡­ It was not instant like he had first expected, it took many, many milliseconds for him to teleport, milliseconds that in his mind felt more like days or even weeks of waiting and burning in the infernal white mes¡­ That was what he got for not practicing with his new ability andpleting the trial, he was lucky enough to even be teleported to somewhere near where he had marked and that his faze skill worked as intended. For seemingly the first time in his life, Moby felt extremely lucky, death was looming over his shoulder with every move, everything felt so uncertain yet he still prevailed in the end, not due to his strength, but due to his ingenuity, making him not help but chuckle mellowly at himself in between his very heavy breathing. "Heh heh heh h---" "AHHH!" Suddenly, Moby''s bloody, exposed eyes grew wide, his left hand grasping onto his heart that had suddenly lurched deep down in his chest and his right hand over his mouth as he threw up buckets of dark blood on the ground below, a nearly unbearable pain ravaging throughout his entire body all at once, taking away his breath as he began to struggle and tumble down to the ground himself, his vision growing hazy from all the pain that consumed his body all at once as he tried his best to breathe, his brain throbbing like it was ready to explode straight out of his head. ''F-fuck!'' Moby inwardly cursed as he looked down, only to see the blurry orange ground quickly bingrger andrger. He hadpletely forgotten and overlooked one thing¡­ Now that Vinova was dead, he had no one to target with his sin mode, the previous immense power flowing through his veins from Vinova''s emotions were now nowhere to be seen, his body''s constant regeneration being the biggest problem of them all as his body reverted back to its original state, the pain of his now none regenerating body hitting him at full force all at once, like a building falling on top of him, only that same building kept on falling down on him over, and over, and over again, all of those buildings also on fire as the exposed, burning flesh and his charred skin''s pain became far more apparent. Yet, before he hit the ground, a massive fall that would have no doubt at least knocked him unconscious, something that he did not want to happen, especially since his family was still fighting away with their lives on the line¡­ He needed to contact or reach them as soon as possible, announcing Emilia''s death could be the end to all of their problems... ''Air steps!'' Using his air steps, which served almost like a triple jump, he managed to finally boost himself up and cancel the momentum of the fall, his impact now extremely light that he barely even felt it, his bodypletely on the ground, heavily panting¡­ "Ahhhh!" He felt extremely heavy, he needed to move, and move quickly, things were not over yet until he confirmed the safety of everyone else in his family, gripping the rock underneath him with all his might as he tried his best to force his extremely injured body to stand up, extremely d for his still fast and working demon regeneration because, without it, he would not even was sure that he would not be able to even move a single muscle and be on the ground unconscious instead. Tightly gripping his wounds, he managed to stand up correctly, now shifting his hazy vision towards the dead shalker in the distance, disgust once again welling up on his face as he limped towards her at his top speed, which was no faster than the sprint of an average human. Tightly gripping his fists around his wound from seeing her dead, lifeless face, he tried to once again control his emotions, finding odd calmness when he focused on the look of absolute horror on her face. Slowly lifting his right hand away from his wound, he sucked her entire body into the void of his inventory. With a deep breath, for a split second, he closed his eyes, looking into his inventory to check one single thing, something that he knew meant the world to Avilia¡­ ''It''s there¡­'' He inwardly mumbled to himself with his heavily fatigued yet serious mind, the contract paper now safely stored into his inventory as it was on her body just like she had promised him. Immediately after that, He tried to open a mind link with his family members who were fighting a few kilometres away. He needed to inform them about Emilia''s death as soon as he could. Yet, just like moments before, no matter how many times he tried to contact them, nothing was working¡­ His contact with them waspletely cut, giving him a bad omen and shbacks of the past, his eyes growing wide as he hoped from the bottom of his heart that they were all still alive and that this was simply part of HikariYami''s ability like he had expected, which he thought was most likely the case. Tightly gripping his fists, his resolve as strong as ever, he began limping in the direction of the other fight as fast as he could, which was not very fast to begin with¡­ At this rate, it would take him almost an hour to reach them, and even with his demon regeneration, it would take him over an hour to heal his burnt, extremely injured body. Even if he used every fibre of his being, he could simply not force his body to do something that was not possible, for many reasons, he could not simply ''suck it up'' and endure the pain, he needed a way to heal, and fast. When, suddenly, his eyes grew wide as he remembered the beasts that he had seen on the way to the battlefield. Immediately, he activated his energy sense, a move that took him no energy to use. ''There!'' To his luck, a few hundred meters away, with his blurry vision, he managed to pinpoint what seemed like a ck animal in the distance, its head shaped almost like that of a Rhino, it''s power level only 5000 which Moby did not mind at all, confident he could beat it even in his current state, feeling immense hope in his dark times. ''Avilia¡­ Is it possible for you to repair my armour? I think I might have some extra materials in my inventory,'' There was a moment of silence before Avilia responded to his words. ''Sorry, I was just reading and taking a closer look at this paper from the book of resurrection, this thing is far different than I had first expected¡­ And yes, I can repair it pretty quickly, it should not be a problem. Oh, and congrats on winning, part of me felt like you were going to be forced to use your trump card but you managed to pull through in the end,'' Moby nodded back at her words before responding, ''Good¡­ Because I have a n in mind and I need a clean set of armour for it to work because I have a bad feeling about what I am gonna see soon¡­ Let''s hope that killing Emilia snapped Abby back to her senses and now free of her mind control...'' Moby replied with a serious expression, limping as fast as possible towards the beast ahead, his movements slowly but surely getting faster the more he naturally healed. Chapter 242 - Dome of Ligh

Chapter 242: Dome of Ligh

*nk* *nk* *Whoosh* *Boom* The sound of metal shing against metal, magic, and explosions were heard echoing in the air, bouncing off the wall of light engulfing their view from every angle. The dome of pure, mesmerizing yellow light around them covered absolutely everything yet for some odd reason was still rather dim, only giving out a moderate amount of light as to not blind everyone inside of it, its beauty almost otherworldly. With a bright, cheery expression, rocking back and forth like she was dancing, humming a tune with her voice stood what seemed like a little girl who was staring at the absolute mayhem of the battlefield ahead, pure bliss on her face. "Hikari! You idiot! What are you doing?! Finish them off now! Finish them off quickly so we can go help Emilia! These kids are not worth our time! Don''t you want to get your own-" "Yami! I am still angry at you¡­ First you took over for mest time when it was my turn, now you are losing faith in Emilia-tan!? Do you not care about how I feel? Do you really think she would lose to someone like that? He looked like a meanie but I guess he was kinda cute but that''s all he got for himself! Now leave me be!" "But still! You should not waste your time with this! Finish them off then go watch Emilia''s fight! Wouldn''t that be fun??" "Yami! Let me do what I want! You''re being selfish now! Why does it seem like you always want to ruin MY fun!? My fun is not always your fun! Do you hate me? What''s gotten into you these days? Do you really want to get away from me that badly? I thought we were sisters!? Just let me have fun ying with these guys first! It''s been a while since I had this much fun okay! Now leave me be! I don''t want to talk to you right now! Or ever! BYE!" Hikari screamed like a little child, tears running down her face that was now nothing like how it was before, like her heart hadpletely cracked in half. Yami, who was now retreated back into her own space could not help but shed a single tear too¡­ A sight that not even her sister could ever imagine happening to her¡­ It was a sight that she had never shown to anyone, even her own sister as she was always the serious, uptight person who seemed more unbreakable than diamond... *Snap* "HA I GOT YOU NOW!" A voice came from behind her, the person''s iron fists only mere millimetres away from her face. "Shut up¡­" In an uncharacteristically cold voice, she immediately replied, spikes of pure light shooting out of the ground of light underneath him, not even bothering to turn around as she heard her des of light shredding through his armour like it was butter and piercing right through his flesh¡­ "AHHHRGGGHHHAHH" In the next instance, she turned around to see exactly who it was, a mellow smile going onto her previously dark and depressed face. "Oh wow! Jason! Coooool! Where did you get the bat wings? I want some too! Hehe!" "H-hikari¡­" Her smile got even wider, looking at him like a mixture between her own barbi doll and steak dinner, a hint of pain, hatred, and madness on her face as she spoke... "Come on! I thought we were friends? Did you really hate me that much?" She spoke, looking at the bloody, almost disfigured figure, heavily panting with blood running down every area of his body. "Hikari! It was all an ident! Spare me! I don''t even want to be here! I''m doing this ag---" He cried out in pain and agony, only for his words to be stopped right before he could say them, those invisible chains from hell once again holding him back with what now seemed like a serpent at his neck, binding him so he did not say what he wanted to say. "Oh well, that doesn''t matter now¡­ Let''s just see if you could survive more! Injured and desperate people are always more fun to watch!" Suddenly, the spikes of light impaled through various parts of his extremely injured body disappeared, making him fall straight on the ground with an immense crash, the horror on his face only getting worse and worse as he peered into the clearly amused, innocent, child-like face of the person above him, his entire body shaking faster than a vibrator. "Now!! Hehe! I want to see you dance! Bust out your moves and survive!" *Snap* With a simple snap of her fingers, soldiers made out of pure light began immerging from the ground, swords made out of light in hand, no longer concealed by actual armour like they were before¡­ "Now get him!" She ordered, with a smile on her face, her hand out with the yful an air of a general. "AHHHHH!" *Snap* Forcing his body to move, horror and panic on his face, he began to run, snapping his fingers trying his best to escape from the mass soldier army headed his way, he himself barely even able to move. However, where ever he snapped, there were always soldiers there too, emerging straight out of the ground as they followed him where ever he went. "STAY AWAY FROM ME! I don''t wanna die! NAGS! Save me! I beg of you!" Jason yelled like the mixture of a lunatic and a little child, tears falling down his face as he continued his futile attempts to dodge. Nags, who was busy fighting soldiers of light himself inwardly scoffed at Jason''s pathetic state before he replied. "Fine you little pig! Here!" ''Juggernaut Zone Alpha!'' Spreading his armadillo, magic-infused arms out wide, he cast his new skill, small sparks of green filling the air around Jason as he felt some sort of odd energy surrounding him and entering his body, giving him some sort of strength¡­ Yet not enough strength to survive¡­ "B-BUT NAGS! THIS WO-" He screamed back before being immediately cut off. "Shut up! Face it you little shit, you fucked up big! There is no way in hell I cane and help you! I have my own shit to do! Just try your best to survive! Make yourself useful and keep those soldiers away from us! You got that!?" Nags screamed back, as a soldier of light shed at one of his new barriers that transferred some attack power into mana and demon energy, before bashing it into oblivion, not before turning around to attack the other soldier of light behind him with a small push and st of demon energy, sending him flying straight towards Jayden who immediately shed it in half using her daggers. "B-BUT NAAAGGGSSS!" Ignoring Jason''s cries for help, filtering them out like he always did, he focused back onto his own fight. ''Juggernaut Zone Beta,'' Spreading his arms out wide once again, he infused the area around him and Jayden with the same ck sparks, now weakening all of the opponents in the area, before throwing a shield of mana at one soldier, making it bounce and hit the next ones in a chain, heavily injuring them yet not taking them out, only for Jayden to m her hands on the ground, tentacles of shadows emerging and binding the many weakened soldiers, leaving them wide open for a finisher, Jayden dashing and shing towards them, at times throwing her daggers and teleporting them back into her hands before throwing them again, Nags joining with a double-sided war axe that he pulled from his inventory, waving it like it was a simple stick despite its immense size and his puny, rather short stature inparison, all of the soldiers finally gone. Surprisingly, Jayden and Nags''s teamwork were not even that bad, them being able to be somewhat in sync and fight alongside each other with ease, something that could not be said about Jason, who was still running away for his life, tears of horror running down his face. Yet, not to their surprise, once the soldiers all died, an entire army of them once again spawned in their ce, making them both grunt and sigh in annoyance and determination, their backs now against each other, sweating and heavily panting, various wounds on their injured bodies. "No matter how many times we beat them, they keeping back! Why don''t we just take out the light dome? Maybe they can''t exist without it!" Jayden spoke, transforming into a healer maid, now healing both of their wounds while they prepared to strike once more. "Does it look like I haven''t tried? That dome feels damn near indestructible!" Jayden scoffed at and cursed at Nags''s words before continuing. "Then we need to take out the caster!" "Does it look like we can do that anytime soon!? Jason was the only one who was fast enough to get by the soldiers and he still failed! Miserably! Do you think we could do any better? She is far stronger than I ever expected!" Still panting, her frustration building up with a hint of fear in her voice, Jayden took a deep breath and responded¡­ "Okay then! What do you expect us to do then!? How are we supposed to win? Are we just supposed to surrender¡­ Do you have a n?" Nags could sense the desperation in her voice, he couldn''t me her, he was also feeling the same way¡­ "Nothing¡­ We do nothing¡­ That''s the only thing we can do¡­ Hikari is extremely childish yet strong at the same time. But, eventually, she will run out of mana, that would be when we strike. Until then, all we can do is survive!" Jayden inwardly nodded at his words and responded. "Yeah¡­ That seems to be all that we could do now¡­" She replied, part of her mind immediately shifting to Moby, wishing he could be here with her before shaking those thoughts away. She needed to not rely on him too much and use her own strength to win. She did not want to grow too dependant on his strength, part of her wanting to prove herself, staring at the hoard of light soldiers with a deadly glint in her eyes, still healing her extremely injured, burning body, feeling that her healing was far too slow and it was only a matter of time before both she and Nags fell... *BOOOOM* Suddenly, a massive explosion sound entered their ears, the sight of a massive fireball smashing on the ground from the corner of their vision with 2 moving figures fighting, shing their des at immense speed with various armoured soldiers surrounding them. ******************************* "Abby! What the fuck are you doing!? What happened to all that talk about loyalty!? Giving your life, your soul for your lord!? Was that all bullshit!? HUH!?" Alex screamed his heart out, like he let go of all that he was holding back, the dam of his emotions nowpletely broken. With no remorse, he shed straight at Abby''s chest, only for her to block by spawning a zombie warrior of unknown origin in front of her to take the brunt of the lightning spear. "I did everything for the sake of ughtering my entire family with my two hands! I don''t care how I got there! How much effort I had to put! And who I lied to! You and your happy-go-lucky family would never understand my pain!" She yelled back, continuing her sh with him, her onught of attacks seemingly never-ending as they continued to match each other''s tempo. "Shut the fuck up! You''re being brainwashed! I know it! Just snap back to reality! Or, are you telling me that everything you told me that night was bullshit too!? Huh, you little bitch!?" For a split second, Alex''s body glowed all the colours of the rainbow, his lightning aura increasing as he forced an opening with his immense speed and smashed his spear on her magic armour,pletely ripping it and sending her flying away, her entire body stunned from the electric shock, the chain of lightning spreading to various of her undead soldiers, all of them now frying to a crisp from his power, white lightning in his eyes as he dashed towards her for a follow-up attack. "I''ll save you no matter what! Even if it''s thest thing I ever do! I WILL SAVE YOU!" His spear directed at her chest, he roared, disappearing from his spot like a sh, true determination in his unwavering voice. Burning her body with immense heat to shock her senses back into her body, Abby lifted her scythe and blocked Alex''s attack, their struggling faces now right next to each other. "I am myself! Who are you trying to save!? Stop your delusions! Does it look like I want to be saved!? Especially by the likes of you!?" She roared, trying to overpower Alex in their struggle, their weapons shaking against each other. "Your words are bullshit! I won''t believe them! You mean the world to me! No! Even more! And I won''t let shit get in my wa---" *Sqrish* Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, he felt a deep pain shing in his heart, a sword inside of it very clear to him when he looked down, his teeth now bloody as he coughed buckets of blood on Abby''s amused face, smiling face ahead of him, yet the look on his lightning-filled eyes remained unwavering, if anything, it looked even stronger. "So¡­ You were saying? I hate you with every fibre of my being¡­ Always have, and nothing will change that¡­ Everything I told you before was simply a lie to manipte you... Why can''t you get that through your thick skull!?" Abby spoke with a dark, cold, yet amused face as she began to overpower Alex in his struggle¡­ "I-I don''t care... I still love you... All your words are 100% bullshit, I''m sure of it... Does it look like I have given up¡­ It was my fault that any of this even happened to you... like I was saying¡­ NOTHING WILL STOP ME!" Abby could not hide the look of bewilderment on her face as she began to be overpowered by Alex in front of her, him pushing her back with immense power. The energy and aura exuding out of his body were unlike anything she had ever seen before, its powerpletely frying and destroying the soldier behind him, along with his sword just from being in such close proximity from him. As he stepped forward, it looked almost like the figure of a monstrous beast was in his shadow, pulling him forward to victory, the sparks of lightning around him only getting more and more, his lightning-filled pure whitish-blue eyes looking straight into her soul, sending shivers down to her very core as he continued to overpower her like she was nothing... Chapter 243 - Dome of Light 2

Chapter 243: Dome of Light 2

The lightning aura around Alex began to crackle and spread wide, crashing many lightning strikes around him as the aura also began to condense around his body, going around and enhancing his armour with an exterior aura of purple lightning with many symbols, ws around his gauntlets, the lightning aura forming and extending further than his actual hair, waving and crackling in the wind, the roar of a prideful king ambiently being heard in her ears as he continued to walk towards her, his eyes still white, tightly gripping his spear in hand, the aura of the beast behind him now clearly able to be seen from him as it was exuding from his every pore. "L-lion¡­" Abby barely managed to mumble, sweat running down her face, tightly gripping her scythe as she prepared for him to strike as she stared at what now seemed to her as a monster ready to turn her to shreds. *Zzpp* In the blink of an eye, Alex was now no longer in the ce he used to be, gone without a trace only to once again reappear in front of her, striking straight at her stomach, which she only just barely managed to react, lifting her ming scythe to block it. However, that was far from enough to stop his strike as Abby was sent hurtling towards the wall of the light dome at incredible speed, her mes being immediately snuffed out and her scythe now cracked from the impact as she could not help but grunt and cough out blood as she tried her best to regain her bnce. Yet, before she even knew, she felt a heavy strike on her stomach, only to look up and find Alex''s foot exactly where all the pain was, as she was sent crashing towards the light-filled ground, forming a massive crater, immense shock and waves of pain ravaging her entire body as she crashed, her eyes detaching from her head for a split second before she regained her vision. "FUCK!" She yelled out, still stuck on the ground, her body injured and weak as she stood up, her hands grasping the wound on her stomach as she looked all around her only to not find a trace of where Alex was. "Where the fuck did all that powere from!? Is that spirit mode!? From when did you have that!? Yesterday you were nowhere near that strong! Plus, If you truly cared about me, would you really be hitting me like this!? Huh!? You Hypocri-" She screamed like a lunatic, her desperation and madness clearly stered on her face, before she was immediately cut off by a hand through her chest, fully infused with lightning, that made sure not to strike any vitals. "F-fuck¡­ F-fuck¡­" She cursed once more, pure hatred in her eyes as she coughed up blood on the ground, her legs feeling too weak to stand, failing her as she dropped on the ground, her body too weak to even move. "You idiot! Don''t you see I don''t want to do this! I HATE doing this! I feel pain hurting you! But I still do it! I force myself to do it because I really do care about you! It''s the only way!" Alex spoke in a calm, hurting, tender voice thatpletely contrasted with his intimidating lion-like appearance. "What kind of bullshit is that!? You''re crazy! Once my sisteres back from killing that trash, fucking waste of space, she''s gonna fucking kill you for what you did to me! Just you wait!" Abby screamed her heart out, pure anger on her face as she used every fibre of her being to stand up, but only ended up squirming like a worm, t on her stomach. "You''re the one who''s crazy! You''re being brainwashed! What I''m doing right now is not bullshit, this is to try and save you¡­ When you snap back from your senses I''m sure you will understand¡­" *Skrinsh* *Skrinsh* Alex spoke, forming daggers made out of lightning, sticking them through all her limbs, pinning her on the ground so she could no longer move, making her scream from the pain, Alex''s mental pain most likely even greater than what she was feeling physically as he now walked away from her and looked over at the rest of the fight, before he heard screams directed towards him from behind... "Come back here you little bitch! It''s not over between us! If you really think I''m being brainwashed, prove it! Unbrainwash me now!" Not even bothering to turn around, he responded to her in a calm, serious voice. "If I knew how, I would have done so already¡­ And I have no time to experiment now¡­ Moby is probably the only person who knows so I will wait for him toe and save you¡­ For now, I''ve gotta go and do my part¡­ So, you wait here patiently until all of this is over¡­ Things shouldn''t take too long¡­ See ya!" Alex spoke in a bright, upbeat voice, his cloak of lightning bursting back up around his body. "Stop! If y-" Abby screamed once more, only for her words to be immediately halted as she managed to catch a glimpse of Alex''s face before he left, tears running down his white, lightning eyes, making her feel something odd in her cracking and eroding heart before she was once again snapped back to how she previously was by an immense headache that ravaged her mind, Alex nowpletely gone when she opened her eyes, making her inwardly curse. At immense, lightning-fast speed, Alex dashed throughout the entire battlefield, leaving the sound of zaps and trails of lightning in his path as he headed straight for Hikari who was still joyfully spectating the fight ahead of her with no care in the world. ''Lightning beasts!'' With a wave of his hands, around a dozen lions made out of pure lightning mana spawned all around him as soon as he neared Hikari, ordering them to attack her head-on. "Hmmm?" With a casual eyebrow raise, Hikari looked above her, a face of Joy appearing on her face as she saw 12 kitty cats jumping down at her wanting to y. "Do you want a hug?" With a wave of her finger, 12 tentacles of light emerged from the ground, grabbing all the lions and tightly hugging them, not allowing them to move even a single inch. When, suddenly, a massive burst of lightning was discharged straight from the lions who were squeezed so hard that they popped, the electricity travelling through the tentacles and straight to Hikari herself. "AHHHH!!" She screamed, for the first time ever she had screamed from pain, tears falling from her face as electricity continued flowing through her entire body, her face now ck and full of dust as she coughed and wiped her face. "Oie! That H-" She screamed once more, only for her words to be stopped by another st of purple lightninging her way, only this one was much stronger than the one before it¡­ *Bink* Suddenly, the lightning st was deflected almost like it was nothing but a tiny spark, Hikari''s hair and clothes immediately beginning to shift, now turning ck¡­ Her bright, cheerful face now nowhere to be found, reced by a serious face filled with nothing but pure contempt. "It''s you again¡­ Haven''t you learned your lesson the first time? Do you want me to beat it into you again? Do you? You know¡­ You just fucked up big time¡­ No one has ever hurt my sister and lived to tell the tale¡­" An aura of ck darknesspletely engulfed her body, the feeling of death all surrounding it. Her opponent was nowhere to be seen, yet she knew exactly where he was¡­ "Found you! Little kitty cat!" She yelled, pulling out a ck spear from her storage ring and blocking the lightning attack from behind her without even looking around. "Just die!" Alex yelled, ducking down and striking at her stomach from below with lightning reflexes and speed, only for him to hit absolutely nothing, what was in front of him only seeming like an illusion that he only managed to see by focusing deeply with his knight vision. "No¡­ You are the one who will die¡­ No one is allowed to make my sister cry¡­ NO ONE!" Slowly, Alex looked at his hands, the look of decay on it as it began to lose its colour, pure darkness surrounding his vision which made him promptly release a massive burst of lightning from his body, making the darkness go away, shing straight at Yami who was directly behind him with the tip of his spear. However, when he focused deeply on her figure, he noticed that it was once again not real, making him redirect his spear to his left, hitting with the hilt only for his strike to be blocked by Yami''s own spear that seemed almost twice her height. "Very impressive¡­ But nowhere near good enough," darkness infusing her de, she began shing towards Alex in a series ofbos and attacks, Alex only barely managing to keep up with her speed despite pushing his body to its limits, his limbs feeling like they were about to fall off as he continuously glowed many different colours in the midst of battle. "What the fuck are you! How are you so strong!?" Alex cursed, not giving up any hope as he tried to use every trick in his book to win. He was no doubt losing, in his new spirit mode while his opponent did not even look to be taking him seriously, not only in strength, but her skills with the spear even better than his own as she continued to overpower and outmaneuver him, striking straight at his vitals and face, blood running down everywhere on his body and sweat running down his still fully determined face. ''Lightning Beast Bomb!'' Jumping in the sky, he tried his best to get away from her, releasing a dozen lightning beasts straight towards her, making them all explode with a snap of his fingers,pletely engulfing her in a burst of electricity unlike anything he had done before, It''s aura and sound echoing through the entire dome, the sound of a roaring lion almost being heard from the explosion, making the entire dome glow a tint of purple and demand the attention of every onlooker, including Abby who could not help but open her mouth in awe. Of course, It was an attack that expected to finish her off, he was not delusional enough to think that. However, he expected it to at least buy him some time to breathe and slightly recover his aching body after all that he had gone through, him not fully used to his spirit mode and its pressure since it was his first time using it. However, even still... he was sorely mistaken... Chapter 244 - Dome of Light 3

Chapter 244: Dome of Light 3

Suddenly, Alex felt a deep chill running down his spine, the temperature in the dome felt like it had dropped by several degrees, odd sweat running down his face as he could not help but look down at the still raging explosion of lightning below him with a bad feeling in his heart. Out of the still roaring purple thunderbolts, hints of ck were seen slowly leaking from it, the leaks only getting bigger, deeper, and more profound, Alex''s bewilderment growing step by step alongside it as he inwardly took a gulp of saliva, tightly gripping his spear in the air as he prepared for the worst, the deep hatred and killing intent from the atmosphere overwhelming his senses, making it hard to even breathe The cracks of darkness in the midst of the explosion grew so much to the point that all the lightning was fully engulfed and snuffed out by the raging aura of death-filled ck, leaving nothing its wake but a little, deadly smiling ck-haired girl standing in the middle, her power so strong that the entire dome of light around her began to shake, a massive earthquake spreading from beneath her feet to the wide expanses ahead. "Useless! Do you think something so weak could even touch me? How insulting¡­ Now you¡­ DIE!" Alex who was staring at her from above could not help but shudder at her words, his heart lurching deep down in his chest, his body shaking and his eyes wide open in disbelief. That was his strongest attack that he could manage to muster in his new spirit mode and she still scoffed at it andughed it off like it was nothing, in her base form no less¡­ She was not even in spirit mode herself and was still capable of doing such a thing¡­ It felt too unreal¡­ She was a person that he had never heard about before in his entire life yet she was still capable of such a feat... He knew his opponent was powerful, but not this powerful¡­ He thought that his spirit mode along with his extra training would manage to make the difference between their strength from thest time they had met but he was sorely mistaken beyond his wildest dreams. "SHIT!" Alex yelled, shaking his head, removing any trace of fear or hesitation from his face, he was a man on a mission and he nned to see it through to the end... He tightly gripped his spear in both hands, falling straight towards the ground from his high jump, his teeth almost cracking from how hard he was gritting them, his raging lion-like aura of lightning surrounding his body reigniting with vigour as he confronted death straight in the face, no hint of fear or hesitation on his bright visage and white, lightning-filled eyes. Abruptly the ground below began to shake, even more, a sudden massive crater formed on the ground where Yami once stood, causing the ground to crack and copse all around it as she disappeared, now nowhere to be seen. Alex who was using his knight vision only barely managed to spot her blurry, bolting figure flying towards him like a bullet, her ck spear thrust forward straight in his direction, Alex still trying his best to keep his calm despite knowing that she was not trying to injure him, but kill him instead, which wentpletely against Emilia''s orders. Taking one deep breath, Alex focused lightning into his feet and boosted off the air, dashing towards the speeding Yami with his own spear in hand, his lightning aura increasing even more, especially around the tip of his spear, his entire body glowing the various colours of the rainbow as he pushed his body to its limits, yelling his heart out as the world around his now looked like nothing but a blur, only Yami''s angry, grim reaper-like figure of darkness engulfing his few This was the only thing he could do in his situation¡­ There was no way in hell he would be able to dodge her attack, and blocking it when she was going at that momentum waspletely impossible. Matching her attack head-on was the only logical thing for him to do. "AHHHHHH" All of his energy, hopes and dreams, determination, and unbreakable will and love to protect the people he cared about were infused into the tip of his spear as he thrust it straight at the tip of Yami''s spear right in front of it, the two spears shing against each other from tip to trip, like 2 speeding bullets perfectly aligned, his aura of lightning shing against her aura of darkness. Both shing in the air, their aura roaring, flowing and mixing around them from all direction, they seemed equally matched, a death re on both of their faces, Alex''s rainbow glowing body now growing even more brightly as he pushed his body even further past its own limits, zero regards for his own muscles that were tearing apart from the inside. Yet, with such a trade-off, it seemed like he was gaining the upper hand. "NO! YOU WILL BE THE ONE WHO DIES!" Pushing Yami and her aura back, which only made him push himself even further, his aura growing and roaring even more with the prideful air of a lion, blood vessels popping from everywhere on his body, his teeth cracking and his body bing even tenser as it seemed that Yami was on herst legs. "Pathetic¡­" Yami spoke in a low, ominous voice of pure death, the figure of the grim reaper growing from behind her as small cracks were hearding from Alex''s spear, his face tensing up with a hint of horror that only grew as those small cracks spread all the way from the tip of the spear to the handle. "I will make myself clear again... Now¡­ You die¡­" Yami''s aura exploded, doubling, no tripling in size as itpletely ate up all the lightning in its path, along with Alex''s hopes of victory, horror on his still resolved face as his spearpletely shattered in a million pieces, that along with a heart that he only barely managed to move before Yami''s de was thrust straight into his stomach, cutting out a huge chunk of it as she sped right past him who now dropped on the ground, his previously white, lightning-filled eyes now colourless and gray and his body all bloody from pushing himself too hard, a loud crash being heard and a crater being formed in the wake of his impact. "ALEXXX!" A female scream sounding like Jayden calling his name was heard entering into his hazy mind, sounding more like total static than anything else as he looked up at the bright yellow sky of the dome of light. Abby, who was still injured on the ground being pinned down by lightning des stared at the scene above her with open eyes, her mind and soulpletely split in half, conflicted on what to do and think. Part of her was cheering and celebrating, happy about the inevitable death of the nuisance that had put her in the situation she was in and the other half of her waspletely broken and distraught beyond belief, begging for any higher being toe and save him, like she was about to lose a part of her own soul. This odd mix of emotions left a sight on her face never seen before¡­ Half of it a wicked smile of satisfaction and the other halfpletely distraught with tears running down her face as she tried to move out of her bindings but to no Avail. *Aha* *Aha* Now on the ground, he barely managed to open his now gray, dead-looking eyes that looked devoid of hope, coughing blood all over his stomach, his entire body broken and shattered beyond belief, not being able to move even a single muscle. "AHHHH!" He tried to move, over, and over, and over again, but no matter how hard he tried, his body would simply not respond¡­ "Fuck¡­" He mumbled to himself, as he continued his futile attempts of moving, tears of blood falling down his bloody face¡­ After all that talk, all his heart and soul, he still failed¡­ For the second time¡­ He had found himself in a simr situation before, but now there was no escape from his inevitable doom. He could not uphold any promise, or ideal, or any sense of justice he had in his heart. He was useless, simply an empty shell, that, not even in his dying breath, could aplish anything meaningful in his life or atone for any previous sins that he could not escape from¡­ "Oh wow! That''s impressive young man¡­ You''re still alive!" He heard a voice from above, looking only to see the ck grim reaper herself walking in his direction with her spear in hand. "The sight of you is rather pathetic don''t you think? Just likest time, you talk big, but you''re in reality absolutely nothing¡­ You can''t me anyone but yourself¡­ I had "orders" to keep you alive, but I''m sure Emilia won''t mind this one exception... The moment you made my sister cry was the moment your fate was sealed¡­" Infusing her spear with darkness, she aimed it straight at Alex''s heart who had already begun losing hope¡­ ''Abby¡­ I''m sorry¡­ I couldn''t make myself any use to you¡­ I couldn''t keep any promise, just like every other promise I made in my life... I''m truly the definition of despicable failure¡­'' Alex thought, tears still running down his face as he closed his eyes, ready to ept his fate¡­ "Now die¡­" She spoke, thrusting her spear straight at him with moderate speed, no remorse on her face, almost like she was squashing an insect. Suddenly, Nags, who was watching everything unfold right in front of him felt an odd feeling in his heart, looking ahead of him at Jayden who was trying to force herself through the seemingly endless hoard of light soldiers to save Alex, tears running down her face as she did not care for her own safety, getting shed, attacked, and injured along the way with no care in the world as her main goal was to reach Alex as fast as possible. Personally, Nags could not care less about Alex and felt nothing towards him as he had only met him a day prior. Plus, it made no logical sense to save him. He would have much rather saved his own energy to protect himself than someone who was now no use in battle, literally on the verge of death. Yet, despite his wishes, his body began moving on its own, casting skills out of nowhere despite his best wishes, a familiar feeling that he had felt many times before. Then, he remembered something, the order that had been the reason for all of this, making him grunt in realization. He lifted his hands and targeted Alex who had his heart ready to be ripped apart and yelled. "Maximum Defense! Shield of Absolution!" A sudden purple dome of energy surrounded Alex''s body, catching Yami by surprise as her attack was seemingly blocked out of nowhere, which only grew her annoyance as she infused even more dark energy into her de, draining almost all of Nags''s mana in her attempt. *Crack* "What the hell is this!? Nags!? Is that you! You''re next you little prick!" She yelled, now infusing even more of her energy into her spear,pletely shattering Nags''s shield along with draining all of his mana and demon energy in 1 fell swoop, only managing to dy her by a few seconds, not enough time for Jayden to catch up. "Now you''re dead!" She yelled once more at Alex whose eyes were still closed and crying, oblivious to all that had just happened to him. "NOOO! ALEX!" Jayden screamed her heart out once more, forcing her way through the many soldiers of light, her body all bloody and stressed from everything around her, the tears on Abby''s right side of her face and the wicked smile on the left only growing even worse. *Snap* Suddenly, mere millimetres before Yami''s spear and Alex''s heart made contact, a massive snap was heard entering everyone''s ears. "WHAT!?" Yami yelled in extreme annoyance and disbelief seeing what had just happened and who was now under her. Instead of Alex''s body at the other end of her spear, it was now Jason''s body instead, the same person who was running away from the light soldiers like an idiot, snapping around the battlefield all injured, about to die when his mana ran out, pure horror on his face as he coughed blood on the enraged Yami''s face, Alex now nowhere to be seen. "W-wha..." A spear deeply stabbing into his already priorly injured body, he managed to mumble, horror on his face unlike anything before it, akin to how he looked experiencing Moby''s nightmare skill, maybe even worse now as death seemed only one step away, tears running down his face as he cursed his miserable reality that was ruined by the existence of a single demon... "W-what just happened¡­ I-I didn''t want this t- *Cough* happen¡­ My body *Cough* moved on it''s own¡­ again¡­ *Cough* Y-yami¡­ Have mercy¡­ I-I *Didn''t me-" "Shut the fuck up you disgusting pig!" "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!" She infused her spear with even more darkness, making Jason''s body begin to melt and decay as he screamed out in pain, death ravaging all his senses as he was left with nothing but his own skeleton, not even a single drop of blood remaining. Instinctively, she looked around for where Alex''s body had disappeared to, only to see it flying in the air, the same look of painful eptance, self-loathing depressing on his bloody face as he was caught by Jayden who jumped up and grabbed him, holding him tightly in her arms as she stood her ground against the hoard of light warriors surrounding her. "J-Jayden? Is this a dream? Am I in heaven or hell?" He mumbled, slowly opening his eyes only to see her blurry figure protecting him in her original body, only seeing the back of her blue hair along with the many light soldiers ahead. "No Alex! You''re alive! Stay with me! You''re losing a lot of blood! I''ll heal you when I''m done with these guys! Don''t give up! This is not the Alex I always knew!" She spoke, turning around, only for him to see her tear-filled eyes which snapped him out of his daze and reawakened him from him back to his senses. "Yami is on her way! Don''t die because of me! Just run and leave me alone! It''s not worth it!" He screamed with all the energy left in his body, Jayden''s heavily injured body unmoving as she spoke. "Don''t worry about it¡­ I doubt that she would kill me seeing I''m Moby''s boyfriend, Emilia wouldn''t let it slide like killing you¡­ I might suffer, but if It buys you even a little more time then it''s well worth it. If we are going down, let''s all go down together¡­" She spoke with a firm resolve, no fear in her voice as blue-tinted shadows surrounded her daggers as she prepared herself to tussle, Alex inwardly cursing at the dire situation yet feeling odd calmness and renewed vigour beingforted by her words. Nags was now all alone fighting a small troop of light soldiers, which would have been very easy for him to destroy, but now with zero mana and demon energy, that was no longer possible as he tried his best to run and evade with all his might, desperation in his eyes and he countered attacked with his war axe when he needed, many attacks slipping by his defence and heavily injuring him with light. Yami, who was now annoyed and angered beyond belief put on a face of absolute death as she strolled over towards the cornered duo of Alex and Jayden, ready to finally take them out, her anger''s fuel seemingly more than ever before as she felt like her sister was still crying and hurt in her mind, despite the fact that she now wanted to have her turn back. Everything seemedpletely lost, for everyone in the dome, death seemed like a mere step away¡­ When, suddenly¡­ *BOOOOM* *Crack* *Crack* Crack* A massive explosion was heard hitting and shaking the entire dome, various now appearing and beginning to form in the bright, yellow energy-like sky above, catching everyone''s attention, making them look up in shock and haste out of instinct before the entire dome shattered into a million pieces. The small shards of energy immediately disappeared in mid-air as the rocky ground and the bright orange sky of the was now once again able to be seen, the various soldiers of light that were on the ground fading away into dust along with the dome, seemingly right before it was toote, making everyone look around in shock at what just happened. "I''M BACK!" Suddenly, a loud, manly voice was heard, sounding and echoing into all of their ears, making them look up at the rocky hill where the sound was heard, only for them to see the prideful visage of a man among men, a smile of victory of his pristine face that did not even have a single spec of dust, the blood on it seemingly not his own, his foot standing on a higher rock, his armour looking as good as new, no cracks at all with only stters of blood on it, his posture high and mighty as he held a dead body in his right hand, the look of absolute horror on it''s pale, white visage, it''s body injured beyond belief as it was clearly seen through her tattered armour, a ck mark on her single white horn growing out of her head. "M-Moby¡­ I-is that you¡­" Chapter 245 - Absolute Monarch

Chapter 245: Absolute Monarch

Moby looked like an absolute warlord, holding the corpse in his hands tightly as he announced, a confident, overbearing look on his face gazing at the battlefield below. "Stand down! Your leader has been defeated! Fairly easily at that! If you don''t want to join her, then stop this fight now!" His voice rang through everyone''s ears, all of them unable to believe their eyes and ears as so many things were processing in their mind, the first being of course about the identity of the corpse in his hand¡­ ''W-what!? Is that Emilia!? Emilia is a shalker!? And she had an ability?!'' That was all of their thoughts collectively, even HikariYami bore that same expression of bewilderment, as not even she knew that, which only made Moby''s victory that much more unbelievable in her ears. The only person with different thoughts was Abby, the look of half wickedness and half grief on her face now no longer able to be seen as it was reced by pure, unbridled rage, pushing the small relief in her heart from Alex''s safety to the side as she roared, still pinned to the ground. "SISTER! SISTER! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO MY ONLY SISTER! MY BEAUTIFUL SISTER! You monster! Give her back! Give her back right now! I need her! You mother fucker! H-how dare you! Even if it was only pretending! I can''t believe I ever considered you my master! I''ll fucking tear you to shreds-," Abby roared, squirming and screaming in ce, roaring mes out of her mouth like aplete lunatic as she struggled to move let alone get out of her bindings, everyone''s attention now directly on her with wide eyes, Moby''s eyes seeming rather soft and disappointed looking at her state. Her words confirmed it to them¡­ Emilia was a shalker all along, and is the exact same corpse in Moby''s hand, and seeing that there were no injuries to be seen on his face and his armour looking rather pristine, that only meant that Moby managed to take her out, one of the strongest second-year students in the entire school with rtive ease¡­ The reality of the situation setting in hard made sweat run down their face as Moby and his allies could not help but slowly, yet mellowly smile, as their leader pierced the darkness of the deep dark abyss with his victorious smile and absolute, unrivalled might. He waspletely on another level in seemingly everything, no wonder he was chosen to be the next demon lord. With more ease in their heart than ever before, Alex began staring nkly at the sky, hoping all will be well and that Moby could bring Abby back... His fighting did not go in vain, he managed to buy time just for things to work out, which put the first, genuinely relieved smile on his face in weeks, Jayden feeling the same way, tears of joy falling down her face as she transformed into one of her healer maids and began healing Alex''s seemingly never-ending injuries and left the rest to Moby for him to take care of as she had already done her part... "W-what¡­ This can''t be real¡­" Yami mumbled to herself, Hikari in her mind feeling the same way. Emilia was a shalker all along, the enemy¡­ The enemy she hated and despised more than anything¡­ She did not know how to feel¡­ She knew that she could not really be trusted long ago but she chose to ally herself with her for 2 simple reasons. The first being for Hikari''s sake as she and Emilia seemed to get a long rather well and seemed to be genuine friends, and the second was because she promised her a new body if she worked under her for a certain amount of time¡­ More than anything, Yami loved her sister, and she felt like staying with her all the time must torment her. She wanted her to be free, unhindered by her own always negative emotions and needs. Yet, those hopes and dreams were now all shattered... But now, with her new knowledge, to get to those dreams, she had to ally and betray her own people by allying herself with the enemy, something that she had already been a victim of¡­ Her mind was being torn in half¡­ Was it a good thing that she died and was exposed? Or a bad thing that now it was seemingly impossible to get her sister her very own body¡­ No one could tell the mental war happening in her mind, it was almost too much to bear for her as drops of sweat began falling down her seemingly nk face. When, suddenly, her hair switched back to white, Hikari now at center stage, her look of bewilderment not concealed like her sister, kept wide open instead. "E-Emilia-tan W-was a shalker all along¡­ N-no way¡­ Sh-she lied to me¡­ Sh-she used me¡­ Mother¡­ Father¡­" Her face seemed pale as a ghost, her voice sounding more like a helpless child than anything else as she dropped on her knees, tears falling from her face and onto the ground. "Hikari! D-don''t cry! It''s how it''s meant to be! It''s better that we found out now than when it''s toote¡­" Yami switched back over tofort her grieving sister, the guilt welling up in her heart almost immeasurable as she hated herself for even considering that it would have been a good thing if everything went as nned, their conversation going back and forth. "Y-Yami-oni san¡­ I-I''m so, so, so, sorry for yelling at you¡­ You always knew better than me and took care of me in our darkest times... I''m stupid for trusting her more than you¡­ Stupid... Stupid... Stupid... Stupid... So stupid... I should have trusted you more when you said that you don''t like and trust Emilia¡­ I-It was just that she was always so nice t-" "Don''t worry sister¡­ It''s not your fault... Don''t cry... Please... I know you somewhat looked up to her as the mother you never had, just know that I''m always here for you and I''ll never leave you¡­ Ever¡­ I would have killed Emilia with my own two hands if I had known this¡­ I promise you that¡­ She''s better off dead, my ns could wait¡­" Everyone was too far away to listen to HikariYami talking to each other, especially with Abby''s seemingly ever-ending screams of madness echoing in the back as she could not ept the reality of her dead sister. Moby noticed HikariYami copsing on the ground from his arrival, his ns seemed to be working even better than he never expected, which put a smile on his face as he jumped down from the mountain above andnded on the ground below with elegance and grace, Emilia''s corpse still in his hands, the sound of cracks filling his ears knowing exactly where they came from, making him blink and bite his lips for a split second before he shook it away and walked towards HikariYami pridefully and confidently with the air of a true monarch, enduring all the pain to keep his looks, now only standing mere meters in front of her with an ominous air of dominance. "You know, I am a merciful man, so I''ll give you an offer to spare your life. Unnecessary killing is not something I advocate, so I try to do it whenever I can," His voice and face were stern yet it still bore a certain warm,forting charm to it as he looked down at the girl underneath him, crying her heart out, on her knees with her hand grasping her heart. Yami had been keeping a close eye on Moby as soon as he began approaching them, just in case he tried anything against them, despite how futile it might have been, she could not let her guard down. She looked up to see his face, feeling odd calmness looking into his green eyes, the corpse of Emilia dragging on the ground behind him, pure hatred and contempt welling up inside her along with a hint of disgust for allying herself with her under any condition, inwardly asking for forgiveness for her grave sins that she was not sure could ever be forgiven. The power of her enemy must be astronomical to be able to defeat her with such ease,ing out of it unscathed. She saw herself and Emilia at around the same level of strength, maybe giving herself the edge, but now seeing that she was a shalker, a race that was inherently stronger than humans, she was not sure anymore. She doubted that she could have done anywhere near the same thing that Moby did, which just about put his power in perspective. She knew 100% that she stood absolutely no chance against him, especially with all of his friends, submitting to his demands seemed to be the only option she could do to survive¡­ Yet, her skepticism always got the best of her, so she asked. "Why are you sparing us, with your power, you could easily kill us¡­ We already killed one of your friends, and injured all the rest¡­ don''t you want to take revenge?" Moby''s eyes looked confused, like he had no idea what they were talking about, before he looked over at the skeleton in the distance as he could not help butugh out loud. "Him!? Friend! Hahaha! You can''t be serious right? He was only a pawn, I couldn''t care less about that idiot. I was the one who ordered him to sacrifice himself if anyone actually important was going to die," Yami''s eyes once again grew wide hearing his words as many realizations popped up in her mind, her sister''s safety her top priority. "Well, how do I know you won''t do the same with me? Throw me away like trash¡­ huh?... Do you want to turn me into your demon spawn to use and throw me away too? I don''t know what you demons even are, but I would rather die!" Of course, Yami did not want to die, but the pain of being used and disposed of against her will and possibly betrayed without the ability to fight back was something even worse than being cut down in a fight to the death, especially for her sister, so she had to make a choice. "No! No! No! He was a special case. And, don''t you worry, I won''t turn you into my demon minion," Moby replied, his tone seeming very calm as expected of a demon overlord, yet Yami could not help but raise an eyebrow. "All I need you to do is imprint your blood on this paper. By doing it, you will agree to never reveal my identity as a demon or an alien, oh, and this piece of paper I am about to show you is something you can''t reveal to anyone as well. If you go against this contract then you die. But, if you decline my offer, I will cut you down on the spot. Fair right?" Moby said with a smile, pulling out an ominous, mysterious paper from a deep, purple void. Yami took her time to ponder, considering everything about Moby''s offer, concluding that it seemed very fair, and the only thing she could do to survive. If he had said that she would not be able to hurt him or his family in any way by signing the contract, or something along those lines, she would have 100% declined as he would then be able to turn her into a demon without even giving her the chance to fight back. Keeping his demon secret in exchange for her and her sister''s life seemed to be a fair trade, so she epted it. Standing up on her two feet, her heart beating faster than hits in a pro ping pong match, she wiped the tears on her face that was previously tear-filled from Hikari and spoke. "I ept the offer, there isn''t much to lose¡­ But you better keep your end of the deal¡­" "I swear it on my life," Moby nodded back, blinking in acknowledgement before he felt a gentle grip on his gauntlets that made him slightly bite his lip before looking at what it was. When he did, all that he could see was what seemed like a small, white hair girl, looking like a sweet, innocent child, shaking his hands gently up and down, tears running down her face. "Ummm¡­ Mister¡­ Thank you so much for killing Emilia¡­ That filthy, disgusting Shalker... It makes me so happy¡­ I''m so, so, so, so, sorry for everything I did to you and your friends¡­ I didn''t know any better, I really do beg for your forgiveness mister demon lord... I don''t know how I will ever make it up to you," What Moby saw was a cute innocent child on the outside but pandora''s box from the inside, he couldn''t help but think that she was a monster ready to eat him whole. He did not know if he was being manipted, but an odd feeling in his stomach was telling him that she was being actually genuine. "It''s okay¡­ But now, will you sign this paper? We need to get back home before curfew, we can talkter about this okay?" Moby shook her hand back with a smile, holding the contract paper in front of her. "Ummm¡­ Sir¡­ Can I please call you big brother¡­ I-I never had one before¡­" Moby inwardly raised an eyebrow, like he did not expect or understand anything of what was happening but went along with it anyways. "Of course, that wouldn''t be a problem," "R-really¡­" "Yeah, no worries, it''s fine," "Th-thank you so much big brother¡­" Her voice was shy and taken back,pletely contradicting his mental image of her. "So, big brother Moby¡­ What do you want me to do?" "Just cut your self in some way, then imprint your blood at the bottom, my blood is already on it so it just needs your approval now," "Okay¡­ I got it¡­" Hikari brought her hands up and was about to bite her thumb to draw blood from it, when, suddenly, her hair turned ck, immediately doing it instead. "It''s okay, I''ll do it instead," Yami said, putting her blood on the paper, causing it to glow the same colours as before, making it more than clear how overprotective she was of her sister. "I''m done, I''ll have to trust you on this one..." She said, taking a deep breath, Moby nodding back at her with a stern face before storing the paper back in his inventory, Emilia''s body still in his hands. "Curfew is in about 30 minutes, we need to head back to the dorms before anyone suspects anything, and I need to report Emilia back to the military proving that she is a shalker. Can you wait for me over there? I need to take care of one more thing before we leave¡­" Moby spoke, pointing at a small hill in the distance, Yami nodding back at his words, following orders without question before Moby turned his focus towards Abby in the distance, still crying and screaming, tears running down her face. At this point, she was so far gone that he could barely even recognize her, making his own heart snap in two seeing who he once saw as his own daughter brought down to such a state¡­ Not even defeating her "sister" was enough to break the mind control... "GIVE ME MY SISTER BACK YOU SON OF A BITCH! THIS WAS NEVER MEANT TO HAPPEN! EVERYTHING IS RUINED! AHHH!" Chapter 246 - Preparing To Go Back

Chapter 246: Preparing To Go Back

"YES! COME HERE! GIVE ME HER BODY! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY SISTER!" With clear pain on his face, he continued walking towards Abby''s body that was pinned down by lightning daggers from the ground, his heart cracking more and more from each step as he reached her location. "Abby¡­ Don''t worry, I promised that I would never abandon you and I don''t n on breaking that promise anytime soon¡­" Moby''s voice was soft and gentle, aplete contrast between his prideful, deep voice from before. "Shut up! I don''t want to hear that from you! You took everything from me! Everything! If you want me to respect you again, kill yourself and give me my sister bckkkk!" "She couldn''t care less about you! She was the enemy! A shalker! She just used you as a hostage to get to me! Don''t you get it!?" "Shut up! You know nothing of mine and her rtionship! We were close! I loved her and she loved me! We were inseparable and shared the same ideals! And now my dear sister is dead! DEAD! You fucking killed her!! And not only that! You have no respect for her! Dragging her body on the ground! You fucking bitch! Give her back now! She yelled, firing a dim, slow crimson me from her mouth headed straight for Moby that he simply sidestepped and dodged despite the state that his body was in. It was more than clear to him now¡­ Abby had gonepletely insane, possibly beyond saving, his heart lurching deep down in his chest just looking at her, breaking into a million pieces. From before, she seemed somewhat sane, able to be reasoned with. But now she looked like aplete monster¡­ If it weren''t for her face that somewhat resembled that of old, if 2 weeks ago someone had shown him a video of her and told him that was Abby, he would haveughed in their face and called them an idiot, and that Abby would never even dream of even looking at him weird let alone curse at him. He had no idea what Emilia did to her, whatever she did seemed to be extremely powerful¡­ There seemed to be no talking sense into her¡­ ''Avilia, I need help here¡­ Do you think I can help her¡­ This is really important to me¡­ Give it to me straight if it can''t be done,'' Without hesitation, Avilia answered calmly. ''I''m not sure what was done to her, but I''m sure it wouldn''t be too hard to find out. If you search her soul for a bit, you might be able to find answers. It should be much easier for you since you already had a connection with her in the past,'' ''Wait! Really!? That''s it!? Why didn''t you say so earlier!? I''ll just-" ''I wouldn''t rmend you do it now. The process is extremely long and fatiguing which are 2 things you arecking; It will take until past your curfew and your body is too injured right now to handle it. It''s best for you to take her back to your dorms and get her fixed before you go to the general''s office to report Emilia''s body. Or, you can send Jayden to do that part and you can be back at the dorms to fix Abby,'' Avilia exined, Moby nodding back in agreement, although he didn''t agree with her term of ''fix'' which made sound like Abby was nothing but a broken toy. ''If that''s the case then it can''t be helped, I agree with your judgement,'' ''Inspect,'' Moby used his inspect skill on Abby, finding out that it now worked once more, most likely due to the state she was in. ''2 mana, 3 demon energy and barely any HP¡­'' Moby inwardly took in, concluding that she was no threat to him, and in her state might as well be even worse than he was, now nodding to himself. "Nags!" He called with an air of authority that was nothing like when he was addressing Abby, looking to his right where hest remembered seeing him when he was on the hill, surprised by his expression that he did not clearly see until now. Nags looked at him with apletely nk face, at him and Emilia''s corpse still in his hands. He looked like a zombie with a face of a ghost, like he was still lost in his mind. "Nags! What are you doing!? Snap out of it!" "Huh¡­" Immediately, Nags woke out of his daze at Moby''s orders, shaking his head trying to look natural. It was an expression that waspletely unlike Nags who was usually calm headed andposed, "I think I get it¡­ Your old boss was part of the same race as the people who took your sister. It must be tough. But you need to get over it! It''s not really your fault," Moby''s voice rang in his skull like a jet engine,pletely firm in his words, making his eyes grow wide, as he bowed down so that his face could no longer be seen and said. "Thank you so much for your words of kindness lord, I''ll be sure to cherish them," Moby knew that Nags was on the smarter side than most people. He was still unsure what he should do with himter on when his 1 week of control was over and if he should trust him or not¡­ At least for now, he could be 100% trusted. "Nags, since you''re less injured than everyone else, I need you to bring her towards the others following right behind me. Don''t hurt her or use any force more than necessary," "I understand!" He replied, still bowing, his voice and mannerisms slightly off, most likely due to his still cloudy, hurting mind. "No! Stay away from me! Don''t touch me with your filthy hands! I''ll fucking kill you! I''ll kill you!" She struggled to no avail as she was tightly locked between Nags''s two hands. "My lord, if it''s not too rude of me to ask, but why don''t we just knock her out now? Wouldn''t it be easier than dragging her?" Moby closed his eyes and responded to his words. "Well, she has the teleport pad in her inventory, we can''t get back without it. Despite how much it hurts me to say, but we might need a little force to get it out of her. But first, I might need to try something else that I can whip out since I would really rather not hurt her ¡­ For now, let''s go to the others, Oh, and don''t forget to pick up Jason''s skeleton on the way back, we can''t forget it here, " Moby exined, Making Nags nod back to his words. "Understood," "Good, now follow me¡­" Moby spoke, walking back with his back straight and his chest out, like a true king showing absolutely no weakness. "STOPPP IT!!" Moby inwardly took a deep breath. Other than what went on with Abby, everything had been so far going even better than he had nned. Currently, he was as fragile as ss, any sudden impact would be more than enough topletely shatter him. But, lucky for him, they all bought his bluff and went along with what he said since they had no reason to doubt him. Using his drain skill, he drained the life force from the rhino-looking beasts and used it all to heal his face and only some of his body. That was why his face lookedpletely uninjured as all of his major wounds were all hidden under his armour that was recently repaired due to Avilia''s prowess. He used every fibre of his being to force his way towards the first battlefield, which even further injured his body. Currently, he was barely even able to stand up straight, let alone walk like he owned the world. Yet, he had to endure all the pain under his poker face as to not break everything that he had just built up and watch it crumble and backfire in his face. Due to Moby''s inexperience with contracts and such, he was not strong enough to modify or remove it, so reusing it was his best option after everything was over and Vinova died. He could not simply trust HikariYami to keep his secret and needed a way to keep her mouth shut without angering her and getting killed so he had to do what he had to do¡­ Especially now seeing how strong she was, being far stronger than he had ever expected, his friends all beingpletely destroyed by her. Of course, after all the damage that had been made, to both him and his friends, he could not let her go scot-free. She had to pay for what she had done, if he had not arrived in time, they would have all been dead. However, in his current condition, that would not be possible. Looking at Alex and Jayden''s sorry, injured states made a burning fire rage in his heart, all directed at her. Yet, for some odd, inexplicable reason, part of himpletely opposed that and felt pity for her, a naive child being manipted by an alien to do their bidding, her sad, crying, puppy dog eyes popping up in his mind before shaking them away. For the first time that he could remember, his mind was torn in two, unable to understand what he was meant to do with her, his brain beginning to hurt like it was going to bulge out of his head. He shook his head and tried his best to make up his mind. He was never a man known for his mercy and he did not see why it would be any different for a random girl he had only just met. He was slightly leaning more towards possibly killing her for the XP and revenge for his friends but he decided that he should consult them first before he chose to do anything since they were the true victims in all of this. He was in no rush toe up with a decision, even if they chose to kill her, they would definitely not do it now or anytime soon considering their injured states. "LET GO OF ME YOU MONSTERS! GIVE ME MY SISSSTERRR BACCKKK!" Their entire way to the others, Abby would not stop her screaming, her words, although the raving of a hopeless madwoman, still piercing daggers into Moby''s soul, despite his best efforts to ignore her. "This should be good enough, you should be able to walk now, although only barely¡­ I ran out of mana so I can''t do much more, I can fully heal you when we get back home okay?" Jayden spoke to Alex with a shaky, tender smile, unlike anything he had ever seen before, making him look wide-eyed in surprise as she continued wrapping cloth around the bleeding wounds that she was not able to fully heal. "Oh! Moby! You''re back! I-I''m so d you came back in time¡­ I was so scared¡­ You saved us all..." Jayden spoke, holding back the tears in her eyes, still wrapping Alex with a white cloth. Moby wanted nothing more than to give Jayden a hug and tell her that everything would be alright, but he was not sure that his copsing body could even survive something so simple and he knew that it was definitely not the time for such things. However, before he could think any further, he was interrupted. Suddenly, jumping out of the mountain above them crashed a little girl, a look of sadness and joy on her face as she ran over towards Moby in a hurry. "Big brother! You''re back! Are we going back home now?" Hikari said, softly grabbing Moby''s rough hands. "Yes, we''re going back home, it shouldn''t take long. Sit tight for me okay?" "Okay big brother Moby¡­" She spoke with a rather shy smile, bowing to him before standing by a few meters away. "W-wha¡­" Jayden, Alex, and Nags all stood there in shock, unable to believe their eyes. They refused to believe that their previous enemy, the same, ruthless, heartless girl that almost killed them all a few minutes ago now seemed like a small, shy, innocent little child could not even hurt a butterfly. Alex especially. It almost seemed like Moby hadpletely tamed her and that he has a n for her in the future. Shaking his head to remove such thoughts, Alex asked, putting on a serious expression. "Where''s Abby¡­ What happened with her? D-did you managed to get her back?" The atmosphere was tense and quiet, nothing but the sound of the wind and purple petals from the flowers on the ground blowing around them. "Well, see for yourself¡­" Moby spoke, moving to the side only to reveal Abby''s angered, beyond unrecognizable face of madness, heavily breathing as she no longer screamed. "I see¡­ C-can you not save her¡­ Did wee this way all for nothing¡­ Did we fail before we even started¡­ Heh¡­ At least you were able to kill a shalker spy, one with an ability at that¡­ Things should get pretty crazy when we get back to school¡­" Alex spoke,ughing softly at himself like he was ready to burst into tears, before Moby shed some light on him once more. "Don''t worry, I think I should be able to save her. I just don''t have time to do it here, we need to get back home before it''s toote," Alex and Jayden''s looks of depression turned radiant hearing Moby''s words, nodding vigorously back to him as they contained tears of Joy from falling down their face. "We only have 25 minutes, we need to force the teleport pad out of Abby''s inventory. I don''t want to hurt her so I''ll try to use my new void power to maybe forc-" *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* "W-what!? What the fuck is that!?" Abruptly, a massive explosion was heard in the sky, making everyone look up only to see ripples and waves, sending gusts of wind in all directions as they all struggled to stand in ce, especially the beyond injured Moby. Waves of purple consumed the previously calm, orange sky, a massive hole opening up in the middle of the wave, filled with nothing but ck, ominous energy with a hint of purple, the very fabric of space and time tearing and shifting all around it, causing effects that only seemed possible in the movies, but now only real. As the hole opened more and more, so did the flowing energy and the raging wind blowing sand in their face, when suddenly, another explosion was heard. *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* Blinding all of their visions, making them cover their eyes. "W-wha!" When they opened their eyes, they could not help but stare up in shock and horror, the previous orange sky was still there, only now consumed by a spaceship of massive of unknown origin unlike anything they had seen before, It''s grandeur mouth opening, its colours a mixture of ominous, shadowy ck and purple filled with energy. Out of the ship, the figure of what seemed like a tiny spec jumped down in the distance on the ground below, falling for a few seconds beforending and creating a crater in his wake, the sound even reaching them who were many kilometres away. The crash was then followed up by a massive roar, in anguage that sounded oddly familiar yet unlike anything they ever heard in their entire life, the voice sounding otherworldly, shaking them to their very core and sending shivers down their spine, their hearts lurching deep down in their chest, cold gusts of wind blowing everywhere. ? AVILIAAAA!! I KNOW YOU''RE THERE! COME OUT! ? As soon as he heard that unknown, iprehensible roar, he felt an odd feeling in his aching heart, making him look inside only to see Avilia''s metaphorical feeling of shock and unease, like something both amazing and horrifying happened at the same time as she muttered. "That''s¡­ That''s... THAT''S!" *************** Checkments for Avilia art ;) (2 pictures, vote for the one that looks best) Chapter 247 - Presence of the Almighty

Chapter 247: Presence of the Almighty

Moby had seen this sight on Avilia many times before, but this is the first time she had a hint of excitement in her voice along with all of the other emotions, which Moby found quite odd in his still shaky, bewildered state trying to make out who it was in the distance. ''Avilia! What is it!? Did you notice something!?'' ''THAT''S THE DEMON LANGUAGE!'' She blurted in his head, making his eyes grow wide, realizing what that meant for her. Of course, Moby was not ignorant enough to believe that demons spoke English but he did not imagine it to sound like what he heard which seemed very mystical in nature beyond his wildest dreams. ''Is it a demon!? Do you sense demon energying from it?'' ''He''s too far away for me to tell, but if he somehow knows demonnguage, then I can find more answers about my people! Maybe he''s an ally!'' Moby inwardly cursed, the realization of what just happened and who it was that had justnded hitting him in the face like a bullet. ''You idiot! Get out of your fantasies! If it knows demon tongue then it must be strong as fuck!'' Avilia inwardly took a mental step back and shook her mind, Moby''s words shaking her to her very core as she took a deep breath and contained the excitement that could not help but burst out of her heart back where it belonged. She indeed felt like an idiot. She could not let her thirst for knowledge and answers cloud her judgement in such a serious situation. ''Sorry, you''re right! Shit! I''m not sure how it would be even possible. But, that over there might actually be a greater demon, and if it is then you might as well kiss earth and everyone you knew and loved goodbye¡­ Now that I think about it, that is most likely Vinova''s lord, now that the contract is null and she died, there would be nothing holding him back from arriving as well¡­'' ''Yeah! I''m well aware! This is fucked! FUCKED! We should have gotten away sooner! But I''m not even sure if that would have even been possible to get the teleporter out of Abby''s inventory that fast when she is not willing! FUCK THAT VILLANOVA! Even in death! She had it all nned! I was too careless!'' Moby inwardly cursed, his mind delving deep into a self-loathing pit of despair as he realized his major w of not asking for the teleporter to be stored in Emilia''s storage ring so he could easily ess it when he defeated her, not in the still mind-controlled Abby''s inventory that was far harder to ess. "Jayden! The contract is over! Quick! Call your father! Call the military! I have a bad feelinging from that spaceship and man in the distance!" Moby shouted, his expression turning aplete 180 degrees as he switched into a mixture of seriousness and panic as he tried to save all that he could. "B-but I can''t! The connection is too far away! Even if I were to cut off my watch arm now, the school wouldn''t be notified¡­" The horrified look on Jayden''s face made his heart crack, a memory of her dying, being impaled by a sword ying in his mind before he inwardly cursed and shook those thoughts away, his hand grasping his heart. "FUCK!" Moby roared, realizing once again that it must have been part of the reason that Vinova had chosen this. ? AVILIA! QUEEN OF ALL DEMONS! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF SEARCHING! I FOUND YOU! I REALLY FOUND YOU! HAHAHA! FINALLY! MY LIFE GOAL IS COMPLETE AT LAST! THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! TRULY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!? He spoke more in an iprehensible tongue, immense purple energy exuding and exploding from his bodypletely purple, unlike anything he had ever witnessed before in his life, that despite his distance, when Moby activated his energy sense, his energy was thick and clear as day,pletely engulfing his vision. Earthquakes and the sound of the earth shaking was heard in the distance as he stomped his feet on the ground, looking straight in their direction as he prepared to dash towards them, even more energy in the air exuding from him than before... The man in the distance was strong¡­ Extremely strong beyond his wildest dreams¡­ They were all dead¡­ Dead if he came towards them and there would be nothing that he could do¡­ Nothing... Absolutely nothing... Moby stared ahead of him, a cold chill running down his spine as he watched the personification of his demise readying himself to charge straight at him¡­ Along with the fear he usually felt, he also now, for the first time in a very long time, felt another fear¡­ Fear, unlike any fear he had previously felt¡­ Fear for his own life, not stemming from the fear of losing a family member¡­ The feeling of absolute power that he knew he could not topple no matter whatever trick he used... There was no way to get out of it¡­ His trump card was not ready to use, and even if he used it, he doubted that it would serve him much help against an opponent such as who he saw in front of him. "Abby! Give me the teleporter now! Or we are all dead! Do it if you want to live! Do it if you still want your revenge on me!" Moby yelled his heart out, Abby now being his final chance at saving all of them, only for her to respond with a wicked smile and a crazy chuckle, no care in the world as it seemed like she wanted to see the world burn, for some reason rather excited to see everything that had just happened¡­ "Big brother¡­ What''s happening¡­ What''s wrong¡­ I''m scared¡­" He heard a soft, gentle, female voice and a tug on his pants, turning around only to see Hikari, a mixture of horror and confusion on her face, her entire body shaking which staggered him even more than he already was. *BAM* Suddenly, an ear-piercing sound was heard in the distance, which was followed up by a massive gust of cold wind, blowing in his direction, an ominous feeling warping around his heart as he turned around, only to see the figure of boundless death itself standing and breathing on top of him, his energy so close that he could barely breathe from the thin air, his already weak legs growing even weaker as he struggled to stay standing on his two feet and keep his face looking somewhat calm looking at his visage¡­ Luckily, if he could even call it luck, the person in front of him was no demon, but a shalker instead¡­ A shalker with the demon tongue which heavily confused Avilia, so many things appearing in her mind that she tried to make sense of... Towering over him, standing at 8 feet tall, his bloody, crimson eyes fixated directly on him, 3 red lines going from under his eyes down to his neck, disappearing under his magnificent set of ck and red armour that looked to both fit a barbarian and a monarch, the outlines of his armour clearly bulging out, wearing no helmet which showed his face to all and his decently long white hair. The horn on his head had some sort of weird energy flowing out of it with what seemed like scratches, a smile on his rough-looking face, a deep sh mark scar on his closed right eye, effectively blinding him from there, something that Moby found rather odd considering that healing abilities and technology were a thing. At his arrival, everyone instinctively took a step back out of pure fear and instinct, their entire bodies quivering as they struggled to breathe in their shaky state, teeth ttering as they could all sense their impending doom. The only two people that managed to keep their ground were Moby and Hikari who was trembling and closing her eyes, hugging Moby by the leg even harder to the point that he thought it was going to explode, yet he endured it all and did not stop her from hugging what seemed like her onlyfort. Moby needed to stand his ground as their leader, show no weakness despite the critical state he was in to possibly put some calmness in everyone else¡­ That was all he could do now as their leader despite how impossible and excruciating it felt to do it... With an oppressing, dominant air, the man pointed directly at Moby and spoke. ? You¡­ You have Avilia don''t you? You think you could be the next demon lord? Lucky son of a bitch! I can guarantee that she did not choose you! You are quite pathetic! I''m surprised that you were even able to defeat Vinova! I guess she grew weak after assuming a human body! ? Heughed, almost like it was the best day in his life, no regard for his subordinate who had died to make this all possible. ? Who are you? Why are you here? What is your name? What do you want? And how do you know the demon tongue? ? Moby spoke random gibberish that he could not understand, making everyone look at him in shock, Avilia tranting the shalker''s words into English and tranting Moby''s words into demon for him to speak back to him. ? Oh¡­ a puny human wanna-be demon can actually talk in the demon tongue? Impressive¡­ Or is it Avilia speaking? That doesn''t matter¡­ All that matters is that I''ve finally found you¡­ I am Arksha the great! A former member of the council of 12, and I am going to be your new master¡­? That''s all you need to know¡­ Now¡­ All you unneeded ants die¡­ You are all worthless to me¡­ All I need is Avilia...? He spoke, forming a ball of unknown red energy from his hands, making them inwardly curse as it seemed to be another shalker that somehow possessed an ability. The energy itself was something that he did not recognize yet something that also felt oddly familiar, the entire ground shaking and eroding from its wake, dying the ground colour as his energy that seemed more than enough to take all of them out, a smile on his face like it was the best time of his life seeing tiny little insects'' horrified faces of despair, the only thing that would have made it better to him was if they were crying and begging to be spared, yet that would be asking for too much considering his current mood, he might have died from pure satisfaction. Moby gritted his teeth and inwardly gulped his saliva, sweat running down his face. He wondered if what he was feeling now was how all of his inferior opponents felt like when he came out on top¡­ It made him actually imagine how it seemed like from their points of view, pure despair looking up knowing of their impending doom. He tightly held his hands into a fist and looked behind him at all of his family member''s faces, a searing pain in his heart seeing their faces¡­ Even Hikari who was still tightly hugging his leg. The only person that seemedpletely amused out of the ordinary was Abby who bore a smile on her face which also added on to Moby''s pain, before he turned around to see his opponent still charging his crackling ball of red energy with pleasure on his face. He could not bear it anymore¡­ He didn''t want to see his friends dead¡­ What was the point in all of this? Was it all for nothing? There was only one thing that he could do¡­ 1 possible way that he saw to save everyone¡­ ? STOP! ? He yelled, his voice shaking the ground and causing ripples in the sky, making the shalker look at him, still amused, yet now with his eyebrows raised in slight confusion as he lessened the power of his ball of energy. ? Stop all of this! All you want is me right!? Just spare them! They don''t have anything to do with this! Just take me! I will submit without any resistance if you spare them! ? Chapter 248 - First Blood...

Chapter 248: First Blood...

? This is between you and me! They have nothing to do with this! Take me and Avilia and be on your way! ? Moby''s resolve and voice were both firm. He knew full well that the chances of it actually working was slim. Why would he choose to bend to his will and agree to his proposal? He was in no position to make demands. Yet, he tried it anyway... It was his only chance at saving them. He thought about threatening to kill himself along with Avilia, but reconsidered it immediately seeing the power his opponent holds; if he wanted to, he could easily stop him without effort the second he even sensed an attempt¡­ Self-sacrifice was the only way. It was his fault that all this mess happened and he needed to be the one to fix it. He warped and squeezed his head for any way he could get out of this situation. He could absolutely not let his family die... ? Hahaha! You can''t be serious, can you? I''ll just kill all of you and take you by force! I haven''t had this much fun in years! ? ''FUCK!!'' ? What kind of shalker lord are you!? Spare them and take me! They can spread your name far and wide! What would be the benefit in squishing ants!? There is no fun in that! You have already scarred them for life! Living would be even greater torment to them than staying alive! ? Moby was going mad, he was usually calm and collected, valuing his image to his friends to help them stay calm as well. But none of that mattered to him now. He threw away all of that, his dignity and honour meant nothing to him in his current situation as survival was his first instinct. Everyone else looked at Moby with shaky, wide-open eyes as they saw him lose his cool, screaming in a differentnguage that only made the fear in their heart increase as it was unexpected¡­ It was the first-ever time they saw their leader behave in such a way... To make their leader act like that, the person that was calm and collected in the face of any danger, that person must have been even stronger than they had assumed, the feeling of death only seeming like one step away as they used everything in their power to stand their ground in his presence. Yet, despite all of that, they felt absolutely no regret, all but Nags and Yami who were both inwardly cursing the situation in their minds with ghost-like faces of despair. ? Hahahaha! You know what!? Your words might have some truth in them, but I won''t make things go your way! It might be good to restart the war between humans and shalkers!? Hisugh echoed in the air once more, sending shivers down everyone''s spines. Hisugh turned Moby''s face sour as he gritted his teeth tightly¡­ It was all over¡­ He was far too greedy in everything that he did¡­ He had not learned his lesson the first time challenging the gang which led to Abby''s kidnapping and immediately repeated the same mistake now¡­ Reality hit him very hard, he was still far too weak to do what he wanted¡­ He was too childish, not everything always went his way¡­ Yet, he did not give up yet¡­ Not without trying, despite his clearly injured state¡­ "Listen up! For once, I am choosing to be merciful! I will leave one of you to spread what happened here! A sort of messenger! Which one of you wants it!?" His words caught everyone by surprise, yet to the shalker''s own surprise, there seemed to be no one willing to cooperate with him when he expected them all to be on their knees, begging him or possibly fighting amongst themselves to be the one chosen, yet none of that happened as they simply stared coldly in his direction. Even Yami and Nags who could not care less about everyone else in the group declined¡­ Their hatred for the shalkers was such, they would rather die than ally themselves with another shalker after what happened with Emilia¡­ For some odd reason, that disy of loyalty put somefort into Moby''s heart, which pushed him further into saying what he wanted to say and do what he wanted to do, fighting a losing battle and give them a chance to escape. There was only one way that he could do it, he needed to teleport everyone away using his ability, and threaten to kill himself if he attempted to follow them. At least then they could run and hide while he tried his best to buy them some time, and maybe even convince Abby to teleport them away back to earth and snap some sense into her. At least then they would be saved and he would be the only casualty instead of all of them dieing instead. Even Avilia, whose mind was still hurting from everything that was going on and could not fathom being captured and experimented on by such a being agreed to Moby''s n. It seemed like the shalker knew who she was and somehow thought that he could transfer her spirit from Moby to him, which piqued her curiosity, yet not enough for her to give in to temptation, far from it. She could not care less about Moby''s family but she dearly cared about him, which was why she agreed to it since it would have been better for his sanity... Moby put his hands behind his back and formed purple energy that began forming into a dagger, making sure that his opponent did not pay attention to him as he began the process of imprinting his mark on it. His friends that were behind him noticed exactly what he was doing, yet they made sure to seem oblivious as it seemed like Moby had a n, making them once again put all of their hopes and dreams on his shoulders and believe he had something in mind like he always did. ''Almost done¡­'' Moby thought to himself, the marking process taking longer than he expected as he was no longer in his sin mode. "HUH!? No one!? Then so be it! I''m sure some of you will change your mind when I beat it into you!" He spoke, forming another ball of red energy in his hands before a sudden scream was heard, clear joy and craziness in her voice. "I''LL DO IT!" Suddenly, as soon as that scream was heard, everyone''s attention was fixated in her direction, only Moby''s vision was now blocked by 2 armoured figures, a massive ck, armoured goblin wearing Barberian armour and a shorter one wearing a full te of metal. ? GAWRKKK ? ''What the fuck!'' Moby was caught by surprise, inwardly cursing as the massive goblin swung his greatsword straight at him, knowing full well how all of this happened, which was thest thing on his mind. Moby was forced to dodge, cancelling the skill that he was using to imnt the dagger which required his full concentration. Yet, no matter how fast he wanted to move, his body was simply too tired and injured to do it, as he saw a massive sword headed for his head, unable to do anything about it¡­ All of his friends were too far away to do anything, and too injured and drained to react in time¡­ ''Fuck¡­ not now! am I really gonna die in such a stupid way¡­'' He inwardly cursed once more, before sudden spikes of light shot out from the ground, impaling the goblin in various areas, instantly killing it. "Monster! Stay away from my big brother!" Hikari, who was still hugging his legs spoke, tears in her eyes, conviction and care in her voice that Moby sensed, filling him with an odd emotion in his heart seeing this little girl care for him so deeply, relief enveloping his entire body. Yet, the relief in his heart did notst for long as he noticed Nags,zily fighting the other goblin with his battle Axe in his drained, injured state until he finally defeated it, Abby no longer in his hands which made him frantically look for her, only to see her liming away towards the Shalker with wide-open eyes and a fanatic smile on her face, stopping right in front of him. "ABBY WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? YOU IDIOT! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" She heard a voice from behind her, yet could not convince her to turn back. "Oh great lord! I pledge my undying loyalty to you! My sister was your previous subordinate but she sadly passed away by the hands of these heathens! Allow me to continue her legacy an-" *p* With a single p of his hands, Abby was sent flying, skitting on the hard, rocky ground, coughing blood everywhere as the wind was knocked out of her body. ''W-what¡­'' She was confused on what was happening as her brain sping in a circle of agony, her body unable to move as she forced her head to look up at the Shalker''s smile and bloody, glowing, piercing eyes. "Oh¡­ You must be the toy that Vinova had been telling me about¡­ This is quiet amusing indeed, It seems like all that she had told me is true¡­ It''s quite a sightseeing you in real life¡­ I have no use for broken puppets like you¡­" He spoke, looking down at her as he formed another ball of red energy his hands, ready to fire it. "L-lord... Please... Let me join. you... I promise to be useful to you... Please..." ''FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! IT''S ALL RUINED!'' Moby''s mind went wild, his heart beating faster than a machine gun. There was nothing more that he could do¡­ Despite everything that happened, he still saw Abby like his own daughter, a lost child that was his responsibility. And now he was forced to watch as she died¡­ He could not bear the sight, a feeling ravaging his body unlike anything in his entire life as he tried to force his body to move and his brain to think of a way out, feeling like he was about to explode as he screamed, tears running down his face, Hikari hugging him even tighter which made it even harder for his injured body to move, all of his family members feeling simr emotions seeing the sight unfold. "ABBBYYYY!" "You will be the first, and example for what fate awaits you all¡­ Now¡­ you die¡­" The shalker spoke with no remorse, firing a stream of red energy out of his fingertips. "ABBBBBBBBYYYYYYY!" *Crash* Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sound of lightning crashing was heard, startling everyone in the area. And, in the next instance, another body was seen, standing proudly with his hands spread out in front of the st, his bones bent in odd, disturbing ways, barely even managing to stand up, small sparks of lightning covering his body, tears and a single smile on his face as he took it all head-on¡­ "A-Alex¡­" Abby spoke in a low voice tears running down her face with a mixture of sadness and disbelief unlike any other she bore in her entire life... Chapter 249 - Family Dead...

Chapter 249: Family Dead...

Alex was standing in front of her, his body slowly being disintegrated, his skin and outer tissue showing more and more the more he stood in the attack. "Alex¡­ ALEX!" *Cough* *Cough* "Abby! Snap out of it! Didn''t you hear me thest time? No matter what¡­ I''ll never give up on you¡­ I love you and nothing will change that¡­ I have lived my whole life in regret¡­ But for once I feel no such thing¡­ My promise fulfilled¡­ Now, I can finally die in peace¡­ Goodbye¡­ Abby¡­ Live your life to the fullest¡­ You truly mean the world to me..." With a smile on his face that turned into ck ash, the single tear falling down his face evaporating as soon as it fell, a shining hope and an unbreakable pir fell dead on the ground, his charred remains falling down at the bewildered Abby''sp who was crying waterfalls un waterfalls, unable to believe what had just happened as she looked at Alex''s unrecognizable body that still had a hint of a smile left on his now ck face¡­ "Alex¡­ Alex¡­ Wake up¡­ Don''t pull another one of your pranks on me¡­ Please wake up¡­ This isn''t real right? This was all a dream¡­ wake up¡­ wake up¡­ WAKE UPPPP!" Abby''s tone began mellow and got crazier and crazier as she went on, shaking Alex''s body lightly like she was trying to nudge him awake after a deep sleep to full-on shaking up, frantically trying to deny reality. Abby''s entire body was trembling and shaking like crazy, even a full-powered vibrator paled inparison. The tears running down her face only seemed to get even faster and more violent, the pain and unease in her broken heart so immense that anyone else would have simply died of stress, the pain unimaginable by all as she spoke like the raving of a madwomen. "NO! Don''t go! I need you! DON''T GOOO! This can''t be real! What have I done¡­ What happened¡­ This can''t be real¡­ What was I even doing¡­ How could I allow this¡­ Alex pleasee back¡­ someone wake me out of this nightmare¡­ This is all my fault¡­ I-I how could I do all of that¡­ N-no¡­ This can''t be real¡­ Alex¡­ You idiot¡­ You can''t leave me like this¡­ I-I beg Lord Moby bring him back¡­ Use your almighty power to-" She turned around, looking for any sort offort from her lord. Yet, she knew she deserved no suchfort for her beyond despicable actions that had led to all of this, all the memories rushing into her mind all at one¡­ He was the same person she loved and respected more than anyone else in the world, the shining hope in her life, the kindest person she knew¡­ the first person to ever genuinely treat her right, with respect and no ulterior motives. Yet, she constantly cursed and insulted him over, and over, and over again, even going to the point of siding with the most despicable enemy she possibly could have and the reason for all her pain and suffering, she received no suchfort¡­ The angry face mixed with nk disbelief that he wore, and his clenched fists and gritted teeth were a clear example of that, which broke her mind beyond any repair¡­ "L-lord¡­" ''Idiot¡­ Idiot¡­ What does that even serve? If anything it made things even worse¡­ Why do you always have to act like the hero? YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" The emotions running into Moby''s mind at that moment were indescribable, like many daggers piercing his heart, only those daggers were infused with the energy of the sun itself multiplied a million times over. It was almost unnatural and inexplicable¡­ The sight of seeing a family member of his falling dead was unlike anything he ever experienced before yet was something extremely familiar to him¡­ ''Family member dead¡­ Family dead¡­ Family dead¡­ I promised never again¡­ I failed¡­ Family dead¡­ Family dead¡­'' The pain in Moby''s mind and soul only dug deeper and deeper, spiralling into a flurry of emotions, unlike anything that had ever been thought to be possible. Even by Avilia, who was still in his mind and who expected something simr to happen could not help but be shocked by his disy, a feeling that even she could not fully grasp despite her thousands of years of living¡­ She had to do something about it or else Moby might end up destroying himself¡­ The conditions have been met... Although she was not sure if it would work, there was only one way she thought of that could possibly save him and everyone else, taking advantage of this unknown power and potensial... Everyone around him was shocked by Alex''s death and Jayden''s heart that had almost stopped from seeing what she saw, crying her eyes out as she could not even utter a single word from her disbelief could not help but notice an odd, ck energy unlike anything they had ever seen beforepletely enveloping Moby''s body, his eyes almost unrecognizable with the cold air of death surrounding him, making Hikari who had been previously hugging his legs run away in fear, hiding behind a rock. "B-big brother¡­" "Oh wow! Someone else stepped in to save a pathetic doll like you! That''s quite surprising! But that won''t change the fact that your still gonna die! What did he actually think that sacrifice would really do!? Save all of you!? What kind of stupid bullshit way of thinking is that?! Now you all die!" The shalker once again charged another st of red energy out of his hands, aiming it straight at Abby who was hugging Alex''s dead body with all her might, reality still not seeming real in her beyond broken mind¡­ "It''s okay Alex¡­ I''ll be with you¡­ I know you''re not dead! Just wake up¡­ just wake up¡­ just wake up¡­" She spoke with shaky, wide-open eyes, hugging him even tighter than before, seemingly oblivious to the st now about to be headed her way¡­ When, suddenly, the earth began shaking, clouds began forming in the sky, casting a ck shadow upon all in its path, cracks forming on the ground spreading and splitting even mountains in half as everyone tightly hung onto the nearest thing they could grab. Only Abby seemingly unphased as she continued hugging and petting Alex''s body with no care in the world despite everything that was going on around her. ? WHAT IN THE HELL!? ? Arksha began shaking by the tremble of the earth, cancelling his attack as everything seemed to havee out of nowhere as he dodged a st of ck lightning falling out of the now ckish gray sky. His attention immediately shifted to his right, his eyes growing wide in disbelief as he struggled to keep his eyes from popping out of their sockets, sweat running down his face and an odd smile appearing for seemingly no reason. There he saw a man, energy and aura roaring around him unlike anything he had ever seen or even fathomed, the mixture of purple, mostly ck, and red surrounding him unlike everything he had ever felt before as it consumed all in its path. The look on his face was calm, yet the subtle yet not so subtle anger exuding from it was almost drowning. Hisplex purple, viper-like eyes were like daggers aimed straight for his heart, angry, cold, and heartless, pitch-ck horns on his head, along with wings that spread far and wide, a ck skeleton surrounding it, shadowy ck scales on his body surrounding by a ck aura that had a wild yet majestic air to it, forming a coat of energy around his body in the shape of a beast amongst beast, yet at the same time looking rather iplete at the same time, almost like an infant, an iplete dragon... With a look of excitement unlike any other he bore previously, the ground still trembling which did not bother him as much when he got used to it, he spoke in a confident tone at the man ahead. ? Oh¡­ Well this is unexpected¡­ This- ? ? SILENCE! ? His word''s seemed otherworldly, with the rage, elegance and grace of a true monarch, something that no mortal would have dreamed of hearing, making the shalker instinctively take a step back, something that he found rather confusing as everything was so unexpected, yet he was still confident in guess what was happening¡­ With a snap of the man''s finger''s 20 daggers appeared in his hands, made out ofpete ck and purple, as he threw them in all directions. Their speed so fast that they were barely able to be seen by even Hikari''s naked eye. "Now flee¡­ Leave everything to me¡­ Stay safe and try and get out!" He spoke in English, his voice sounding extremely off to his family members, like he was apletely different person, the pain and shock of everything that had just transpired overwhelming to the point that all they all could not even react, before they were suddenly gone¡­ *Snap* With a simple snap of his fingers, everyone immediately disappeared¡­ All gone without a trace, catching Arkshapletely off guard as he did not know about that power, guessing he most likely teleported them to a random dagger that might as well have been on apletely different continent on this small, making them rather difficult to find. Yet, that did not even bother him in the slightest¡­ Killing them was no more than fun enjoyment to him¡­ His entire attention fixated on the man ahead of him with a smile on his face, his aura matching that of his opponent. ? Who the hell are you!? ? The aura of tense death enveloped only grew more and more, the cold stare in his direction only growing more and more painful. ? I am Avilia Graymore! The first demon lord of the Nether Realm! And I¡­ Will be your undoing¡­ ? Chapter 250 - The Beast Within

Chapter 250: The Beast Within

? OHH! We finally meet atst! I had a feeling that it might have been you! Oh Lord! Did youe out just to ept joining me? ? Arksha spoke with a smile, his hands out towards the demonic figure ahead. ? Silence! Have you no idea who you''re addressing in such a tone? I will be the only one asking questions! Before I kill you, tell me this¡­ How do you know my name? Why were you searching for me? And where did you learn to speak like that!? ? A sudden smile appeared on the Shalker''s face hearing Avilia speak, her voice a mixture between that of a man and a woman, like he had been waiting for her to speak those exact same words¡­ ? Oh! So you don''t know? Well¡­ I''ll tell you! It''s the prophecy! The prophecy has been fulfilled! The legends about the great gctic wars that terrorized the entire universe! And the queen of the demon side! Avilia Graymore! Sealed in a ne waiting to find a worthy sessor, thrust somewhere randomly in the universe! It''s all been written! You are known! Your name has spread far and wide throughout the entire universe and about the power you hold! For as long as I could remember you have been sought after with a bounty on your head! Many people want you dead and many people want you alive¡­ I am of thetter¡­ I worship the ground you live on! Worshipping and trying to find you has been running in my family for many generations! It''s my life purpose! And I, out of everyone in the entire universe managed to find you first! In my household, we have an ancient table that inscribes much of what I said... And a few months ago... The tablet started glowing! glowing out of nowhere! I had a good feeling about all of this! It was a sign! And now I know exactly what it signified! It was your great return!? Avilia, who had taken over Moby''s body''s eyes grew wide in disbelief hearing his words, her mind feeling like it was about to explode from everything, the unimaginable pain, and hatred from Moby''s soul leaking into her consciousness, making her already hurting mind hurt even more as she tried to take everything that was spoken to her in¡­ ''Did the angels leak my information and put a bounty on my head? What are my people doing to stop this? Did they also put a bounty on me for my safe return? What in the hell is going on¡­ What is that tablet!? Am I now in constant danger wherever I go!? Am I a ma for trouble!?'' ? Oh dear Avilia¡­ My beautiful demon queen¡­ It''s okay¡­ Your suffering and confusion wille to an end when I take a hold of you... My families search for you has led us to many ces, including finding those ancient demon papers, one of which you have right now¡­ For many generations, we studied those papers and how to harness the demon energy in the air, practicing over, and over, and over again, that including how to read and write after some extreme analysis of everything. I am more worthy of you than that filthy human! I can appreciate you more! And I am the one who, after many years of training, managed to write that contract paper as a non-demon! Impressive right?? Now join me instead and we will rule over the world and take out those filthy angels that put you in this mess! Alongside the entire foul shalker army! With me all of this could be easily aplished! So, what do you say? ? Arksha asked with his hands out once more, Avilia''s cold re only increasing the more and more she heard him¡­ He was the one who sullied a paper from the book of resurrection¡­ And he dared boast about it to her?? She hated him from the bottom of her heart, just looking at his face made her sick¡­ She was not sure if such hatred stemmed from his arrogance, and shameless disrespect or because he had hurt Moby so bad to the point that she had to use the trump card to take over or else they would have both died... However, one thing that she was 100% certain of was that such a man was not worthy of even uttering her name let alone im her as his own¡­ ? You filthy mongrel! Do you really think you are worthy of me? I would never join someone like you! I am quite content with my current host! He is 10 times more worthy than you can ever be! Get out of your fantasies! You will never be the demon lord! ? Avilia roared with clear resolve and a mixture of anger, something that Arksha thought would happen yet feared at the same time. ? So be it¡­ I didn''t want to do this while you were the one in control¡­ But I''m going to have to beat it out of you and take you by force¡­ Even if you are the demon lord, in such a fragile, weak, puny body, there is not much you could do¡­ You are still far outmatched, no matter what you try, ? The shalker''s tone suddenly turned mellow and rather mncholic, like he was inwardly asking for forgiveness for what he was about to do. Avilia intently listened to Arksha, trying to suppress all of her emotions from exploding, and spoke something that had been bugging her, one of her possibly 1000s of unanswered questions she wanted to ask. All he was to her was a big bank of information but the world unknown that she so desperately wanted to know, so in the meantime, as she continues preparing herself, she will try to squeeze out as much information that she possibly could.... ? You keep talking about me and you joining forces like you can transfer my consciousness to yourself! You can''t be serious! ? ? Oh, well¡­ My dear demon queen¡­ That is because I can¡­ ? ? WHAT!? ? ? With my research of those ancient demon papers, I discovered a method that will allow me to transfer your consciousness from him into me¡­ ? Avilia could not believe her own ears, with sudden hope, yet a hint of unease in her heart as well as shes of her own soul being ripped out of Moby''s body began ying in her mind that was still hurting from Moby''s aching soul, yet she needed to push on to get more answers before she lost her chance. ? Would it be able to transfer me to a body of my own? ? Of course, Avilia was no traitor, there was no way she could betray Moby''s trust. Yet, she still asked the question into baiting him to answer, and if she managed to find where he hid the rest of the papers he possessed, she would be able to do the same thing as well¡­ *Argg* Suddenly, Avilia grunted, grasping her heart and head with both of her hands, trying her best to keep eye contact with the enemy despite her body that felt like it was going to explode. ? It''s nice speaking to my idol and goddess like this. It''s rather refreshing and unbelievable beyond my wildest dreams... But, to answer your question, I would say sadly not¡­ It would have to be into a living being where that living being has control over you, just like how you are now¡­ I know that state of yours is only temporary so- ? ? DIE YOU FUCKING BASTARD! ? ? DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE! ? Suddenly, a dragon-like roar echoed throughout the entire air, blowing a gust of wind in his direction as he saw Moby with cold, predator, beast-like eyes, shing at him with a burning ck katana filled with rage, the injuries that were previously littering his body seemingly nowhere to be found as Avilia had been secretly healing Moby''s body with her own magic while she was having her discussions with Arksha without him even noticing inorder to prepare for the uing fight. ? Interesting... ? Arksha spoke with a smile, lifting his finger up, surrounding it with red energy as he easily blocked the iing attack, which he then followed up with a punch of his own. The punch wasing in fast, like a train ready to crash straight into him as Moby only barely managed to react by activating his faze skill, causing the shalkers hands to go right through him, which caught him off guard. As Arksha leaned forward, both of their bodies blended. Moby was literally inside Arksha''s body and was able to see all of his organs working from the inside. When he reached over to crush his heart, it of course didn''t work, yet with Moby''s beast-like instincts, he decided to try it anyways. In his current state, he was wasting way too much energy and needed to escape. He had no idea what repercussions deactivating faze was inside something and he couldn''t care less in his current state. But, instead of both of their bodies blending together into a monstrosity, Moby had suddenly teleported above it without it even noticing, allowing a seemingly open strike at his head. Moby had the urge to scream as he attacked down at him with a ck energy, heavily enhanced sword, yet no matter how much he wanted to scream, he was simply not able to as Avilia who was back in his mind was fighting for control once more and couldn''t simply watch as he stupidly gave away his location. Yet, even still¡­ Despite all of her efforts, as Moby shed down towards the shalker''s exposed head, the attack was simply blocked by an arm that suddenly popped out of nowhere, blocking the attack with zero enhancements at all, the shalker looking up at Moby with a smile before punching him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, making his eyes go white in a split second before being blown away towards a mountain in the distance, cracking itpletely in half from the power exerted. ? Not bad! Not bad! I honestly didn''t even expect much from you! But you truly impressed me and caught me off guard! But I don''t think you heard me the first time when I said I used to be in the council of 12¡­ That is a bigger deal than you might think... Even if you have the demon lord''s backing... YOU ARE STILL FAR TOO WEAK!? At unbelievable speeds, Arksha immediately dashed over towards Moby in the distance, nothing but his cold, glowing purple eyes identifying him in the thick, orange dust. Chapter 251 - Overwhelming Power

Chapter 251: Overwhelming Power

Arksha rushed into the deep, thick fog of dust, Moby''s cold eyes glowing through unnaturally bright with aplex pattern to them unlike before. Without speaking a single word and a mellow smile on his face, he punched straight at the figure ahead with no remorse. He hated what he was about to do, attacking his idol was something he did not wish to happen as he wanted them to get along and be in agreement. Yet, now that did not seem very possible and he had to do what he had to do to get things his way and save her from such a pathetic host. ? Give up and join me Avilia! ? The punch had nearly connected, yet was suddenly stopped out of nowhere by a dull, ck barrier that began to glow only to explode a second after it broke, Moby looking at him with even colder eyes of death as he was sent away hurling and skitting on the floor from the impact of his own attack that had caught him off guard. ? What the fuck!? ? The shalker yelled, looking up at the cloud of dust only to see Moby''s body once again, now glowing all the colours of the rainbow, the sound of sparks all around him before he had suddenly disappeared and instantly reappeared directly in front of him, which also caught Arksha off guard yet still managed to react in time do to his superior power, punching straight at Moby''s face that waspletely enveloped in what seemed like a mixture of shadows and ck lightning, only for his attack to once again go through Moby''s face like he was not even there. In his confusion once more, he began to infuse his fists with his red energy, making him hear a grunt of pain from Moby''s body, seeing that it worked. Yet, as soon as he wanted to infuse even more energy, Moby''s body was once again gone without a trace, like he hadpletely disappeared from his location, only for him to feel a burning pain strike him from behind that only barely managed to pierce his skin, managing to attack back with his backhands and release a burst of energy surrounding his entire body, forcing Moby to jump away and dodge. ? HAHAHA! You actually managed to somewhat wound me! I didn''t actually expect this! Impressive! Very impressive! What kind of power is that! I''ve never seen anything like it! Is this the demon magic I keep reading about!? I might have to take things more seriously now! Are you the human or lord Avilia! Speak! Who is in control now! ? Arksha spoke at the figure of death ahead, his ck aura surrounding his entire body, raging and flowing everywhere with a mixture of ck fire, ice, lighting, and shadow, purple energy from the air moving into him like a moth to a me, the look on his face even more deadly than before, the figure of a dragon in his shadows. ? I am both¡­ ? He responded, snapping his fingers, creating a sudden aura of ck surrounding the entire battlefield which only seemed to make him faster and his opponent slower. Lifting his hands up in weird symbols, a cry was heard from behind him, sounding more like a screech of death as several ck undead spirits crawled straight out of the ground, the looks of absolute death and despair on their non-human, alien faces that resembled something more animalistic and primal that humans, their skeletons easily seen through their see-through skin, odd weapons of energy in their hands. Then, they were followed up by a dozen beasts, lions made out of lightning, ck in colour, their roars of electricity echoing everywhere in the air. Lifting both of his hands up, Moby created 2 ck disks and threw them at the amused yet bewildered shalker ahead, only for him to catch them with his bare hands, and throw them back at Moby like a frisbee. ? Catch! ? *Snap* Surrounding his body in ck fire and snapping his fingers, he boosted ahead at incredible speed, waving them away with a swipe of his hands like he used telekinesis, his army of lions and undead following straight from behind as he once again appeared in front of the shalker, casting ck, shadow enhanced ice on the ground, locking his feet in ce so he couldn''t dodge before he sted him with a wave of ck fire straight ahead, aiming for the shalker''s face. ? Pathetic Candle! ? The shalkerughed, simply blowing the stream of fire away like it was nothing with a smile on his face. With his right hand, Moby continued his attack of mes and with his open left hand, he opened it up, waving his hands into odd symbols and hand movements before yelling. ? Enhance! ? Suddenly, the burst of fire previously exiting his body was multiplied to several times its previous strength, the shalker now no longer able to simply blow it away as it nowpletely surrounded his face. Yet, it was still no time for celebration as it was nowhere near over¡­ With a swipe of his hands, Moby was struck straight in the stomach, turning his body into shadows before theplete impact of the attack struck him as he looked at his opponent''s smokey face that was charred ck instead of its normal now white. Yet, despite its colour, he still lookedpletely fine, virtually unharmed. ? Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Avilia! Show me more of your powers! Show me more! Once I fuse with you, will I also be able to do all of this!? I''ve never felt so alive! ? Moby''s shadowy eyes grew wide seeing Arksha''s reaction, not mad at all and excited instead. Yet, Moby/Avilia did not let that distract them. In the next instant, with the power of future sight possessed by eyes of sin, they managed to witness a big, muscr figure seemingly teleport and punch straight at their shadowy face. Blinking away, they barely even managed to react only to once again see another attack in its ce, forcing them to teleport once more. The difference in raw power between them was simply too immense to climb The army of undead and lions had only just caught up to the battle, pouncing at Arksha from all directions only for him to swat them all away like flies, while at the same time attacking him as well, seemingly able to predict everywhere he was able to teleport until he ran out, a seemingly unavoidable energy-infused attack that he could not phase through now headed in his direction. So, he was forced into warping away to one of his marks, now blending into his army of lightning lions and undead. ? Oh dear Avilia! Come out,e out where ever you are! ? Arksha spoke as soon as he noticed her gone, now looking around as he casually swatted away every undead headed in his direction like mere insects that were not even worth his time. And, without even paying attention, looking around to see if he could spot Avilia, he was suddenly bit on the arm by a lion that had somehow dodged his attack, making him look at it with wide-open eyes and swat it away once more as he for some reason missed it despite his battle aura. Yet, when he did so once more, the lion disappeared, making him suddenly realize what had just happened. ? How many fucking powers do you have!? ? He yelled with a hint of disbelief and excitement, turning around only to see Moby with his energy-infused sword ready to sh down at him who was too slow to react due to his previous lion transformation, putting his hands up to block the attack that had once again caused a small cut through his skin before he attacked back only for his opponent to teleport away. ? No matter where you go! As long as you are in my battle aura! I will sense you! ? He yelled, turning around to exactly where Moby went, punching straight at him. With even more hand signs, a deadly glow in his eyes, Moby once again spoke. ? Bind! ? Suddenly, as if the entire world was on his shoulders, the body of the shalker became extremely heavy, barely even able to move, ck chains of pure demon energy sprouted out of the ground, tying every one of his joins, making it almost impossible for him to even move. ? Warrior of Absolution ? With another hand seal, using the opportunity to his advantage, Moby infused his sword with as much energy as he could, now shing straight at the Shalker''s body who made no effort to avoid to even dodge the attacks to his vitals, his entire body now littered with small wounds that barely managed to prate his iron skin, several of his undead summons and lightning lions attacking along with him, Moby yelling at him as he attacked, his attacks getting stronger as he spoke. ? I am the true demon lord sessor! All you are is a desperate wanna be! Looking past your shitty personality, unlike you! I am also of the correct birthright and bloodline! I have been blessed by the dragons themselves and you call me unworthy?! I am simply young, unlike you who had only reached this point after living for hundreds of times longer than I have! You are but a stick in the mudpared to most demons! You don''t evenpare! Me and Avilia are actually already in love with one another! Once I get her a new body, we will get married and rule over the 3 realms together! Then we- ? ? THAT''S IT! I''VE HAD ENOUGH! How dare you speak such sphemy! BLASPHEMY! ? The shalker roared an almighty roared that shook the entire and even the heavens themselves, snapping out of his restraints like they were nothing, zero injuries on his body with a wildly different look in his eyes than previous, the amused look no longer there which made Moby/Avilia smile with clear hatred on their face as they felt immense power enter their body, now not from the air around them but from their opponent as well, now using sin-modes full potential instead of simply using whatever new power Moby had suddenly obtained before. After breaking out, he immediately sprouted wings of red energy, pping them like an extension of his body, pulling out a massive greatsword from a storage ring that he had been saving in his inventory. Moby who had just witnessed that sight followed suit, flying straight at Arksha with demon dragon wings, boosting himself with ck fire from his feet to increase the speed, waving a hand sign only for dozens of ck missiles of demon energy to st out of him, easily deflected by his opponent who did not even bat an eye to such a powerful attack, his mighty ck katana now aimed straight for its head. ? Oh wow¡­ You have gotten much faster¡­ But not fast enough¡­ ? Moby''s thrust was instantly blocked like it was nothing, and in the blink of an eye, Moby''s arms that were previously connected to his shoulders separated and began falling on the ground¡­ Arksha''s sword movements simply too fast for Moby to even register them as he stored his katana in his inventory before it fell on the ground, shaking away the unease and disbelief in his soul, not giving up as survival and revenge were the only things on his mind. With a thrust of his great sword straight at Moby''s pathetic, armless corpse, protected by simple ck barriers that might as well been thin ss in his eyes, he thought it would be all over, casting an anti teleportation ward on him, just in case he ran away like before. ? Now Perish¡­ ? *ROOOOAAAARRR* Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a burst of ck energy burst out of Moby''s face along with a loud, mighty dragon roar, the energy so intense that it did not feel like any attack Moby had done prior, managing to leave actual, somewhat severe burn marks and damage on his face. *Grrrr* ? YOU! ? With an audible grunt, Arksha looked up only to see Moby rushing straight at him once more, his arms now a thick shadowy ck around what the flesh that had almostpletely regenerated already, the katana thrust straight at him as he blocked it, sensing even greater speed and power behind this attack than before as his opponent who was now glowing a rainbow aura around his ck demon energy, shadows, fire, ice, and lightning only seemed to get stronger and stronger as the fight progressed. Yet, despite that fact and all his tricks, he was still nowhere near strong enough as he was immediately blown away trying to block, Arksha flying suit as they made eye contact once more, both of their faces looking rage-filled, cold and terrifying, like monsters straight out of the depths of hell. ? Is this how you treat your queen!?pletely wretched! ? An otherworldly female voice was heard from Moby, which made his opponent hesitate enough for him to catch his bnce and strike, yet only to be blocked and shed through the stomach as a counter by the superior shalker as he was no longer able to teleport away, continuing their aerial battle with 1 person clearly taking the upper hand. ? AHHHHH! Lord Avilia?! Are you the real one or not!? Don''t you dare fool me you fucking waste of space! ? ''FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! IT DOESN''T MATTER HOW STRONG HE IS! HE NEEDS TO PAY! ? Chapter 252 - Lord of Bloodsuckers...

Chapter 252: Lord of Bloodsuckers...

*Drip* *Drop* *Drip* *Drop* *Drip* *Drop* In a deep dark cave, nothing in sight other than glowing purple flowers that only provided a dim light, the sound of droplets of water falling from the ceiling onto the damp, cold hard ground forming various puddles. Suddenly, from the entrance of the cave, a small, glowing purple object was seen flying in deep at incredible speed,nding and stabbing into the ground in the form of a dagger. Not even a secondter, where the dagger once stood, a bright, purple light emerged seemingly out of nowhere, engulfing arge area. Yet, as soon as that light appeared, it was immediately snuffed out¡­ Now, in its ce were 4 bodies, dropping on the ground with arge crash, sshing in one of the puddles. "Huh!? W-where are we! Moby! Are you there! What''s going on! How did we get here! Answer me please!" The sound of Jayden''s wild, terrified screaming echoed in the cave that was illuminated by her dark vision. "Big brother! Big brother! W-what happened! Where are you!?" The scream was followed by the mumble and cry of a small girl, Hikari inplete panic as all she was able to see was pitch ck darkness before she infused light into her eyes-lids, allowing her to once again see. "Calm down you two! Isn''t it obvious? Our leader teleported us away so he could face the monster all by himself¡­" Nags responded, not minding his now wet clothes, trying a rather calm and collected approach, yet, no matter how calm he tried to seem, the shakiness in his voice was still clear from the shock and fear of what he just witnessed. "W-what!? B-but he''ll die! Let''s go! We need to go help him!" "Hikari! Calm down! Have faith! You too bimbo idiot! For once I''ll have to agree with Nags... He went out of his way to allow us to escape and you want to go back!? There''s a reason for that! All we would be to him is a hindrance that would be taken hostage! There isn''t much that even I could do against that monstrosity, even a scratch would be beyond my wildest dreams so what the hell do you think that a bunch of kids like you could do? We will just have to put our trust in him to be able to kill that fucking monster¡­" Hikari was now gone, her hair and clothes now pitch ck, her face looking rather odd as it was all red with hints of tears running down whichpletely contrasted with the seriousness of her expression. "F-fuck! My brain isn''t working right! What am I supposed to do then!? Wait here in this shit hole until my boyfriend dies like Alex!?" "A-Alex¡­" "Where''s Alex!?" Moby was the first thing on Jayden''s mind, filling her entire brain. Yet, now the realization of Alex''s death hit her once more, the reality of things setting in more and more as tears ran down her face once more and her hand tightly grasped her heart looking frantically around her. "It''s okay Alex¡­ We''re safe now¡­ No one can hurt us anymore¡­ No one can hurt us anymore... Now we can live together forever¡­ You are now all I have¡­ All I have¡­ All I have¡­" Suddenly, the sound of mumbles entered her ears, mumbles that had always been there ever since they arrived but that she had only just picked up on. When she turned around to see where the voice wasing from, only to see Abby in a state unlike she ever saw her before, shaking immensely, bags under her eyes, her hair extremely messy as she continuously petted the charred face of Alex''s burnt body, rubbing her hands on him over and over again¡­ "Abby!? Are you back!? Did you snap back to your senses! Is Alex still alive!? Speak to me!" Slowly, Abby looked up at Jayden with tear-filled eyes and a nk look on her face that shook her down to her very core. "Oh! Jayden¡­ It''s you¡­ Don''t worry! Alex is still alive! He promised to always be with me! Alex is no liar!" When Jayden checked Abby''s words, using her energy sense on Alex''s body¡­ It was confirmed to her that he waspletely dead, breaking her heart even more, considering that the person he saved was unrecognizable, broken beyond belief¡­ "What about Moby!? He still cares for you! We all do! If he and us didn''t then we wouldn''t have risked everything to get you and he wouldn''t have went as far as to teleport you away to safety with us!" "Oh¡­ I don''t deserve him¡­ I am a traitor¡­ I threw everything away¡­ I deserve no forgiveness¡­ Maybe he even teleported me away just so he could punish meter¡­ I deserve no one¡­ All I bring is death and despair¡­" *p* "You idiot! Don''t talk like that after everything we sacrificed to save you! Stop being selfish and fucking think! We all still care about you! We get that you were mind-controlled! It''s okay! It''s not your fault!" Jayden roared, a waterfall of tears running down her face as she tried to snap Abby back to her senses, only for her to see something that she did not at all expect. Abby looked away from her, looking back at Alex''s corpse, rubbing her hands on him once again as she spoke. "It''s okay Jayden¡­ Hit me more¡­ Hit me more¡­ I more than deserved it¡­I am trash, unworthy to be with anyone since all I do is hurt¡­ I have nothing more to live for other than my Alex¡­" Jayden was absolutely speechless, unsure of what to do as she just stared nkly at Abby once again. "OH! My family is still alive! Maybe I can still kill them! Hey Alex! Do you want to help me out?" ¡­ "Yes? Oh wow! You''re absolutely amazing! ¡­ Absolutely amazing¡­" ''A-Abby¡­ Come back to us¡­'' Jayden thought as she watched Abby seemingly only get worse and worse. "Abby! Do you have the teleporter!? We need it to get out! If we can get out of here we can leave to get reinforcement! Since you are no longer in mind-control that should be easy right!?" Nags interrupted their conversation, trying to do whatever he could do. Not because he was fond of Moby and wanted to save him, but because he wanted the shalker dead¡­ "Oh¡­ Hey little boy! You want the teleporter!? Take it! I don''t need it¡­ All I need is Alex¡­" Suddenly, out of a void emerged a teleport pad, the same teleport pad that they had arrived on, making everyone''s eyes grow wide. "Come on Alex¡­ You''ve been asleep for too long¡­ Open your eyes¡­ Please open your eyes¡­" Abby continued her senseless, meaningless ramblings, Nags immediately getting on the teleporter, trying to use it as fast as he could. "It''s not working!? What''s the meaning of this!?" "Oh! Little boy! Don''t be silly! It''s because you don''t know the password¡­" "Then what''s the password!? If we want to save our leader we need to get back home!" "Oh! I don''t know¡­ Evil slut bitch shalker didn''t tell me what the password was¡­" Abby responded in an oddly amused, shaky voice before she immediately went back toforting Alex¡­ "I am pure scum¡­ Pure scum¡­ At least you will always be here for me Alex¡­ Now open your eyes so we can go back home and massacre my family¡­ Wake up my love¡­ If you ignore me more I''m going to be mad at you¡­" "Fuck! What are we supposed to do now!?" Nags cursed, all hope now seemingly lost. When, suddenly, Jayden''s eyes grew wide, and out of her inventory emerged small, tiny robots, marching out. "Ray!? Can you hear me!?" Jayden yelled, only to receive no response¡­ The extremely tiny robots seemingpletely clueless about where they went. Jayden inwardly cursed, it seemed like Ray could notmunicate with them, which should have been rather obvious considering that their watches didn''t work to contact earth either. He was probably simply giving them blindmands knowing they were active. Yet, Jayden did not give up hope, putting all her trust in Ray and his robots, lifting them up and cing them onto the teleport pad. And, unlike what they all expected, as if the robots sensed the teleporter, their arms fused into it, now standing still like they were hacking into its mainframe. ''Wow! Let''s hope this works¡­'' They all thought collectively looking at the incredible sight ahead, putting all their faith into what they assumed to be Ray and his army of tiny robots. Yet, despite this hint of hope, Jayden could not help but shake off the odd feeling in her stomach and emptiness in her heart as she took a nce at Abby to her side, only to be surprised once again, her tear-filled eyes growing extremely wide. "Wake up Alex¡­ You can''t leave me like this¡­ don''t be a jerk and open your eyes¡­ I don''t want to be hurt anymore¡­ But I deserve all the pain in the world¡­ Please¡­ just wake up¡­" Around Alex''s body was an odd purple glow, a familiar sight that she had seen many times before¡­ That glow surrounded his entire body, suddenly turning red out of nowhere¡­ Not long after, Alex''s body began to twitch, shift and turn in many ways¡­ The burnt skin and tissue on his body started to regenerate and shake like crazy. The previous baldness on his head was suddenly no more as ck hair began to grow out of the roots in fast motion unlike his previous purple. His facial features were now once again seen, his nose, eyes, and mouth now exactly where they were supposed to, looking familiar yet not simr at the same time. He slowly lifted his hands up in the air, the body that was previously dead now moved, his fingernails reaching towards the ceiling of the cave that was dropping water on his eyes, making him open his deep, red, crimson, almost hypnotizing eyes. Everyone, including Abby, could not help but stare in shock and awe at Alex''s body as it lifted its head up from Abby''sps, standing up straight, looking around the cave, his gaze deadly and cold before his gazended once again at the crying Abby that bore a bright smile on her face, sitting on the ground. "Greeting¡­ You must be my new master¡­ Allow me to introduce myself¡­ I am vampire lord Alucard¡­ And I am now at your service¡­ My Lord and Master, I am prepared to do anything in your name ...Simply give me your orders and it shall be done as youmand¡­" Chapter 253 - The Cavalry

Chapter 253: The Cavalry

"What''s with the cold stares? I mean you no harm¡­ If I wanted you all dead I would have killed you all by now¡­" The Vampire''s deep voice was casual but his words were cold, his power unquestionable, no one daring to respond, other than 1 crazy girl... "A-Alex¡­ I-is that you¡­ Your back! You finally woke up you jerk!" Abby yelled with an absurd look in her eyes, running up and hugging his cold, almost lifeless body tightly before she was respectfully pushed to the side by that same man she was hugging. "Alex? Who is this "Alex" you speak of mistress? Are you referring to the name that belonged to this body before my arrival? If so then I am sorry to inform you that he is no more¡­ Only I, Alucard remain¡­ Mistress, death is a permanent process¡­ Once a soul is gone there is no retrieving it back¡­ The same applies to us undead, once our soul is crushed, we are no more¡­ However, I was a special case since I had been given extraordinary powers and privileges from my old master and that is why I am here toplete his wishes¡­ To serve you, the follower of the future demon lord as your greatest weapon, although in my current state I am far from my full power¡­ You are the followers of Avilia''s sessor are you not?" Everyone did not move an inch, the atmosphere cold and ominous around that man calling himself Alucard, the vampire soul that had possessed Alex''s body. Everything going on was too unreal, the turmoil in their mind unimaginable as the feeling of death ran down their spine from that one entity, the safety of Moby and the death of the shalker still eating away at the back of their heads. They were not sure if this vampire could even be trusted, or even worse, if Abby in her current state could be trusted to control him, and they were not willing to test it out... "A-Avilia? Who''s that? Alex, why are you talking funny? I find it cute..." Abby spoke with uncanny puppy dog eyes, asking the same question going on in everyone''s minds. Alucard looked at his master with wide eyes and a hint of confusion, clearly sensing the distress in her soul. "Hmmm? You all are demons and you do not know about her? Time must have changed many things... Very well¡­ Allow me to exin. Avilia Graymore is the most powerful demon in history, born a weakling with no powers and rose through the upper echelon to absolute supremacy. On her journey, she managed to recruit several different demons that she trusted with all of her might, and as a demon of sin, she assigned a sin to seven of her strongest, most trusted allies. My former master belonged to one of these sins¡­ Shadar Baal, the sin of pride, a necromancer, just like you, only more powerful than you could even imagine, and even he paled inparison to Avilia Graymore. Seeing that your leader was entrusted with the power of sin and is the clear demon lord sessor, that must mean that-" "COME ON! IT SAY''S THEY''RE IN THERE! "What!? Are you sure!" "Yeah! The signal is going haywire but I think I know what I''m doing!" "They''re in that cave! They must be scared out of their minds! Let''s get ''em!" The sound of screaming and many footsteps were hearding from the exit of the cave, catching everyone''s attention, their voices sounding oddly simr. At first, instinctively, due to their frightened, hazy minds of confusion, they thought that they were shalker troops from within the ship, sent by the shalker to pinpoint their location and kill them. Then, the sudden realization hit them that those men were speaking English, not shalker or that weird othernguage Moby was speaking prior. "N-no¡­ It can''t be¡­" Jayden mumbled to herself, unable to believe her own ears as the shadow of a man began entering the cave, the sound of his nking armour echoing in the air. Instinctively, she knew what she had to do, firstly storing the teleport pad along with Ray''s robots back into her inventory and trying to open a mind-link with Abby so she did not make any noise. ''ABBY! Quick! Store that vampire in your inventory! If he''s seen by them we''re all going to be fucked!'' Yet, despite her best efforts, all she received was a staticky mess trying to contact her, making her inwardly curse, not knowing if it was due to the fact that her mind-link had yet to reconnect or if her mind had broken down to such a point that mind-link had be impossible¡­ Yet, despite the difort of knowing that Alex''s undead lookalike might be discovered, she could not help but cry tears of joy without even knowing it, a unique feeling offort in her soul as the man''s full body entered the cave and was now on full disy¡­ "DAD!? How are you here!?" She blurted out loud seeing her father''s face, unable to hide her expression. "JAYDEN! JAYDEN! I''m so, so, so, happy you''re safe¡­" In the blink of an eye, as if he had teleported from his ce, he appeared directly in front of Jayden, giving her a warm, tender hug around her bloody, injured body, tears running down both of their faces, everyone around them looking with a mixture of emotions at the scene ahead of them, unable to believe what had just happened and how they were found. "You must have been so scared honey boo¡­ But don''t worry¡­ You''re safe now¡­ You''re safe now... Daddy is here..." "How did you even get here?" "Oh, I had an extremely powerful tracking chip installed in your body since birth, and I only just reactivated it now¡­ Which may or might not be illegal in a lockdown. For some reason, the signal was all messed up like your body had eaten half the chip or something, that was why it took me so long to arrive and find your¡­" Jayden slightly looked away, knowing the exact reason for it, her eyesnding straight on Alucard who was almostpletely invisible, cloaking himself in the darkness of Abby''s shadow, Jayden only able to see him most likely due to her demon eyes. "Ryker! You fucking idiot! I''ll kill you! How could you let this shit happen!? I thought the school was in full secure mode! Look at what happened here!" Mason yelled, only for a fully armoured Ryker to enter the cave behind him, wearing a magnificent set of ck armour fit for a military general. "It was fully secured, Mason! I swear it on my life! I''m telling you the truth! It must have been the doing of a shalker! You saw the security footage too! They went into that corner and disappeared! No teleporter is that small! And it needs to be plugged into a power source for it even to work!" "Shut your crazy ramblings! You''re just trying to save your ass with the only excuse you got!" Ryker inwardly cursed, praying in his heart of hearts yet confident of his theory as his gaze caught onto someone else in the cave. "Yami!? What are you even doing here! You were supposed to be in your elite private sses! You''re gonna need it where you''re going! If anything happened to you¡­ I might have been-" "Shut the fuck up General! I''m not your fucking ything! I can do what I want!" Her voice and emotions were unlike anything he ever heard from her. Her rage and negative attitude were normal behaviour for her dark side yet there was something else underlying everything. Mason then looked up at everyone else, a mixture of hope and fright on all of their faces injured, All except for 1 red-haired girl that lookedpletely far gone from everything around her, grasping into the air as she spoke. "Hey¡­ Where did you go¡­ Y-you can''t leave me like this¡­ Not after you said you loved me, that you would always be there for me¡­ and pledged your loyalty to me too¡­" Abby Reid¡­ The youngest daughter of the Reid family, one of his daughter''s best friends¡­ She must have seen or experienced some extremely heinous stuff for her to turn into something like that¡­ Her mental health seemed almost beyond repair¡­ He just hoped that such a thing did not also happen to his precious daughter and that her friend''s state did not tear her down too much as well¡­ The other faces he saw in the cave was the little girl who was meant to be top secret, only known by a few and a random light blue-haired boy, staring at him with shaky eyes. He also noticed that Jayden''s boyfriend, although seen with them prior when they were at the back alley, was nowhere to be seen. Yet¡­ Other than him... He could not help but feel like someone else was missing before it suddenly hit him in the head. Yet, before he could even speak, another voice interrupted him, almost like he was reading his mind¡­ "Where''s Alex? Where''s my son? Why is he not with you? Where is he? Please... I need to know..." Another elegantly armoured man entered the room, his keen eyes looking around the cave, his purple hair and beard on full disy on his middle-aged face. Mason lifted his body away from Jayden''s wounded, blood-stained armour, looking at her dead in the eyes and spoke... "Also Jayden, where is your boyfriend? And the older Reid sister? And where is that other boy, Jason that went with you? Are they safe? Why are you in the state you''re in? Why did you evene here? Please tell me what happened¡­" "F-father¡­ We don''t have much time, so I''m going to make this short and simple¡­ Emilia was actually a shalker and is now dead, defeated by Moby. Abby was brainwashed by her and was forced into doing things she didn''t want to do. HikariYami was also manipted by her as well. After Emilia died, her master, another, far, far, far, more powerful shalker appeared and was about to kill us all, but decided to kill the brainwashed Abby before everyone else. That was when Alex stepped in to save her¡­ Alex is now dead, incinerated, no trace of his body left¡­ And in a disy of rage, Moby transformed into his spirit mode and distracted the shalker enough for us all to flee, and now he is all alone fighting it in the north¡­ But at this rate, he is undoubtedly going to die¡­ F-father¡­ Please save him¡­ Save us all... I beg of you..." Chapter 254 - MUTE

Chapter 254: MUTE

*Crash* *Crash* *Crash* 2 shing figures flew in the air, their speed so drastic that the normal human eye would have trouble to even pick up on it, ripples forming in the air, shaking the ground below from the impact of their immense strikes. ? Avilia! This is pathetic! This KID is pathetic! Give up and join me instead! I can provide you with all the power! All the information you will ever want! I did not tell you the full story! Let''s join forces and rule the 3 realms together!! ? ? I would rather die than join the likes of you! ? Deep down, Moby and Avilia knew that it was all over¡­ They would notst for long, their opponent was simply too strong. Yet, with Moby''s fully rage-filled mind and Avilia''s more rational yet still determined approachbined, there was no room in their minds for doubt or futile retreat as they wanted to see the shalker pay. Arksha seemed to have stopped most of his toying around, most of the things that previously used to affect him like Avilia switching into control and talking to him no longer working as he wanted to get his way and get the human-made demon gone from his lord as he had probably corrupted her mind. He had stopped toying around, and Moby no longer had anything to do now that he had stopped holding back¡­ Yet, that did not stop him from going into dangerous situations almost like he was invincible, because he thought that he was indeed invincible as the shalker wanted him alive no matter what. [ Bind ] [ Enhance ] As the 2 foes rushed each other for thest time, one clearly more injured and desperate than the other, Moby lifted and waved his hands into various symbols, chains and a wave of gravity going around the shalker''s body, slowing down his movement yet not for long as the chains began to crack. ? Pathetic! This desperate y won''t work on me! ? [ ck Hole ] [ Enhance! ] With a snap of his fingers, a small hole emerged from behind Arksha, pushing and sucking him back into it. He was using everything in his power to end things, his power only growing further throughout the fight as Avilia became more and more used to using Moby''s body. ? Feeble! Is this all you''ve got!? ? By simply thrusting his chest forward with a burst of energy, everything around him was dispelled, now thrusting his de straight toward''s Moby''s approaching body slower than usual from everything that had just happened. Yet still, It was a direct hit, struck straight in the chest, putting a smile on his face that did notst for long as that body at the tip of his de disappeared into pure smoke. ? Clone!? ? [ Astral Shift ] All that the shalker saw was a sh of purple was a body moving into the darkness of his sightless left eye''s blind spot as he felt a piercing painstab? into it. ? AHHHHH! ? He roared, feeling genuine pain for the first time in the entire battle. ? What!? How am I not piercing your brain?! ? For some odd reason, his de barely went through Arksha''s blinded eye before being abruptly stopped by what seemed like an iron barrier, his de far away from the brain. It just went to show the difference in power between them¡­ Even when they took advantage of an odd weakness that he had, he was still too weak to even pierce that¡­ ? That''s it! You''re done! Attacking my medal of honour! ? With a simple flick of his wrist, Moby''s de was taken out of Arksha''s eyes, hitting him straight in the ribs of his ck, energy-filled body, breaking them and making them puncture his lungs as he spat a mouth full of blood on the shalker''s visage that he licked up with a disturbing smile looking at Moby''s face of painfilled determination as he sped his hands into a fist and thrust down at him, breaking almost every bone in his body with what seemed like a light touch as he crashed into a massive crater on the ground, immense energy flowing into his body as he stared up with blurry vision, still unable to move. *Cough* ''T-this is so impossible¡­ Is this how I die? Dying in the blood of my own idiocy and choices¡­'' He thought, looking slowly at the heavily panting, smiling shalker, his blinded eye-bleeding profusely from the sword wound that Moby had just inflicted. ''Lord Avilia! Lord Avilia! Can you hear me?'' Moby''s eyes grew wide hearing that voice, so familiar yet so mysterious at the same time. ''Who are you!?'' ''My Lady¡­ I am so happy to once again hear your voice¡­ This is vampire lord Alucard here to serve you,'' ''WHAT!? Alucard!? It''s really you!? But how?'' Avilia seemed to be in disbelief hearing his words, like talking to a part of her past or a lost piece of her soul, many emotions running in her mind that was still focused on the enemy ahead of her, Moby''s consciousness that she suppressed thinking that it was the dead Alex somehow speaking. ''It''s a long story my lord and there is no time now! I am here to inform you that human reinforcements have arrived, It should not be too long until they get to your location. I rmend you stall until then,'' Moby and Avilia''s mind were in immense turmoil, unable to think about how that was even possible yet dividing to trust this unknown voice in aplete panic as they were low on time, yet the hope and disbelief in their heart was clear. ''Got it! And, Alucard, do not expose anything about my identity to the group, that is very important, even if you aremanded! Understood?'' Avilia spoke quickly and seriously, like such a point was very important to her, most of her attention on casting a spell, a high energy-consuming spell that would drain herpletely from every drop of energy she had, secretly waving hand signs behind her back. ''Yes, understood mydy, I had only revealed a small part of your identity but nothing too major¡­ I beg for your forgiveness,'' ''Alucard! Leave! I need to focus! We will discuss thister! I have a lot to talk about with you including why you are even here and about Shadar¡­'' ''Understood mydy, I shall do as youmand! I am awaiting your imminent victory,'' With no hesitation, as soon as the mind-link was closed, Moby''s face still dead serious, he spoke at the shalker''s figure ahead, his moving hands still behind his back. ? Shit! Fuck! How are you so strong¡­ Even with all my skills, I couldn''t beat you! ? ? A human such as you would never understand! Even with Avilia''s powers and a dragon bloodline, you were simply too weak¡­ Once a human will always be a human ? ? Ha! Tough talk! You really making fun of me when you have a permanent scar on the eye? You seem even more pathetic than this pathetic human you''re talking to! ? Moby''s voice was heavily panting, painfilled which reflected the state his torn body was in. ? How dare you! I can heal this wound on a whim! This is simply a medal of honour from my great battle against one of the shalker leaders where I came out victorious! You would never understand! ? ? Sounds fairly barbaric for a species of warriors and intelligent scientists! ? Through many years of training, Avilia had mastered the art of annoying and getting under people''s noses all in the name of survival to increase the benefits of her sin mode. Yet, this time, using it for power was only part of her purpose, the main purpose was to stall for her spell toplete, a spell that was 100% needed, and for reinforcements to arrive until it was finally time¡­ ? I will not stand for such nder and mockery! Avilia, if it was you in control I heavily apologize, but this is all in order to save you and for your own good! ? He stomped on Moby''s already broken, mushy stomach as buckets of blood escaped his shadowy face and onto the ground before he was picked up by his hair, the shalker staring at his dead-looking eyes as he spoke. ? It''s over¡­ Now we''re leaving¡­ Don''t worry Avilia¡­ We will be partners very soon¡­ ? Yet, the entire time the shalker was talking, Avilia had not ceased her spell, her hands still waving behind Moby''s back before she thrust them forward and yelled, activating it with all her might. [ MUTE! ] Chapter 255 - All Out War...

Chapter 255: All Out War...

The spell sucked everything out of Moby''s body, his sin mode along with that odd ck energy around him nowhere to be seen, that along with Avilia''s consciousness in his mind as Moby''s corpse went back to how it was before, his mind fatigued and drained, rage still in it as he stared at the shalker''s glowing bewildered body, unable to move his bloody,pletely broken numb body as he mumbled. "Alex¡­my dear family member¡­ I''m finished... I did okay¡­Right?" His vision was dark and growing hazy as he was suddenly dropped on the ground looking up at the shalker''s frantic movements as he tried to scream his heart out to no avail, like his vocal cords had beenpletely crushed. It was a feeling unlike he had ever experienced before, even when he tried to type into his trantor, it was as if he had forgotten how to write, or his body simply did not allow him to as a piercing pain entered his heart, like a snake or chains around his it. He picked up Moby''s body once again, looking at his pale face and deadly eyes, no words from either side despite the shalker''s attempts at his yelling what was on his mind, not even able to hum or let out even a single noise from his mouth. ''What the fuck did you do to me?! Why can''t Imunicate!? How dare you!? Revert it! Bring me back to normal!'' *Crash* And, in his manic mental breakdown, a sudden, unexpected sound was heard, seemingly out of nowhere, the sound of lightning struck, the sky suddenly turning cloudy with gray shadows. And in that exact same instant, in the middle of that sh, a man was seen, the look of absolute hatred on his face and a killing intent so deep that it consumed all in its path, enough to kill just from staring into hispletely white, glowing eyes as he yelled at the top of his lungs, striking the shalker with such power that he went through the nearest 3 mountains in the area, the aura of purple lightning around him expanding and crackling with the form of an almighty light, his armour infused with its very essence. Alex''s power seemed like a small kitten inparison to his lion-like roar and aura of absolute might... "YOU WILL FUCKING PAY!! YOU KILLED MY SON! FUCKING SHALKKKERRRR!" With the grace and wildness of a primal lion, the man immediately disappeared from his spot once more, it was not teleportation at all, his raw speed was such that not even Moby was able to see his full speed with his rtively hazy demon eyes, the spectacle of power in front of him so incredible that he could not even properly react or take in what happened. Not even a secondter, Moby witnessed shadows, tentacles of ck enshrouding his body with a cool feeling of calmness as he was lifted up in the air. "Hey, kid¡­ you did well¡­ fighting that monster for so long is remarkable¡­ Thanks for keeping my daughter safe... And don''t worry about Alex... It wasn''t your fault, you did your best... Now leave the rest to us and I''ll fuck him up so hard that he would have wished he was never even conceived!" Although Moby wasn''t able to fully see his shadowy face, hepletely recognized his voice, cold and tender at the same time and with no time to think, he was immediately transported away using shadows, almost like he was being safely thrown. "Hey! Heal this kid for me! He''s a hero!" Before he even knew it, Moby, in his injured state unable to properly think, was on thep of a beautiful brown-haireddy in military uniform, her arms glowing green as she healed his wounds, her face notpletely clear to him. "N-Nurse... is that you?" "Yes my child... I''m here for you... Have no fear..." Although he could not see it, he felt a tender smile appear on her face. I-incredible¡­ How are you still even alive¡­ Most of your bones and organs are messed up, but your heart seems to be intact¡­ Even still, anyone in your situation would have been dead¡­ You''re pretty lucky kid¡­" Moby simply stared nkly at her face, barely even able to listen to her words as the world spun in his hurting mind. Suddenly, the sound of another man was heard in his ears, a voice in joyous celebration with a hint of craziness. "HAHAHA! I knew it! I FUCKING KNEW IT! I told you it was the work of a shalker! And people called me crazy huh!? HUH!? I haven''t had good action in years! I''ll fucking kill all of you for what you did to my students!! YOU''RE ALL DEAD!" ''General Ryker?'' He turned around only to see Ryker, behind him several troops possessing several abilities, several energy-based vines and nts growing from all around him in the shape of tentacles, the purple flowers on the ground flying all around him in what seemed like a beautiful defensive barrier of purple energy. "On guard men! Reinforcements are here! Kill them all! Leave the leader alive for questioning, maybe even 1 or 2! Just kill these fuckers! If they want to start another war we''ll start another war! We''ll show them our human might and how far our strength had increased in the past 5 years! CHARGE!" As soon as the general finished his speech, Moby''s gaze fell up on the small figures falling from the sky, when he looked closer, he recognized them as other shalker reinforcements that had not been there before, crashing on the ground forming massive creators, their armours unlike the usual shalker armour seen on videos. Moby could not help but lean to his right as he was still being slowly healed, nkly witnessing a full-scale fight of proportions he had never seen before in his life unfold right in front of his regenerating green eyes... ******************************* https://.patreon/AuthorDrip Chapter 256 - Pandemonium

Chapter 256: Pandemonium

Slowly Moby''s body was being healed, his injuries fading away. Yet, even still, his body stayed numb, his vision continued to be blurry and his mind remained in cloudy pain. All he was able to see were explosions in the distance, soldiers fighting right in front of his eyes, screaming in the air, some of pride and some of terror, that along with the stench of death and blood, blood and body parts falling from the sky almost like it was simple hail¡­ Some soldiers were using abilities he never even knew existed, like sma maniption, healing from punches, poison slime, even variations of themon abilities such as the ability to create and control boiling water. All of the soldiers, without any exception, were also in some sort of spirit mode, the souls of various animals surrounding them ranging from normal to even alien-like creatures unlike anything seen on earth. Each soldier was powerful, beyond powerful, each one was at least as strong as he was in his full-powered sin mode, and these were only themon foot soldiers. The shalkers were not that far off in strength, both sides seemed evenly matched. Most of the soldiers on the shalker side had no abilities and simply relied on their brute force, brute force that Moby knew all too well. And, even still, they managed to kill various of the human soldiers, splitting them in two, blocking attacks with their iron skin all the while moving faster than a blur. That was to be expected¡­ However, what truly surprised the soldiers beyond their wildest dreams was the fact that some of these shalker soldiers possessed abilities, abilities just like they had, only some were more unique¡­ This was the first time humanity had found out about such a thing, and it was clear on their hardened warrior faces as they seemed no match for these, what could only be described as super shalkers... Yet, despite all of that, the humans still had an edge, powerful soldiers of their own and a seemingly never-ending fleet of troops outnumbering the enemy. They watched theirrades die right in front of their eyes with seemingly no reaction as they charged forward with no fear and a rekindled me of pure hatred in their eyes, knowing full well that their deaths might be near¡­ Their resolve and spirit were as such, true soldiers through and through. In the middle of the battlefield, shing up shalker bodies like they were butter and even defeating several of their strongest soldiers was General Ryker, the aura of ck and white yin and yang surrounding his glowing purple flower defended body in the shape of a panda, fur armour made of energy on his body. With simple flicks of his spirit veins and summoned nts such as venus fly traps, he was more than powerful enough to bolt across the battlefield and cause mayhem where ever he went, a crazy, amused look on his face like he was a child at an amusement park, hisughs echoing throughout the battlefield despite all the injuries he was sustaining... Yet, that was not what caught his attention the most and where all his energy was focused¡­ *CRASH* *CRASH* CRASH* As Moby''s body was picked up and taken away to a safer location by the nurse, he could not take his eyes off the blurry, ear-piercing mess above him in the sky, shes of absolute strength, shadow and lightning beasts with a mana density of his entire ss multiplied at least 1000 times, sts of energy, shaking and levelling mountains, the very fabric of space and time shifting all around them as earthquakes began forming in the shadowy ground below them affecting the rest of the fighters. In the mess above, Moby, in his current state, only barely managed to see what was going on, the details not fully clear to him. A dark, ck raven flying with shadowy wings and armour fit for a god, manipting his immense shadows in ways Moby never even knew possible and could rap his head around¡­ A speed demon, purple lion, resembling Alex''s dying figure was zooming across the sky riding a storm cloud, spear in hand almost like he was teleporting, the clouds crackling in the sky as they struck down directly at him, charging him with even more power than before. Their attacks lookedpletely in sync, full trust in one another, like they had been practicing together for years which now that he thought about it, was most likely the case¡­ The still silent Arksha''s power of red energy was raging unlike ever before, somehow still holding his own against the two monsters in front of him. Yet, he was by no means winning¡­ His armour was tattered, and his face and body were bloodied, just like his opponents as he continued fighting with his bloody mouth open, struggling as he wanted to scream in rage. At times, he even looked straight at Moby as he tried to break their formation and rush straight at him. Yet, it was all futile, finding no sess at all as he was blocked by Mason''s thick shadows every time. Just from the few glimpses, he caught of him, the rage, frustration and disbelief in his eyes werepletely otherworldly, various veins popping out of his bloody mess of a white face, even around his cracked horn, his killing intent consuming everything around him as his entire world began to crumble¡­ Which made sense considering finding Moby was the sole reason for his existence¡­ The fight between the 3 titans was indeed a sight to behold, all on even ground which was really impressive, maybe the shalker had a slight advantage yet from Moby''s distance, he was not 100% certain, especially knowing the state he was in as his vision became even darker and blurrier until he could no longer see the fight, the sounds of screaming and explosions now sounding almost like he had been struck by a shbang¡­ He knew there was nothing more he could do; he had fulfilled his part and now it was all up to them... Moby''s mind began to wander and wonder thinking of various things, Alex''s death still on his mind yet not the only thing there¡­ ''I was too arrogant¡­ Weak as fuck¡­ Th-they''re so strong¡­ Not just them¡­ This¡­ This is the strength of the average soldier¡­ If the average human soldier is this strong then how strong is the average demon¡­ or Angel... No wonder Avilia was happy to see that it wasn''t a demon in charge... When professor Leo said that his hands slipped on day one of the entrance tests¡­ He must have been telling the truth¡­? I might have just restarted the war¡­ fuck I''m so stupid¡­ so¡­ so¡­ stupid¡­ I''m such a childish, shitty leader¡­ I hurt my family more than I should have¡­ At least I hope the ones that I did save are still safe right now...'' Those were Moby''s final thoughts before his vision became dark, his family the final thing on his mind before his mind fell asleep into a deep slumber, retiring after the hell he had made both his mind and body endure for so long... ''Stay strong... My future demon lord...'' ... Chapter 257 - Reach Out For The Truth

Chapter 257: Reach Out For The Truth

''Wake up¡­'' ''Wake up¡­'' ''Wake up¡­'' That same odd voice had been ringing in his head for a very long time, yet he had only just realized it in his hazy, nk mind¡­ "H-huh¡­" Moby mumbled to himself, as he slowly regained control of his own body that still felt extremely numb, trying to twitch his fingers. He slowly tried to open his eyes, which was a harder task than he had first anticipated, failing the first time as it felt like the weight of the world was sitting right on his eyelids. Finally, after the room came into view, the first light he had seen in a long time entered his eyes, revealing a white blurry mess that after using all the energy in his body to rub his eyes, discerned as a tiled ceiling that he could not recognize. "W-where am I¡­" He mumbled as he found himself in an unfamiliar ce before suddenly, a massive pain hit him in his head, returning all of his hazy memories. His body instantly began hyperventting, shaking in panic as the sudden realization of something struck him in the head. ''Have I been captured by the enemy!? Where am I!?'' He thought, forcing his body to sit up and examine his surroundings. He found himself sat on a soft, white bed in what seemed like a hospital room, various machines connected to his head and tools on shelves, tables and white for everything that was in his vision. Yet, that information did not serve him well as he sat up straight and tried to contact his family. ''Can you guys hear me?! Jayden! Abby! Nags! Alex¡­ Alex¡­ FUCK! I''M SUCH A WEAK, BRAINDEAD FAILURE!'' Yet, despite his cries, no one answered¡­ An odd pain striking and stabbing straight through his heart especially remembering the sight of Alex''s death¡­ For some odd, seemingly inexplicable reason, it was as if it was the worst pain he had ever felt in his life¡­ Now, the memory of that pain resurfaced along with another pain right after. There were only 2 reasons why he couldn''t contact them, either there was an antimunication crystal in the room or they were also all dead which was a reality he did not even want to imagine. He needed to find answers for himself, and to do that he needed to move. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, moving his body seemed almostpletely impossible, despite knowing for a fact that his injuries had all beenpletely healed. "Huh?" Suddenly, in his futile attempt to get out of bed, he felt something heavy yet rather small that he nudged with his knee. As he focused his attention on where that hard thing was, he noticed that it was not a thing at all, but a small white-haired girl, her mouth covered by her clothes, sitting on hisp almostpletely camouging with the environment. Slowly she lifted her head, yawning, rubbing her eyes as he stretched. However, that tired, casual demeanour stopped as soon as her eyesnded on Moby''s panicked, heavily breathing visage as tears began running down her face. "B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-big brother¡­ YOU''RE ALIVE!" Like a white tiger, she immediately pounced on Moby, hugging him with all her might which gave him several feelings. Other than the pain of her crushing him and his clothes getting soaked with tears, he felt oddfort and rage welling up inside him. Comfort from knowing that he was on earth, not captured, that along with seeing a familiar face that seemed to care about him, a person that even went as far as to save his life. Yet, he could not shake off the feeling of hatred, like he wanted to kill her on the spot, crush her tiny skull for what she had done, it was all her fault that Abby was captured and that led to so much pain and anguish, including the death of both Alex and Jason¡­ ''Jason? Why the fuck am I thinking about Jason?'' A part of him thought in confusion, as he tried to suppress his dark side, for now, trying to calm himself down and look for answers, finding a hint of ease in looking at her caring, crying figure. "Where am I¡­ What happened¡­" "S-sorry for hugging you all of a sudden¡­ Big brother has been unconscious for over 2 days now and the nurse said that there was a high chance that you would never wake up... I''m so happy your alive... So, so, so, so, so, happy... I love my big brother... I owe you my life¡­ You''re my hero... I was so, so, worried¡­" Moby''s eyes grew wide hearing her words as many things began running through his mind. "2 days!? 2 days?! What happened while I was asleep?! Did another war start!? Did anyone else die on the battlefield!? Did the shalker leader get captured, killed, or did he run away!? Are my fr¡ª" "Calm down Kane, everything will be alright¡­ I''m happy to see you alive and kicking son. Things have been really wild this month, stressful for all of us. Losing someone like you would have been the final nail in the coffin," All of a sudden, the room''s door was thrust wide open, a dark-haired man wearing a ck business suit walked in, coffee cup in hand, bags under his eyes and rather neatly kept hair unlike he usually had. "General Ryker? Why are you here!?" Moby''s eyes grew wide, seeing the face of a man he didn''t expect. "It was actually all by chance, lucky me right? I was actually here to check up on you and a few of the injured soldiers and I noticed that you had suddenly woken up¡­ Kid, you might have made a lot of stupid choices out there. But, despite your recklessness, I still see you as a hero¡­ This has all shed some light on many things previously unknown¡­" *Sigh* "You know, this kid stayed up 2 days straight to watch over you to see when or if you would even wake up, she only took a small nap from exhaustion 3 hours ago when Ist came in. I bet she must have been very disappointed that she didn''t catch you the second you woke," As the general spoke, Moby took a closer look at Hikari, and the ugly ckness under her still tear-filled eyes. "General-sama! Thank you so much for allowing me to skip training to watch my big brother¡­" Hikari stood up and bowed, looking at the ground with her eyes closed. "No problem kid, but that doesn''t get you out of things! You''re still in deep trouble youngdy! Fooling your instructor with a fake light projection so you could go out and y! I told you people shouldn''t even know you exist! And you go around working with gangs! A gang owned by a shalker nheless!" Hikari''s sad face of disappointment suddenly turned serious, her hair shifting into ck darkness. "Hey! General! Stop being a dickhead to my sister! You have her caged up all day so it''s only natural she wanted to escape! Even though now she hates the hell out of that disgusting shalker! Emilia was the only person nice to her a¡ª" Yet, before her sister insulted the general too much, Hikari switched back into control and bowed once more, apologizing. "I''m s-sorry general¡­ It won''t happen again¡­" *Sigh* "I might have been a little harsh on you, if? all goes well and you don''t cause any trouble for the rest of the year, I promise you a big surprise at the end of the school year," "Pinky promise?" "Yes, pinky promise," Hikari''s face became more excited hearing the general''s word, as she turned around to face Moby once more with tear-filled eyes, an unseen smile on her covered face. "Sorry about that, I''m sure you still have many things on your mind¡­" The general sighed once more, as he took a sip of his coffee mug, his eyes fixated on Moby. Moby slowly lifted his right hand, noticing a familiar warm imprint on it with a hint of sweat. "Hikari¡­ Was someone else here with me too?" "Yes, Jayden Griffith was also here. She only just left a few hours ago right before I went to sleep," "Really!? She''s alright?! Where did she go!? So, everyone else is alright too?" Although Moby had fully expected to see Jayden by his side if everything went well, she wasn''t there which was the cause of most of his doubts and worries, but for her to leave his side like that, something rather important must be going on¡­ "Why did she leave?" "I think she said something about an execution and introducing her new sister to her new home¡­" "What!? N-new sister?! Execution!? What''s going on!? Exin! I need answers about everything!" The General took another sip of his coffee, sighing once more as he sat down on a chair beside Moby. "Kane, A lot has happened while you were asleep. So, just calm down and I''ll exin everything you need to know before I ask you some questions of my own..." Chapter 258 - Execution

Chapter 258: Execution

"Calm down!? CALM DOWN!? How can you expect me to be calm at a time like this?!" Moby yelled, using all the energy in his body to slowly lift himself out of bed, only for his legs to fail him, feeling a massive shockwave of pain re-enter his entire body as he tumbled and held onto a wall in his all-white hospital clothes to stand up, the wires and machines hooked up to his head nowpletely ripped from their previous location. "Wow wow! Stay in bed! You''re in no sh¡ª" "General! I have no time for the full story! Who is getting executed?! I need to go now! If you won''t tell me then I''ll just go out and find out for myself!" "LISTEN TO YOUR GENERAL AND OBAY!" The general''s voice rang throughout the entire room, yet did not at all affect Moby as he slowly continued inching closer and closer towards the room''s door before he felt a sudden grip around his waist, looking down only to see an energy-based nt vein as it held and ced him back onto his bed, his efforts and struggles to break outpletely futile. "I told you to calm down son! Didn''t you hear me!?" "But I have to go to that ex¡ª" "There is no more execution! The execution is over! Why do you think I am here now and not at the execution then? It''s because I was just there and came back! I know you''re stressed out and there are a lot of things to take in but please just calm down if you want to know the truth! Now sit back down and listen! I''ll tell you everything!" As soon as he heard the general''s words, Moby stopped his futile struggling andid his seemingly broken body back onto his bed, calming his heart and taking a very deep breath before he spoke. "Okay¡­ I''m listening¡­" ********************************* "SILENCE!" The voice of a rather old man rang throughout a blue, massive dome-like arena that was filled from head to toe with people, all of them seeming rather important from their elegant ck attire. From his mighty voice and aura, everyone immediately went silent, looking at the stand above were stood a single man, his hairpletely white, his arms held behind his back with a cold, deadly stare in his green eyes, his attire lookingpletely unique, pristine with a hint of futurism, 10 stars on it disying his almighty rank and authority. "May the prisoners be escorted inside the room!" With a wave of his hands, he ordered, a massive tunnel opening from the side of the arena below where 4 figures emerged, cuffed from behind, escorted by several soldiers. 2 middle-aged adults, their red hair on full disy for everyone to see, the look of absolute horror on their face as they struggled to even walk. They were followed by an old man, his white hair and mustachepletely dishevelled as his body began shaking like crazy. And, finally, behind them was a red-haired teenage girl with a crazy, desperate look in her eyes thatpletely contrasted the horror of the others, and the only one that wore a muzzel that blocked all the sounds that were no doubting out of her screaming mouth, looking at the two adults in front of her with such hatred, disgust, and killing intent that even the guards escorting her instinctively took a step back and had a bad feeling about getting close to her. Wearing dirty, prisoner rags, all the captives were brought up to a stand where they were all forced on their knees and forced to look at the pir of authority above them, the restrains on the little girl getting even tighter as she could now no longer move despite her best efforts. The spectators around them still did not speak a sound, no booing or insults of any kind as they simply stared down at them with pure disgust like they were all filthy pigs. "Lukas Reid! You and your family have been all found guilty of high treason for the unforgivable sin of housing a shalker amongst your family! Oh how the mighty have fallen¡­" The old man spoke once more, staring cold daggers at Lukas below. "B-but! Lord Supreme General! W-we took the lie detector tests! We all passed! W-we had no idea that our daughter was a shalker! Why are we being executed! We''re innocent! We''re all¡ª" "SILENCE!" With 1 mighty word, the dome went silent once again. "We did not ask you those questions to determine if you were guilty or not! You were guilty the second it was discovered that your own eldest daughter was a shalker! We were simply trying to extract more information out of you to get closer to the truth, but those shalker''s seemed to have most likely wiped your memories before our questioning! Those sly bastards!" He took a small pause, his gaze growing colder and colder until Lukas could barely even breathe. "Thanks to you! The shalkers have spied on us and learned many of our secrets! They even learned how to replicate our abilities! That was the biggest advantage we held on them thest war and the only reason we even managed to hold them off! But now that advantage might be null and void! If a war starts once more, we might lose¡­ And, all of humanity might be wiped out.? And it''s all your fault! TRAITOR! I will make an example of you! And your entire family that colluded with you to show what will happen when peoplemit treason! Now die the most painful death imaginable..." "B-B-B-BUT Supreme General! I-I would never betray my people! What did I have to gain? W-What¡ª" *Snap* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* As though his heart was being ripped out of his chest, Lukas began squirming around and shaking like crazy, a dark aura surrounding him as he felt like his body was being eaten from the inside, his body slowly beginning to rot into a disgusting green colour like all of the water was evaporating, leaving his body shrivelled and wrinkled as dark energy began leaking out of his body. The pain was unlike anything he ever experienced before in his life, being skinned alive and burnt in boiling oil would have been 1000s of times more pleasant than what he was experiencing, as he felt his soul being forcefully ripped out of his body, everything shing right in front of his eyes. Abby, his daughter that was looking at what was going on to her father did not experience the same horror as her mother and butler, only rage, regret, and desperation as tears began running down her face, her restraints beginning to slightly move and shift, making the guards around her tighten it even further, her screams still no longer able to be heard. This made her delve deeply into her mind as she screamed her heart out. ''ALEX! ALEX! I need you! Go out and save my father! He can''t die this fucking peacefully! I need to be the one who kills him! I need my revenge! You''re my only hope!'' Yet, despite her screams and yells, the undead vampire in her inventory would not respond at all, nor would he answer her calls which made her angry beyond belief as she stared at her father''s dying figure with dreadful eyes¡­ ''No-no¡­ This can''t be real¡­'' "AHHH! NO PLEASE! AT LEAST SPARE MY WIFE AND CHILD! JU¡ª" Those were hisst words before he was no more¡­ His body disintegrated all the way down, leaving nothing of him but a skeleton, his ugly, painfilled ghost-like soul being crushed in the air in front of all the spectators. "Which one of you wants to be next¡­" The old man''s voice rang once more,pletely full of hatred as he scanned the remaining 3. "S-Supreme General¡­ I was only a simple butler¡­ I-I h¡ª" The butler spoke in his usual British ent, heavy sweat pouring down his white, shrivelled, ghost-like visage that bore the look of absolute horror and despair. *SNAP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* "AHHHHH! AHHHHHH¡ª" Abby continued her futile squirming and attempts at calling for Alex''s help to no avail as yet another one of her targets died right in front of her, disintegrating in a dark aura until he became nothing but a skeleton, the waterfall of blood falling from her eyes bing even more and more powerful, her suppressed screaming getting even louder to the point that if it weren''t for being a demon, she would havepletely lost her voice long ago. "Mother and Daughter¡­ Hmmmmm¡­ So, which one of you wants to die first?" "L-leave my daughter alone! She''s innocent! She doesn''t deserve any of this! Kill me and don''t take her! A-Abby¡­ Please forgive me and your father¡­ W¡ª" *SNAP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* *BADOOMP* "AHHHHHHHH! W-WE''RE SO SORRY! WE HAD NO IDEA ABOUT WHAT WAS TRULY GOING ON! WE KNOW OUR SINS COULD NEVER BE FORGIVEN! I WISH WE COULD HAVE MADE UP AND FOR THINGS TO BE DIFFERENT! BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT WE BOTH DEEPLY LOVE YOOOUUU¡ª" Her mother spoke in pure desperation, her voice shifting and turning as her body was ripped apart more and more until she too was nothing but a hunk of bones... ¡­ After every death, Abby slowly felt like she was losing a part of her soul, her revenge slipping away into absolute nothingness¡­ The audacity of what her mother just uttered as her final words not even fully registered into her mind as she stopped her futile attempts at escape, tears of blood running down her nk eyes, daggers piercing her empty heart and nk mind as she felt her will to live slip away, epting her final fate¡­ "And then there was one¡­ With you, the filthy Reid legacy will be exterminated¡­ Now die¡­" The general''s voice bore no remorse at the girl that was crying blood on the ground, not even looking at him in the eyes as he spoke down to her. Just like all the other times, he put his thumb and index finger together as he prepared to snap. Yet, unlike all of the other times, this time, there was a sudden voice to interrupt him as he was about to do it¡­ "STOP! I HAVE AN OBJECTION!!" Chapter 259 - Adoption

Chapter 259: Adoption

"Who is it!? Which one of you dared interrupt my execution! Speak up! Or your death will be even worse than the girl''s!" The supreme general roared, his eyes coldly panning over the sweating, nervous crowd only for another sound toe out of it. "I did sir!" As soon as those words were uttered, their attention shifted towards one man in the crowd, wearing a blue suit with the engraving of a glowing raven, a serious look in his stern, blue bearded face as he looked up at the supreme general with no fear, a blue-haired girl to his side that at first nce, looked like an adult with what seemed like hints of tears running down her eyes. "Mason?! You of all people?! Why would you object?! You had just saved everyone¡­ You witnessed first hand the horror and destruction of the battlefield and how due to this family, the shalkers gained abilities! I know you hated the Reids even before any of this happened too! I thought you would be happy to see this!?" The general''s eyes grew wide seeing who it was that had interrupted him, suddenly taking a different tone. "You''re right! I was happy to see the others die! But this girl ispletely innocent! She was the only sensible person out of that crazy family and had even befriended my daughter! She was a victim! A victim of the cruellest fate imaginable! Brutally tortured by her family and shunned away like nothing but a pile of trash! She was framed by her sister and parents to be thought of as a demon child and ended up being their punching bag! I''m sure many of the servants can testify! And now, you''re going to kill her like she was one of them?! That''s simply despicable!" The entire crowd could not help but gasp all at once hearing Mason''s words, either because they could not believe his tone or because the truth about that girl who was about to be executed was aplete shocking mystery to them prior. "Mason, I know you mean well, but the decision is final. I won''t make any exceptions just because you were my old student! I''m sorry but it must be done," "I Agree with Mason! Leave the girl alone and let her live!" To everyone''s surprise, another voice came out to the defence of the chained-up girl, who seemed to not be listening as she stared nkly at the ground crying pure, crimson blood. "Joseph!?" Even Mason himself was shocked to see Josephe to his defence,st he saw him he was still beyond depressed, unable to talk to anyone after the death of his only son. "Supreme General! My only son died in that battle! He died proudly serving this and his people! But he did not simply just die! He died saving that girl down there! He sacrificed his own life to save her! I believe that they were both lovers¡­ And I am 100% certain that my son is a good judge of character! If you decide to kill this girl right now! It would be like spitting on my son''s face, grave and entire legacy! He would have died for nothing! Throw me in jail! Execute me too! But as long as I am breathing! This girl will not die in such a way!" The supreme general''s brain felt like it was about to explode, both of his students, who had just risked their lives fighting against a shalker whose abilities were unlike anything seen before, and they, of all people, part of the few that actually had a valid argument for the girl''s survival, wanted to defend her¡­ However, the rules were the rules and something that he had to obey¡­ "I''m sorry you two, but this is for the greater good¡­ To set an example. Maybe she is not guilty, but she simply got caught in the crossfire of her family''s doing. This is simply how life is... Just like you said, she is a victim of cruel fate¡­" The supreme general spoke, putting his index and thumb together as he looked down at the sorry girl''s figure below him, Joseph''s lightning aura crackling all around him, almost as if he was ready to fight the supreme general himself, everyone around him instinctively taking a step back, not saying a word. "WAIT! I will use my wish!" The crowd gasped once more, inplete shock unable to move a single inch as they knew exactly what those words meant, their vision now fixated to Mason once again as he continued speaking¡­ "I will use my wish to free this girl from her death and adopt her as one of my own!" Everyone''s eyes grew even wider as they could not believe their own ears, even general Ryker who was standing towards the top of the stands looked down at Mason unable to believe he would go as far as to do that¡­ "Mason! Are you certain about this?! You''re really going this far just for this little girl? You are a war hero of the highest echelon! You earned that wish reward with your own blood sweat and tears to save everyone in thest war! You could wish for almost anything! ANYTHING! And you wish to free this sorry little girl with no will to live!?" The supreme general''s hand that was in preparation to kill was now simply to his side, as he tried his best to snap some sense into his former student. "Father¡­" Mason suddenly heard a female''s voice from under him, looking down only to see the face of disbelief of his own daughter which made his face soften up as he rubbed her on the head, his resolve now stronger than ever. "Yes supreme general! I, Mason Griffith herby use my wish to free Abby Reid from her unjust execution! And adopt her as my own daughter!" Mason spoke his words, standing in a position, straight as an arrow, his right hand over his heart as he looked up at the supreme general with dead serious eyes. "Very well! I, supreme general Cade Walker, herby grant your wish! Abby Reid will now be free! And adopted into the Griffith family! And, as an extra reward! After all of the belongings of the Reids have been carefully examined, they will all also be your property!" He took a small pause, looking at Mason''s satisfied face, and at Joseph calming down, his aura no more as he too looked at Mason with a mellow smile. "Guards! Release that girl and escort her to the stands where she will meet her new stepfather and stepsister!" The supreme general ordered with a wave of his hand, leading to all the shackles around Abby being dropped, showing the immense redness around her arms from how much her bindings had been tightened due to her previous squirming, the muzzle around her mouth also dropping to the ground. Abby remainedpletely still and silent, almost like she had no idea what was going on as she continued nkly staring at the ground which greatly surprised the guards as she was acting nothing like she had been acting only a few minutes prior. So, the guards were forced to pick her up by force, making her stand up on her two feet as she was safely escorted out of the arena, her eyes gray almost like they werepletely devoid of life, seemingly oblivious to all the looks of malice looking at her from the stands above like she was a cursed child, like she did not deserve another puff of air. Mason took a deep breath, happy that it was now all over. He did not n to go as far to save that girl. In fact, he did not even n to save her at all. However, after seeing the sad, depressed look on his daughter''s face, his heart simply could not take it and he felt like if he did not ept her request this one time to save the only girlfriend she ever had¡­ Something that Mason was ecstatic to see himself as his daughter had beenpletely isted from people only a few months prior, he would regret it for the rest of his life. "Thank you so much for that dad¡­ I love you so much¡­" He looked down to see Jayden tightly hugging him, unable to see her face. "You''re wee Jayden¡­ You''re wee¡­" He hugged her back, rubbing her hair before he was immediately interrupted by a voice above, the supreme general speaking once more. "Now that the executions are over! Let us move onto the next event! The award ceremony!" The crowd pped all at once, as if their moods hadpletely shifted from the sadness of a few minutes ago. "First things first! On behalf of me and the rest of the military! We would like to issue an apology to 1 man! Wronged by everyone! A man of high intelligence! Able to analyze and quickly find the facts when no one else could! He spoke the truth the entire time but nobody believed him! A strong man full of vigour! He was a major role in our victory over the shalkers 2 days ago! I would like to please call up General Ryker Evans to the stand to receive his award! Or should I now say, High General Ryker Evans!" The supreme general spoke with great pride, holding a golden medal and badge on his right arm, a p from all the spectators as Ryker jumped from his previous position, soaring in the air before hended directly beside Supreme Gernal Cade, with a bright smile as he turned to address the crowd. "My fellow people in arms! I truly feel honoured beyond my wildest dreams to be where I am today! I truly don''t deserve such an hon¡ª" ************************************* "General! I don''t care about the specifics of your speech! What else happened after! Is Abby safe!? Did Jayden, Mason, and Joseph also get an Award!? Did Hikari get an award? DID I GET AN AWARD?!" Moby yelled in panic. Usually, Moby would have been happy to see his name getting out there since it fell on good terms with his future ns of starting a guild. But now that he knew that there was a universal bounty on his head, he began to greatly reconsider¡­ "GENERAL! DID I GET AN AWARD TOO!? ANSWER ME!!" Chapter 260 - Hero

Chapter 260: Hero

"Well, yes, of course you did. You, me, Jayden, Nags, Joseph and Mason all received an award from the general for our efforts and contribution. However, you weren''t there to receive your reward so I came here to personally hand-deliver it to you! Congrattions kid! You risked your life and stalled them just in time for us to arrive, even when you didn''t know reinforcements were evening! You deserve it!" High General Ryker spoke with a smile, and looked about to pull something out of his pockets, yet all that Moby was able to hear was a staticky mess in his still broken and grieving mind. ''Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!'' He had already made it more than clear to everyone that he was the demon lord''s sessor the second he used his eyes of sin at the Griffith family mansion, a card that he now realized that he should have never revealed. If that shalker idiot Vnova and her lord were able to identify him simply from that alone, what said that others couldn''t either? And with his poprity on the rise, he had just made the massive target on his back evenrger¡­ Although it was a product of extreme luck, he was attacked and nearly abducted a few days after he revealed his eyes of sin, meaning that trouble might be lurking at every corner since he was now most likely known worldwide for his achievement, now a ma for all kinds of troubles, putting everyone around him at risk once more¡­ A¡ª "Kane? Kane? Are you still with me?! KANE!" "Hah! W-wa¡ªyeah, sorry, I was just thinking," "Um¡­ General, by any chance, did they release this story on national television? Maybe it would be nice if they kept my identity a secret since they don''t want the shalkers putting a target on a student like me right? You know, so I''m protected... Right? " "Are you kidding me? Well, of course, you are on the news! What do you expect? Possible war on the horizon and a brave young man risked his life to stall for reinforcements! It''s a story any news outlet would pounce on! But don''t worry kid! I''m sure you''ll be fine! There''s nothing to fear! I bet the story is being aired right now too¡ª Oh! Just in time! Look!" Reaching out with a nt-like energy vein, Ryker turned on the TV inside the hospital room with a simple click of a button. *Wasn''t it amazing! Just look at him right here! And he grew so much stronger in only a few days! This footage is from an earlier fight at the Griffith family mansion a few days ago, and since then his power had grown night and day!* *Yes Johnson, his moves and skills are truly out of the ordinary. The Hero! Moby Kane, the boy genius rumoured to be the next pir of power, possibly even justice for humanity as he disyed his extreme prowess, determination, and love for his people that he risked his life fought off what we now analyze as a shalker far beyond the X rank, one with even an ability! He is now in the hospital in critical condition, doctors unsure if he will ever wake up...* *Derris, and you have to remember, this boy waspletely abilityless only a few weeks prior, and now he had reached such strength in only the span of a week or so! This growth is unprecedented! At this rate, he might as well wipe out the entire shalker force all by himself!* *Oh John! Even at dire times like these you still keep your sense of humour! One thing is for sure though! He will be definitely attending Elite School!* *Speaking of his ability¡ªthere was heavy mystery surrounding it as it was unseen before. His glowing purple eyes and unknown energy are quite unique, their powers still unknown to even ourselves. If he agrees to have his ability replicated, it might be a great boost to the power of the next generation or maybe of the abilityless poption since war might be around the corner¡­* *We have yet to receive any statement from the government or military about the shalker''s response was to abducting and torturing students on human territory. We are just as in the dark as you are but we will update you as soon as we receive a response. This could be thest few days of peace left for us¡­* *In other news, former General, now High General Ryker formerly used of¡ª* "Stop it¡­ I''ve seen enough¡­" Moby looked at the TV above with open eyes, his face pale as a ghost almost like he had just witnessed his worst nightmare¡­ ''Me!? Hero?! The future pir of hope and power? They''re just trying to calm the masses and give them false motivation¡­ Amon media tactic, but a tactic that will fuck me over¡­ Will they now try to forcefully experiment on me?! Will they try and clone my ability into crystals? Will they¡ª'' His mind was in such turmoil with grim possibilities of the future. However, just like every other time in his life, he had to force all those thoughts away to the back of his mind, and try his best to seem natural¡­ "Are you sure you don''t want to listen to the rest? They were just about to get to the good part," "No, don''t worry, it''s okay, I get the gist of what''s happening¡­ But why would the military share this information with the public? Wouldn''t it insight widespread panic?" "In reality, we had already received a response from the shalkers that was rather good. Nevertheless, the tension between our 2 races has never been like this in a long time¡­ The media and military was just showing the world that war is still a reality and it was not the time to rx and live in blissful ignorance," "I-I see¡­ I would like to know more about the detailster if possible, but for now, my top priority is to check up on Abby¡­" "Big brother¡­ Are you okay? I still think you need some rest. I''m sure you''re girlfriend wille to visit you very soon. You don''t need to go see her," "Don''t worry Hikari I-I''m fine, this pain is nothing, I''ll get used to it quickly," He patted Hikari on the head, making her cheeks go slightly rosy as she watched him struggle to get out of bed. *Argh* He grunted, struggling to move yet still managing to force himself to walk at a decent pace. "Kane! Wait! Before you leave! I would like you to have this!" Ryker called out, handing Moby a bright red, low-grade storage ring. "What is it?" "Why, this is your reward of course! You started asking questions before I even got the chance to give it to you!" Moby looked at the general with a serious stare and epted the ring from his hands. "Hmmm?" "Why can''t I open it?" "Oh, It''s going to need your student ID to open, not even I know what''s in it. It''s just an extra security measure just in case," "Hmm, I see," Moby nodded in acknowledgement, putting the ring in his hospital robe, extremely curious at what could be held inside of it that would warrant such security measures. "Oh! And before you go. I don''t think you actually have any way to get in or contact the Griffiths. For now, they had shut down allmunications. I have a few men waiting outside that could escort you there. Don''t overexert yourself, you just woke up and you''ve been through hell of a lot kid¡­" Ryker took a small pause, walking up to the door and opening it for Moby to leave, a gesture Moby never thought the general himself would ever do. "Well, me and Hikari will have to go now to check up on the other soldiers that are in the other room. This might be thest time you two see each other for a long time so say your goodbyes now before it''s toote," Hikari slowly approached Moby who was leaning on the wall, slowly and nervously before giving him a tender hug, her mouth tightly pressed onto his chest, which did not allow him to see what was hidden under the cloth of her clothing, like she was purposely trying to hide her mouth which greatly intrigued him. "Thanks for everything big brother, I wouldn''t be here without you. It was fun while itsted¡­ I hope we meet again soon¡­" "Yeah, I hope we meet again very soon too Hikari, goodbye for now!" He patted her on the head once more, before a sudden sound was heard. "Come on Hikari! Are youing?" "Y-yes sir! Sorry!" She quickly turned around, not letting Moby get a chance to take a peek as she followed behind the general, waving at him with a mellow expression, which disappointed him to some degree yet did not let linger for long as he knew he had far more pertinent things to worry about, a sh of Alex''s face and death popping into his mind once again as he felt his entire mind and body shudder in absolute agony. "Come here son, the general told us to escort you to the Griffith family mansion. Please follow us¡­" Abruptly interrupting him and forcing him to go back to normal, he heard a voice from behind him, military men in all ck spoke, making Moby look back at them and nod. "Yes sir..." Chapter 261 - Alien Discussions

Chapter 261: Alien Discussions

*Sigh¡­* "How long is this going tost¡­ At this rate, we might even lose..." A deep, almost otherworldly voice came mumbling from the pitch-ck darkness of the room, clear weariness in his tone. In the middle of the wide, expansive throne room was a flight of stairs about 5 steps high, tinted in a mixture of ck and gold. Atop these stepsid arge, magnificent throne carved out of ck and red crystals, decorated with various glowing, futuristic metals resembling that of bones of different species giving it a feint yet ominous air of death. Sat atop such a throne was the figure of death himself, his clean, handsome, snow-white, pale face shrouded in darkness only allowing one to see his fiendish, glowing blood-red eyes, the 10 glowing red lines going down from his eyes, 5 on each to show off his might and power, 2 white horns on his head glowing a simr colour with a pattern engraving mepletely unique, his grand ck and red metal armour matching the patterns of his horns, a great sword leant to the side of his magnificent throne. he lifted his head and looked around the pitch-ck room that was illuminated only by the natural night vision possessed by his race in order to try and get his mind off what was bothering him. It was one of his favourite and mostmon pass times since he had taken quite a liking to art. The room was indeed an exquisite piece of work, no doubt made by the best architects his empire had to offer. It was a wide, expansive, high room that was more than big enough for several hundred people. The high ceiling above him was predominantly ck, with golden decorations as highlights. Hanging from the ceiling were numerous chandeliers made of precious stones of all colours of the rainbow that emitted a fantastic, dreamlike radiance that did not give off actual light, its beauty only able to be appreciated by those races that possessed dark vision. Seven gs emzoned with ancient shalker symbols were hung on the ss walls that allowed anyone to peer outside at the magnificence of moving space, stars glistening in their direction. Truly, there were many things for his eyes to get lost by in the room, but for some reason, after drifting in his own thoughts for long enough, his gaze alwaysnded back towards his shalker subordinates, all 20 of them kneeling down on one knee right before the steps up to the throne, ready to receive any order. *m* Suddenly, the tworge metal doors of the throne room were thrust wide open with an astounding m, startling everyone in the room, including the almighty presence on the throne, the figure of a short, panting boy at the entrance of the two doors, trying to catch his breath. "Huh? What is the meaning of this? How dare you intrude on the sanctity of the throne room unannounced an¡ª" A proud shalker guard yelled, pure anger in his voice before he was interrupted by the boy''s somehow even more overpowering scream. << My lord! This is terrible! Arksha the damned attacked human territory unannounced! And not only did he lose and get captured, but he also revealed most of the secrets we kept hidden from the humans! Including our use of abilities! My lord! War might start between our two races again! What should we do!? >> << HE WHAT!?>> The lord roared an almighty roar, mming his hands on the armrest of his seat with such force that his throne almost shattered in two and the entire, beyond massive ship, began to shake. << That... That damned fool! He and his rebel forces are going to be the death of me! I should have killed him when I had the chance! I didn''t think such an insignificant ant could screw me over this badly! The humans are extremely weak but I can''t afford to go into another war! THOSE DAMN REBELS ARE RUINING EVERYTHING! Olvad! Do you know why he went to that and did what he did!? >> << Um¡­ I think it was to find a certain girl, the deity that he and his family worships or something. He believes that she was on earth so he went to get her. If you ask me, I believe he had gone crazy... >> << Crazy is an understatement, that man was a fanatic, once an ally turned traitor just for some fantasy about a girl! Disgraceful! What more can you tell me about this?! >> His voice resounded and echoed around the entire room, all of his guards nervously standing and listening with heavy sweat running down their faces. << Lord, from what the humans said, they had captured Arksha, but no matter how many times they torture him or try and make him speak, he would not talk. And to them, it didn''t seem like he didn''t want to talk, but more like he physically couldn''t talk at all. Even when they tried to make him write the answers or type them out, that still did not work. They believe that it was our doing my Lord¡­ >> << Olvad! You need to make it clear to them that we and they are not in any way associated! Use any excuse that you can! Pull up the time a small fanatic human force tried to attack us a few years ago if you have to! But make sure to not disy any weakness! We need to keep our powerful image! But we need to avoid war at any cost! >> << Understood my lord! >> Olvad bowed deeply in understanding, before lifting his head and looking at the frustrated face of his overlord with a feeling of fear unlike he had ever experienced before as he spoke. << M-my lord, I still have more news to deliver¡­ I managed to learn the name of the person that Arksha thought housed his deity. In english his name is, I believe: "Moobly Kane". He was the person shown all over human news for having held him off, so he had to have been the target¡­ >> The Shalker lord''s deep, blood-red eyes grew wide hearing his name, putting his hands on his mouth as he began to deeply ponder. << Moobyly Kane¡­ "Kane"... I think I recognize thatst name¡­ Could he be¡­>> The shalker lord mumbled to himself before he was interrupted by a sudden voice. << My lord¡­ You look stressed? Do you require any assistance? >> He took a deep breath and responded to his subordinate. << Be at ease, I ampletely fine¡­ Olvad, I would like to add one more thing to your order¡­ Make sure you keep an eye on this "Moobly Kane"¡­ Don''t go out of your way to spy, kill or assassinate him. But make sure you keep tabs on any updates about him that there might be¡­>> Olvad seemed quite confused why his lord would demand such a thing of him, but he was in no position to ask questions or reject his offer so he answered the only way he could. << Understood my lord¡­ It shall be done¡­>> << Good! Now leave and do your job well! I expect great things from you! Take 10 of my guards here if needed! >> With a grand wave of his hands, still sitting down on his throne he ordered, making Olvad bow with grace, leaving the room with 10 shalker guards, the faint sound of the doors closing in his departure. The Shalker lord took a deep breath, pulling out a ss of wine from thin air as he began to sip, deep into his thoughts as his brain began to hurt immensely. <> He took another sip of blood-red wine before continuing his thoughts and faint mumbles as the entire situation made all of his problems and anxieties take centre stage in his mind... << I''m such an arrogant fool¡­ Why did I have to start a war with so many species¡­ It was fine when we had four subjected and 4 in war, but after the other races formed an alliance and rebelled, it''s'' all been downhill¡­ Now, if the humans join again it might be the end of us¡­ AHHHH! Why were we so unlucky to not receive one of those seemingly unlimited power sources! We would have no doubt won! Curses! >> ¡­ ¡­ *Sip* <> He spoke, ying with the wine ss in his right hand, his gaze fixated on his kneeling subordinates before shifting it towards the emptiness of space out of his ss panel walls, getting lost in the grandness of the gxy that he knew rightfully belong to him and him alone... Chapter 262 - Family Reunion...

Chapter 262: Family Reunion...

"Thank you so much for the ride, I really appreciate it," Moby spoke, respectfully bowing towards the 3 men below who had driven him to his destination. "No problem kid. We were just doing our job! stay safe!" One of the men gave Moby a thumbs up before going back into their ck car, driving out of the parking lot near the inner garden back outside the gates. As soon as the men left, Moby took a deep breath, climbing the fancy white steps ahead of him until he reached the massive, golden front door of the mansion, hitting the doorbell with many thoughts running in his mind, fixing his suit and tie that he had changed into prior to his arrival. Moby had yet to contact Jayden using his mind-link to tell her that he was on his way. Other than the fact that it simply did not work due to the Griffith family being in a temporary lockdown, he felt like contacting her in such a way would have been unfit for their reunion, which was something that even now, he did not want to ruin. However, he was worried about her reaction towards him after he had failed to protect everyone¡­ With his crazy antics and full head-on, brainless and risky ns, he put them in that situation they were in. If she hated him or began to not trust him anymore, he wouldn''t me her at all, he more than deserved it¡­ Such thoughts ravaged his mind before once again, Alex''s image popped up in his head, causing a massive headache, almost unbearable, and only subsided after he fought it back with all of his might. "Who is it? Are you the boy that the military men wanted t¡ª" Suddenly, he heard a voiceing from the other side of the door as Moby''s face was not clear to the cameras until that same voice was cut off, reced by a familiar voice he would never forget in a million years. "LET HIM IN YOU IDIOT!" "Calm down m''am! It might be¡ª" *m* Abruptly, the doors were thrust wide open, and before he even knew it, he saw the crying figure of a beautiful, blue-haired girl wearing a gorgeous dark blue dress, jumping at him with the grace of an angel. And before he even knew it, she had been tightly hugging him like her life depended on it. "You''re back! You''re alive! You''re here! You had no idea how worried I was about you! I was just gonna go back to the hospital to see you again! Why does the only few hours I leave your side you wake up!? I wanted to see you when you would wake up¡­? But we didn''t even know if you would ever wake up¡­ First it was Alex! Then it was Abby! I didn''t want to lose you too! I would have lost my entire world! Your condition was unli¡ª" Although Moby felt crushed under Jayden''s iron grip, he still tenderly hugged her back as she cried her heart out on his chest, making it all wet. Ever since he had first woken up, he had never felt such warmth andfort¡­ All of his fears and worries about her drifting calmly down a river of bliss, washing his doubts away¡­ Yet, he could still not bear seeing her in such a distressed state, so he did his best tofort her happy yet grieving heart, looking her straight in the eyes as he wiped her tears away. "Don''t worry Jayden¡­ as you can see, I''m alive and well¡­ I know what happened was a tragedy of massive proportions. But just know this, I''ll always be here for you no matter what¡­ I''ll never leave..." Moby eximed with a bright, gleaming smile, which led to Jayden abruptly kissing him on the lips, tears still running down her face, Moby returning the sentiment before they let go and stared into each other''s eyes. "Sorry to interrupt your moment love birds, but wouldn''t it be better if you got inside first? I''m sure you have a lot to ask¡­" A voice came from behind them, a presence that Moby had sensed earlier, but one that seemed to only standby until now. "Lord Griffith! It''s an honour to see you again! I could not begin to show my gratitude¡­ You saved my life... No! all of our lives... and saved the life of one of my best friends¡­ Thank you so much for saving Abby, I''m sure that wish of yours must have been worth quite a lot¡­ I am eternally in your debt," Moby nodded towards Jayden before he let go of her, bowing towards Mason to show his genuine gratitude as he spoke from the heart. "No! No! No! Raise your head young man! Jayden had already exined everything to me. I should be the one thanking you! You protected my daughter and saved her life with all your heart without even knowing we would arrive. It''s clear to me how much you two love each other. I''m sure she wouldn''t be here without you¡­" Mason bowed back to Moby, a scene he never expected to happen from one of the most important men in the entire country, even Jayden looked at the scene with wide eyes, not expecting what she saw. Both at once, the two men raised their heads. "Shall we go now? I''m sure we have much to discuss¡­" He lifted his right hand and motioned towards the hallway ahead, before he started walking in front of Moby and Jayden who followed behind him, holding hands, the bright light of the side windows shining on all of their faces, the sounds of birds chirping from the outer gardens. "From what you said, I assume that you''ve already been informed about the specifics of the situation, right?" "Yes, high general Ryker exined everything to me as soon as I woke up¡­" "So you know that Abby Reid has been adopted into my family and that Alex Hart was confirmed¡­ Dead¡­" Suddenly, the massive pain in Moby''s heart sprung up again, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. Yet, he still managed to keep his emotions under control, feeling a tighter grip from Jayden''s hand as he saw a single tear falling from her face seeing that she too had yet to get over his death. "Yes sir, I''m well aware¡­" "He was a good kid¡­ I honestly couldn''t believe it either¡­ More like, I just didn''t want to believe it¡­ His body and that other boy, Jason''s body couldn''t be found at all,pletely wiped out by that shalker¡­ They still have him alive in a top-secret militaryb. But no matter how much they try and make him speak, they just couldn''t do it¡­" *Argh* He inwardly grunted, for some reason feeling pain at the mention of Jason''s death, a person who he knew he could not care less about before his mind shifted towards something else. ''He can''t talk? Is this the mute spell Avilia used?'' He thought, expecting Avilia to butt in and exin like usual only for him to be left in a silent darkness with no response. "Sir, from what I''ve heard, Abby was not really in the best of conditions¡­ Has she stabilized?" Suddenly, there was a slight pause ofplete silence, nobody responding to his words at all, Jayden''s hand grasped around his palm, tightening even more to the point that his entire body began to shake, even more tears running down her face. "Besidesforting my daughter in her grieving state, I''m sure you also came to check up on your friend¡­" "Yeah¡­ So... how is she?" "She''s¡­ She''s¡­ To be honest, I don''t even know how to describe it¡­ Why don''t you find out for yourself? She''s in that room over there¡­" Mason stopped moving, pointing towards a room not too far in the distance, the door colouredpletely different than all the others, being red and gold other than the usual blue and ck everywhere else in the house. "Moby¡­ Please¡­ If anyone can save her¡­ It''s you¡­ I don''t want to lose anyone else¡­ I''ve already lost Alex, I thought I was going to lose you¡­ And now Abby seems beyond saving¡­ Please¡­ I beg of you to save her¡­" Jayden looked at Moby with heavy, tear-filled eyes that felt like they wereying siege onto Moby''s heart and soul. "Don''t worry Jayden¡­ I''ll promise to do my best¡­" He once again wiped the tears from her eyes. Yet, this time, under his smile and look of confidenceid great doubt and uncertainty, almost like he was afraid to open the door and take a look at what the person who he once saw as his daughter had be from the working of his own hands¡­ "If you want, we could go to the dining room and discuss some things before youe back and see her?" Moby shook his head. "No, don''t worry sir¡­ I''ll do it now, I''m sure Abby has suffered long enough¡ª I just want to be able to make a difference for her," "I see¡­ Well, me and Jayden will be off now¡­ I''ll leave Albert here to escort you when you''re done. I wish you the best of luck," Mason''s face looked grim and not very hopeful as he walked away in apletely different direction. "I guess this is it for now¡­ I also wish you the best of luck," With clear pain and a hint of optimism in her eyes, she gave Moby a small kiss on the cheek before running towards her father, turning around to show her face to him once more, something that both hurt Moby and tightened his resolve seeing the state that she was in, smiling back at her nheless. Moby now shifted his vision towards the golden crimson door ahead of him with an odd feeling in his heart for what he was about to see, shivers running down his shaky spine. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, tightly gripping his sweaty fists before he pushed the doors wide open, slowly yet with clear confidence as the entire, rather small room became clear to him. Yet¡­ His confidence did notst for long as he looked at the single bed in the corner of the room, at a girl that he could barely even recognize¡­ "A-Abby¡­" Chapter 263 - Cursed Child

Chapter 263: Cursed Child

There he saw a girl sat in the corner of the room, on a simple white bed with absolutely nothing around her, a small open window directly to her left, the blinds undone which made the rays of sunshinend directly on her pale, nk face, the sound of chirping birds from the outside garden. That girl was non-other than Abby¡­ Or was it even Abby? Her usually neatly done hair, clean clothes, and well-mannered attitude was nowhere to be seen. Things that she learned while living with her family to avoid beatings and had almost be second nature to her. The girl in front of him bore none of those qualities¡­ Her crimson hair waspletely dishevelled, her face was messy with a dead look in her now gray eyes that werepletely unlike the burning eyes of passion he always saw, an odd look on her face smiling, a small bird on her right finger standingpletely still, one that seemed to have flown in from the open window¡­ Moby was simply standing there at the entrance of the room,pletely speechless at the sight ahead of him, before he noticed the girl raise her head and direct her gaze straight at him with a wide smile that gave him a bad feeling in his heart... "Oh! Hello Mr! Do you want to y with me? I promise it will be fun! But I have to warn you¡­ Everything I y with eventually dies¡­ See?" She lifted her finger where the birdid still before it suddenly disappeared¡­ Sucked into either her inventory or storage ring that she wore on her left finger, Moby knowing exactly what that meant¡­ "A-Abby?! Is that you? Do you remember who I am? Moby Kane?" "Mhm! Yes! It''s me Abby¡­ And you are¡­ Ummm¡­ Who are you? I feel like I remember you¡­ But not really¡­ I have a feeling that you''re a nice guy¡­ So, I actually urge you not to y with me¡­ Nothing good everes from ying with me or trusting me¡­ But at least Alex will always be with me like he promised! Right Alex?" She took a small pause before nodding back to herself. "Hehe, of course, you are!" Moby could still not believe his eyes¡­ He and Alex had managed to save her life¡­ But was she even truly saved? "Abby! Snap out of it! This isn''t you! What happened!? What made youe to this!?" Moby asked that question with clear worry on his face, yet he already knew the true answer before she even spoke it, he just wanted to see how she would respond... Her mind hadpletely broken, everything was simply too much for her to handle¡­ Everything from being brainwashed, forced to almost kill her best friend, cursed and attack the only person that ever showed her affection, led to the death of her lover, and finally, her entire family dying right in front of her eyes, which was her final motivation and shred of will to live left in her heartpletely snuffed away¡­ It left her with absolutely nothing, spiralling into a void of pure negativity, some of which beingpletely unjust, which broke her mind to the point of devolving back into a little child with a vague sense of her previous memories, wanting to experience a childhood she never had in a safe bubble where she would never be hurt or hurt anyone else ever again¡­ The word "Cursed Child" had been so ingrained into her very being that she now truly thought of herself as one. "Whatever do you mean? Isn''t it obvious? I''m just locking myself up where everyone will be safe¡­ So¡­ Can you please leave? I changed my mind about ying with you! I don''t want you here anymore¡­ You''re a good boy with a bright life ahead of you! So Shooo!" The smile she gave him was bright, almost like the sun, a corrupted sun that gave off polluted light. It was quite the odd sight seeing her smile in such a way, with gray eyes, ck spots under them, her hair messy and her entire body shaking. Slowly, Moby began walking in her direction. "Abby¡­ Please¡­ Listen to me¡­ I''m just trying to hel¡ª" However, as he approached, the fear and worry in Abby''s eyes also increased, before she jumped out of bed and ran into the small garden outside of her room in a panic, tears running down her face. "I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM ME! I DON''T WANT TO HURT YOU!" Moby felt his heart slowly crack¡­ He seemed to be getting nowhere with her¡­ like talking to a brick wall, which must have been what had also happened with Jayden¡­ He looked out from the window at the garden that she ran off too barefoot, hiding carefully behind a tree. So, he decided to follow her and y her game. If she didn''t want to talk to him normally, maybe she would change her mind once she understood that he wouldn''t get hurt by simply being around her. Yet, when he tried to demon sh towards her and surprise her, he was simply unable to, like his body just didn''t allow it which he inwardly attributed to his recovering body. Moby took a deep breath, calming his nerves and focusing on one thing¡­ He looked around him in every corner of the area, trying to see if there were any cameras before he tried what he was about to do. "Abby! I order you toe to me right now!" With an authoritative voice, he called out, trying to see if his control over her had been reestablished. And, to his surprise, as if she was walking like a robot, she waddled from behind the tree to his direction, a painful look in her gray, tear-filled eyes¡­ He was happy to see his mind-link had been reinstated. However, he absolutely hated to do what he did. He never liked giving out direct orders unless it waspletely necessary, and he deemed this moment as such. "W-what''s going on to my body¡­ P-please¡­ Stay away¡­ Stay away from me¡­ Don''t hurt me¡­ J-Just kill me instead¡­" "Please¡­ Abby... Just calm down¡­ No one here is gonna die okay? See?" He ced his hands on her warm forehead, bringing his face in towards her crying face that slowly began to feel slightly calmer, shaking lightly less. "Good¡­ Okay¡­ Now¡­ We''re gonna be ying a game okay? Have you heard of staring contests?" "Y-y-y-yes¡­" "Good¡­ But we will be ying a variation¡­ Once 1 minute is up, I''ll be able to take a peek into your mind. Is that okay with you?" "O-okay¡­" Although her emotions had subsided slightly, the fear was still clear on her child-like face¡­ The stare was not as awkward as he expected as he lost himself into the seemingly endless abyss of darkness that was her eyes that appeared to be poking deeply into his heart¡­ And, before he knew it, he was thrust deep into her mind, a ck void of nothingness waiting for her memories to appear. He thought that maybe, once he enters it and changes a few things, it might snap her back to her former self. However, he was sorely mistaken¡­ As soon as Abby''s memories appeared, so did her deep, almost endless stretch of negative, self-loathing emotions that overwhelmed Moby''s entire mind, a feeling unlike any other he had felt before¡ª his body being overridden to such a point that he felt like he was about to explode from the absolute pain and agony as he only received a vague understanding of what was happening in her mind let alone changing anything. It felt just as bad or even worse than evolution. Yet, despite the pain, Moby pushed on and persevered through the seemingly endless desert of misery. However, every time he made progress, the wind would always push him back to where he previously was until, he was forced out of Abby''s mind by his skill''s time limit. If it weren''t for that then he might have remained there for eternity trying only to fail every time. As soon as Moby was abruptly snapped back into reality, he felt a massive rush of agony ravage his entire body, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, his life nearly shing before his eyes from the sheer amount of pain as he wanted nothing more than to take a few steps back and clench his aching heart. But, with Abby about to wake up in front of him, he could not allow himself, no matter what to show such strain on his face. That would only push her on and confirm her suspicions that she brings nothing but misery to everyone around her¡­ ''Her emotions¡­ Those were... ¡­. I''m surprised she still has as much sanity as she was with all of that in her mind¡­ Luckily she didn''t kill herself¡­ She is one strong, resistant girl, I wouldn''t be able tost in her ce¡­'' He thought, using every fibre of his being to endure the seemingly endless pain and agony for her sake. Slowly, Abby opened her eyes. "W-was that fun?" "Mhm! Very fun!" "Mr¡­ Whatever you did made me very tired¡­ I want to go to sleep¡­ If you want to kill me please kill me now¡­ What you did to me was very scary¡­ My body moved on it''s own, it was, it was, it was, like a nightmare¡­ Please nevere see me again BYE!" She ran out of the garden crying, and jumped back onto her bed with a mixture of emotions running through her mind¡­ ''H-He-He said he had fun?'' Moby was leftpletely speechless and heartbroken¡­ Part of him wanted to go and tell her it was all a misunderstanding but he was certain that it would have simply been like talking to a brick wall. He simply had to ept that the Abby he always knew and loved was no more, a battlefield ying out in his mind as he slowly walked towards the entrance of the room and opened up to leave. "Abby, just know that no matter what, I still care for you. And you will always have a deep, precious spot in my heart. You''ll always be family. I didn''t mean to scare you, I apologize. I just hope you had fun too just like I did¡­ Goodbye¡­" Those were thest words Abby caught before she heard the sound of the door mming, closing her eyes with a single tear running down her face. From the other side, in a pitiful state was Moby, leaning against the door with his hands covering his crying eyes. ''Fuck¡­ What have I done¡­ What did she turn into¡­ It''s all my fault¡­'' In his storm of broken emotions. He heard a single voice shine through, a voice that had been lying dormant ever since he had awoken only to speak these words now. ''Calm down kid. Even if it is kind of your fault, you shouldn''t beat yourself up about it. Use it as a learning experience. But, I think the best course of action right now would be for you to put her down¡­'' Chapter 264 - The Truth Unknown...

Chapter 264: The Truth Unknown...

"WHAT!? Avilia! Is that you?! This is the first time you talk to me ever since I woke up and this is the first thing you''re telling me?!" Avilia paused and took a deep breath before she continued. "I''ve never been the best atforting people okay! So, I decided it would be best for you to figure things out by yourself and see the changes your decisions have made!" "That still doesn''t exin why you said that! Put her down!? What is she to you? A dog!?" "Yes! In the state she is right now, she might as well be a dog! She''s suffering much more alive than dead and she doesn''t even realize it! Listen! She''s taking up a servant slot for nothing right now! She might at one point identally leak our identity! Right now she''s free XP, so you might as well take it!" Moby had never been this mad at anything Avilia had said to him prior, despite knowing her argument was in fact somewhat rooted in logic. "She might still recover! Mason even used some sort of extremely valuable wish to keep her alive! And now you''re telling me I should kill her?! How would Jayden think of me? I''m the reason she''s like that! I could never bring myself to kill her under any circumstance! How would I ever be even able to forgive myself after that?!" "YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO FORGIVE YOURSELF BECAUSE YOUR EMOTIONS FOR HER AREN''T EVEN REAL!" Avilia blurted seemingly identally as she was too caught up in the moment, Moby''s teary eyes growing wide as her words seemedpletely obscured to him, yet since it''s from Avilia, he knew she might very well be speaking the truth¡­ "Please exin¡­ I''m listening..." Moby took a deep breath and spoke, trying to calm himself to see what Avilia had to say¡­ "Okay! Listen! Didn''t I tell you that every being that is turned into a demon will experience a certain type of corruption in their character? You have one too!" "Wait! Do you know what it is? I thought you didn''t know¡­" "I lied! I lied to protect you and your sanity but I guess it''s now time you find out¡­" "So¡­ What is it?" Moby''s heart was beating like machine-gun fire, almost like it was about to explode from his chest as the anticipation of what he was about to hear began to take center stage on all his senses. "So! You''re an orphan kid who lost his family and never had any lover or friends at school since you always got bullied¡­ More than anything else, what did your heart desire¡­" ''W-what¡­ It can''t be... Has my life been a lie¡­'' As soon as Avilia spoke those words, it was almost like something clicked in his mind, connecting all the dots and realizing something he should have found out a long time ago, as he waited patiently for Avilia to continue her words¡­ "Yes, I assume that you guessed it by now¡­ Anyone that you turn into a demon, you begin to see them more like family, friends, lover, and much more far more than before¡­ This is not amon trait for other household members and masters in the Netherworld¡­ This is simply just you¡­ And yes, people usually call them household members and not family, you used the word family subconsciously without even realizing it¡­" Avilia paused once more to take another deep breath before continuing. "Didn''t you realize? A crazy girl that tried to rape you and keep you as a pet is now your girlfriend. Don''t you find it odd that you fell for her? People just don''t forgive and forget that easily. Or how you couldn''t really care less about Abby and her family''s situation before you turned her into a demon since all you wanted to do was manipte her, but then you ended up befriending and sympathizing with her. Or, how about the fact that you used to see Alex and Ray equally, but when you turned Alex into a demon, you began to value him more. I can keep going on and on if you don''t believe me, but all I''m saying is the truth¡­" The realization of things became more and more apparent the more Avilia spoke in Moby''s shaky, aching mind, yet he still had a few questions to ask her¡­ "But what about Natalia?! I turned her into a demon and I still hated her! How does that make sense!?" Avilia took a deep breath and responded. "Simple, it''s all because of Jayden. Subconsciously, you valued your rtionship with her more and knew that if you saved Natalia, your rtionship with Jayden would be lost," "W-wait¡­ So, you''re telling¡ª" "Yes¡­ If Jayden had died, or simply wasn''t there¡­ You would have forgiven Natalia and probably fallen in love with her too¡­" Moby knew what Avilia was about to say before she even said it¡ª but, hearing it from her only made the realization hit harder, as he clenched his turning stomach as he heard Avilia continue her words. "This is why when you heard about Natalia''s death, even though you think you couldn''t care less about her, brought upon an aching pain in your mind and heart, this also extends to Jason as well," "Wait a minute, does that also mean¡ª" Almost like Avilia was reading his mind, she answered him before he even finished his question. "Yes, this is also why you lost control over Alex''s death to such a degree. Seeing Alex dying was almost akin to seeing an actual family member dying which triggered something in you, rage and sadness unlike ever before overrunning your senses, all due to that demon corruption of yours that actually served to save your life against that shalker, despite the consequences¡­ I still have a lot to discuss about the fight with you but that will wait until another time," Moby now understood why Avilia kept such a thing secret from him, the realization of the truth was messing with his entire perception of reality¡­ Was he truly in love with Jayden? Did he ever truly care about Abby? Did he really care about any of his friends? Or was that all part of his demon corruption, a desperate need to fill an empty void in his heart, one that he never even knew that he needed. "A-Avilia¡­ Is there a way for me to get rid of my demon corruption?" Avilia took a pause, almost like she was thinking of whether she should tell him or not before she finally made up her mind. "Yes, there is definitely a way, but it''s much harder and more costly than you expect so we can''t do it anytime soon. But still¡­ Do you really want to go through with it? If you do, the reality you now know might fade away¡­ Many things will definitely change¡­ Loved ones might turn into worse enemies and enemies might turn into loved ones, it''s almost impossible to predict how it will affect you¡ª would you still be willing to go through with that?" Moby smiled as he stared nkly at the ceiling, almost like his mind hadpletely fried from overthinking as he spoke in a soft voice towards Avilia in his mind¡­ "I honestly don''t know¡­ I don''t know¡­" Avilia took a deep breath and spoke to him in an almost motherly voice, as she too hated to see him in such a state. "I would like to apologize for my previousment. I should have thrown away my logic and took things in from your perspective. Don''t take what I said just now too seriously, I would forget about it for now and not let it bother you. There isn''t anything you could do about it so just go back to normal for now," Moby smiled at Avilia''s words and spoke. "Don''t worry about it¡­ But thanks for telling me the truth, it really means a lot and I understand why you kept it a secret for so long. And, I get that you just wanted the safest way for me to keep my identity secret so you could also achieve your own goals. For now, I''ll try and believe that at least most if not some of the emotions I feel towards my household members are real and live my life like that until I revert my mind back to its normal, non-corrupted state¡ª thank you¡­" "No problem, I''m d you''re okay from this¡­ Sorry for dropping this on you all at once, it must be a lot to take in. If you ever want to talk about it, don''t hesitate to let me know okay?" Still looking at the high ceiling of the hallway, his mellow smile growing wider he responded. "Thanks for that, I really appreciate it. But, I have onest question to ask you¡­ Are you also affected by my demon corruption?" "Haha! No! of course not! Your friendly neighbourhood Avilia is all good in that department! Everything we''ve been through is genuine so don''t worry about it!" Avilia''s tone shifted into something more positive and upbeat, leading to Moby''s smile growing even wider and he wiped the old tears from his face. "Good to know¡­" Suddenly, in his moment of recovery, Moby heard a voiceing from his right, one that he should have expected to hear yet had almostpletely forgotten about. "Young Master Kane. It seems you have finished your conversation with Lady Reid. I hope that things didn''t go too badly. If you could please follow me, I will escort you to the dining room where young mistress Jayden and lord Griffith have been patiently awaiting your arrival¡­" Chapter 265 - Funeral (1)

Chapter 265: Funeral (1)

"Yes of course," With a serious face and a deep breath, Moby followed the butler through the long, wide, expansive, almost maze-like hallways of the Griffith family household, seeing the faces of a few maids and servants that did not look all too optimistic, unlike all the other times. "We are finally here, lord Griffith, miss Griffith along with the young mistress are waiting for you on the other side," Albert spoke, opening up therge, rather familiar doors of the dining room, showing him an all too familiar scene once they opened, only this time, the room was nowhere near as cramped or crowded as when they were at the party which now fully disyed the room''s grandeur. There, on a big table in the middle of the room, he saw 3 figures quietly eating their meals, their silent gaze directed straight at him as soon as he entered the room. His back straight, full of confidence, Moby elegantly strode towards the table ahead with the butler still to his side, an odd feeling in his heart seeing Jayden''s face once more that he shook away immediately and disregarded like it was nothing as he took a blue seat out from the table and sat down where there was food already prepared for him, Jayden sat directly to his right. "So¡­ How was it? Did you find any sess?" Mason casually broke the ice of the sombre atmosphere as he cut a steak on his te. "To be honest, it didn''t work out as well as I expected. The pain she is feeling inside is almost drowning, I''m surprised she''s even got a will to live and had not just killed herself by now¡­ BUT! I think I made a little bit of progress, I managed to touch her and even y a game with her. I''m sure with a little more time, I''ll be able to get her back!" Moby''s resolve was clear to everyone on the table, Jayden looking at him with a tender smile. Although Moby was still putting on an act as to notpletely disappoint and let Jayden down, he was technically not lying, and he still nned to see her again no matter how many times it took until he brought her back to her senses. "I''m happy to hear that! When my daughter and I tried to do the same it didn''t work out too well¡­ Even when we tried to surprise her, make herugh, or catch her off guard, it simply didn''t work. I''m so d to hear you had better sess than us! Right now, she''s not mentally stable enough to go outside let alone go to school. But, please, after today don''t hesitate toe here if you ever want to visit her again, our doors are always open to you," "I will dly take you up on that offer," Moby nodded back. "So, anyways, has the military figured out why those shalkers attacked us?" Moby asked, taking a bite of his pasta as he was trying to see if the military knew the shalkers'' true intentions or if they were fed some other story. "Currently, no one is sure¡­ That captured shalker leader Joseph and I barely managed to subdue isn''t willing to speak a word, or even type anything. It''s really odd. Right now all we have are spections but we believe they''re fairly urate. ording to the shalkers, those were simply a small rebel army and were not under theirmand. We''re not sure if they''re telling the truth but it''s all we got to go by. So, we assume those shalkers wanted revenge on me and Joseph for killing one of their high leaders during the war, so they tried to kidnap or kill our children, which they managed to half seed¡­" Mason instinctively looked warmly at his own daughter, feeling deep gratitude that she was still alive, Moby slightly shuddering once more hearing about Alex''s death. "Yeah¡­" Moby responded mellowly. ''Avilia, I assume it''s your mute spell that''s doing this, can you exin it and its limitations to meter on?'' He asked, leading to Avilia inwardly nodding in his head. "Don''t worry, we all know it wasn''t your fault. Your friend was taken hostage and they even threatened to bomb the entire school if you didn''tply with their demands which included telling nobody. To be honest, I would have done the same if I were you too. If anything, your seen more like a hero. If you don''t mind me asking, how in the world did you manage to hold off that shalker for so long? Even if it was toying with you, that''s still really impressive," ''Hmmm? Bomb the school? You must have changed the story a bit to justify some of my actions since we can''t really reveal the secret of a demonic, all-powerful contract paper¡­ Smart!'' ''Of course! You can always count on me!'' Jayden smiled back at him, her mood slightly elevated as she gave him a mental thumbs up. Moby nodded in approval of Jayden''s actions before he looked up and answered Mason''s question. "It was simply my spirit mode, I had never used it from before but after Alex died, the spirit really resonated with me and it allowed me to do what I did. I can''t do the same thing now¡­ Maybe that was only a once in a lifetime thing, who knows," "I see, I understand," Mason took another bite of his food before looking at the time on his watch. "Hey, I know that you and my daughter have been hitting it off pretty well. I''m so happy for you two. She''s told us how much you saved her so many times and how much of a good person you are and we couldn''t be happier! Thank you so much for putting up with her! I know that she can be a handful sometimes," "Mom!" Jayden spoke, trying to contain her expression as she continued eating. "Ow sweetie! It''s so refreshing to see you act like this! So, anyways, we''ve been thinking¡­ Our sweet little Jayden had recently asked us to give her private lessons. It will all be very basic training at the start since she had not even got past that part and I think you would also be able to benefit since your ability is so young. We might not be able to share with you all of our secrets and such, the secrets could wait until you two get married." "Mommm!" She covered her face slightly, her mother chuckling at her antics before continuing. "But, I''m sure we can provide better training than what you receive at your school. So? What do you think?" Moby thought about her offer slightly, before he heard Avilia''s words in his head that she still has many things to teach him about like some of the stuff she managed to do in the fight when she took over his body. And, if he had to choose between an all-mighty demon lord or a strong human as a teacher he would of course choose the obvious answer, even if one of them included quality time with his girlfriend. What had happened to him the other day opened his eyes and made him realize how much more important power was, especially now that he knew that he was being hunted by all-powerful aliens from all around the universe... "I ept your offer. But, I might not be able to show up every time since I have some personal training I have to do," She nodded back at his words. "Very well. That won''t be a problem," She smiled, both she and Jayden not seeming disappointed at all as Jayden tightly gripped his hands as they were eating, the memory of Avilia''s earlier words popping up in his mind before he shook them away to the back of his head. *BEEEEEEEP* Suddenly, a sound came from Mason''s direction, before he pressed a button on his watch to stop it. "It''s time¡­ It''s time for the funeral¡­ Do you want to go to the Hart family mansion with us?" Mason stood up, his te empty as he wiped his hands clean with a cloth. "Yes... of course!" Moby felt odd pain andfort hearing those words as the memories rushed back into his head, d that he woke up in time to attend the funeral, Jayden''s hands holding his own once again bing tighter. "Good, let''s go then¡­ Albert! Clean the table and meet us in the car to drive us to the Hart estate!" ***************************** It was only a 30-minute drive from the Griffiths to the Hart mansion, which seemedparable in size to each other, the Hart mansion seeming slightly smaller. The parking lot around the house was crowded with cars as far as the eye could see, people wearing all ck with sad expressions on their faces walking up the long purple steps to the open mansion doors. Not too long after, Moby along with the entire Griffith family followed suit, instantly being recognized by the servants acknowledging their presence with a nod as they were personally escorted to the outer garden of the mansion, an area far towards the back with various graves lined up, the names engraved on them all ending with thest name "Hart". The area was fairly minimalistic, with an air of sadness and death filling the garden of various standing people wearing ck gathered around a dug-up grave and an empty casket, a purple bearded middle-aged man and his wife standing at centre stage with a stern, cold face like he was ready to give a speech, Moby and the Griffiths going to some sort of VIP area, Joseph giving them a look of acknowledgement before starting his speech. Chapter 266 - Funeral (2)

Chapter 266: Funeral (2)

"Thank you all foring here¡­ Today is a day that I never thought I would see so soon¡­ No, it was not a scene I had ever dreamt to see in my entire life¡­ I was fully expecting to be the one dead first and to never have to see such a day but it seems like fate had chosen a different oue¡­" He took a small pause, his body slightly shaking before he continued what he had to say. "Time is a weird thing, is it not? It only felt like a few days ago when my dear friend and I used to take our children to the park every day and watch them y together as we sat down and talked about them while having a drink¡­ It only felt like a few days ago when he came back home angry, suspended from school for defending a dear ssmate being abused... It only felt like a few days where he and I would train vigorously together, day and night to hone our skills¡­" The tears welling up in his eyes slowly and slowly became more apparent, his voice bing more and more sombre, everyone around Moby¡ª and, even Moby himself felt almost the same as the speech was poking daggers into his still grieving heart. "Alex was a strong man with an unquestionable resolve, he always followed his heart. Although that could sometimes lead him to do some very irrational things, that was just the kind of person he was and I could not be any prouder¡­ He did not die a coward''s death¡ª He died a warrior! A fighter for what he believed in! He died serving his country! Nay! His people! He fought to protect the entire human race against those shalkers! He and his friends bearing the pain all by themselves!" At this point, Joseph, his wife, and many of the spectators could no longer control the dam of their eyelids from exploding, a waterfall of tears falling from their faces. "His body may have not been found anywhere on the battlefield! But he will always live on in our hearts! He will always live on in this family! And in the eternal lightning of our family!" Suddenly, out of a storage, Joseph pulled his mighty, purple spear and raised it high in the sky, various thunderclouds forming right above the crowd who seemed to not panic or even move an inch. The clouds above began to crackle with purple lightning before suddenly, a massive st of lightning struck right above the open casket behind where Joseph stood, forming a body made out of pure, purple lightning, its features resembling Alex''s features to impressive, near impossible uracy as it dropped slowly in the casket that closed immediately right after¡­ Joseph now took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as he and everyone else took a moment of silence to stare solemnly at the ground below, the thundercloud above them immediately dispersing not before raining small, subtle droplets of rain onto everyone. Moby could not see the expressions of everyone else around him but he was sure they were feeling simrly as he felt his heart about to leap out of his chest and his eyes about to explode. Or, if anything, he might even be feeling worse than everyone around him considering that corruption Avilia talked about¡­ Now, what followed were various other speeches about Alex, one, of course, being from his mother, one from Mason, and one from high general Ryker who Moby was not even able to make out from the almost uniform, thick crowd of the funeral. Everyone then took turns touching the casket and saying their final words to Alex before walking away and talking to some of the other guests before everyone packed up and left. When it got to Moby''s turn, he couldn''t get himself to say anything other than 2 simple words... "I''m sorry..." After the funeral ended, the only people that remained were Moby and the Griffiths who were invited to dinner afterwards. The mansion itself was grand and very distinct from that of both the Griffith''s and the Reids, following a more modern aesthetic than the two with various lion-like decorations which seemed to be the family symbol. They all discussed many things, a lot of it being Mason and Joseph sharing stories about Alex while everyone else listened quietly. The conversation then shifted towards Joseph asking Moby various questions, some about himself and the past situation, mostly questions that he had answered before and some more to do about Alex and what kind of person he was, which he of course answered honestly. Time was gettingte so they did not stay at the Hart''s family mansion for long before they left, still with an empty feeling in his heart. Mason and Jayden asked Moby if he wanted toe and stay at their mansion for the next few days since there will be no school. It was quite a tempting offer, but Moby had to decline and decided to head back to his dorm room instead. There was someone there most likely also grieving and he did not want them to feel ignored or left out¡­ He did in fact feel bad for Ray since there was nothing he could do, he also deserved recognition but he seemed to get none... and he was not even invited to the funeral when he at least deserved to go, most likely because of his low status. And he, unlike everyone else was most likely still in the dark about everything, including his recovery from the hospital so he had to go check up on him. So, before the Griffiths went home, they personally drove him to the entrance of the school before they went back to their mansion, Jayden giving him a kiss on the cheek before he left, telling him to visit her soon. In the darkness, Moby walked through the front gates of the school and looked around the empty, all too familiar sights before he found himself at the front of his room, the lights on the insidepletely turned off. He scanned his student ID card on the lock and slowly opened the door and entered, finding the room almostpletely empty and clean, no robot parts to be seen. The only part that could be considered "messy" was a single game controller in front of the tv, not put back to where it was. When he looked around for Ray, he noticed a small bump on the bottom bunk, noticing Ray''s sleeping figure which made him let out a sigh and a small smile, choosing not to wake him and let him sleep in peace; they could always talk in the morning. However, that was when Moby''s expression shifted into something more nk as he stared at the empty bunk above that where Alex usually slept with an empty feeling in his heart, shaking it away before he changed his clothes into something morefortable using his inventory and silently jumped up to his usual ce on the top bunk. It was finally time to see something that he wanted to open ever since the day started¡­ With his student ID in hand, he pulled out a small, military low-grade ring from his hands with eyes full of expectation. However, before he did, he decided to contact Jayden first to ask her about what she received in her award, just so he could know what to expect. ''Well, it was only a medal of military high honour made out of genuine rare medals, some training materials, and a high-grade set of daggers that are extremely powerful butcks some of the cool effects I like such as teleporting them back into my hands and duplicating them into fake daggers. I think Nags received only a low-grade medal since he was technically part of the enemy at one point but then switched sides. He''s probably still locked up in his room extremely angry at himself so I wouldn''t rmend contacting him now, tomorrow would probably do better.'' ''I see¡­ Thanks for the info!'' ''No problem! Oh! And have you decided if you are going to kill him or not? 1 week is almost up you know!'' ''His ability and demon powers seem rather useful¡­ So I''ll keep him for now and keep an eye on him. But I think for now I don''t see a reason not to trust him¡­'' ''I see¡­ Well, anyways, it''s been a nice chat! I''m sure you want to find out what''s inside your ring so I''ll leave you to that! I''m going to go to sleep now, it''s been a long day and I haven''t slept in almost a week¡­ You can tell me what you got tomorrow. Or, if it''s important you can just wake me up, I don''t really mind,'' ''Mhm, got it! Well, goodnight!'' ''Goodnight to you too! I love you!'' For a split second in his mind, small doubt arose in his head saying it back to her, as he was still unsure of himself if what he felt for her was real or not, before shaking those thoughts away and responding like usual, closing the mind link slightly angry at himself. ''I love you too!'' Moby took a deep breath and stared back at the ring in his hands with expectant eyes. If those were the rewards Jayden received, then technically, what he receives should be even better considering his aplishments. Slowly, he lifted his student ID card and scanned it on the ring in his other hand. [ ess Authorised ] A sound and a window emerged before suddenly, 2 things appeared on hisp¡­ A purple medal with his name engraved on it along with the military logo, the metal looking extremely hard and pristine, unlike anything he had ever seen in his life, assuming that the medal he received was of greater value than the one given to Jayden. And, the other item was a single piece of folded paper, that Moby found rather odd, before shaking those thoughts away as it began to make more sense that the military would send him a personal letter to thank him on his aplishments since they did not have the chance to do it in person. Yet, it still bothered him that other than his medal, he received nothing else, no rare weapon or training material like Jayden received, checking inside the storage ring once more only to find itpletely empty, which made him even more intrigued about the contents of the letter. For some strange reason, he had an odd feeling about the letter sat on hisps, his heart beating unnaturally fast, unsure if it was from nervousness, fear or excitement. Calming himself, he slowly lifted and opened the folded paper and read the first 5 words, his expression shifting into pure horror, like his heart instantly dropped to the bottom of his stomach and his face turning paler than a ghost. "We know who you are¡­" Chapter 267 - Good Night Sleep...

Chapter 267: Good Night Sleep...

"We know who you are¡­ Don''t be scared, we just want to talk to you¡­ There''s a lot we need to discuss about things that you don''t even know about yourself¡­" Moby''s eyes grew wide, tightly clenching the paper as he found it difficult to continue reading¡­ Did they figure him out? If so then how? Do they know he''s a demon? If so then for how long? What do they know about him that he doesn''t? Does this somehow have to do with his parents? At this point, he had absolutely no idea in his mind that had been in turmoil for too long now. He waspletely trapped with no escape. For all he knew, he might have some military spies on him all the time now. Escaping Earth was almost impossible. But even if he could, where would he go? Join the shalkers that he so adamantly hated? Get lucky to find some random habitable out of millions that could not sustain any life? ''Read the rest of the paper!'' He heard a soothing voice in his head, trying to calm him down. ''Avilia?'' If he thought anyone would be distraught at such news, it would probably be Avilia, but she seemed to bepletely calm andposed. ''Don''t worry and don''t act too rashly, even if they did figure you out, depending on what they know they will just value you more or something. After all, they did just give you a medal and good publicity instead of keeping your identity a secret and taking you out. If they out you as a demon to the public or kill you it wouldn''t be too good for them. So, as long as they don''t leak your identity to the rest of the cosmos then you should be fine. But, that is the worst scenario. This might just have to do with your parents, maybe they aren''t who you thought they were¡­ I mean, anyone that can control demon energy is definitely not normal. Oh! And I haven''t sensed any spies near you at any point today, so I think you should be fine there too,'' Avilia''s words did indeed calm Moby down and hardened his sweating soul as he took a deep breath and continued reading. "On behalf of the entire worldwide military, we would like to bestow upon you one of the highest honours: The Adamantite Medal of Bravery for your incredible self-sacrifice¡­" The rest of the letter read as he expected, praising him for his actions andplimenting him in the usual way. However, what once again caught his attention was thest part of the letter that read: "We would like to meet you in the country Z main military bureau on December 18th once we have sorted out everything with the shalkers. We expect to see you then Kane! Young hero! Signed, Supreme General Cade on behalf of the entire military," Moby let the paper fall on hisp, before it and the medal was stored in his inventory as he fell down on his bed and stared nkly at the ceiling. There was literally nothing he could do, unless of course, he was able to overthrow the entire military in theing weeks before he was called upon, somethingpletely impossible. For now, all he could do was leave his fate to destiny and see where that would lead him¡­ Hopefully one step closer to finding the truth about his parents¡­ ''Hey, nice to see that you''re not too bumped out! Are you gonna share this with Jayden?'' He heard a small chuckle in his head, making him inwardly smile. ''No, I bet this stuff is meant to be top secret since they went through all the trouble of keeping it locked. Plus, I don''t really want to worry her because she might start begging her father to do the impossible again¡­'' ''Hmmm, I see, anyways! I think you wanted to talk to me about something right?'' ''Yeah, a few things,'' Moby inwardly nodded. ''Firstly, exin "mute" to me,'' ''Oh! That''s just a simple mute spell, I wasn''t really able to cast any other more powerful spells since your body is so weak and your energy reserves are so low. Pretty much, it is simply a move that blocks the target from any sort ofmunication. The more they try and have the urge to talk or yell, the stronger the spell will be. If you know about the spell and how it works, it''s fairly easy to break, just the simple matter of clearing your mind. But, I''m sure that''s not the case for him. With him being constantly tortured, I''m sure he really wants to talk. And, if he gave up hope on talking ever again, he might not even try to talk to break the spell. Pretty much, I doubt he''ll be talking again anytime soon so don''t worry about him. And, with the military torture, I''m sure he''s suffering a fate far worse than death¡­'' Avilia took a pause before she continued. ''So, do you have any other questions?'' ''Yes, what were those hand signs you were using?'' ''Well, those are simple hand signs that allow me to cast some of my spells. Normally, I would be able to cast them silently, but in your body, I needed the hand signs for support; that will be the next part of your training,'' Moby inwardly nodded before continuing what he had to say. ''So, this is the biggest question I have¡­ How the hell were you able to use everyone''s powers all at once? Even Natalia, Alex and even Jason who were supposed to be dead¡­'' Avilia took a while to ponder before she responded with a deep sigh. ''To be honest, not even I''m sure how it happened. Normally, that kind of thing is reserved to when you be a greater demon and assign your sins. And, in an evolved sin mode, you would then be able to call upon the power of those sins to aid you in battle, even if they were dead, with of course a maximum of 7 powers at a time. I think it might be part of that dark form you got probably from your dragon side that not even I''mpletely sure of¡­'' ''Do you know how I can tap into it again? Does someone have to die every time I do it?'' ''I honestly have no clue; anything dragon-rted I am no more useful than a goldfish,'' ''So, that immense power I used¡­ I''m sure it took a lot out of me and came at a price¡­ My body had been feeling weird and weak all day, so I''m sure it''s a side effect right? When I checked my stats they seemed to all be fine though, so what''s going on?'' ''Oh! Don''t worry! There were no real consequences to doing what you did, but maybe try to avoid doing it again. Don''t put yourself in those situations anymore,'' Answering that question, Moby felt Avilia''s tone slightly shift into something more sombre which he found off at first but then disregarded as he thought deeply about her words that he had already contemted and made up his mind to well before since he had learned his lesson... He took a small pause and a deep breath before thinking of thest thing he wanted to say with a smile on his face. ''Even if I was barely conscious during the fight, I still managed to pick up on something¡­ Something like "Me and Avilia are actually already in love with one another! Once I get her a new body, we will get married and rule over the 3 realms together!" I thought lying in sin mode wasn''t allowed¡­ So? Do you want to exin yourself?'' Although Moby could not see it, he imagined Avilia''s face redden up before she spoke. ''Don''t get too ahead of yourself! I said that to save us! Once you get to my level, you can make yourself believe anything even in the moment!'' ''So does that mean for that split second you actually convinced yourself that you were in love with me? You know I''m with Jayden right?'' ''Shut up! It''s nothing like that!'' She yelled back, only for them both to inwardly burst out intoughter, only Avilia''sughter carried a slightly different tone. It was the only time in seemingly weeks that Moby ever remembered having so much fun. It was not like he didn''t care about everything around him, but even once in a whileughing things away is a good thing, as he stared up nkly at the ceiling above, ready to go to sleep. ''Hey, Moby, can you go see that Abby girl again soon? I need to talk to someone very important¡­'' Moby thought about it slightly before the sudden realization hit him¡­ ''I was nning on going again tomorrow. Is it about this Alucard person. The undead spirit that took over Alex''s body?'' ''Yes, I need to talk to him. I was going to do itst time but it was hard sincemunications were off in that room and I didn''t want to disturb you in your moment. I''m sure it will be easier tomorrow when you''re feeling better,'' Moby nodded back to Avilia''s words with his eyes closed. ''Of course, I don''t mind¡­ I''m sure he might know a lot of things about your people you want to know¡­ Seeing that he''s here, his old master is probably no more¡­ And I assume he is someone you cared about right?'' The atmosphere suddenly became silent, the sound of the heavy wind hitting the windows before she finally responded with three words that held so many emotions that dug deeply into Moby''s heart before they both decided to go to sleep... ''Yeah¡­He is...'' Chapter 268 - A Ray With No Light

Chapter 268: A Ray With No Light

Moby slowly opened his abnormally tired eyes and scratched them to remove the blurriness. Other than the day before when he woke up in the hospital, he had never felt in such a state after waking up ever since turning into a demon. Before moving out of bed, he stared at the ceiling with his nk eyes. Then, he tightly grasped his palm into a fist and took a deep breath before jumping out of bed, using his air steps mere millimetres from hitting the ground just so he did not make any sound. "Hmmm¡­ 7 am huh¡­" He mumbled to himself before looking at the bottom bunk only to find Ray still sleeping, the bunk above that also empty which he was not sure if he would ever get used to seeing¡­ Moby inwardly nodded to himself before going to the fridge to eat his morning breakfast, brush his teeth before going outside toplete his daily quest, doing it rather slowly as he felt the cold wind breeze pping his face and the sun strongly hitting down on him. It was not that his body had yet to fully recover, in fact, it felt good as new; he simply used that time to himself¡ª to ponder on some things and calm his mind from its current state. After receiving his usual 3 stat points, he opened his stat page and immediately assigned them into mind, a stat he had been so dearlycking¡­ If only he had higher mind, he would have been able to contact Ray who was back on earth about what was going on from the other but he was simply too far away¡­ The mind stat seemed to serve more than he had first anticipated and it was about time that he stopped neglecting it, especially now when there was seemingly no immediate danger headed his way. Moby then came back from his morning jog and workout, noticing Ray still asleep. So, he took his morning shower, choosing to take a cold one which felt rather calming and refreshing now that he had cold resistance. "Hmmm¡­ Ray¡­ You''re finally awake I see¡­" He spoke as soon as he exited the shower, still slightly wet. "M-Moby? You''re back?" He mumbled, still in bed, scratching his dead-looking eyes before standing up straight. "Where''s Alex? Is he with you too?" That question caught Moby off guard. "Hmm? Have you not been informed about what happened?" A small smile appeared on Ray''s face hearing those words, one that bore absolutely no joy. "Oh no¡­ I know very well what happened¡­ Just that I thought since you were up, you would be able to cause some sort of miracle and bring him back but I guess I''m just asking too much¡­" Moby sighed and nodded back to his words. "Sorry, but not even I could do that," "Heh¡­ Figured¡­" He put his hands over one of his eyes, his smile growing slightly more before hints of water became visible in his eyes. "You know¡­ I''m just so useless¡­ So useless¡­ Other than my parents, you and Alex were all that I had in life and I just threw it away! I thought with these new powers I would be able to do something with myself but all I am is dead weight¡­ You guys would have done¡ª" "Stop putting yourself down! Do you think that is what Alex would have wanted? So what if you weren''t useful in the fight itself! If it weren''t for you, Jayden would have not been able to spy on the Reids and we would have been even more fucked! All of us would have died! Not only Alex! Your powers are still young and developing so don''t talk like that!" The tears falling down Ray''s face also increased more and more¡­ "Moby¡­ Why didn''t you turn me into a demon earlier then? Maybe then I would have been able to develop my skills earlier¡­ Why didn''t you save him? Aren''t you supposed to be the future demon lord?" Moby took a deep breath looking at Ray''s desperate look knowing full well that he was not in the right state of mind when checking his emotions. "I am not yet as powerful as you think. I can only turn a certain amount of people at a time and I didn''t have the slots to turn you to. Plus, I had no idea how you would react¡­ To put it bluntly, if you rejected the offer, I would either then have to force you into it and enve you or kill you to keep my secret. How should I know you would be okay with it? The only reason I did it now was to save your life, and that was the same reason I did it for Alex too!" Ray''s eyes dted hearing Moby''s words, the tears falling down his face now even more than ever before. "Just think of a better tomorrow! What happened was truly tragic but there is nothing that could be done now! If you stay in bed sulking for too long, that would only send you down an even deeper spiral of hate and despair! Then you would be as good as dead! and not even I would be able to bring you back! I''ve already seen it happen before¡­ Do you want to die on the inside? If you give up now it would be as good as spitting on Alex''s dead body! Is that what his sacrifice did? Cause nothing but pain and misery!?" The waterworks running down Ray''s face became fiercer the more and more Moby talked as he knew that he was speaking the truth¡­ He could sense the pain in Moby''s words but he seemed to be taking what was happening better than him. Not because he hated or didn''t care about Alex, but because that was how much he respected him¡­ ''If only I was that strong¡­'' He thought in his mind, looking at the serious face of his only friend and technically now his master. "I bet you haven''t eaten in days, starving yourself won''t do you any good, even if we demons can survive really long with no food or water¡­ I''ll be heading out to do some training¡­ If you need me just give me a call¡­" Moby opened the door to the dorm room, the light from the outside shining in before he heard a single phrase enter his ears as soon as he stepped out¡­ "Thank you for that friend¡­" So, he turned around and nodded at him with a bright, painfilled smile before walking out, leaving Ray all alone in the room to think over what had happened¡­ *Punch* In a slight fit of rage, Ray punched the bunk above him, angry with no one but himself as he began to mellowly chuckle. That was when a small piece of paper fell down from the shaking bed above andnded on the ground, which made him get out of bed for the first time in days to do anything but y videogames¡­ He picked up the folded paper, with a wide open gaze as he began reading, the waterworks in them reopening once more reading what he had in front of his eyes that bore a newly rekindled me¡­ "A-Alex¡­" ********************** Moby walked out of the dorm feeling slightly weird. He was calming Ray down and telling him things that not even he himself fully got over yet. He was fully used to always putting on an act but part of his speech almost felt like it was directed at himself. ''So, what''s your next n? You gonna go see Nags or Abby?'' ''Abby; Nags can wait for now. I have a n for somethingter on¡­'' Avilia seemed to not know what Moby was talking about since that n was not shown in his outer thoughts as she watched him call Jayden on his watch only to see thatmunications in the Griffith mansion had been reinstated once more. ******************************* Walking through the Griffith family hallways, windows to their left showing the shining sun and the wildlife of the garden walked two figures all alone, smiling mellowly. "So, what did you get from your reward?" Jayden asked with great anticipation. "Oh! Just an Adamantite medal and an invitation to go personally meet the supreme general," Moby replied, technically not lying. "Wow! That''s amazing! The Adamantite medal is one of the highest honours that could be bestowed to a person! Few are above that! And a personal invitation to see the supreme general?! Congrattions! I''m so happy for you!" "So, which one did you get?" "Mine was only Orichalcum, which is 2 tiers below Adamantite!" "Did Alex receive any award? I think they give one to the dead too right?" "Yeah¡­ Of course, he did¡­ He received the third-highest honour possible, anything above that are just absolutely insane people who turned entire tides of wars¡­ "The Prismatic Heart"," Suddenly, their conversation abruptly came to a halt as they reached the familiar crimson door that Moby had deeply etched into his brain. "So¡­ I wish you the best of luck with Abby¡­ I don''t really know what else to say¡­" "It''s okay, you don''t need to say more¡­" "Well, I''ll be off to go start my training. My butler came back from vacation today so he''ll also be joining in. Do you want to join us after you''re done?" "Yes! I''d be d to," Moby''s smile resonated with Jayden, which made her face turn brighter as they both lovingly kissed each other on the lip with passionate eyes, Jayden''s arms wrapped around his neck before she left with a wave of her hands, leaving him all alone in front of the crimson door that brought him so much pain and anguish thest time he entered... Chapter 269 - Dario Kart 41

Chapter 269: Dario Kart 41

Slowly, Moby opened the crimson door with great anticipation,pletely calm andposed, ready for anything toe his way. However, when he did, he was surprised to see that the girl hest saw sitting on her bed was no longer there. Gently closing the door behind him, he took one more nce around the room before shifting his focus towards the garden to his left, steeling himself once again as he gradually marched in that direction. There, as he entered the garden, the first thing that he noticed was the figure of a crimson-haired girl wearing a red robe sitting on the grass with a smile and a dead look in her eyes as she held a bright, vermillion rose in one hand, sniffing it before gently plucking away it''s petals right beneath her feet, seemingly oblivious to his arrival. "Hey Abby! I''vee to visit again!" With a smile and a wave of his hands, Moby let himself be known. Slowly, Abby shifted her gaze towards him, growing wider as she stared directly at his face for what felt like an eternity before she began to instinctively back up until she crashed into a tree. "W-why are you here¡­ I told you never toe back¡­ Do you want to hurt me again?" Moby smiled at her words, a smile that she could immediately recognize as pure and innocent. "Of course not! Last time I only did what I did because I thought it would help but now I see I was going about it the wrong way. I just came here to y today¡­ So, want to y a game?" Moby smiled at her with his hands out in an open palm, sitting cross-legged on the grass. "NO! NO! NO! I already told you! I believe you are a nice guy okay! Everything around me dies! They all die! If you look in my storage you would know! So please stay away from me! I can''t take it anymore," Moby''s smile grew even wider as he covered his mouth to stop himself from bursting intoughter only for him not to be able to. "I must have missed this the first time we met but do you really think I''m a nice guy? I''ve killed and tortured many people. Yes! I''ve done so to so many people solely for the fact that I need to get stronger and the only sin theymitted was that they stood in my way. For all I know, they could have been good people inside and had circumstances that forced them to do what they did. And does it look like I care about them? No! I only care for very few people in life, everyone else is just like an insect to me¡­ Now, do you still think I''m good? I''m pure evil, evil to my core¡­ I wouldn''t feel bad about identally killing me if I were you¡­" Abby seemed to be listening intently to Moby''s words. "But if you really are a bad man¡­ I don''t want to y with you either! Why would I want to y with someone bad?" Moby raised an eyebrow at Abby''s words. "So, who would you want to y with then!?" "I DON''T KNOW! ¡­ I don''t know¡­" All of a sudden, Abby yelled with such pain in her soul, tears falling down her gray eyes as she tightly clenched her aching heart. "I''m not sure if I get what you mean¡­ But no way in hell I''m giving up on you just yet¡­ if anything, I have a present for you that I think you might like. Think of it as an apology fromst time," Still smiling, Moby stood up off the ground and walked inside, Abby sniffling before following slowly after him like a cat, keeping her distance trying to see what he was up to. There, she saw Moby walking up to a wall with a socket, pulling something massive out of his inventory. A full-sized modern TV along with a weird box and two even weirder-looking controllers as he connected everything together in what seemed like a split second. Then, with one hand, he pulled out arge, fancy-looking red couch and ced it on the ground with 1 hand facing it towards the TV that he turned on immediately after. Not even a secondter, the screen began shing lights into an odd screen with a button prompt, ying music before the voice of an odd man yed: "Dario Kart 41!". He then skipped past that screen and entered into a menu, where he entered some sort of race and put her as some sort of red hot firey princess. "This is a videogame! Do you want to y?" Moby looked out at Abby who was looking at him through the window only for her to duck away at his gaze. "Don''t worry, I''ll leave. This is only a present after all. It would mean the world to me if you epted it. Just pick up the controller, unpause the menu and y! Me and Alex used to y this all the time! It''s a really fun racing game! Trust me!" After saying those words, Moby left the controller on the couch and simply walked out of the room, leaving Abby all alone with the game console he left for her. "A-Alex used to y this¡­ He really did¡­" She mumbled to herself, gradually standing up before steadily inching closer towards the couch, sitting on it before picking up the controller Moby left behind. "How do I unpause this? Alex, can you help me out? ¡­? Hmmm? B?" As soon as she pressed that button, music once again began ying on the TV, with a count down running down her screen. The track seemed to bepletely red withva flowing as far as the eye could see and some weird-looking turtle dragon statues lining some of the walls. In front of her was that same fiery princess that Moby had chosen for her, and to her right was the only other kart insight, one of a skeleton turtle. [ 3 ] [ 2 ] [ 1 ] [ GO! ] Suddenly, the turtle boosted straight past her as she was leftpletely in the dust. Her kart suddenly began moving on its own and she had no idea what she was doing, crashing into walls, spamming random buttons all the while the turtle continued gaining ground on her. "Alex! Teach me how to y! Teach me how to y!" She panicked even more, that was until she managed to calm her mind and nerves and fully focus on what she was doing, almost like there was a voice talking in her subconscious. She had spammed the buttons of the game so many times over that she now knew what everything did. It was not simply due to her superhuman strength, speed and reflexes but also due to the fact that she was simply a fast learner. For some odd reason, she now yed the game almost perfectly and managed to use all the shortcuts to her advantage to catch up, it nearly seemed like she was possessed. "Almost there!" It was now the finalp and she was only a few meters behind her opponent that was previously miles ahead as she leaned forward towards her screen instinctively. And, in the final stretch, after managing to find an extremely lucky red shell, she managed to overtake him and cross the finish line. The first ce text emerged on her screen along with the victory music as she chuckled at herself, smiling in victory, leaning back on her couch with her still gray, yet not as gray looking eyes that bore a glint of satisfaction. "Hmh, hmh, hmh, I did it! I won! I really won!" "How! Is this really your first time ying? I never expected for you to actually beat me! I want a rematch!" "W-WHA!" Looking directly to her right where the sound came from, she noticed another figure sitting right next to her which scared her out of her mind. She couldn''t believe her eyes, had she been so preupied, and sucked into the game for her to even notice him sitting next to her? Abby looked at Mobypletely bbergasted, but most importantly at what he held in his hands. A small device with a screen, and that screen showed the exact same game she was ying, only that one said second ce and had a skeleton turtle in the sameva map instead of her fire princess which allowed her to quickly put two and two together... "See! Wasn''t that fun? We managed to y with each other really closely, even if you didn''t know, and I''m still alive am I not? So! Do you want to rematch? Maybe I am an exception to your rule, I didn''t die after that first game either, right? Who knows, my theory could be right you know! But! What I do know is that I can''t lose to a newbie like this after I''ve yed this game for so long! So, what do you say? Rematch?" Chapter 270 - Training With The Griffiths

Chapter 270: Training With The Griffiths

Abby could not believe what she was hearing¡­ Was he truly an exception or was it just a fluke? He had been sitting directly next to her the entire time and she seemed not to notice¡­ And, for the first time, she had genuine fun ying with someone else¡­ He went that far just to trick her into ying a game with him¡ª he definitely seemed like a nice person who truly cared about her¡­ She had never felt such warmth from someone other than Alex in what seemed like forever in her mind. "So, what do you say? Rematch?" She heard that voice once again, as she looked up with her eyes that she only just now recognized were crying tears of joy and spoke¡­ "Yes¡­ That would be lovely¡­ B-b-but please stay on the other side of the couch¡­" Moby smiled at her words and felt relief in his heart that drowned out all his senses. He seemed to have finally broken through the first barrier. However, she did not fully get over everything and was still shy and reluctant which he foundpletely understandable. "Okay let''s do it!" ********************************************** Moby and Abby yed Dario kart over and over again trading blows on who won¡ª However, in general, it was Moby who won most of the games due to his superior experience and game knowledge. Even still, Abby had fun; he had never seen her so happy in a long time. She seemed almost like a child discovering video games for the first time which he would have been lying to say that he wasn''t in the same boat only a few months prior. Yet, what Moby did not manage to do in all his time with her now was have a proper conversation that was not game-rted so he can help her get over her internal trauma more but he decided to save that for another time, he had already made more than enough progress for today. Before they even knew it, the light outside began to turn a tint of orange. They seemed to have yed for many hours and none of them noticed until it was finally brought to Moby''s attention when he looked around and stretched. "It''s 6 pm already?!" He blurted out all of a sudden. "Aw¡­ So do you have to go?" Moby nodded to her words softly¡­ "Yes¡­ I have to go now¡­ But first, can we talk t¡ª" Before Moby was able to finish his sentence, he heard a voice enter his head. ''Don''t worry about it now, bringing him up would only ruin the mood for her and I don''t want that to happen after you''ve worked so hard. Talking with Alucard can wait untilter, I''m really in no rush to know¡­'' ''Hmmm¡­ Really? B-" ''Heh, yeah, waiting a few days wouldn''t be a big deal. You really impressed me, I never thought you''d manage to get to her so quickly, but I still stand by my words that she will never recover and be the same ever again,'' ''We''ll see about that,'' Moby knew that Avilia was not trying to bring him down but to instead face reality, but Moby''s resolve did not allow for such things. His mind had been set and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "Moby? Who was it that you wanted to see?" He suddenly heard a voice snapping him back into reality. "Oh, don''t worry about it, that can wait for another time! It''s been really fun, but I honestly have to go now¡­" "W-will youe back tomorrow?" Moby''s smile grew even wider hearing her words as he could not help but slightly chuckle. "Of course! I''ll be here every day! Don''t you worry about it okay?" He spoke those words before walking away towards the door and opening it up. "Thank you¡­" He heard a soft, gentle voice reach his ears, turning around to once again see a crying and beaming Abby, nodding and smiling back at her before exiting and softly closing the door behind him. He felt great satisfaction and joy leaving those doors trying his best to keep his emotions under control as he lent back on the wall, aplete contrast from thest time he entered and exited those doors. "Young Master, it seems like you have finally finished your talk with the young miss," Suddenly, he heard a voiceing from his left, turning around only to see a maid cleaning the hallway using a wind ability. "Young mistress Jayden and lord Griffith have been anticipating your arrival for quite a while now. Allow me to escort you to the arena they are training in, or do you want me to inform them that you will be going home?" Moby took a deep breath and calmed his nerves from what he had just been through before answering. "Yes of course! Lead the way!" ********************************************* *HA* *nk*? *HA* *HEIYA* *Crash* Moby entered a wide, expansive, dark blue arena adorned with various Raven symbolism, one with no stands and that seemed extremely personalized. There, at the center of the Arena stood three figures, two of whom were fighting and one who was simply spectating. "Faster! FASTER! Keep those feet moving!" He recognized all three of them. The man that was on standby was Jayden''s personal butler wearing morebat-rted armour. It was rather odd for Moby to see since it was the first time he had ever seen him outside of his butler attire; he almost looked like apletely different person. The two people fighting were Jayden and her father, using daggers and no abilities. Mason had a casual air to his demeanour and fighting but a serious look in his eyes as he seemed to be simply toying with Jayden who appeared to be clearly struggling with a deadly glint in her cold gaze, her facepletely red, the sweat on her face almost like a waterfall as her panting was able to reach Moby''s ears from such a distance. ''Damn¡­ They must have been training the entire time¡­ Demon stamina is pretty insane but she seems almost dead. Seems like my type of training, brings me back,'' He thought to himself before he was eventually noticed. "Moby! You''re finally here! What took you so long!" Jayden called out to him,pletely dropping her training with her father as she struggled to even run towards him, pouncing on him like a tiger with her still extremely sweaty armour and visage as she used him for support as if she was not able to stand. Of course, Moby did not mind that it all. He was not all into the feeling and smell of sweat but he was d to help her out whenever he could. "I was with Abby and things are going great! It seems like you''ve been through hell and back. I now kinda see why you tried to avoid this when you were little but I''m sure you''ll get used to it eventually," "No¡­ I really don''t think I will¡­ *Pant* But *Pant* I''ll push through it anyways don''t you *pant* worry!" After Jayden was finally able to catch a breath, they both let go of each other. "Moby Kane! You''re finally here! You missed all the physical training but at least you''re in time for your mental training! You two! Crossed legs on the ground now!" "YES SIR!" They both instinctively yelled back, doing as they were told. Mason seemed to not beat around the bush, skipping the greeting and going straight into immediate training. "Kane¡­ I will now be sharing with you one of my family secrets¡­ It will surely help you in your training¡­ But, it will be erased from your memories as soon as you receive the benefits," Moby slowly nodded back to his words. If he was allowed to open his eyes, they would have been plopped straight on the ground, he could not believe he would receive a secret so early on. "Simply follow your flow of mana to your mana core and listen to the sound of my voice¡­" So far, it seemed very simr to what he was taught in ss, as he followed his mana flow and reached his mana core, he noticed that its colour hadpletely shifted, a few cracks clearly shown leaking ck energy out of it. The colours it harboured were now purple, ck, and blue, all mixed and intertwined. He stared deeply into it, almost feeling himself get lost once more before he heard a faint yet gentle voice enter his ears chanting what seemed like some odd, obscurenguage he did not recognize¡­ "Ni Teja, ni pookol, YU mooja geh loryuobo ni foulg eh julpmoais. Yu''n celli, YU kuaisoja dajtnomg quoolo yug quucm''g ni lyutfg geh jeh ceh. YU ussokg ieal kamyuusnomg , uvcerbo no eh choco jonemc. YU ussokg ieal se boljyusg ceh YU nui ryubo ni ryuho cho lyutfg quui utuyum," Those words yed in his head over and over again, grasping on different parts of his soul and mana core, the colours twisting and raging more and more until even more cracks were shown and more ck energy leaked out from within¡­ << Young Dragon¡­ You have been granted power¡­ >> Chapter 271 - Training With The Griffiths (2)

Chapter 271: Training With The Griffiths (2)

Mason finished his chant and took a deep breath, looking at the two sitting figures below him who were clearly struggling with tender eyes. After all these hours of training, he could finally rx. It was not that he was tired, no, far from it, it was simply due to him keeping up his seriousness since he was not at all used to showing that side to his daughter. "Ryan, how do you think she''s doing?" He lent back on the wall, grabbing and drinking a metallic seethrough water bottle. "Jayden''s very rusty indeed¡­ She has a long way to go¡­ I was curious to see how the boy would stack up to her but that can wait for another time or when they both wake up," "Yeah, I''m very curious to see that too. But, they should be experiencing internal struggle for the next 2 hours or so, so we must wait until then," He nodded back to his butler taking another chug of water. "Anyways, in the meantime, are you up for some chess?" Mason continued, making arge smile appear on the face of the old butler. "Mason, you have yet to actually beat me in a game of chess. Have you forgotten I''m a super grandmaster who''s ranked top 10 in the world?" Masonughed at Ryan''s words before continuing. "Doesn''t mean I can''t beat you!" "Very well my lord, it shall be done then. But I won''t be lenient with you, expect me tough at every blunder you make," "Do whatever you want! We''ll see how it ends this time!" Mason continued, pulling out a chessboard from his storage ring and cing it on the bench that Ryan was sitting on. ************************************** "HAHAHAAH! Queen C3 is mate in 1! How did you miss that!?" Ryan could not hold in hisughter, just like he promised as he slowly and casually held and dragged his queen over in that direction. "And that''s checkmate!" Mason''s eyes grew wide as he held his hands over his head that was under hisughing subordinate. He was by no means bad at chess, but after losing so many times in a row, his brain deteriorated to such a level. It just went to show how talented and smart his own top butler was. They had yed non-stop rapid games andpleted seven-teen matches, and out of those seven-teen matches, not one time did he win; for a matter of fact, not one time did he even get close to winning. Yet, despite that fact, Mason was not yet ready to throw in the towel, that was simply the kind of man he was. "One more ti-!" However, before he was able to say what he had to say, the ground suddenly began to tremble and the chessboard the was previously on the bench fell on the ground, scattering all of the pieces far and wide. When they looked over at the source of the disturbance, they noticed Moby who was still sitting cross-legged, now with a ck aura shooting up to the ceiling, surrounding and consuming everything around it. Looking closer on him, small spots of ck energy were moving around him in obscure ways like it was trying to form something only for it to fail. The aura was unlike anything they had ever seen before in their life, part of them even doubted that it was mana, but if it weren''t mana then what was it? Mana was the only exnation so they had to stick with what they knew. Mason''s eyes immediately shifted towards Jayden who was sitting directly next to him and noticed that she waspletely unaffected, making his heart feel more at ease. "Mason! Should I stop him?! What''s going on!?" The butler dropped everything he was doing and stood up ready to knock Moby out. "No! Leave him be¡­ I''ve never seen this happen to such an extent, but it''s necessary for his evolution¡­ His inner spirit is not normal¡­ It''s an absolute monster¡­ It seems like the rumours about him might be true after all..." The worry and surprise on Mason''s face were no more, instead reced by excitement and anticipation. And so, not long after the aura sprouted, it immediately subsided, like a massive wave going back into the ocean it came from¡­ Slowly, Moby opened his blurry eyes and checked his surrounding¡­ Looking to his left to see Jayden still sleeping and directly under him to see the ck king from a chess set right underneath his feet. "Hmmm?" *Ding* [System Alert! ] [New skill unlocked!] ************************** [Draconic Spirit (Infant Stage)] ??? ??? ??? Note from Avilia: I have no clue what the hell this is or what the hell this does, probably some sort of mini form from when you transformed against that shalker. You''re on your own to figure this one out... ************************** Moby''s eyes suddenly sprung forth, the blurriness immediately going away as he read what Avilia had to say. However, before he was even able to take everything in, he was interrupted by a pping sound from his right, making him put everything that he just saw to the back of his mind and worry about it at ater time. *p* *p* *p* "Wow! That was absolutely amazing! What exactly was that?" He then turned around to see Mason slowly approaching him, so he decided to partly tell him the truth. "If I am being honest, I have no clue what just happened¡­ It''s hard to exin¡­ My body feels both odd and exactly the same as before," "I see," He nodded back before he continued talking. "You have something amazing inside you¡­ Just know that! I''m sure you''ll grow up to be one of the elites! All you need is hard work and determination! You''ve already aplished more than 99% of people your age so that''s a good first step!" Mobyughed along with Mason, feeling d in his subconscious that he did not do anything drastic to give himself and his identity away. "Hmmm¡­" Suddenly, another voice entered their ears, one that they could both immediately recognize. "Jayden! How was it?" Mason asked, watching her scratch her eyes and yawn before responding in a tired voice. "I think I did well¡­ I managed to somewhat resonate with my inner spirit¡­" *p* "That''s more than good enough for the first day of training! Now, we only have around 30 minutes left before I have to go do my many duties so, in that time I want both of you to spar! Now is no time for rest! You just slept for two hours! What more could you want!?" "Yes sir!" They both yelled, immediately standing up and taking a fighting position towards one another. "Now! We want a fair, skill-based fight! No weapons! No abilities! So! Both of you suppress your power levels to 10,000!" "HUH!? But I thought that was impossible!?" They both blurted out looking at Mason with a hint of worry in their heart, had he figured out they were demons and could suppress their power levels? "*Sigh* That''s just some fake news always spread around school! Of course, you can suppress your power levels! It just takes advanced training which now that I think about it none of you have¡­ So! Take these instead!" Out of a storage ring, Mason pulled out two metal bracelets and handed one to each of them. "These should be able to suppress your power levels for you. As long as you don''t go out of your way to break them, then you should be fine," Moby nodded and looked at the bracelet in his hand, putting it on only to notice his power-level plummet, a feeling simr to when he suppresses it with demon energy but still slightly different. "Good! They seem to work fine! Now on my mark! You two fight! Go all out! Just because you''re love birds doesn''t mean you could go easy!" They both did not respond and simply stared at each other with a smile ready to brawl. "Okay then!" "3" "2" "1" "Start! As soon as Mason gave the signal, they both immediately disappeared from their spot, and in the next instant, the victor had already been decided, 1 standing and 1 on the ground. It was simply not even close, it was like watching a master go against aplete amateur who had never trained in their entire life. Although it ended so quickly, Mason and Ryan managed to see exactly what happened¡­ A malicious counter mming Jayden on the ground as soon as she attempted to punch. One that looked brutal but had no real force behind it like he was not actually trying to hurt her. Such a level of control was incredible¡­ They could not believe their eyes. "And that''s it! The winner is Moby Kane!" As soon as the match was dered, Moby immediately when over to help Jayden up, a gesture that put a massive smile on Mason''s face. "Hey! Are you okay?" "Yeah! Don''t worry! I''mpletely fine!" He put his hands out and lifted her up back on her two feet. "Amazing! I''ve seen you fight before but only now did I recognize your martial arts prowess! Maybe that was because all those other times you were facing opponents with abilities who were way out of your league in pure strength! Where did you learn those moves?" Moby smiled tenderly remembering his roots before responding. "My Late parents used to run a dojo. I was trained in the way of the blissful demon from a very young age and had been training non-stop ever since," ''Hmmm? I think I''ve read that name somewhere¡­'' "Hmmm¡­ ''the way of the blissful demon,'' is that the name of your dojo?" "Yes," He nodded back deeply. "Interesting¡­ How about you and I have a rematch? Last time it wasn''t even fair and I still lost to you¡­ So why not make it fair this time? I''ll suppress my power level down to yours just like how you did with Jayden and we can brawl! I''m sure It will be good training! So, what do you say?" ---------------------- VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! I have just released my second novel:"Vampire Reborn" on Webnovel for the spirity contest!! Please check it out for a really fun and exciting read! And, If you can, send all of your power stones there for a chance for it to get an anime adaptation! It is BY FAR the best vampire novel on this website! I am 100% sure you guys will love it! Chapter 272 - Rematch

Chapter 272: Rematch

Moby looked at Mason with wide-open eyes¡ª he was not expecting to hear what he just heard and it caught himpletely off guard. He took some time to ponder and considered there to be no downsides to epting; it was only practice after all. Plus, it allowed him topare his current martial arts prowess and family-style up against another master, and arguably one of the strongest people in the entire country so he would have been a fool to decline. But, even still, he was confident in his own victory. "I''ll ept this match, it will be good practice! But don''t expect me to go easy on you!" *p* "I''m d to hear! I won''t be holding back either!" The match had been decided, and no one seems surprised but Jayden who in her heart knew the oue but simply couldn''t get herself to speak, her two hands tightly sped against one another¡­ "Same rules as before?" Moby asked, stretching his body before the fight. "Of course! Same rules as before! Now, if I used my ability that I had been honing my entire life it wouldn''t be really fair would it?" Mason replied, cracking his neck. "No, I suppose not," They both chuckled before taking a fighting stance 50 metres apart, waiting for the butler''s signal to start. "3!" "2!" "1!" "Begin!" As soon as those words were heard, the two men immediately dashed out, meeting each other in the center. They both shed against each other, trading blow for blow seemingly evenly matched, both of them having a smile on their face, impressed with what their opponent was capable of, moving all around the battlefield likeplete blurs. They both backed off from each other and nodded, they seemed to both have gotten a good grasp of each other''s techniques and fighting styles as they dashed against each other once more. As they both met, the first to punch was Moby who took the offensive, going for his seemingly defenceless opponent. With a smile on his face, he stopped his attack mid-way through and lifted his right leg in the air in a near 90-degree angle, feeling it sh with what he could only describe as a clenched fist. "You think you can get me with a simple after image? Who do you think I am?" "Hmh, impressive¡­ But how about this?!" Mason shifted his hands and grabbed Moby''s leg, bringing him closer to him as he kicked straight at his face which was something Moby had never seen in his entire life. ''What the hell?! Is that even the same style as before!?'' Instinctively, he reacted by counterattacking his attack using an attack of his own, punching at Mason''s face with an uppercut using everything he had right before he was kicked away to one of the walls. As the dust settled, it was clear to everyone who came out on top of the exchange, Moby was clearly more injured than Mason, even if his demon body was superior in every shape or form. Moby had never been on the losing end of a full-on battle of martial arts. Even as a child, the only people he ever lost to were his parents. Even ability users who did not know how to hold back fell to his technique. He lifted his head with a deadly glint in his eyes and spat some blood on the ground before directing his gaze back at his smiling opponent. It was finally time he went serious and began using what he was taught¡­ < Demon sh > As if his speed increased out of nowhere, Moby dashed at Mason, infusing invisible, regr, impure demon energy into his entire body which he did not see as cheating since he had it prior to bing a demon and it was all part of his family martial arts. This took Masonpletely off guard as he fell straight into an attack before he could react to his opponent''s sudden jump in power. He fell into a deadlybo of moves, chained masterfully into one another almost like he was a wave slowly moving in the water ready for the final crash; a punch in the stomach into a knee to the face, a kick attacking and weakening the lower body that went into a liver punch, chaining on and on and on giving his opponent seemingly no wiggle room to escape. Yet, what bothered Moby the most was that even despite all of that, the smile on Mason''s non-bloody face had yet to disappear, even after stunning him with a punch to his gut and prepared his final attack to end it... The wave is about to crash¡­ no, more like a tsunami. However, before he was able to deliver that devastating punch to the face, his attack was immediately blocked, using movements he had never even dreamed of, and held tightly in a fist, putting everything he did to a halt. "WHA!?" He kept holding Moby''s hands as he stood up from his previous position that was on one knee and dusted himself off casually. "And this is where it all ends," Mason smiled as he punched a bbergasted Moby in the stomach with more force than he ever thought possible before simply lightly pushing him to the ground as he dusted himself off even more. Moby threw up another mouth full of blood as he struggled to even stand in his hurting and disoriented state, trying his best only for him to fall over and over again in front of Mason who did not react at all until the match was finally decided with him being unable to properly move as a result of nothing more than his own efforts. "The Match is over! And the winner is Mason Griffith!" "Wow! That was really, really impressive¡­? I wasn''t even half that good when I was your age! But this is where I have to bring it all to an end¡­ Your technique and style are exceptional but you still have a lot to learn¡­ I was still holding back, to be honest, but that was just to gauge some things about you. Once you thought you caught me you lost yourself and kept on going and you didn''t notice that none of your attacks made actual contact to hurt me¡­ And not just that, something strikes me about that style you''re using as iplete¡­ I feel like it''s on par or even better than most of the secret military styles if it''spleted." Moby was still on the ground, staring at the ceiling in defeat, the first defeat of his entire martial arts career¡­ He was inplete disbelief, he thought in such a fight he waspletely untouchable by anyone other than his parents but those thoughts were now crushed to dust¡­ "How¡­ How are you so strong?" Moby mumbled, still in disbelief. "Well¡­ I mastered almost every single secret military style there was to offer¡­ Martial arts is something I dedicated my life to and something I pride myself on; people don''t call me the shadow of death for nothing! Many people disregard the importance of martial arts and simply opt for power training only and that is the wrong way to go about things¡­ A bnce of both is important. Luckily the military and government shifted their training more in that direction too in recent years," Moby smiled at Mason''s words, fully epting everything and finding truth in what he said. "Yeah¡­ My family dojo never had any disciples really, maybe just the odd one or two people¡­ People valued power over everything and never really cared about how to actually fight... Maybe if my parents were still alive and if the dojo was still open, it would flourish unlike ever before¡­" Mason chuckled at Moby''s words before continuing what he had to say. "I wish I knew about this dojo of yours and how good it was, seems like a hidden gem of martial arts to me! Giving away such power to the public is almost too good to be true! I would have definitely brought Jayden there to train every day and make some new friends," Moby found the energy in himself to slightly nod at Mason''s words. "Yeah¡­ That would have been great¡­" He took a small pause before continuing. "And yes¡­ You''re right¡­ My style is still iplete, I haven''t learned everything there is to learn just yet. Even for a prodigy like me, the style and moves were extremely hard to learn even after training day and night. I''m not sure how my parents managed to do it but I''m sure I''ll get there someday¡­" "You know kid¡­ I''m now quite interested in this style of yours. Do you mind selling me a copy of everything so I could learn it too? It was a public dojo before after all! I promise to pay you handsomely for it!" Moby''s still blurry eyes grew wide hearing that proposal that now that he thought about it, should have expected seeing how infatuated Mason was with martial arts. But, he knew the answer before he even finished asking. There was no way he was about to reveal the existence of demon energy to someone so high ranking. "No one was actually able to master anything from the style so I''m really the only one¡­ I''m keeping this style for myself as a memory of my parents to me. I''m sorry, I can''t sell it to you, it''s priceless in my eyes. I hope you can understand." "I see, then it can''t be helped¡­" Mason nodded. He couldn''t really hide the disappointment on his face despite the fact that deep down he knew what he would answer. "Ryan, can you please call healer maid Debra? She should be on standby at the gate of the arena," Mason ordered, making the butler disappear like a sh only toe back a split secondter with a short, purple-haired girl that exuded formality and elegance, slowly moving towards Moby''s field of vision as she crouched down and began healing him with a green lighting out of her hand making Moby feel life re-enter his body as he delved deep into his own thoughts. ''This is a big reality check¡­ I still can''t believe it¡­ How did I even lose? I guess his technique was superior, but we should have been at the same power level. I even enhanced myself with demon energy which should have put me above him¡­ so how?'' Moby was simply asking those questions to himself in his own mind and did not actually expect a response, only for a voice to enter his ears that he did not expect to hear at such a time¡­ ''That was because he was using angel energy¡­'' Chapter 273 - Ki?

Chapter 273: Ki?

''Hmmm? Come again? I don''t think I heard you correctly¡­ Maybe that punch to the gut made my brain stop working too¡­'' Avilia took a deep breath in his mind before repeating what she had said prior. ''I said that he was using angel energy! That''s why his body was also stronger than yours!'' ''W-....wha!?'' On the outside, Moby''s face seemedpletely rxed being healed by one of the healer maids but inplete turmoil on the inside. He considered and disregarded many things, including the possibility of Mason being an angel himself since Avilia would have been able to sense him prior so he narrowed it down to one conclusion. ''So¡­ What you''re telling me is that the martial arts he''s using requires angel energy from the air leftover from the great war between angels and demons and mine requires the demon energy instead?'' ''Precisely,'' Avilia nodded, before continuing. ''I''m not sure how though¡­ Maybe they managed to harness and notice the angel energy and transfer them into martial arts, or maybe there is something deeper to it¡­ Maybe they can also use demon energy too... Right now we have no idea so I wouldn''t worry about it too much. He said they are top-secret military styles so I doubt that you''d find any information about them. Just try and find out what you can and keep it in mind because this all could be simple or veryplex¡­'' Moby inwardly nodded back to Avilia before once again being thrust into reality, seeing Jayden leaning over him with a smile and a hint of concern. "Hey! Lord Griffith! I have a few questions to ask you¡­ We were at the same power level but you managed to beat me in both strength and technique¡­ Were you cheating?" Mason smiled, knowing it was not really an usation but more like he wanted to find the truth. "Well kid, that was simply my Ki¡­ It''s a veryplex topic but in simple terms: Ki is energy found all around the universe that we harness into our body granting us unbelievable strength and aids us in our techniques and movements. I believe you were also using Ki of some sort in your style but maybe you haven''t realized it yet," He smiled and answered. ''Ki? So is that what they call angel energy?'' "Will we learn this at school? Or is this top military secret stuff?" Mason took a small pause before he once again spoke. "This is all stuff you learn in your second year of school so it''s obvious you wouldn''t know about it. But, at school, they will only teach you the BARE basics because I doubt even your teachers know much past that. All the advanced stuff are in those military scrolls that technically I''m not allowed to share its contents with you but if you guys get good enough by the end of the year, I might bend the rules and teach you a thing or two," Moby did not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Knowing how to control angel energy¡­ Wouldn''t that not work? If anything it would hurt him more than it would benefit him even if it did work. ''I say you give it a shot¡­ With that angel blessing of yours, it might be possible. But, if it doesn''t work, maybe try to take the teachings and use them in your demon energy instead and see if that works; I also rmend this to Jayden too. Maybe those angel styles have some secrets that not even I know considering I didn''t know much about angel energy and so much time had passed that new things might have happened,'' Moby took in Avilia''s words before continuing his final two questions. "Where did Ki originate from and how was it discovered? And how did all these top-secret military stylese about?" "Damn, you sure do like asking a lot of questions huh? I guess it''s only natural since you dedicated your life to martial arts and all this new information was suddenly dumped on you!" He chuckled at himself before continuing. "Ki was discovered around the time Alexander Davis discovered the first energy source and caused the green rain. Scientists said that the power called Ki people found had existed for many years before that happened and it was simply only just discovered and not invented by the rain," He took a small pause before he spoke once more. "Now, for your second question, some of the styles were sold to the military and government by unknown sellers for a very hefty sum of money and as for the rest, the government are not disclosing the origins," The answers were all to be expected but that led to even more questions arriving in Moby''s head. "How long exactly do scientists estimate Ki first came into this world?" "It''s very divided, a proper way of analyzing it had yet to be created. Some estimate only 5 thousand years ago while others are saying it was all the way since the big bang considering how widespread it is around the cosmos," Moby inwardly sighed in disappointment. By asking that question, he was hoping to find out when the angel-demon war started so that Avilia could estimate how long she had been asleep but he seemed to be too optimistic. "And, I think this is myst question¡­ You said you''re not allowed to disclose any of the secrets you learned from these styles. So, where can you learn these styles and get a hold of some scrolls?" "That is an excellent question! In short, you would need to join the military and climb up the ranks until you''ve gained enough authority to get ess to these scrolls. OR! And this is how I got my ess¡ª You could enter Elite school which is extremely hard but I think it''s doable in your case." "Elite school? I think I''ve heard that on the news somewhere? I''ll probably try my shot at that considering I don''t really feel like dedicating my life to the military simply to get ess to martial arts scrolls." "I wouldn''t worry too much about it. All you need to do is train your hardest! So, do you have any other questions?" Moby shook his head, still on the ground being healed with the maid and Jayden looking over him quietly. "No, that will be all. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to answer them," "No, no no! It''s no problem at all! We have a long year of training ahead of us! I know you said you wanted to do your own proper training too but pop by here from time to time if you can! I''m sure you''ll be able to join the ranks of the Elite if you work hard enough! That goes for both of you! Now, I need to be headed to do the duties that I may or may not bete on¡­ You can stay here for as long as you like, even sleep here too if you want! Or you can go home and Ryan can escort you there in the car, It''s all up to you! Have a good night!" He left in a slight panic, a gust of wind blowing from where he once stood. "You know, that was pretty reckless of you to challenge one of the strongest people in the country like that¡­" Jayden''s voice finally entered his ears for the first time after he had begun his fight. "Well, there were no consequences and I wanted to test my limits so why not?" *Hmph* She chuckled. "I guess that''s just who you are huh? Well, are you going to be staying here?" "No. But, I''ll be going back home¡­ I''ll be sure to stay with you from time to time in the future I promise¡­" "Okay then¡­ Butler, can you escort him home? I need to go take a shower and sleep¡­ My body is killing me so I won''t be able toe to see you off¡­" Mobyughed out loud at Jayden''s sight, holding her aching back, making her slightly pout at him before joining inter as well. ************************************ After being healed, Moby left the training arena and went to Abby once again, saying that he will be leaving for now. She reacted just like he expected her to, keeping her distance from him yet still wishing him safe travels. In the car, many things ran into Moby''s mind¡­ The past few days have been quite peaceful yet the most hectic in his entire life with all this new information and circumstances being revealed to him in such a short amount of time and all the grief that lingered in his heart¡­ The things he needed to worry about, discover, learn about and fix were stacking up on top of each other day by day and his mind had never felt in this much pain and stress for as long as he could remember but, he could not allow it to show on the outside. As the leader and as the future demon lord, he needed to not panic and keep everything calm in his mind and under control. He did not vow to do and fix everything¡­ That was what his previous self would have said¡­ He simply promised to fix things to the best of his abilities that would yield the best oue. "Thank you for the lift," He bowed, exiting the limousine and entered the quiet school that had no one in sight which he simply attributed it to most of them being with their families. He reached his room and opened the door, finding Ray fast asleep, the roompletely clean, no controller on the ground and only a single empty te on the table. Not making any sound, he hopped up on his bed at the top bunk and stared at the ceiling thinking about many things including the sad state all of his family was in. "I hope tomorrow will be a fun day¡­" He mumbled to himself with a subtle smile before finally going to sleep. ---------------------- VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! I have finally released my second (better) novel!: "Vampire Reborn" on Webnovel for the spirity contest!! Please check it out for a really fun and exciting read! And, If you can, send all of your power stones there for a chance for it to get an anime adaptation! It is BY FAR the best vampire novel on this website! I am 100% sure you guys will love it! Chapter 274 - Zexis Park

Chapter 274: Zexis Park

Moby slowly opened his eyes and felt extremely refreshed, hopping out of bed thinking of his ns. < 7:00 am > He looked at his clock then back at Ray who was still fast asleep like a baby on the bottom bunk. He went out and did his daily routine, exercise/daily quest, breakfast, then shower, putting all his stats gained once again into mind. All in that time as well, he used it to contact 2 people for ns he wanted to spend with all of them to cheer them up¡ª it would have been 3 if it weren''t for their mental state... Once everything was done and over with, he crouched down and shook Ray wide open until he slowly opened his eyes. "Yeah Moby? What is it? Why are you waking me up like this?" As he turned around, Moby could not help but notice slight redness under his eyes which only pushed him to do what he wanted to do more. "We''re going to the amusement park!" *********************************************** Moby and Ray just got off the bus and waited patiently outside the station where they all agreed to meet. It was only a few minutes away from the amusement park walking so they thought it was a perfect ce to gather. Not even a few secondster, a small but elegant ck car flew down and rolled up next to them, out of it came out a beautiful blue-haired girl wearing a casual outfit and a cap on her head. Moby almost couldn''t even recognize it was his own girlfriend since it was his first-ever time seeing her wear something so casual even within her house. "Thank you for the ride Albert!" She waved back at her car before it drove away, looking back to Moby with wide-open eyes filled with disbelief. ''Hey! Idiot! What do you think you''re doing dressed so casually!? You were just on TV! I bet you''re even still on TV right now!'' Jayden''s voice hit hard in his head as he came to the sudden realization that he had gotten so excited that he left himself wide open¡­ He was not at all used to being recognized as some sort of celebrity. Now that he thought about it, he did notice quite a few more stares on the bus than usual. He dide by some ''Sub Feddits'' worshipping him but he only dismissed them as weirdos, but maybe they''re moremon after all... "Hey! Girls! Is that¡­ Is that Moby Kane from the news?! The guy that held his own against a high-ranking shalker! Why does he look even cuter in person!?" "Can I have a picture, please? Or maybe an autograph," "How was it to fight a strong shalker? How did you get so strong!? Can you tell me your secret?" "Hey! What''s you''re rtionship status? Are you taken?" "What is your ability really? Did you really find it randomly in your school exam!?" As if the gates of hades were thrust wide open, as soon as his appearance was brought to his attention, so did a horde of people that suddenly recognized his likeness, a slight majority of them being girls. "Oh fuck¡­" He mumbled to himself as a wave of people rushed his way, making him jump out and try to hide. "Sorry! I don''t have time to answer all your questions! Maybe some other time okay!?" *Whoosh* "Come on! At least tell me if you''re taken or not?" In a split second, although he jumped off the ground with as much force as he could as to not cause any damage, another girl was already to his side¡­ No, more like 3 girls and 2 guys looking like they were ready to pounce on him. ''Fuck! They''re all stronger than me! Ipletely forgot I''m still weak as fuckpared to most well-trained adults!'' He panicked and used his freezing time skill along with his air steps to manoeuvre away from everyst one of them. However, the chase was not over as various people and paparazzi were following him incessantly everywhere he went and the wave only seemed to be getting even bigger¡­ Jayden and Ray were probably still at the bus station shaking their heads while he was forced to run for his life. "Bathroom! Yes! Bathroom!" By a stroke of luck, he managed to find a private restroom and locked the door behind him. "Fuck¡­ Finally, I''m safe¡­" *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "Mr. Kane! We''re so sorry for the inconvenience but we just wanted to ask you some very important questions that might change the course of the war! Your ability seems to be very powerful and special! Are you willing to sell or donate it to the military so we might strengthen our forces for the inevitable war!" "Can I please have your autograph! I don''t even need a picture! I''m literally your biggest fan!" "Sorry for all of this! We''ll try to be more civilized, maybe we got too excited¡­" More than anything, right now Moby simply wanted to tell them to fuck off. But, for very important reasons,ter on, he needed to avoid drama and not destroy his public image. ''Jayden! Are you and Ray still waiting at the bus stop?'' ''Mhm¡­'' ''I might bete for a few minutes to a few hours¡­ You guys could have fun without me! I didn''t realize I had this many crazy supporters!'' *Knock* *Knock* "Kane! We know you''re in there! We know this is very awkward but please answer to the people! These questions are very important! What were those moves you just used to get away from us?! That was very impressive! Is that a gadget or also part of your ability?" ''I got to go right now Jayden! You guys have fun!'' *************************** "So¡­ He really just got¡­" "Yeah¡­ he did," Jayden replied to Ray with a small sigh that was then followed up by a chuckle. Suddenly, another bus came in, and out of that bus was another man dressed in low-key and casual attire, slightly shorter than Ray, the sun reflecting off his cyan hair. "Hey, guys¡­ It''s been a while since we saw each other¡­ Where''s the boss?" Nags spoke, ck bags under his eyes that had slight redness, he almost looked like a corpse. "Oh, he had some difficulty with paparazzi that noticed him, he''ll be joining us in a bit¡­ Hopefully..." "I see¡­ Well then, we better be off¡­" ***************************** Other than Ray, this was their first-ever time visiting the amusement park, looking up at the sign that read its name that all of them could not help but look dreadful at. < Wee to Zexis Park! > "Out of all the names¡­ Damn¡­ Did Moby know this when he invited us all here?" Nags broke the silence with his gloomy voice, shuddering slightly at his own words. "I feel like he probably forgot and just wanted to cheer us all up after we''ve all been so gloomy¡­ But now he left 3 gloomy people all alone instead of him being the cheerful one spreading his positive vibes¡­ I wish I could be strong like that¡­" Ray could not help but awkwardly smile, almost like he reverted back to his previous, lifeless, almost robotic state. Jayden looked at the 2 short gnomes to her side and made up her mind. She was going to be the one to take Moby''s ce and she will try her best to have a good time like he wanted them to. She will shoulder all the responsibility. "Guys! Follow me! The line''s really long but I have something cool!" "Wait, isn''t that the VIP entry?" "Yep! Not only will it allow us to enter with no line! We can also skip all the lines in the entire park!" Jayden replied, shing her VIP card which they both should have expected. As they all entered the futuristic amusement park, Ray could not help but feel slightly angry once more looking at all the rides before he suddenly remembered hisst time in the park and the warmth and support both Moby and Alex gave him which almost made him shed a tear. "So? Where to first?" Jayden''s voice was unnaturally goofy and upbeat which did bring a slight smile on both Ray''s and Nags''s faces. It was slightly awkward though. If anything, they were allplete strangers who had only talked to each other a few times, although Jayden and Nags did fight alongside each other in a life or death battle where they had to rely on each other while Ray was still part of the operation but simply stayed home. However, they were all now part of the same demon household so they were stuck with each other and were forced to get along. "The drop to the molten core¡­ Let''s do that one¡­ Thest time we came me, Alex, and Moby decided to go on the space roller-coaster and promised to go to the molten drop the next time we came¡­" The mere mention of Alex''s name and the fire element which referenced Abby, brought a damper on the mood, especially in Jayden''s case. She considered herself a great actor, but even through all that, she was still unable to keep herself under control¡­ She still had many regrets that had to do with them¡­ especially Alex. "Let''s leave that one until Moby joins us again. For now, let''s go on the haunted roller coaster as a warm-up! I always wanted to go on one of those to see if they really live up to the name!" Chapter 275 - Fun Without the Boss

Chapter 275: Fun Without the Boss

They all went and skipped the line to the haunted house with Jayden''s VIP pass, the people waiting in the long line looking at them all walk by with eyes of envy that Ray found unnerving while Jayden did not even bat an eye like she waspletely used to it. The ride itself yed out less than what they anticipated. The projections and props of monsters and beasts seemed extremely realistic yet it left them all unphased while the people sitting behind them were screaming their asses off like they were going through hell it''s self which they found extremely annoying. So, they decided topletely ignore everything around them and delve deep into their mind-link. The ride was not going to end anytime soon and they might as well use it to get to know each other better. They all took turns, starting with Jayden who chose to bepletely honest about her past but disavowing most of her actions as she decided to move forward in the future. The other two did not have much to say; it was no secret about what she usually did at school, everyone knew the rumours. But, getting to know her she seemed to bepletely different from what she was described which now exined everything. Next was Ray, his story was far tamer and rather depressing. But, their expressions took a turn the second he mentioned that he was the one who invented most of the gravity technologies used in this park and how his life spiralled into a deep pit of hell after his ideas were stolen by a man he both trusted and looked up to. They knew Ray was a very useful member of the group when he managed to hack into the school watch but now his value suddenly became even more apparent. Lastly was of course Nags, who seemed to have no problems sharing who he is. All that he mentioned was that he lived an ordinary life until the war when his sister died, which split his family apart. His parents divorced and he took out his anger on training and found out he was gifted with his ability. His father took him under his wing as a former soldier and trained him in the art of the barrier. And, when he was asked why he had joined the gang, he slightly shuddered before yelling back. "I was bored and did it for fun okay! I wanted to fight people without consequence and the gang provided protection even from the teachers! I regret it! I can''t believe I actually stooped that low to be the puppet of a disgusting shalker!" Jayden and Ray knew that Nags was not telling theplete truth but they decided not to push any further with it since they had a feeling they would get nowhere doing so. And, before they even knew it, they were thrust back into the sunlight outside of the ride that felt more like an eternity. "So, that was very insightful¡­ d to get to know you guys better. Now, where do you guys wanna go next? We can literally go anywhere!" "How about bumper cars? Then maybe the ring from hell? Demon stuff you know..." Ray suggested in a slightly shy, monotone voice, which they agreed upon. ******************************* The sky was starting to turn a tint of orange. They had been on rides all day long, and other than the kid rides, they went on every single ride except for the molten drop that they promised they would wait for Moby to ride but he still was not there and they had received no updates from his end. Even if some of the rides were admittedly quite fun, especially the ones that required a high power-level to enter where Nags and Jayden were forced to keep Ray behind so he didn''t die due to his weak body, for the entire time, they did not talk much other than basic questions and interactions, cracking some jokes andughing, although some were quite awkward. Nags especially seemed to be trying to keep his distance for some reason, only for Jayden to try and lure him back in everytime. Things were not the same without Moby, Jayden''s task of recing him proved to be a monstrous one beyond her wildest dreams. He was like the glue that kept them all together and without him, they were barely hanging on. All of their personalities and interests were simply too shing. "So, that''s everything? That wasn''t so bad after all wasn''t it guys?" Jaydenughed as they got out of their final rides, smacking them both in the back trying to be buddy-buddy. Moby, Alex, and Abby were the only friends she ever had, but they were the ones who tried to be friends with her. Making friends was somethingpletely out of her toolset and she hoped she did a good enough job. "Yeah, I wouldn''t minding back some other time," The 2 boys were smiling seemingly genuinely, still far less enthusiastic than the girl towering over them. "We don''t have much left to do and it''s getting prettyte¡­ Why don''t we get a drink and some food?" ******************************* They had the choice of sitting in a VIP area in the outdoors restaurant however they decided against it as to not attract too much attention seeing they would be the only ones there at that time. The tes of food on the table werepletely different: Jayden''s te that was thergest by far was unnaturally fully bnced and healthy consisting of Ceasar sd, arge veggie burrito, chicken soup along with a protein bar as well. She had already told them she was working out and pushing herself to get stronger but they didn''t know she was taking it so seriously since it was not the type of meal they imagined her ordering. Ray ordered a small order of fast food that consisted mostly of fries and chicken nuggets. It was a shock he could keep his thin figure with such eating habits as they could tell it was all he ate. Burning all the fat by stress was the only thing other than his metabolism that came to mind. And, finally, Nags had the most ordinary te, a fat b of rib-eye steak with a small side of mac and cheese. The three silently ate their food with no voices entering their ears other than the ambient noises of the crowd around them. Jayden looked civilized and calm as she ate but in her mind, she was raking her head around to think of something to spark a conversation. However, she seemed to have used up everything in her arsenal and was left with nothing. That was when she saw an opening, looking at Ray who was slowly nibbling on his chicken nuggets in one hand and his other hand twitching under the table, his eyes looking lifeless. "Hey, Ray, what is that your ying with under the table? Can I see what it is?" Jayden said with a smile like Ray was doing something naughty. "O-Oh! It''s not what you think¡­" He slightly panicked, springing the life back into his eyes. "It''s just something that I''ve been holding out on and I didn''t want to show it until Mobyes but I guess I can show it now¡­" Out of his hands, he pulled out a folded piece of paper with slight wet spots. "What is that?" "This¡­ This is Alex''s final words¡­ It exins things that I was-" "Did you read it?" Jayden interrupted almost instinctively. The air fell silent, almost like time froze, before Ray slowly nodded back. "Yeah¡­ I did¡­ It''s almost like he went in fully expecting to die so he thought ahead¡­ I wanted to share this earlier, with his parents too but I couldn''t let myself talk about it until now¡­" That was when a voice came in that they did not at all expect,pletely breaking the ice and the mood. "Hey guys! I''m back! Hope you didn''t miss me too much!" Although the sound seemingly came from their head, when they looked at where the voice came from, they noticed a man wearing a jacket and a hat, sunsses around his eyes. However, although his looks looked slightly different from what they were used to, they knew exactly who it was. "You guys won''t believe how hard that was! Those guys literally asked me endless questions that I had to bullshit my way out of so hard! I wanted to teleport away but I don''t want to reveal that ability for obvious reasons, so I had to wait until they got bored for me toe out. I hope you guys had fun without me! So what did I miss?" They simply looked at him quietly, with sombre eyes which only further added to his confusion since he thought his friends would be excited to once again see him after he had gone through hell and back. "Are you guys okay? What''s with that look? Is it my new outfit or something? Did Ie at a bad time?" Chapter 276 - The Life of Hart (1)

Chapter 276: The Life of Hart (1)

Moby took a small pause to assess the situation and what was going on, trying to read all of their faces along with inner emotions until his eyes took a nce at a certain paper making his eyes almost burst through his Jacket. "Is that¡­" He took a chair out from beside Ray and sat down with a serious yet bewildered look in his eyes looking at the paper in his hands. "That''s Alex''s handwriting¡­ Where did you get that?" Ray looked down, unable to face Moby''s gaze as he responded. "He left it on his bed¡­ I found it the other day by ident¡­ This houses his final message to us and things he wanted to be known. And, just to let you know, I already read the whole thing by myself..." "Yeah¡­ So he went in really expecting death?" Moby shook his head before continuing. "I would like to read that out loud if you wouldn''t mind," Ray simply nodded back and handed the long piece of paper to Moby who immediately could not help but notice all of the wet spots on it which were most likely from Ray''s tears. He held the paper tightly in his hands, looking up at Nags''s indifferent expression along with the sombre look of anticipation Jayden bore before he looked back down, feeling his heartbeat rising as he began to read using his mind-link. **************************** Greetings friends, if you are reading this then I have probably already passed¡­ I was nning on sharing this all with you sooner orter but it seems like I never got the chance to and we were ripped apart far too soon by the whims of fate. Moby and Ray, I''ve only known you for a few months but those were some of the best few months of my life! Jayden! I know I''ve been harsh on you but I see how you''ve changed for the better with my own two eyes! Andstly, Abby, you and I only knew each other for 2 weeks¡­ Those 2 weeks both felt extremely long yet short at the same time¡­ We didn''t even get to kiss¡­ Guess I wasn''t man enough to take the first step and I will probably regret it to the grave. But oh well¡­ Maybe in the after-life. Anyways, here is the story of who I am along with interesting things that might catch your interest¡­ Or I might have just been crazy! Who knows! Hahaha! **************************** Moby took a small pause while reading it as he could not help but chuckle in both happiness and sadness; it was almost like he was able to hear Alex''s exact voice speaking in his head. Then, he looked back down and read where lied most of what Alex wanted to say other than his farewells¡­ **************************** I was born with a heart disease¡­ No, we were all born with a heart disease, unseen by the naked eye, only mine was far more severe than any others. Or was it really something we are born with? Does it developter on? At this point, I have no idea. I was a very unruly kid growing up¡ª I had no discipline and respect for anything around me, not to strangers, to any of my servants, or even my parents who had always been so kind to me. It was clear that I had a problem, but no one knew what it was. Even with everyone calling me an actual possessed demon child, my parents still loved and took care of me. As the years went on, my attitude only kept on getting worse and worse to the point that my parents were scared to even send me to school. So, for my first years of education, I was forced to do it all at home. I wasn''t even able to go outside at all. But, the advantage of doing it at home was that it was all specialized and catered to me. However, that did a major blow on my social skills. I was getting too bored of being locked up in my house like a prisoner so I decided to act nicely for a few months until my parents were convinced that I was cured. Little did they know what happened next¡­ After being homeschooled, actual school was way too easy, and everyone around me was just simply too weak to stand a chance. So, I decided to alleviate my boredom in other ways¡­ Saying I was a bully was an understatement, I was more like the dark overlord of the entire school. I found ruling the school to be quite fun, no day ever became boring and being treated like an absolute monarch where ever I went was a feeling I never thought I would get used to. I was able to do whatever I want with no consequences, the school was my yground. I would torture kids for fun like they were insects with my own band of dick riders cheering me on like a hoard of zombies sucking up to me and worshipping me like a god. I was untouchable, if the kids I tortured and bullied dared to even muster the balls to report me, the teachers would then turn a blind eye seeing how powerful my family was. Even when they saw me do what I did, they simply walked the other way like it didn''t even happen, they simply could not afford to offend the Harts. However, in all that time, I made 1 single genuine friend¡­ His name was Oliver Grant. He was the only one who saw me for me and did not follow me like a sheep out of fear. Many times he would keep me grounded so I didn''t go too far with whatever I was doing. But, at one point I DID take it too far¡­ The entire student body rebelled against me. If the teachers weren''t going to do something, they decided to take things into their own hands. Even the zombies and sheep that used to worship the ground I walk on also joined in¡­ But, even with the might of nearly every student, due to my superior ability and training, I managed to beat everyst one of them... The only person that stood by me, and the only reason I did not lose it and kill them all, was Oliver. That was when I realized I had finally made my first real friend. However, that had to abruptly end as soon as it started¡­ Chapter 277 - The Life of Hart (2)

Chapter 277: The Life of Hart (2)

The next day after school, I received a call saying someone had taken Oliver hostage, the voice of him screaming in the back of the call. I was way too careless about protecting my friend¡­ I didn''t think they would go that far but in hindsight, I should have seen iting... they were all crazy... And, like the absolute idiot I am, I decided to be the tough guy and go save him all by myself. I did beat up the entire school all by myself after all¡ª so what could go wrong? I was partly right but oh so wrong. I showed up in a warehouse where they had taken him. It was four little kids, the result of yesterday''s battle still visible on their faces of madness. Oliver was in the corner, tied up with a bag over his head, screaming in a muffled voice, one of the boys standing next to him with a knife hovering over his throat. The boys demanded I break both my legs and arms and hand over myself so they could have their revenge, and only then would they allow both of us out alive by the end of the day. Like the hero I thought I was, I disregarded their demands and thought of them as empty words like every threat possed against me my entire life. Yet¡­ What I didn''t know would happen was as soon as I activated my lightning aura and dashed towards them like an idiot, the boy holding the knife panicked and identally slit my friend''s throat, his eyes turning into horror as he saw his body fall on the ground, the bag over his head turningpletely red. I absolutely could not believe it¡­ Everything seemed to be like a game in life prior. But, at that moment seeing my friend drop dead on the ground¡­ Something snapped in me unlike anything before¡­ Reality hit me extremely hard. I should have been the one to die instead¡­ Why did I not just follow orders and self-sacrifice and save his life? Why did I have to be such a selfish idiot? Those were thoughts that sprung in my mind for the first time in my life, they felt so foreign... Hatred, rage, and regret consumed all my senses and a glimpse of spirit mode was shown as I punched all the boys into oblivion. Yet, they were the least of my concern as I immediately rushed to Oliver''s side and untied him from his bindings and removed the bag from his head in haste. But at that point, I was toote¡­ I wasn''t even able to get anyst words from him as I stared into his lifeless eyes and cried for the first time seemingly since birth¡­ All that I could remember were his final words that I simply disregarded like nothing. If anything, I think I took it as a joke instead, but looking back at it I could tell he was beingpletely serious. "Alex, I know that what you did today was technically all self-defence¡­ But it was kinda your fault bro. You''re really strong, wouldn''t it be fun to try to do something else with your power for a change?" A passerby reported abnormally loud soundsing from one of his warehouses and the police came immediately after to see me crying my mind off over my fallen friend. The 3 boys I beat up seemed to have barely survived the impact of my attacks and wereter taken into custody. I was depressed for weeks on end, it was like I lost a part of myself that I didn''t know I even had¡­ I didn''t even go to school or muster myself to talk to even my parents¡­ That was when one day, something abnormal happened¡­ I began to see light¡­ Light in people''s hearts¡­ One not pure, but full of corruption and malice. I could not tell if I was dreaming or simply going crazy. But, everything I saw seemed too urate to be fake. The light was a mixture of ck and yellow with hints of distortion, a small, dim aura flowing from it all the way up into the sky. When I looked at my own heart, it seemed almostpletely pure, but the heart that shed into my head was most definitely not¡­ It was a memory of my old heart when I was younger and it was the most distorted light I have ever seen, the light flowing above me was also thicker than any other. The only person that even managed topare to it was Jayden, which was part of why I so adamantly despised her¡­ From that point forward, I lived my life anew. It was like I had opened my eyes for the first time since I was born. I tried to tell others about it but all they did was call me crazy so I decided to keep it to myself. From that point forward, I promised myself that I would never allow such a tragedy to happen again and do the same mistakes. I promised myself, and for Oliver that I would change my ways and use my power for something other than to pray upon the weak like some king. That was what I lived for. I had a purpose in life. From that point forward, I used my new hidden powers to save those who were not distorted and pure of heart, which was even harder than finding a needle in a haystack. From what I noticed, hearts rarely ever change and people with no abilities had significantly less distortion than those with abilities, so those became the people I tried to save and help the most. I managed to find 3 or 4 other friends but none of them would reallyst since they always thought I had something else nned for them like a trap seeing the status and power I held. That was why I was so ecstatic to see you two! Moby and Ray! Your hearts held little to no distortion so I saw myself gravitating towards you! Especially you Moby! Your heart was pure like snow and held little to even zero distortion at all! It was my first time ever seeing something like that! So, protecting you two was my new goal which I did take a little too harshly looking back at it. Jayden, your heart has also definitely changed! The distortion is still there but nowhere near as bad as before! And, Abby''s heart was also unnaturally pure and innocent with also little to no distortion which might be the reason I fell for her since she was better than any girl I''ve seen before. Anyways, that''s all I wanted you to know¡­ I know this corrupted light in the heart sucking invisible dust into the sky seems really hard to believe so take of it what you will, I just wanted you to know it and I hope it helps you! Maybe you can uncover something that even I didn''t! Sincerely, Alex Hart, the dead man that hopefully aplished something with his death and brought happiness to others. :) **************************** Chapter 278 - Hart of Gold

Chapter 278: Hart of Gold

"Sincerely, Alex Hart, the dead man that hopefully aplished something with his death and brought happiness to others." ¡­ "Smily face¡­" ¡­ ¡­ The air around them went silent almost as if time had slowed down to a stand-still. Moby was holding the paper in his hand, literally shaking, trying to hold back the waterworks from exploding from the dam of his already teary eyes. He now fully understood the watermarks on the paper from Ray who had read the letter prior to him, and even he was once again in tears although it was his second time hearing it. Slowly, Moby lifted his head and looked around at all of hisrade''s faces¡­ Jayden was trembling and shaking, her eyes more than watery and her hand on her head trying to take everything in. Nags on the other hand lookedpletely indifferent, although Moby did notice subtle changes in his expression as he looked out into the distance, he did not know Alex like they did after all. Moby took a long, shaky breath and set the paper down on the table ahead of him, deep in thought. ''The amount of purity in that man''s heart is truly astounding¡­ I kinda see now why he sacrificed himself¡­ Alex, I don''t want to say that your death made us happy¡­ But in a way, it might bring long-term happiness because who knows what would have happened then¡­ You did save Abby''s life who I''m 100% sure will recover¡­ I''ll personally make sure of that... If you want us to look at your death that way¡­ Then I guess we have to¡­'' A small smile appeared on Moby''s face that did not seem at all odd or out of ce. "Jayden? Did you know about any of this?" She slowly looked up and looked Moby dead in the eyes, her tears and expression only getting worse before she took a deep breath and wiped her face with a nearby tissue. "Honestly, I knew some of it, but definitely not all of it¡­ Definitely not all of it¡­" "I see¡­" Moby nodded back to her words before focusing his gaze on Ray. "Have you shared this with anyone else? Have you shared this with his parents?" "No, I haven''t¡­ You guys are the only people that know about this¡­ I was gonna tell his parents but I didn''t just yet..." "I think it''s good you didn''t tell the parents, I''m sure he sent them a personal message as well. After all, they weren''t mentioned even a single time in his letter which seemed to be done on purpose. This is directed at us alone. Even if it doesn''t say so on the paper, I''m sure of it." Ray nodded slowly before weeping and wiping away some of the tears on his face. Moby also wiped his eyes before he slowly looked around everyone on the silent, down, table once more before crossing his hands and taking in a deep, audible huff of air. "Okay, guys! Why don''t we finish the food and get back to the rides! Which ones have you guys gone on! Smile! We''re at an amusement park! I''m sure that''s what Alex would want us to do! Right?" Moby suddenly shot out of his seat and looked at everyone with brightness. They looked at himpletely bewildered, unable to say a word before Jayden took the initiative with hints of a smile forming on her depressed face. "Yeah! Y-your right¡­ What are we doing! We went on every ride except for the molten drop! Let''s go!" Ray immediately followed suit, looking at the letter on the table that was responsible for lifting him up from the deepest depths of depression, looking at the sky above with a smile before responding too, while Nags simply remained quiet, nkly staring in the distance before a small smile appeared on his face as well. "Yeah¡­ Let''s go¡­" *************************************** The "Molten Drop" was even better than they expected, they might have even preferred it over the space roller coaster. The sight of the earth''s core was amazing, if it weren''t for many of the technologies around them they were sure they would get blinded and burnt to a crisp. What was coolest about the ride was not the core itself, but the gravity change between different sections of the earth the more and more they went down at blinding speeds. They all could not help but have a smile on their face, even Nags seemed to be having fun,ughing and smiling the entire time, wishing that Alex could have been with them to ride it as they had previously promised. They all decided to keep Alex forever in their heart and follow his words, although they would be lying if they said they had moved on and were no longer hurt. Instead of going back home by bus, they all decided to get a ride with Jayden instead. Moby felt very satisfied going back home. Although many things were unexpected such as the paparazzi, he finally received some sort of closure to Alex''s death and had gotten his new team of demons at least somewhat closer to each other. Jayden dropped them off at the school dorms, not before asking them if they wanted toe with her which they kindly declined. Moby and Ray invited Nags to join them in their room, although Moby sensed some kind of animosity and reluctance from Ray when he sensed his emotions. In the dorms, they started up some light conversations, not before going into a long session of mental training where Moby had small lessons about the basics and fundamentals of demon magic with Avilia since it was more hands-on and personal than just shoving the information into his head like all the simple stuff she had taught him. He came out of it understanding nearly nothing, which Avilia said was natural for his first time and that he would eventually get used it. ¡­ ¡­ Hopefully. When Moby opened his eyes and came back to his senses, he noticed that the entire room was dark, dark in the sense that the lights were off, not that he couldn''t see. The air was quiet and there was no sign of either Nags or Ray. That was until he heard the hints of snoring with his enhanced hearing and noticed that Ray was sleeping. When he looked at the time, he realized that it was 12:04 am, slightly past midnight which he honestly did not expect¡ª Nags must have gone back to his previous room. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the ceiling and simply stared like he usually did, only this time was even more intently than before. Of course, Alex was the first thing on his mind, but what he mentioned in his story about seeing light was also lingering somewhere in there. It seemed like a very farfetched story. Seeing people with light in their hearts and corrupted light shooting out into the sky was not something most people would believe with no evidence. However, Moby had seen a fair share of seemingly impossible things just in his mind. To him, Alex was telling the truth. Yet, despite knowing about that truth, he had no idea what it meant, nor did Avilia in his mind. The more he thought About Alex''s words, the more he came to realizations and came up with theories. The light Alex saw might not even have had anything to do with how good a person was on the inside. After all, he said the first time he saw him he had a pure heart, white as snow which did not sound like him at all since the first time they met he had just got done murdering and killing someone in cold blood. The only exnation in his mind was that they must have met sometime in the past where he did not remember, and that was back when Avilia was absorbing his negative energy, back when he waspletely positive and pure of heart. For now, he decided to keep Alex''s words etched deeply into his brain, and promise himself he will try to find out what the light is, but he won''t go out of his way to do it since he does not know where to start. Everything that just happened only pushed him to work even harder to get Abby back to how she was before. He was sure that would make Alex happy and would add more meaning to his sacrifice, although of course, that was not the main reason he did what he did. Next, he nned to share Alex''sst words with Abby since she also deserved to know, that along with finally talking to her about Alucard, and how he even came to be¡­ He was not sure when he would feelfortable asking her without putting a damper on her mind, but he was sure he would know when the time was right. Who knows, maybe Alex''s letter might snap something back into Abby¡­ He can only hope¡­ Moby felt Avilia in his mind slightly reacting to his thoughts about Alucard, he was sure she was anxious to know. With such a chance in front of her, he was surprised that she had the patience to let him wait and not nag him to find out. She actually deeply cared about him despite being the almighty demon lord, which was something he really appreciated and had only just sunk in deep into his brain. Although some of the things she says are downright crazy, the more they talked the more he grew to appreciate her. Avilia had done so much to help him and almost received nothing in return other than to see him grow into a fine demon lord, and it was finally his time to pay back some of his debts and talk to this unknown vampire lord. And that was hisst thought as his eyes closed shut and his mind drifted away into his subconscious... Chapter 279 - Alucard, Lord of Vampires

Chapter 279: Alucard, Lord of Vampires

Moby slowly opened his eyes feeling unusually refreshed. It had already been a few days since he and the others went to the amusement park and school was finally starting back up the next day. It was 7:00 am and he had a lot nned, so, after he finished his regr morning routine, he immediately left the room and went to go meet a certain person. Of course, he was invited in, and immediately headed to the crimson door of the mansion that he was now all too familiar with. When he walked in the room, he witnessed the sight he always saw, but this time, Abby was simply lying down in bed with a nk expression, staring at the ceiling above. "Hey! Abby! Are you awake!?" "Oh-o-o! Hello Moby! I didn''t know you would be here so early today¡­" She slowly sat back up and faced him with a small smile. Over the past few days, he hade to visit her every day, and although she did not recover, he was certain she was getting at least slightly better every time he came. But, today seemed different. "Are you good? Is something bothering you? I brought you some of your favourite candy if you want¡­" Abby simply looked down with a smile on her face and responded, unlike her usual self. "No¡­ I''m really fine, I''m just really tired this early in the morning¡­ But! I would love to have that candy!" As if she flipped a switch, her expressionpletely changed and caught Moby off guard. "Okay! Here you go!" He pulled out a box of choctes from his inventory andid it on herp before walking away since she knew she wanted him to always keep his distance. They still y video games on theplete opposite sides of the couch after all. With mellow star-like eyes, she opened the box up and began slowly eating the choctes instead of going crazy on them like Moby expected. Moby had first decided to ease what he was about to do by ying some games with her, but he now decided that it was a perfect time instead to do what he wanted to do. "Hey¡­ Abby¡­ Do you like stories?" He asked, making her look at him and slowly nod, her mouth still chewing. "Good¡­ This is a story from someone you actually knew and loved¡­ A story of his past and what he wanted to do in the future, along with a message for the one he loved." Suddenly, Abby stopped eating as she looked at Moby with intent, watching him pull out a piece of paper that she felt had an odd aura exuding from it, an aura drawing her in. She continued eating the chocte more slowly, as she listened to Moby speak with her ears wide open. "Greetings friends, if you are reading this then I have probably already passed¡­ " "I was nning on sharing this all with you sooner orter but it seems like I never got the chance to and we were ripped apart far too soon by the whims of fate." "For thest 2 weeks I knew this girl, it had been the best weeks of my life, it felt short but long at the same time. We didn''t even get to kiss¡­ Guess I wasn''t man enough to take the first step and I will probably regret it to the grave. But oh well¡­ Maybe in the after-life¡­" "I was born with a heart disease¡­" ***************************************** "And, Abby''s heart was also unnaturally pure and innocent with also little to no distortion which might be the reason I fell for her since she was better than any girl I''ve seen before." "Anyways, that''s all I wanted you to know¡­ I know this corrupted light in the heart sucking invisible dust into the sky seems really hard to believe so take of it what you will, I just wanted you to know it and I hope it helps you! Maybe you can uncover something that even I didn''t!" "Sincerely, the dead man that hopefully aplished something with his death and brought happiness to others." "smiley face," Moby took a deep breath reading what he just read, it was his second time doing so but it nearly hit him just as hard as the first time as he barely suppressed his tears from leaking out. He had not mentioned himself, Ray, or Jayden at all and nked out all the names mentioned for a very specific reason. He slowly lifted his head and spoke. "So¡­ Do you know who wrote this letter and who was the girl that writer fell in love with?" However, when he looked up he witnessed a sight he never thought he would see. It was Abby''s face, half of itpletely dry and the other half of it crying profusely, the tears dropping on the sheets of her bed. "Moby¡­ Help¡­ Why am I crying? This all sounds so familiar yet so foreign to me¡­ It''s breaking me apart¡­ Please help¡­ I don''t know what''s happening¡­ I''m scared¡­" Abby curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth like a scared little child. With caring eyes, Moby slowly stood up from his seat and gently approached her, only for her to scoot back until she fell off her bed in fear, her backpletely on the wall. "I was just trying to help¡­" Moby murmured with his hands out, inwardly cursing at himself. "N-no-no¡­ I-I know you''re trying to help¡­ B-but I just can''t¡­ I just can''t do it¡­ I''m sorry¡­" It was a disaster, things were going even worse than he ever expected¡­ It made things worse instead of better and added confusion onto her own existence. He wanted to tell her that the girl was her and the one who wrote the letter was Alex, but he was scared that she would deny it and end up thrusting her deeper into her own madness. He felt so useless, looking at this scared little girl crying from one eye next to a wall. That was when suddenly, a ck smoke emerged from all around her, forming the figure of a man, his skinpletely pale, his eyes blood red, his hair pitch ck with subtle hints of fangs under his mouth. "Alucard!?" Moby blurted out instantly without thinking. Alucard took a small nce at Moby and smiled brightly before redirecting his gaze towards Abby, his entire existence exuding both power and elegance. "Mydy, don''t cry¡­ That was simply a letter from this boy Alex, the one that used to inhabit this body and the girl he so deeply loved was you, mydy! Be happy! Your dead friend deeply loved you so much that he let out his feelings for you on paper and even sacrificed himself for your sake! And, how are you honouring that sacrifice? By denying his death, it is the same thing as spitting on his legacy! You are wasting the life he had given to you!" Like he was a big teddy bear, Abby hugged Alucard tightly. "Alex! I told you to stop saying that! You''re here with me! You promised you''d be with me and here you are! You''re the only one who did! So did you write that letter for me!?" Alucard hugged his grieving master back, ying with her long crimson hair to calm her down. "Mydy¡­ I have already told you¡­ I am not Alex, I am vampire lord Alucard. Your friend Alex is dead. He is no more. I was not the one who wrote that letter, Alex did. And he is still with you, deep in your heart somewhere. That''s why you were crying without you even knowing!" "Alex! You''re so cruel! You always take your jokes way too far! What you say can''t be real okay! It can''t be! TH-" *Gaww¡­* Abby began hitting onto Alucard''s chest like a child throwing a tantrum, the tears still falling down her eyes before she was hit with a chop to the neck, knocking her out. "I''m sorry mistress, but this was for your own good," He held her up like a princess and ced her back onto her bed with a smile before redirecting himself towards Moby, quickly taking a knee. "You must be the new demon lord candidate! It is an absolute honour to meet you! I am sorry for my earlier disrespect! I am Alucard, a simple vampire lord way beneath your stature. I am the strongest soldier in the undead army of the sin of pride, Shadar Ball previously under her majesty the great demon lord Avilia Graymore. And now, my spirit has been reborn in this new life under Abby Reid. It is truly an honour to serve you once again," Moby was taken back by the impable etiquette of the vampire in front of him, but not only that, but also by how he was even able to attack and knock out his own master despite him being a servant. But, he seemed to have done it for Abby''s sake. Moby just hoped that she would wake up feeling better and calmer than before. "It is an honour to meet you too lord of vampires, Alucard! I am Moby Kane! As you might be able to tell, Avilia and I have many questions to ask you. May we go to the garden?" "Why certainly, my lord," They both calmly marched out of the room and sat down cross-legged on the warm grass which Alucard at first rejected since he did not want to put himself at the same level as Moby. But, after some insisting, he finally gave in. "Close your eyes Alucard and begin meditating," "Understood," He responded with no hesitation. ''Avilia¡­ The rest is up to you¡­'' Moby spoke, closing his eyes as he heard a faint response, before once again opening them. There he saw himself in a deep, seemingly endless void floating in the air, white mist underneath his feet. And, in front of him, he witnessed two figures, a beautiful white and purple-haired demon woman with curves all in the right spot, her arms crossed with a serious expression on her face that heter recognized as Avilia who was wearing the same armour as he saw her in before. And, the other man was Alucard, exactly like he was when they first met. He was d that it worked, he had used up a decent amount of XP for this to even happen. "So Alucard¡­ You have clearly died and been reborn¡­ What killed you? What happened to theher realm? And what happened to Shadar?" Moby had never seen Avilia talk in such a tone in a very long time¡ª she was far more serious,pletely unlike her normal outgoing self. But now that he thought about it, other than that shalker, it was his first-ever time seeing her talk to someone other than him. Did she not talk like how she talks to him for everyone? Was he somehow special or was this just a special situation? To Moby, Avilia''s resolve and passion were more than clear on her face as she did not even notice him entering the space and focused solely on Alucard who had slowly begun to open his eyes. ---------------------- VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! I have finally released my second (better) novel!: "Vampire Reborn" on Webnovel for the spirity contest!! Please check it out for a really fun and exciting read! And, If you can, send all of your power stones there for a chance for it to get an anime adaptation! It is BY FAR the best vampire novel on this website! I am 100% sure you guys will love it! Chapter 280 - Alucards Tale (1)

Chapter 280: Alucard''s Tale (1)

Alucard gradually opened his eyes, slowly looking around him before his gazended on one spot, making him both panic and get excited at the same time, immediately rushing over there like a shadowy mist crouching deeply on his knees. "My demon lord! Great demon lord Avilia it is really you! I never thought I would ever see you again! It is truly an honour beyond my wildest imagination! This is truly a dreame true to see your gorgeous face once more! Your beauty and power are as radiant as ever! I just wish master Shadar was here to see you too¡­" Avilia slowly seemed to move, and as if she glitched out of reality and froze, her position immediately skipped to her putting her hands over her mouth. ''Damn, I thought I would be able to see Avilia actually moving and talking but it seems like this spell is either iplete or required more XP to perfect¡­ She''s more like a slide show now...'' Moby thought for a slight moment before looking back up at them. "Thank you for your kind words Alucard... But, when you talk like that, it makes me feel like Shadar is dead¡­ So is he? You''ve known me long enough to know what I want to know! So exin yourself!" Avilia''s authoritative tone rang and shook the entire subspace, yet her voice did not carry anger, just seriousness and a hint of genuine care. Instead of quaking in fear like any other man in his position, Alucard lifted his hands up and elegantly ced it over his heart, looking up with passionate eyes to gaze at the face of his demon lord he had longed to see for so long. "Very well my lord, I shall exin everything¡­" "After your death, as you probably know, Zerker, the sin of wrath was forced to sign another contract treaty with the angels and gods, one that was far more powerful than thest. Theher realm was in shambles and mayhem and his hands were forced. We lost far more than them by losing our demon lord than them losing their god of destruction due to the different dynamics of our society." "However, his decision to do what he did cause even more mayhem and outrage in the people. They thought that we were being weak and submissive to those angel trash and their idiotic demon pride could not stand for that. And, grabbing onto the outrage and hatred from the masses, a few old extremists were pushing people to go back into their primitive tribes after you''ve worked your entire life to bring demon kind together! It was truly despicable!" "This caused there to be various civil wars around the entireher realm and especially on Sebas. But, with the help of the 7 deadly sins and the elite guard under Zerker, the masses were quickly quelled with an iron fist; it was not much of a fight, more like a massacre." "From then on, Zerker made it his mission to spread your messages and values across the entireher realm. My lord, you were still highly revered and respected by all demonkind, other than a few exceptions of course." "He managed to convince them that under your united force, we only managed to barely defeat the angels and gods, so if we went back to tribes and began fighting amongst ourselves, we would be as good as dead. And, that he only signed the contract so he could have more time to resurrect you, and with you once again by our side the angels and gods would not stand a chance!" "So now, Zerker both had the people''s fear and respect. Which was the form for ruling you had disyed during your great reign." "That message was wildly epted by the masses, except for a few groups of extremists, and that was when the work on the book of resurrection began that was underseen by Zerker the temporary demon lord." "Zerker took very good measures to ensure another war or sneak attack would not happen again whilst the book was still being made. Due to the contract that he was still not sure how the angels and gods managed to break, he was not able to break any of the uses but he did all that he could under the allowed rules." "He kept guards outside the portals and both sides and he kept goodmunication with the celestial realms in order to seem like they both had good rtions although he was certain the other side was also doing the same." "The book of resurrection was taking many, many years to perfect but people never gave up even if it seemedpletely impossible to finish. But that part had to be kept from the public who revered the book like some kind of almighty powerful relic that was going to save them all. It was a very powerful tool to control the masses." "Theher realm saw its longest-standing era of peace since its inception and the book of resurrection was finally nearly finished, all that it needed was 1 notably strong artifact toplete it. The heart of Abagon, an extremely powerful stone rumoured to be found only on the dragon continent." "So, in a greatly risky mission, Jasmine, the sin of greed chose to volunteer herself to trespass and risk her life to go to the dragon continent to retrieve the stone." "Of course, at first there were many objections by all the sins, including Shadar since greed had very¡­ Greedy tendencies, so Shadar decided to volunteer himself to go along with her. And, the others did not go simply because they did not want to attract too much attention on the most dangerous part in theher realm, and since they did not want to leave the castle unguarded." "As you know, Shadar and Jasmine never really got along with each other and even after your passing they still never had. But, they were forced to work with each other and get along simply for your sake, which seemed to be more than enough of a driving force." "They both managed to sessfully trespass on dragon territory unseen. They snuck around in the dragon mines, making sure the coast was clear." "And, out of seemingly sheer luck, they did not manage to find any dragons on their way but that did not let them get careless." "And, after a few weeks of non-stop searching, they finally managed to find it! It was truly glorious! A small, red, glowing stone protruding brilliantly from the walls of one of the crystal mines." "Without any issues, they grabbed the stone and sneakily left towards the exit of the cave in haste¡ª That was when they heard an explosion that shook the very ground and fabric of space and time. It was not from the cave, it was more like from the sky." "They slightly panicked, the cave was not copsing on them yet they were unsure if they were the cause of what happened. Still in frenzy, a few secondster, Shadar and Jasmine managed to pick up a mind-link transmission from Chehera, the sin of Lust that the castle was under attack and that both the ne housing your soul and the book used to resurrect it had suddenly disappeared from their ces." "That was when the already shaky transmission cut off and there was no more response." "Shadar was still stood still, unable to believe what his ears were hearing; and in that time, Jasmine bolted out of the cave yelling that she will head back to the castle to see what was going on, the Abagon heart still in her hand." "That was when, as soon as she left the cave, leaving master Shadar alone, he was suddenly attacked by hundreds of masked figures from the shadows, even though he had not sensed their presence there prior." "Instinctively, he summoned his entire army of thousands of undead in the cave, but the cave itself was so small that his undead barely had any room to move and persist¡ª only the intelligent summons like me managed to find their way around and fight, the rest were as good as dead." "No doubt, the masked assants were winning, mowing through the waves and waves of undead like they were nothing, using some sort of unknown magic that seemed very simr to these abilities the humans possessed. Only the ones these people had were on apletely different level of power." "Master Shadar tried to cry out to Jasmine toe and help but she would never end up answering the call, even when he tried to use his mind-link. This made him think that Jasmine was a traitor and he was set up by her. So, he continued to struggle and try his best." "As for me, as I watched my fellowrades fall by my side, I knew that it was all over, so I decided to use the rest of my power to try and unmask one of these masked killers¡­ And, I was sessful... But, what I saw under that mask truly shocked me more than you could believe¡­" Chapter 281 - Alucards Tale (2)

Chapter 281: Alucard''s Tale (2)

"Underneath that mask was what I could only describe as an abomination, horns and scales on their bright-almost child-like body like some sort of disease. They looked like they were in deep pain just breathing¡ª it was still unclear to me if they were being mind-controlled or doing things out of their free will." "The mask on them also served as some sort of energy suppressor. As soon as I took it off, for that split second, I was able to sense energy, flows of energy, unlike anything I ever felt before like they werepletely going against thews of nature, somethingpletely foul." "As soon as I removed the mask for one of the assassins, he immediately went back up and put his mask back on, rushing back at me, him and the many little gremlins of his kind behind me. I had to move fast but no matter where I went I would have been encircled." "There was no ce to run, the attackers had already mowed through my master''s entire army of high-tier undead and there was only us remaining in the end, surrounded by endless waves of masked figuresughing at our misery." "The fate of theher realm had not been that uncertain in many years and we had no way out to see it through to the end." "So, in ast-ditch effort, my master wanted to give me an item and use his secret technique to suck my soul out of my body and send me to purgatory with a special seal on my soul." "I urged my master that I was going to stay with him until the end but he declined with a smile, telling me he didn''t want me to die in vain and that he had onest mission for me." "I fully understood his words¡­" "Thest thing I saw of my master was his smile that turned into a frown as tens of masked assassins pounced on top of him¡­" "There, in purgatory, supposedly my homnd before my soul found an undead body to host, I witnessed things that I had forgotten and could only vaguely remember¡­ At least that was what I thought it was¡­ In reality, I had no clue, and simply stayed to myself meditating away from all of the other souls in this ck and dustynd." "With the protection and gift bestowed upon me by my master, as long as I meditated, I was able to choose whatever body to inhabit ahead of any other soul. And, without my master telling me, I knew exactly what to do." "For an unspecified amount of time¡­ Could have been months, years, centuries or millennia, I waited patiently in that same spot, looking over at all the candidates for me to inhabit in order for me to help you, my lord." "Eventually, the number of candidates I was able to inhabit grew less¡­ and less¡­ and less¡­ and less¡­ until they seemingly stopped..." "Until one day, I received a weird feeling in my heart that suddenly began to pulsate like how I imagined a beating heart to pulsate." "Although I was not informed about it, I knew exactly what that beating represented¡­ It represented your great revival, my lord." "From then on, vigour shot up into my non-existent eyes unlike ever before. I finally began seeing many more candidates, most of them I disregarded such as old corpses, goblins, random humans and other things of the such." "That was until one day¡­ I found it¡­ The perfect candidate¡­ A young man with a strong build and an impable mind. Not to mention that he seemed to be close to your location too!" "I went in, and suddenly slight hints of the man''s memories began to invade my mind which was something I was unsure even happened with my first time being summoned." "His emotions were truly strong, but of course not strong enough to overwhelm me. I quickly managed to get a grasp of the situation and introduced myself to my master that I immediately knew as Abby Reid." "Like Shadar, my previous master, I had a strong connection with my summoner. Only, for some reason, this new master seemed to have an even deeper connection with me. It was almost like we were one. "I had no idea why that was, but I simply assumed that it might have had to do with who this body belonged to prior to my arrival. Her mental state is quite shocking even for me. No matter how many times I exin to her I''m not Alex, she does not believe me. Even when I try to mind manipte her for her sake, it doesn''t seem to work." "I disregarded that at the time and decided to quickly contact you to check up on you and your situation." "Then, after those, I kept on trying to help my master but nothing seemed to work until you and the young demon lord candidate began visiting us, it seems you are actually managing to slowly but surely reach her. And so, here I am now talking to you, my lord! This is everything!" Alucard looked up at Avilia''s angered face, not angry at him but at the information he provided. "Those¡­ Abominations¡­ Are you sure they were using power simr to these abilities?" "Yes my lord, I am fairly certain yet not 100%." "How much do you estimate the time is from when I died until right now?" "I honestly have no idea my lord," ¡­ Avilia took a small pause deep in thought. She knew things were bad, yet she had no idea they were going to be this bad¡­ "Those fucking angels and their filthy, shameless loopholes!!! They''re more cunning than I expected! I swear some demons are too stupid and prideful!!" Alucard''s expression suddenly changed hearing his lord''s words. "Lord Avilia? You know what those were!?" She nodded back slowly. "No, I don''t know for certain, but I''m able to make an educated guess! I believe those were inbreds! Inbreds from various different races including demons and angels to make new races that can bypass the contract!" Alucard''s eyes grew even wider hearing Avilia''s words, like he had suddenlye to a realization that only came to him due to his lord''s wless intelligence and deduction skills. "You mean¡­" "Yes! I mean that since the contract only made the rules prohibiting demons, angels, and gods, they managed to bypass it by creating entirely new races! Probably from demons they captured during the war, using them as sex ves¡­ These ability things might have been caused by a taboo... mixing races¡­ Or maybe it''s something else..." She took another pause, grasping her hands into a fist before continuing. "These angels and their sly little tactics! They were ying us for fools! They have absolutely no shame! Zerker and the other demons probably never even considered that idea due to their demon pride. They would never stoop so low as to order people to consummate with angels. If anything that might even cause more outrage since I myself made angel-demon rtionshipspletely illegal!" "I bet we also had some traitors in our rank¡­ A demon''s primal nature is to do anything for power. Angels and gods are far more calcted than the average demon savage. We''ve only lived in an organized society for so long but people always want things to go back to how they were. They''re idiots! That''s the difference between demons and angels! Angels are far more loyal!" Despite her words, her rage had a level of calmness and elegance to it, like that of a true ruler. Moby could not help but take notice of that as he watched her continue talking. "I wouldn''t be surprised if even one of the sins turned traitor! I trusted all of them but I know full well how it is to be betrayed by someone you trust most! ¡­ ¡­ Alucard¡­ Be honest with me¡­ What do you think the state of theher realm is right now and do you think one of the sins stole the book of resurrection and my ne?" There was a slite pause in thepletely silent air before Alucard spoke with a serious voice. "I truly do not know¡­ But it would not be a far cry to assume the worst¡­ All I know is master Shadar is most likely dead and Jasmine might be a traitor but that is all¡­ Maybe they managed to hold off the assault but maybe they didn''t¡­ The book was guarded by elites so assuming it was a sin that stole it does not seem too farfetched..." The slide show that was Avilia instantly snapped her arms to her lips, tapping her feet on the ground with clear distress in her gaze. To Moby, things were very clear¡ª he could almost see theher realm itself reflected in her eyes from her great desire to see it once again and see her people¡­ He slowly walked in the direction of the distressed Avilia, cing his hands on her shoulder and smiled to calm her down. "Don''t worry for now¡­ It''s only a matter of time until we go back there! I promise to work even harder from now on! From what I get, things there could be even more dangerous now so I should probably get even stronger than what we first nned¡­ But I''m sure I can do it! I have my own reasons for wanting to go to theher realm too... For now, all we can do is try and uncover these mysteries slowly." Avilia deeply sighed with a chuckle, trying to brush off Moby''s hands from her shoulder only to be reminded that she was only a mere projection. "Yeah¡­ You''re right¡­ Worry will only hinder my path and lead me into doing irrational things¡­ I just get too ahead of myself with these things sometimes¡­ So! Future demon lord! Expect me to train you even harder now!" Alucard stared up at both of them with a perplexed look. He had never seen his demon lord act in such a way to anyone in his life other than maybe a few exceptions such as the sin of lust who was her best friend. He could not help but feel even deeper loyalty towards that man seeing the level of faith and trust that Avilia, the cold, heartless demon lord with a messed up sense of humour had in him. When, suddenly, that man''s gazended on him when he least expected it. "Alucard. Before we leave this subspace, I have a few questions to ask you¡­ Questions about Abby your new master, and Alex, the person who''s body you are currently inhabiting. Mind if you answer?" Chapter 282 - First Day Back (1)

Chapter 282: First Day Back (1)

Alucard slowly nodded at his possible new young overlord with calm eyes. "Yes of course. You can ask me anything." And without hesitation, Moby asked his first question. "First, I would like to ask how exactly was Abby mind-controlled and how did she snap out of it? Scientists have tried to analyze her all they could but they couldn''t find anything," "Yes, I can answer that¡­" Alucard slowly nodded back before continuing. "They were small, nearly invisible nanobots from these shalkers affecting her brain. I am not very familiar with this technology thing, but I think you humans did not have the proper means to analyze it. And, she broke out of it when her brain very well fried¡­ Seeing Alex die right in front of her released so much stress and turmoil onto her brain causing more activity than ever before until both her brain shut down alongside all of the nanobots that turned to cinders¡­" "I see¡­" Moby expected something like that did happen but it was good to have some closure and definitive answers. However, now came the question he really wanted to ask... "You said that parts of Alex''s memories flowed into your mind right?" "Yes, indeed they have." "So¡­ Can you tell me how he felt like when he died¡­" The air stood still for a few seconds like time had stopped before Alucard replied. "He was at peace¡­ He had no regrets¡­ What he said in that letter of yours is all true¡­" "I see¡­" A smile appeared on Moby''s face before asking his final few questions. "Is that item your master gave you still with you?" "No, it disappeared when I came here from purgatory," "Are you currently at your original strength?" "No, my power has greatly plummeted most likely due to the soul transfer. So currently, I am only slightly stronger than you are young lord. I promise to work on restoring my full power so fear not!" "Will you be able to fight by my side?" "No¡­ Sadly not right now with how my current master is like¡­ I am not allowed to leave her side. But, if you want to kill her then bind my undead spirit to something then that would work, but I doubt you would want that¡­" "Indeed," He nodded back, getting slight shbacks from when Avilia suggested he should put her down. Then, Avilia''s voice suddenly came in and interjected. "That is enough questions for now¡­ We found out all that we wanted. My spell is about to run out any second now. Thank you, Alucard for all of the insight, and I''m very pleased to see a familiar soul working under me once more, it truly soothes my heart," "No! It is my honour to have the opportunity to serve you again! I am certain anyher realm inhibitor would do anything to be in the position I am in right now," That was when a sh of blinding light engulfed all of them and they were thrust back into reality, back on the grass. Moby took a deep breath, standing up and wiping the dirt off his clothes, looking down only to see Alucard kneeling on the muddy ground. "I see that you are leaving now young lord! Please! If you ever need me, don''t be afraid toe and call! I would be more than happy to do anything for you!" With great pride in his voice, he turned into a red smoke and disappeared into thin air, going towards Abby who was still sleeping. Without saying a word, Moby smiled and left the garden, taking a quick nce at Abby''s peacefully smiling figure, promising toe again the next day as he left the room. The rest of the day went by as he expected, doing nothing but training as getting power was more important to him than ever before¡ª both with Avilia and with Mason. He leapt onto his bed once more, staring at his ceiling like usual. Yet, this time he did not want to go to sleep. Instead, he meditated trying to enter another trial to level up his void ability. Yet, no matter how many times he tried to do it, he never seem to be able to¡­ Instead, he decided to train in the way he was taught at the Griffith mansion. Moby might have forgotten the chant that Mason said but Avilia of course did not and reyed it back to Moby who now memorized it. She said thenguage seemed both familiar yet unknown to her but she also said she might have been going crazy so he did not take her words as facts¡ª it was not shalker, angel, or demonnguage that was for sure. Every time Moby trained in such a way, his core began to crack even more, however only very slightly as it began to leak odd ck energy. Moby and Avilia had no idea what that meant yet they were curious to find out, so they continued to chip away at it slowly but surely. Plus, it gave him a minuscule power boost so it was not just experimentation and a possible waste of time. Before he knew it, it was already the next day, and it was unusually rowdy when he opened his eyes 20 minutes before ss. Ray seemed to have already gone to his ss and left him all alone, which he of course did not mind. 20 minutes was plenty of time for Moby. He brushed his teeth, had breakfast, took a shower, put on his school uniform and went out to leave through the front door before something hit him as he hung onto the door nob¡­ "Fuck¡­ I almost forget that I''m now somewhat famous¡­" [ Energy Sense ] Just like he expected, behind his front door was an army of students waiting for him to leave. ''Jayden! Are you there!?'' ''Yeah? I''m in ss right now¡­ Do you need anything?'' ''Did you have an army of students rush at you when you first got to school!?'' ''No? Why would there be?'' ''Because there is one outside of my door right now!'' ''Haha! Well, people are still pretty scared of me while others just ogle me from the sides and no amount of media exposure will change that due to my reputation and status! You on the other hand are known by everyone as a nice guy who is ruthless when needed. Many people will try to suck up to you since you went from abilitiless trash to hero in like a week," The realization that if he did not break his nice-guy facade, he might have to do this for the rest of the school year popped up in his brain¡­ But for the sake of his goals, he had to keep it up no matter what since he knew it will be worth it in the future. Not to mention the fact that he could possibly use his reputation as an excuse to get through many things so that also made it all the more worth it. But that did not mean he was not going to confront them in a way to soothe the blow. ''Do you want me to go somewhere where you could teleport to me or are you just gonna book it out the window?'' ''You and I both know that my teleportation is still broken. I can teleport to a random spot for all I know and I''m not taking the risk of suddenly popping up in front of a teacher! I''ll just find a way out myself! Confrontation with them is inevitable so I''m probably going to do it at lunch since I don''t have much time until ss starts now! I won''t let myself be pushed around by these degenerate two-faced bitches!'' ''Haha! Okay! I''m sure keeping this nice guy act all year is gonna be really tough! Good luck!'' Moby took a deep breath, calming his nerves with a slight smile seeing Jayden acting somewhat back like her normal self. Most of the new cameras at the school had been dismantled due to privacyws so it allowed Moby to do what he wanted to do¡­ Using his energy sense outside of his wall to scout the area, he waited until no one was looking until he ran straight at the wall at top speed, going right through it like it was not even there. "Man I love this skill!" He mumbled to himself as the bright rays of the sun bounced on his face, jumping all the way up to the school roof like a blur only catching the attention of a few people. From there, he ran down the stairway to the roof and was met with another war zone¡­ The hallway where there was no escape from so he had to go in full throttle. Activating both his eyes of sin and freezing time, he ran through the hallway, meticulously dodging everyone and everything in his ustrophobic path. "HEY! Isn''t that Moby Kane!!" "You saved us! Thank you so much for everything! You avenged my dead friend..." "Can I ple¡ª" It was inevitable that he would have been spotted, but due to his superior skills and reflexes, he was able to meticulously dodge all of them until he reached his ss where a hoard of students was already waiting. "There he is! He''s here!" Like walking straight into a zing inferno, he jumped up above the mes beneath him like an elegant angel,nding inside of his open ssroom door that was immediately shut closed by a man standing beside it much earlier than he ever remembered him usuallying. "Good morning Kane! I see that you''ve probably encountered a lot of trouble trying to get here! Haha! Tough being so popr isn''t it? I''ll be sure to send a message to the high general to tell him to make an announcement for people to leave you alone." Chapter 283 - First Day Back (2)

Chapter 283: First Day Back (2)

There, at the door was Leo, his homeroom teacher looking at him with a smile. "Why don''t you go and have a seat? ss is going to start any second now!" "Yes sir!" With an elegant bow, Moby strode back to his all too familiar seat at the back of the ss ignoring the whispers and nces of his ssmates, looking slightly out the window before looking directly ahead of him at an empty desk. It was the desk that Abby usually sat in, seeing it empty made him feel a certain way yet he did not linger on it for long as he listened intently to what his teacher was saying. "Good morning ss! I said this thest time we were here and I''ll say it again! This month has been something special, hasn''t it? In all my years of teaching, nothing close to this has ever happened! I hope that it''s not me who has been jinxing it to get worse every time... I would also like¡­" *Awwhhh* Moby could not help but let out a small yawn. He had heard that exact same speech or something simr so many times now that it was nothing but a waste of time. Yet, what did catch his attention was the sudden mention of his name. "I would also like to congratte our ss''s very own Moby Kane for risking his life! That along with miss Abby Reid who is sadly not with us today¡­" "Thank you so much for your kind words!" Moby stood up straight as an arrow then bowed, going back down to his seat. "Abby Reid? What the hell? Why is he congratting her?" "Yeah! I know right¡­ Fuck that bitch! Her sister and her entire family¡­ She should have died in that execution!" "Yeah¡­ She knowingly worked with a shalker¡­ It was her sister¡­ She must have known¡­ How do we know she''s not a secret shalker herself?" "I always found her to be an annoying, high and mighty, pretentious rich girl¡­ I hope she neveres back¡­" Moby had listened to all the gossip and whispers concerning Abby so many times and despite that, he had yet to grow numb to them as a small vein was almost seen popping out of his forehead. "You know I can hear you right!" Moby could not help but speak out, catching the attention of everyone around him. "Don''t get things twisted! Abby fought for this country! She had no idea about her sisters and families doing! She was sent by me personally to go spy on the Reids whom I found suspicious and ended up being captured and brainwashed in the process! She is an unsung hero and a victim of cruel fate! If I hear any more nder about her I promise to show no mercy! And if you hear others nder her, let them know what I said! That is all!" With his arms crossed and his eyes closed, taking deep breaths, Moby ended his outburst with the entire ss looking at him with sweaty, worried faces. He tried his best not to absolutely snap, so he decided that there were many things that were better left unsaid if he wanted to keep his nice guy act¡ª he tried to conduct himself in a way to make it seem like he was fighting for some sort of justice. He was angry but it was not worth destroying everything he built up so far. He was sure if Abby were back to normal she would have been angry at him if he were to break everything for "her sake"; not angry at him, but angry at herself... "Thank you for rifying that Kane. I was just about to do it myself since I know all too well about these rumours being spread," "Thank you so much for your understanding and kindness professor," Moby stood up and bowed once more before taking a seat. "As much as I''d like to stay here and talk about the tragic events of this month, I still have a ss to teach and I''m sure none of you would be happy to fail so let''s continue with our lesson! "We will be learning about the importance of flow and coordination is between one''s body and soul! As you guys may know, we all have a separate flow of energy in our body known as our mana that is generated from our mana cores and can be found all around us th¡­" ****************************** *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* ss finally ended and he trained his eyes of sin for nearly all of it as he needed to get stronger and had no time listening to things he already knew. Now, it was finally time for Moby to confront his fan-club once more. When he used his energy sense outside of his ssroom door, he already sensed a mountain of students waiting for him, so he decided to take the next best exit before he confronted them somewhere more open and appropriate. Looking to his left, he opened the ss window and felt the chilly winds blowing on his face as he jumped down from the top of the high school andnded on the ground below before any of his fellow students approached him, the same people that saw and were seemingly not deterred from that slightly uglier side of him, double jumping so he did not damage the ground. Before hended, he simply double jumped and looked around him in the open, yellow field. Stretching and taking a deep breath, he sat cross-legged and opened his bag to grab a hot lunch that he secretly pulled out of his inventory and began eating slowly with his eyes closed. Just like he expected, not too long after, his keen hearing managed to pick up on the sound of an earthquake slowly but surely getting louder and louder. "He''s right there!" "Hey! Stop pushing!" "I just wanted to thank you in person you r-" "ENOUGH!" Out of the ground under him, a wall of purple energy erupted, blocking him off from the hoard of students surrounding him. The air stood still and silent as they stared at the cold, almost demonic figure slowly stand up from amidst the purple mes and speak. "I know you all have good intentions but I simply want to live a normal life¡­ Don''t you see how all of this attention can get overbearing? And it''s not even been an entire day¡­ I know that I possibly saved and avenged a lot of people¡­ That was what I, and everyone else with me strived for! I was simply trying to be a good citizen and protect my along with my dear fellow students. I never sought out fame or attention! This is all too much for me¡­ My whole life I have been discriminated against and mocked! My own parents were mercilessly killed by the hands of those filthy shalkers! I was weak and powerless back then! I know how it feels to hit rock-bottom! I had no hope of doing anything! But now that I have power, I will use it to fulfill what I always couldn''t do! I promise to wipe out all of the shalkers! And I promise to make this school and the entire world a better ce¡­ I never want to see anyone suffer like me ever again¡­" The passion and fire in Moby''s eyes saying what he said was clear. The crowd could not help but be left in absolute silence, looking at him with sweating wide eyes and some even bearing a face that slowly turned into a smile. "Now¡­ If any of you still have anything more to say, stay here. If not, then leave and let me eat my food in peace..." To his surprise, some of the crowd actually dispersed, which made even more people leave as well until he was leftpletely alone as people did not want to be the odd ones out still straggling behind. Moby once again took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves¡­ He couldn''t believe he just said that¡­ It was the biggest load of garbage he had ever dumped in his entire life and he still managed to say it with a straight face. He just hoped that people bought it and left him alone without thinking he was an asshole, even though most of the people there were either women in love or weak students who looked up to him. He knew he was not admired and embraced by all and it was clear from the people hiding on the other side of that corner behind him. It was a group of second-year students who wanted to pick a fight. He could clearly see them with his energy sense, all 5 of them. "I knew this was gonna happen sooner orter¡­" He quietly mumbled to himself, shaking his head and sighing. He had no time nor was in the mood for a full-on fight. Waiting until they were not peaking, and making sure there was no camera in the area, he created 10 shards of purple ice floating all around, shrowding it in a thickyer of flowing demon energy which made the ice itself nearly invisible. If it weren''t for the fact that the school just got out of a crisis and he didn''t want to arouse any more trouble, he would have killed them like the pile of walking XP they were, but teaching them a lesson seemed to suffice for now... ********************************** "It''s finally our chance! Let''s put this kid in his ce! He''s no hero! He''s just a lucky wanna-be! How are the chicks into a guy like that!? If we put him in his ce people will understand how much of a fraud he is and we''ll get all the attention instead!" "Yeah! Adamantite medal my ass! No way someone like him survived 2 seconds against that shalker!" "Gerald, can you give me an update on what he''s doing! Take a peak!" "... Hmmmm¡­ He seems to be slowly walking away with his lunch box in his hands eating!" "Really! That''s perfect! Let''s go!" "...." "Maurice!? What the hell are you doing!?" "Boss¡­ What''s that up there¡­" "Huh?! He''s getting away! What''s what up whe¡ª" *BOOOOOOOOOOOM* .... ¡­. ---------------------- VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! I have finally released my second (better) novel!: "Vampire Reborn" on Webnovel for the spirity contest!! Please check it out for a really fun and exciting read! And, If you can, send all of your power stones there for a chance for it to get an anime adaptation! It is BY FAR the best vampire novel on this website! I am 100% sure you guys will love it! Chapter 284 - The Tower

Chapter 284: The Tower

Without even looking back at them or the explosion, Moby continued to eat his food, surprised at the low amount of XP he received despite his opponents'' considerable strength. "What is that? Like 2000 XP? I guess killing is the only good way to level up these days huh..." He mumbled to himself mellowly, looking all around him to see if anyone was in the area. Lunch had just started yet he had already finished consuming his food. It was finally time to train¡­ Jayden and the others were all doing their proper things for today as to not attract attention and of course, he was doing the same. He headed to the forest and made sure no one was watching him before he did so. Lunch did notst very long so he had to make the most of it which he decided on doing abination of air steps and demon shes to boost his speed in battle. Before he even knew it, the bell suddenly rang and he was forced back into listening to another boring lecture about the nuances of the flow of mana which he knew all about and even felt like he was being fed lies at times, like how it was the energy of the universe and such. Now, the time was around 3:00 pm and Moby was casually walking down the hallway, grabbing various low profile eyes in his direction. To his surprise, he found there to be far fewer people when he came in after lunch and he expected to see the same on his way out of school. And, indeed, so was the case; his speech must have actually somewhat worked. Still, there were always exceptions who tried to start a conversation and friendship with him which he of course kindly declined as he recognized many of them from his days of being weak, giving him the ugly stare or sometimes even worse¡­ At times like those, he was extremely d for Jayden''s protection yet part of him still wondered how bad things would have been without it¡­ And, there, near the exit of the school, he saw a short, navy-haired student intimidating a brown-haired student almost twice his height. "I heard you joined this Moby Dick fan club or whatever! Do you worship him or something?! He''s just an annoying, pretentious, fake show-off who can''t do shit in reality! Things will never change around here! Got it!?" "I-I I''m sorry¡­ I promise it will never happen again¡­" "Don''t skip out on me like that or it won''t be pretty! Where is he to save you now huh!?" That was when he felt a slight tap on his shoulder. "Who the hell d¡ª" " I did¡­" As if he saw death itself stare him in the face, he turned around to meet the fiercest eyes he had ever seen, cold as ice and glowing a deep purple glow. Before he could even react, his fist was thrust directly to his face, hitting an extremely sensitive area since he was caught off guard, breaking several of his bones in the process and mming him against the nearby locker to form a massive dent. "Hey kid, are you okay?" Moby took a deep breath and slightly smiled at the boy he saved, other people looking at him¡ª some with admiration, some with fear, and some with disgust. "Y-yes sir¡­ I''m fine¡­ I''m truly forever in your debt!" Moby''s smile grew wider hearing his speech as he gave him his final words before he left out of the school doors. "I''ll hold you up to that! I''ll be starting a guild when I graduate and I expect you to join it!" "Y-yes, sir! It would be an honour!" There, as he left the school, he immediately went to the gate to meet up with Jayden, Ray, and Nags who were all waiting for him in a more low-key, undercover ck car than the usual limousine. The ride was awfully quiet at first so Moby decided to retell events of what happened to him that day which made the others follow suit. In the back of his head, Moby''s brain was brewing thinking about the future¡­ Not only the far future such as about all the possible people hunting him down, going to the Nether Realm and his meeting with the supreme general, but the very, very near future too. They were all headed to a certain military base that was used by various guilds and was avable to the public as well. It was like a warp and teleporter hub for people to explore others, some of course safer than others. There were many reasons why people would want to go there which ranged of anything from money to training; Moby was part of thetter. He needed strength¡­ He needed some way to gain XP no matter what, not only to reach level 100, but to more importantly protect himself and fight against possible alien threats and even against his own fellow schoolmates. He became one of, if not the most recognized face in the school possibly behind Jayden. And, by keeping his nice guy act, he had already made enemies out of various people in the second year, some possibly even stronger than him. The only reason he managed to win his fights today so easily was because he caught them off guard but there was no guarantee that it would be the case every time. Right now, killing students for XP no longer seemed like the best idea¡­ Even if they were true degenerates who deserved to die, the fact that he needed someoneparably strong to gain any amount of actual XP was the problem. Even if he could get away with it using his mind skills, If various strings of unknown murders suddenly shot up in the school, it would bring into question if the previous murders were even caused by the shalkers. Not to mention that since they were high ranking, strong students murdered, and not weak nobodies the school could not care less for, they would probably up the security again and possibly even introduce real-time tracking on the watches which was something Moby did not want at all costs. Going after strong students would be just as good as shooting himself in the leg, and going after weaker students was no better than pissing in ake. So, his only option left was to gain XP some other way in his pursuit for even greater strength, and that was where the teleporter and warp hub came into y. "We''re finally here!" Jayden announced, exiting the car wearing something disguising much of her appearance, Moby and the others following suit-wearing simr clothing which made them all look like they were on the same team. The building was magnificent: a tall, wide tower made out of mostly opaque ss and lined with supporting white marble stood in front of them. The tip of the tower was particrly pointy and shot out a minuscule stream of green light, parking lots for flying cars on every few levels of the futuristic tower. Without any hesitation, they all entered the massive doors, even alongside the butler, and were even more amazed by the interior. They witnessed lights shing everywhere; the middle of the tower showed that same green light shooting out from under the ground and into the sky that they were able to gaze upon from the ground floor. Robots were flying in the sky due to the rather high ceilings, moving things from point A to point B. Various teleport pads used to reach the and lower and higher levels of the tower were scattered everywhere in an organized manner, that along with reception desks and people that spanned as far as the eye could see. That was when their gazes of awe were interrupted by a certain voiceing from behind. "My Lady, I shall be waiting in the lobby for your arrival. I was given explicit permission from your father that if your health goes below a certain point, I am allowed toe in and intervene since you do not allow me to join you on your hunt." "Yes, thank you so much! That will be fine! I will be counting on you!" Jayden turned and nodded only to receive a small smile from her butler who disappeared in the blink of an eye. The Various stages of the tower were all there for a reason; the higher one went, the harder the will be. That was why the top levels of the tower were exclusive to the top guilds. So, they decided to take the teleporter to a slightly higher level than the one they were on. Currently, Moby''s power level was hovering around 45,000, Nags at 38,000, Jayden at 30,000, and finally Ray at 16,000, all with their armour on. So, as a collective, they decided to go to the floor that hads where beasts would range from 7,000 - 25,000, which was far more dangerous than the they went to during their exams. So, after an initial scan at the entrance, they took a teleporter up and decided on an open, barren that did not have many people going there so they could have more freedom, which probably meant that the beasts on that did not give much money, money that they did not care much for right now. As they were walking to the empty reception desk for the, out of the corner of their heightened hearing, they managed to pick up on another voiceing from their left, turning around to see a tall, ck-haired man with a particrly handsome appearance and attire and who they could only assume to be his servant that dawned an all-ck suit¡ª a blond female who looked no older than 20 years old, arguing in a low voice, both of them headed in their same direction. "You fucking bitch! Why are you sote!? I was waiting here for over 15 minutes now! What the hell does my father pay you for? Putting a thumb up your ass?" With an elegant bow, his female servant replied. "I am truly sorry for this, I came across issuesing here¡­ These are the items you requested my lord¡­ Your set of armour and weapons should also be in here as well," She handed him a ring that he immediately snatched from her open palm, raising his hands up, his servant calm and unmoving as she slightly squinted and looked at the ground. "I swear to god! If we weren''t in public I would have beat the shit out of you!" He whispered with clear hate in his eyes. "Thank you so much for your kindness, my lord! It''s truly more than I ever deserve¡­" He scoffed as he walked away from his servant who looked up at him with disgust and a cold gaze as she watched him walk away "Yeah! You better be! My father really wants to throw me out of the house due to my weak strength and "awful conduct,"! Does he really think testing me by throwing me to this will actually be a challenge??" Moby, Ray, and Nags could not help but take small nces at the man while Jayden did not pay him any heed. He was an arrogant man on the verge of being disowned by his family¡ª she had been around enough rich and nobles to know that the person behind them was not an umon sight... Chapter 285 - Otherworldly Prick

Chapter 285: Otherworldly Prick

Disimer! It hase to my attention that the previous chapter has yet to update for some of you! If that is the case then please let me know and I''ll try to send you the chapter via discord if clearing your webnovel cache does not work! I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience! ************ For now, they paid the man no heed and headed straight for the desk. "Hello there sir! How may I help you!" The girl at the reception desk''s smile gleamed brightly, however that brightness clearly wasn''t genuine considering her unfortunate line of work. "Hello! We''re interested in going to Igvar to do some monster hunting," Moby was the one representing his team standing directly behind him, as he did the kindest approach he could muster. "Yes! That will be fine! There will of course be the fee and I have to scan all of your valid IDs, ple¡ª" "Get out of my way if you know what''s good for you! I was here first! I only got messed up by that damn servant!" Like a battering ram, he forced his way to the front of the line, even pushing Moby roughly to the side. "Sign me in first! I just want to get this over and done with!" Moby stood back and slowly stared at him, calming himself so he didn''t instinctively punch him in the face. When he inspected him, he found his power level to be all "???", which did not mean much other than he had some kind of item used to mask his presence. But, from the way he shoved him, Moby could tell that he might have to resort to sin-mode to beat him. Attacking him now would have not been a good idea considering he knew nothing about the man in front of him or his father; he did not want or have time to offend people and cause trouble when it could easily be avoided. If things went well, he might have other things nned for himter on... The receptionist on the desk looked normal but she was not able to hide her sweat for long. "I''m sorry sir, ording to the rules you will have to wait yo¡ª" "Do you have any idea who the hell I am? Scan this! I''m James Weismann!" Out of his storage ring, he pulled a silver ID card and ced it on the table. And, the reaction of the secretary spoke for itself before she even uttered a single word. "I-I am so sorry if I offended you! I only recently got hired... P-please! Right, this way! It seems like your father had already paid for this¡­" Her expression of slight concern shifted into clear panic, and her smile turned fidgety. "Just got hired? Maybe I''ll change that "H" in hired to an "F" when I get out of here¡­" He grabbed his card from the desk after thedy scanned it and left off in anger towards a lit tunnel up ahead. As soon as he left, the receptionist tried to calm herself down and turned to Moby once more with more depression on her face than before. "I''m really sorry about that sir¡­ It was just that¡ª" "No worries ma''am! I fully understand! This job must really be stressful with people like him," With a smile, Moby cut her off only to leave her in silence as she did not want to insult that man, most likely for her own safety. "Thank you so much sir¡­ *Click* ¡­.? Hmmm¡­ It seems like you''re a student¡­ Mr¡­ Moby¡­ Kane¡­" As soon as she read his name, her dull, depressed-looking eyes immediately grew wide in disbelief. "You''re Moby Kane? Like THE REAL Moby Kane? You are all over the news! I love what you did! I greatly admire you!" Like flipping a switch, her expression turned into excitement. ''Another ''fan'' huh?'' Moby inwardly sighed as he had already gotten sick of the attention that he himself strived so hard to get and wanted to maintain. "If you''re Moby Kane¡­ Then that woman behind you must be¡­" "Hey, La! How''s it going! Tough job isn''t it?" Moby instinctively looked back at Jayden with surprise, "You two know each other!?" "Of course, she used to be one of the head cleaning maids in my mansion but after she fell ill, she wasn''t able to work like she could before so she resigned since she didn''t find herself worthy of her roll. I had no idea you came to work here or that we''ll see each other again! And don''t worry, as long as I''m here, that "H" won''t be going anywhere" "M-miss Griffith! I''m so sorry for what that man did! I can call security on him and get him punished immediately for showing such disrespect to a hero and a member of the Griffith family! His status means nothing to you!" Jayden chuckled at her words, before she waved her hand up. "No need! I''m sure he''s having a hard time and we can work things out with him," "Oh¡­ You truly are too kind young miss!" Of course, Moby, Jayden along with Nags and Ray had been talking secretly in mind-link the entire time and thedy simply did not get the full motives behind it all. "Okay! Now, all I need is all of your IDs, $1000 for each of you, and since it''s your first time here I need you to sign these papers that basically state that we get a cut of whatever materials you find and we are not responsible if you die!" She spoke with a smile, one that waspletely genuine,pletely unlike the fake one she bore when they had just met. After they were done with the receptionist, they all headed through that long tunnel and there, in front of a massive teleporter there was a desk with a dim, familiar-looking crystal, a smiling blond-haired man sitting behind it, sweat on his face probably from hisst encounter. "Please! Come over here before you get in!" Just as they were informed, they took a lie detector test asking basic questions such as if they had any illegal possessions and things of the sort, basically formal and official business. Then, they lept into the teleporter that took them all to the new. When they opened their hazy eyes, they found themselves in some sort of mini-hub around the size of a tennis court. There, all around them were various other teleport-pads from the other teleporter bases around the world along with empty benches, only a single man sitting in the corner texting on his phone. To their right was the only exit to the, showing them glimpses of what they should expect¡­ As they walked out, they noticed a wide, expansive purple grasnd, flowers, vegetation and wildlife flourishing from as far as the eye could see, the sound of birds screaming up from the green sky above. Around them was some sort of green forcefield that protected the teleport hub. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air and the feeling of the blue star shining on his skin, Moby changed into his battle outfit which made the rest of them do the same. They rushed outside and ran towards a high hill which allowed them to see a scope of their entire area. It was grasnds for as far as the eye could see with a silhouette of a forest in the distance, various beasts of all kinds that ranged from slimes, winged dog-like animals, and even nt-like creatures like Leshens and Treants roaming around. And, out there far away in the distance was the figure of a man, most likely that same one from the desk, most of his features matched after all despite them not clearly seeing him even with their demon eyes. He seemed to be fighting waves of oing monsters using something light blue that upon closer inspection, Moby recognized as an ice ability. He was not sure if that ice ability was the same one as his own heart of ice but he was certain he would find out very soon¡­ For the next few hours, Moby and his team spent the entire time training and fighting beasts. They did not find much struggling against monsters of that calibre although they had to keep an eye on Ray who wascking in power. For a good chunk of the kills, Moby and the others left a monster near death only for Ray to finish it off to get the XP and power level him up. Although Moby was gaining most of the XP since the XP share was only one way, he only managed to gain a quarter of a level while Ray seemed to have gotten a fair amount stronger. It seemed like mindless beasts simply did not give as much as humans or even other sentient beings which he just had to suck up and deal with¡­ At least partly¡­ Moby had a less than ethical n going to increase his XP gain following that exact same principle and he could not wait any longer to do it... For the next few minutes, Moby and the rest decided to do some scouting in the forest, keeping goodmunication with their mind-link until they came across a pack of green and ck wolves assleep in a quiet clearing. There were around 50, and each of them possessed a power level of 25,000 or more which was perfect¡ª Moby could not help but chuckle slightly at what he was about to do... Chapter 286 - Free XP?

Chapter 286: Free XP?

"All I need is 100 more kills and the old man will be off my back¡­" James mumbled to himself, a pile of corpses all around him as he maliciously used his ice ability to freeze and impale everything around him with impable precision. He had used the beasts on the as his own dolls to let out his anger on, so many of his kills were less than efficient. He had nearly spent all of his mana defeating the beasts yet he had held off on using his spirit mode just in the case of emergencies. And it seemed like such an emergency was now headed his way¡­ As if there was an earthquake all around him, he tumbled back and found it hard to even stand. The earthquake was then followed up by the sounds of howling, piercing the air. "What the hell is going on?!" He screamed in disbelief before the answer hit him in the face¡­ All around him were massive green wolfs, foam in their mouth and their red eyes gazing directly into his soul¡­ "Wh-wha¡­ Where did all of thesee from!?" There were not 10 or 20, that would have been manageable, in front of him was an entire army of them ready to tear him apart. With his low reserve of energy, he doubted that he would be able to flee or survive for long, and with that, he was forced into activating his spirit mode¡­ There, before the attack, James stood still and gathered his spirit, forming a thick fur made of light blue energy all around him, ws on his arm with a yellow glow in his dog-like eyes. That was when the battle started¡­ Swatting away many of the wolves like they were flies, James seemed to be holding his own. But, the more and more he fought the worse it became¡­ The horde of wolves seemed like it had no end in sight¡­ Things looked hopeless, he was bleeding out with several bite marks all around his body, and even a deep scar from a bite close to his eyes, nearly blinding him. With nothing left but vigour, gloom, and desperation, he looked ahead with his beyond injured body at over 30 wolves ready to eat him alive. "F-fuck¡­ I can''t let the old man be right¡­ This can''t be happening¡­ How the hell is there so fucking many¡­" He mumbled to himself once more, panting, a crazy, desperate look in his sights with small hints of determination. That was when there, in the corner of his field of vision he managed to catch a sight of a purple sh of energy, which was followed up with 4 armoured people walking up a hill and into his field of vision. He smiled. "Heh¡­ I''m saved," He knew full well what he did to them and what kind of disrespect he showed but that all did not matter now¡­ ording to the rules, if a party watched another one die knowing full well they could have helped, then they would be arrested. And, with the lie detector test after every hunting session, there was no way to bypass it. There, in his moment of desperation, he hung onto hisst hope and shred of light and yelled. "HEY! YOU FOUR!! I NEED HELP! I MIGHT DIE HERE!! I''LL REWARD YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS! IF YOU DECLINE AND LET ME DIE YOU''RE GOING TO JAIL!" He knew that it was no way to speak to one''s own potential saviours, but he knew that jail time was the best motivator and he could not care less about peasants. "Oh! Oh my! We''reing to help! Please hold on!" And, just like he expected, they came and helped him¡­ He was saved! The peasants seemed to be holding their own quite well, the wolves were undoubtedly going to die. The relief in his heart was immense seeing what he saw as he could not imagine the look on his father''s ugly face when he returned alive holding a massive bag of loot. He felt sofortable that he even began thinking of what kind of punishments he should put upon his servant for being sote and making a mockery out of him. But... that all changed when he witnessed the ability of that one dark, blue-haired girl as she killed thest of the wolves. "Is that a shadow ability? Is she¡­" *Qrinsh* All of a sudden, he felt a deep pain strike him in the stomach, looking down only to see a glowing, ck and purple katana strike him exactly where the pain resided¡­ "What the¡­" The feeling of burning in his stomach felt surreal¡­ Burning but with no heat or fire¡­ He would have much rather been impaled by 1000 swords than what he was feeling right now as he threw up buckets of blood on the purple grass, dying it red. His eyes suddenly began to tear up and be blurry as his body slowly kept on getting weak¡­ The reality was only just setting in¡­ He was really about to die¡­ He was about to die and did not know by who or what. His week legs failed him as he slowly tumbled to the ground, looking at the blue-haired girl run towards him, her expression unclear to him. "Please! Jayden! Save me!" He put his bloody hands out in desperation as he was forced out of his spirit mode. That was when some of his pain was relieved as the glowing sword was taken out of his wound, leaving him hurling on the ground, coughing up even more blood. Using all of his remaining energy, he turned around to see the face of the person who did this to him¡­ And he was very shocked to say the least¡­ It was undoubtedly the face of death¡­ Or was it a demon? His purple and red gaze struck even more pain into his soul and his cold, almost indifferent expression like he was nothing but an insect made him shudder in fear. However, when he looked past all of that¡­ He managed to pick up on the face of that same man he called out for, noticing exactly who he was now that he had a closer look at him¡­ "W-what the hell is this¡­ Moby Kane? Aren''t you supposed to be a hero!? What is the meaning of this!? Is this for what I did to you at the reception desk!? I-I promise I didn''t mean to! I had no idea it was you and miss Griffith all along! Please! Spare me and let me go!" Moby did not speak a single word and simply smiled coldly at him as Jayden, Nags, and a nervous Ray joined his side. through James''s perception, they looked nothing but a band of demons sent directly from hell, ready to drag him down along with them simply from the looks in their eyes. He could not believe that he was looking at those same people that fought the shalkers and were praised all over the news... That was when he finally spoke. "Hmmmmm¡­ let me think about it¡­ No¡­ I don''t think I will spare you! But please don''t take it personally! This is all for a worthy cause!" The fear and shakiness in Jame''s eyes multiplied 1000 times over, and tears of blood began to fall down them as his speech became like that of a mixture of a beast and a crying infant. "W-what¡­ Are you a fake? A traitor? W-what the hell are you gonna do to me!? It doesn''t matter what status you have! You can''t get away with this! If you kill me now you won''t be walking out of here unscathed! If you heal me and leave me be, I''ll forget any of this happened okay! I''ll even pay you as much as you want!" "..." "hmph!" "You serious? Does it look like I''m gonna spare you?" Those few words almost shut down all the hope in Jame''s heart¡­ He still understood nothing of why he was going to die and he stopped trying to as he tried hisst pleads before he finally gave into his fate¡­ "Please don''t kill me¡­ I beg of you¡­ Please don''t kill me¡­ I beg of you¡­? Please don''t kill me¡­ I beg of you¡­" That was when the smile on Moby''s face almost burst out intoughter. "Kill you!? Oh no! Oh no, no, no, no, no! We''re not gonna kill you! Why would we ever do that?" Hope and colour was rekindled in Jame''s eyes with a smile on his bloody face. However¡­ that was when all of his hopes were snuffed away like putting out a match, and what lingered of him was nothing but a faint smoke as he began to cry more and more¡­ "I won''t kill you¡­ I will do much worse¡­ By the time I''m done with you, you would have more than served your purpose and you would have wished you were now dead¡­" Chapter 287 - Adoption Center

Chapter 287: Adoption Center

"Damn, that was refreshing," "I agree, It''s actually a pretty good work out, I feel somewhat stronger than before," "How much do you think we made in cash?" "I don''t know, like 20 grand? It''s not the best way of ie but it''s manageable," "Don''t forget that the military''s taking 25% of the cut," "Oh yeah, of course! How could I forget!?" Moby and his team had just gotten out of the teleporter, stretching their stiff limbs and casually conversing with each other as they walked down that same long hallway they first took, heading back to the lobby and reception desk. And, as soon as they reached the exit of the tunnel, they were greeted by a familiar face¡­ "I greatly apologize miss La! I promise you that I am not usually that kind of person! I was simply caught in the moment!" It was the figure of a bowing James, bent almost 90 degrees towards the secretary he had previously disrespected. "Oh please! It''s really okay sir! Please lift your head up!" The secretary pleaded, making himply and speak before walking away. "Thank you so much for your understanding! I wish we meet again soon miss La!" That was when Moby and the rest walked in, their amusement hidden under their tired expressions. "Hello again!" Moby waved and caught La''s attention, and before he could continue speaking, he heard her whisper in his ears. "What happened!? Did you guys do something to him?" "No, we never even talked to him. We did get close to him once though and I think he recognized our faces and is trying to do damage control¡­" "Ohhhh¡­ That makes so much more sense now," She couldn''t help but chuckle at Moby''s words and breathe a sigh of relief as she checked them out and allowed them to leave. "Pleasee again!" There, they walked out of the tower, noticing the bright moon in the stary sky. Although they were not able to tell from inside the still bright, they had been training for far longer than they expected. As soon as they exited through the front doors, they were met by a sudden sh of light thatter turned out to be the butler. "Shall we go home, young miss? I hope you enjoyed your training," The butler bowed and smiled before looking up at Jayden''s face. "Yes! Let''s go home!" The car ride was a rather enjoyable one. They had just conducted their first operation as a group and they all felt rather satisfied. It was their first time working all together yet it worked out almost perfectly. They were discussing things that would no doubt incriminate them if spoken in public so they used their mind-links instead. Once again, this caused the butler to see the spectacle of four peopleughing hysterically at the back of the car without even saying a word which at this point he was so used to it that itpletely unphased him. He dropped off Moby, Nags, and Ray at the school gates and drove off back to the mansion, not of course before letting them all say their goodbyes. However, instead of heading back to his dorms, Moby had other ns that he had been holding out on for too long, something that he wanted to do alone¡­ So, he told Nags and Ray he was not able to join them which they did not question, yawning and simply going to the dorms after saying their farewells. Most of his features hidden as to not be noticed, he took the bus to an adoption center to do something beneficial and something he should have done a long time ago, only now did he have time to do it. Casually, he entered the nearly empty, marble white building and strode to the front desks. "Hello sir¡­ I''vee here to adopt¡­" "Oh! That''s great! Do you have a certain child in mind or are you willing to look?" "No, I have 2 in mind already, although I don''t know their names yet," Moby slightly chuckled before the man replied. "I see¡­ And who are they?" "The younger brother and sister of Neia Spud, I promised to take care of them after her passing¡­" *Click* *Click* "Hmmmmm¡­ Let me see¡­ Ahh! Here we go! Leon and Avah spud! ... ¡­ ¡­ Hmmmmmm¡­" The secretary looked deep in thought, his hands over his mouth. "Sir? Is there something wrong?" Moby asked with a hint of nervousness. "I''m sorry sir¡­ But it seems like they were already adopted by someone else¡­" "THEY WERE WHAT!?" Moby could not help but blurt his thoughts out loud, wide-eyed lucky that there was no one else in the building. "When was this!? And by who!?" The man at the front sighed and took a deep breath before he responded. "I''m sorry sir¡­ But all of this information is confidential¡­ All I could tell you is that it happened a few weeks ago¡­ sorry¡­ Rules are rules¡­" Moby was still stunned. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his face. "Thank you for the information sir¡­ And sorry for that unsightly outburst, it was truly rude of me," "Oh no, no, no! Please! I know this must be stressful and important to you! I fully understand! I wish you good luck!" "Thank you so much for your understanding!" Moby bowed and immediately walked towards the exit and left the building with many thoughts running through his mind. He seemed to have been toote due to everything else that was going on in his life¡­ Right now, the thought of the missed opportunity to level up his angel blessing was not the main thing on his mind but rather the safety of the children¡­ He had yet to receive anything telling him that Neia''s brother and sister were in good hands. So, in his mind, that meant one of two things¡­ Either they were being abused and mistreated by their adopters or another tragedy befell them¡­ If anything happened to them simply for the fact that he was too busy to do this and did not think it was too urgent, he wouldn''t be sure if he could so easily get over that. For now, all he could do was wait. Jayden''s butler was good withputers and intel gathering so maybe if he asked him tomorrow he could get some help to find them and who adopted them but for now he simply headed back to his dorms feeling immense disappointment. When he entered his dorm, he found Raypletely fast asleep with two controllersid in front of the TV. "Hopefully those two are getting along better than at first," He mumbled to himself before hopping onto his bed, deep in thought. And, the first thing that came into his mind was James which brought a slight smile to his expression. Of course, he had turned him into a demon and nned to squeeze him out of all he had before he finally killed him when his control runs out. He will use him to anonymously gift himself any valuables or family secrets he might possess, along with using him to fight beasts every day to share XP until his eventual "idental" death by his hands. He thought doing things in such a way was simply far more efficient and beneficial than simply killing him and brainwashing everyone to get past the lie detector test. However, this dide with the side effect that he now might see James as some sort of family. Still, he decided to do it anyways as a means to train himself to differentiate between the good and the bad servants and eventually break out of his demon nature by his own personal evolutions and merits alone. He began to ponder more and more about the future¡­ How school will be¡­ How will his team continue to work together¡­ How Abby''s mental state was going to fair¡­ What will happen with his meeting with the supreme general¡­ If he will eventually go back and visit his family dojo... What happened to Neia''s siblings... Will there be other Aliens on the hunt for him in the near future¡­ And what lies beyond the empty covers of that level 100 book¡­ And, even what HikariYami was up to now¡­ There were so many things overloading his mind that it was almost too overwhelming¡­ In the end, he decided that he should not think too much about it as he stared nkly at the ceiling, taking in how far he had gotten since that fateful day in his dorm looking up at a very familiar sight. He lifted his hands up with a soft smile and slowly mumbled to himself, even subconsciously talking to Alex too¡­ Although he wanted to train, in his current state that was simply impossible. "This is gonna be one hell of a year¡­ Isn''t it? I will push through and seed no matter what! I promise¡­" Those were hisst words before he went to sleep to rest his fatigued mind... Chapter 288 - Graduation

Chapter 288: Graduation

Sometimeter¡­ *p* *p* *p* On a wide, expansive stage that peered out into a crowd of thousands walked a smiling man with a microphone in hand, all the lights directed at him, making his rather well-kempt face even brighter yet at the same time highlighting the thick ck bags under his eyes. In all his years of being general, this year specifically, he had never looked better. But today, for some odd reason he seemed to be looking far more cheerful than usual. People knew that something was off and that It couldn''t be from a simple graduation ceremony¡ª there had to be something beyond that yet no one knew. "Good afternoon everyone! As you know, I''m High General Ryker, the one who oversees this school. I hope you guys enjoyed the festivities and the events so far! We had so many talented people working on this! I would like to once again apologize for the dy on this graduation ceremony! We had some issues so we were forced into doing this in the middle of the summer vacation¡­ BUT! It will not take away anything from the event and the spirit we all have today!" Sitting in the middle of the crowd with a casual smirk was a man dress in a fancy suit, his ck and red hair perfectlybed, his green eyes staringzily yet calmly onto the stage ahead. To his side were three others. On the right was a short frosty haired boy sitting next to another person of simr height, navy hair with a slightly more nervous expression on his face. And, directly to his left was a gorgeous girl, dressed in a gown that perfectly matched the beauty and elegance of her silky, dark blue hair as she leaned onto the man''s shoulder who was directly to her right. "When will this end¡­" Sheined. "Why were we even forced to be here? It''s not like we''re the ones graduating..." "Don''t worry it shouldn''t be too long¡­ I guess it''s just so we can respect our seniors." he yawned, scratching his eyes, hearing a small pout from below before redirecting his gaze up above. "First off, I would like to mention all the dropouts and failures, I deeply wish you good luck with your next time¡­ If you even get a next time that is... I know that many students were not able to make it here due to the earlier tragedies this school year so we will use this moment of silence to honour all of their deaths¡­" The mood stood still with a sombre air, not a peep from a single person for an entire minute. It was almost certain that most of them could not care less and were not reflecting or morning the dead. They simply did not want to get in trouble. Customs were customs after all. But, the man and hispanions were not part of that crowd, as they looked deep down thinking about a certain person... no two very certain people and how they wished they were there with them that day... That was was when the man on the stage continued speaking¡­ "Thank you all for your patience and respect¡­" "Today, we will be celebrating all the second-year students that have survived this hectic year in one peace and all of the ones that are sadly no longer with us... The next years of humanity are uncertain¡­ But with the help of these future soldiers and possible elites! We will help shape this world and protect us. First, can we please call upon Jacob Rosewall, Saz Star, ina Allen, Darth Konwell, and the exchange student, Lan Tao! Pleasee up to receive your graduation certificate!" In groups of six, students were called upon, lining up at the foot of the stage before being invited once again to climb the stairs onto the stage. Then, they shook hands with their homeroom teacher and general, taking their picture along with their certificate before walking away. And, there were thousands of first-years to go through¡­ It was like a living nightmare¡­ By the time they finished all of them, the entire crowd had almost gotten half to sleep. "And now, for our final two graduates¡­ It is my great honour to announce this! I have seen these two grow stronger and stronger with my own two eyes and I could not imagine anyone else in their ce! I would please like to call up¡­" ''Two more? I thought they just finished thest batch¡­'' The ck and red-haired man thought in his head, yawning and looking at the beauty half asleep on his shoulder. "I would please like to call up Moby Kane and HikariYami to the stage to receive their graduation certificates!" "Huh¡­ ?" The man mumbled to himself before something sparked in his bored, foggy consciousness,pletely recharging him. "HUUUUUUUUHHHHH!!" He shot out of his seat, startling the girl on hisp that looked at him with wide eyes. When he looked around him, he managed to fully see all of their faces despite the darkness in the room, most people looking at him pping with smiles of admiration. ''No¡­ This must be a mistake¡­ I''m a first-year! How the hell am I graduating!? And HikariYami! I haven''t heard that name in almost a year! Isn''t she also first year or am I tripping!?'' His mind ran round and round in circles, unable to believe what was happening before he looked down at his friend''s smiles and words through their mind-links. "Just go for it boss¡­ I doubt this is an ident¡­" "Hmh... I agree¡­" And then, the girl previously on his shoulders stood up, giving him a kiss on the cheek with two simple words. "Good luck.." Sighing with a smile, he looked at the girl''s face and spoke before walking away, "Thanks¡­" Eyes were all on him and great praise along with a few cold staresing his way. On his approach towards the stage, he managed to pick up on some whispers such as "HikariYami? Who is she?" and "She was in my group for exams first day of school but she was then immediately taken away¡­" He had no idea about HikariYami''s reputation and the whispers and rumours provided him with more than enough intriguing insight... He slowly marched up the stage, the bright light shining on his face. And, at the same time, from the other side he saw the figure of an all too familiar girl looking as small and bright as ever, her light side in control. It was of course none other than HikariYami who he had not seen or even heard about ever since their encounter with the shalker. Their eyes met each other for a split second before she immediately looked away out of shyness. It was shyness that she only showed around him instead of her usual outgoing self. He could not help but inwardly scoff at the sight of her once more as many memories were instilled in his mind. However, those thoughts were neutralized and softened by the memories of all the good she had done, which left him rather conflicted. He wondered, did she still see him as her big brother after all this time? That was when his thoughts were interrupted by Ryker''s voice that rang in their ears when they reached the centre of the stage. "This is the first time in our school''s history that such a thing happened! You two! You are something special! 1 in 100 million talents! You have more than proven yourselves worthy to grab the attention of the higher-ups!" He took a small pause to look at both of them with a smile before continuing. "These are not two ordinary papers in my hand! These are your tickets to the famed Alexander Davis School of Elites! Where the chosen few from all around the world are sent to train and hone their strength! And in one year, our school as produced two worthy students! TWO!" Now, it was more than clear why Ryker was so excited. He held the certificates high in the sky, making the crowd roar before handing them directly to both Moby and HikariYami, shaking their hands and taking a picture with both of them. The certificate itself was glowing, its colourpletely ck with a mystical green glow all around it,pletely unlike the white of every other graduate that day. "This is not a request, this is an order! Underw, you must attend elite school! We, under good conscience, cannot let talent such as you go untended without the proper training! Since we had this ceremony a bitte, you will have a week to prepare for departure and you will be informed about the detailster! In the meantime, you can prepare and celebrate your aplishments!" The crowd roared once more, Moby''s eyes growing wide as he stared at all the cheers ahead with sweat running down his face and a single thought in his mind. "1 WEEK!?" Chapter 289 - Mellow Celebration

Chapter 289: Mellow Celebration

"This will be the end of today''s events and festivities! Congrattions to everyone and I hope to see all you first years on this stage next year!" The crowd that had previously been half asleep roared once more, cheering on their hero and face of the school that would be representing them in the big leagues. Trying to hide his inner turmoil, Moby was escorted off the stage, but instead of going back to where his friends once were, he was escorted to another room behind the stage, him and HikariYami. There, they had a long meeting with General Ryker, who exined to them many details about elite school and letting them ask any questions they wanted to ask while at the same time apologizing for the short notice of informing them. Needless to say, Moby bombarded him with several questions so he was absolutely certain about everything whilst Hikari sat there nervously silent, Yami switching in every now and then to ask interesting questions. Looking at HikariYami to his side, Moby could not help but take note of her appearance. From what he remembered, she looked almost the exact same, the same short and child-like appearance with a covered mouth. As he and his ss approached closer and closer to adulthood, so did many of their features. But as for him and his family, they did not change at all which Avilia exined to them that their transformation had simply brought them to the prime of their life. HikariYami was no demon, maybe it was just who she was or maybe she had changed but he had simply not seen her in so long that he was imagining things so, he disregarded those thoughts. As they both left the room and swore to secrecy, Moby bore a very conflicted look on his face, processing all of the information while Hikari was still as shy as ever.? they looked at each other slightly awkwardly and spoke for the first time in a year¡­ "H-hello big brother¡­ How has the year been¡­" "Yeah¡­ It''s nice to see you. I haven''t seen you in ages. I''m doing fine, how about you?" "I-I''ve been working hard¡­ All alone... This elite school sounds like a very scary ce¡­ Want to stick together when we''re there¡­" "Sure thing!" Moby smiled. "It would be nice to stay with someone I know!" She brought out her arms and grabbed onto Moby''s hands, looking at his face with a bright smile that bore no nervousness. "Thanks big brother!" She shook his hands, her face turning immediately red before she ran away awkwardly, leaving Moby slightly confused. Yet, he could not help but let out a smile and a chuckle. As Moby left the area behind the stage, he was greeted by a crowd he did not expect to see so soon¡­ "THAT''S MY BOY! HAHAHA!" Mason Griffith gave him a pat on the back, nearly knocking the wind out of him despite how hard he trained and became stronger throughout the year. "Thanks¡­" "You know, I really wanted Jayden toe with you but she''s still too weak. She started her training sote that it''s almost impossible," Heughed, his daughter staring daggers at him from behind. "You''re special! Most kids there start training since they''re in the womb, or are beyond gifted! You managed to get this strong in under 1 year of receiving an ability! This calls for a celebration!" Jayden was slightly embarrassed and wanted to speak her mind to her father yet the mention of the partypletely changed her mood. "Let''s go! Albert! Get the car and invite everyone! We''re hosting this thing tonight! This can''t wait! Let''s go now!" Like an excited little kid, Mason began walking to the exit, everyone following behind him and huddling over Moby with bright smiles, Jayden holding onto his hands. They all asked him the usual questions which he answered mostly honestly yet holding out on one major part of it all. When they reached the outside of the school, they dodged all the paparazzi and headed to their car parked in a secret parking lot for reserved people only. There, before they all entered, Mason leant back and whispered into Moby''s ears far away from everyone else. "You know, and I know what''s gonna happen but I won''t be telling them anything¡­ You''ll have to be the one to break the news okay?" His voice was so serious,pletely unlike what he was showing on the outside which greatly caught Moby off guard, yet still left hm with enough calmness to respond to his part-time master. "Yeah¡­ I know¡­" ******************************* A Magnificent chandelier shined light brightly at the hall below, hanging from and radiating warmth across the hall. The stained ss windows in the arched ceiling danced in the glimmering light while marble icons and carved images that proudly showed the Griffith family name and shadowy raven mascot look down upon the te floor of this radiant hall. At the sides of the room were various elegant seats for those who wanted to converse while the center was reserved for those who wanted to dance the night away¡­ Music of the ssical kind ying throughout the entire room. In the corner, on a table filled with food, the figures of four people were sat, a man with purple hair and a beard standing out from the rest. The Hart''s and the Griffiths seemed to be on very good terms even still as they both chatted andughed together in celebration of the achievements of Alex''s best friend. It had already been over an hour since the party had started. Nags and Ray were both dancing with random girls from important people of other families, Ray being extremely nervous while Nags seemed bored, as if he could not care less. Yet, Moby and Jayden were nowhere to be seen from within this room... ******************** *Eeaarrr¡­* Slowly, the sound of the door opening rang into Abby''s ears, making her curl up into a ball and hide under her sheets pretending to sleep. However, she forgot the crucial mistake of leaving her game opened so the person who entered knew she was still awake¡­ "Hey Abby, I''vee to visit¡­" As soon as she recognized who it was, she shot out of her nkets straight as an arrow with star-like eyes. "Moby!!!" However, her bright mood did notst for long as she spoke. "W-why are you here¡­ Shouldn''t there be a party for you?" With a smile, Moby strode and sat right next to her, her not flinching at all. "Yeah¡­ But, I wanted to make sure that you''re not lonely¡­" "Oh don''t worry about me! You should be out there having fun!" Sheughed. "I have Alex always with me! Did youe to y a round of Dario kart?" Although her mental state was not in the right ce, over the year it did improve. Day by day ying video games with her, they subconsciously kept on scooting and sitting closer and closer to each other until one day they were naturally both sitting side by side. She seemed to have regained some of her sanity and thinking yet she was far from a full recovery. Now, more than anything, Moby wanted to drag her out of her bed and make her experience the outside world for once before he left. But, in her current state and seeing that many of the guests might hold some contempt, he was still certain it was not a good idea¡­ "Hey¡­ Abby¡­ Listen¡­ I have something important to tell you¡­ In a week¡­ I will be leaving for a year and I won''t being back even to visit once¡­" "..." "You''re joking, right? You always know how to y with my mind!" Sheughed once more, yet Moby was dead silent¡­ "Wait¡­ Are you serious¡­" "Yeah¡­ This is thest week I''ll be spending with you for a long time¡­" Without even knowing it, her eyespletely flooded into waterworks¡­ And for the first time ever, she leant close to him and hugged him with all her might, her tears staining his ck suit. "You can''t be doing this!! You and Alex are the only people I have left! You can''t abandon me like this you jerk!" Moby''s heart cracked seeing her sight as he could not help but shed a tear himself. "I don''t have a choice¡­ The military is forcing me to do this and there is a lot of things there I need to¡­" "BUT YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE! You''re the future demon lord are you not!? Just beat up the military and tell them: ''NO! I can''t leave because Abby needs me!'' " "Oh! Stop being so selfish you..." Moby smiled at her words as she hugged him tighter, making him hug her back. " That''s not how life works and I''m nowhere near strong enough to do that¡­ This will be an important life lesson for you okay? You will have to live without me for a year. It will be a good test to see if you do what I''ve taught you. This is just how life is, nothingsts forever and nothing is perfect." He yed with her hair, trying to calm her down. "BUT! I won''t be able to¡ª" "Shhh¡­" He lifted her up and looked at her crying, grayish crimson eyes and spoke directly to her with a smile. If you want to have a chance to hear anything from me over the next year, let me teach you something that you used to know but seemed to have forgotten. Abby seemed to have no idea what Moby was talking about, yet she nodded and slowly wiped her tears once again. For the next few minutes, Moby managed to reteach her how to use her mind-link. The first time he tried it, the mental stress on her was too great to do it. However, this time, she had more motivation and reason to do it than ever before so she pushed herself to sess. ''Abby, can you hear me?'' ''Wow! You''re in my brain!? Cool!'' ''Of course, I am!'' Moby could not help but chuckle at her child-like amazement. ''With this, I can talk to you in most ces. I''ll be sure to let you know and talk to you whenever I can in elite school." Moby stood up and stretched his muscles, looking at the door before feeling a tug on his arms. "Are you leaving now¡­" "Hmh." He nodded. "But don''t worry! I''ll be back soon! We have a week until my departure and I promise to make it the best week of your life! You choose anything and I''ll do it!" Moby kneeled down and looked Abby straight in the eyes before she spoke. "Promise?" "Yeah, promise." He lent in and kissed her softly on the forehead, making her tear-filled face go bright red before he faced the door to leave. "Bye! I promise to see you soon!" "B-bye¡­" He heard a nervous voice as he left the room, before it was followed by the voice of a man he now knew all too well. ''Good luck my future overlord¡­ And good luck to you too lord Avilia¡­ I am certain you will find some of the answers you seek¡­'' Chapter 290 - Date

Chapter 290: Date

Jayden stood on the balcony to the ballroom with her gorgeous blue dress, her untied dark blue hair waving in the wind and the bright moon shining on her face, nothing but the sounds of crickets to upy her wondering ears. That was when she heard a sound¡­ Turning around to see exactly who she was waiting for. "What took you so long?" She pouted with slight annoyance. "Oh, I stopped by to check up on Abby," As soon as she heard Moby speak, her expressionpletely took a turn. "Oh I see¡­ How is she?" "You don''t need to worry, she''s doing better than ever!" "Is it okay with me to go see her then?" "I''m not sure about that yet¡­" He chuckled. "Maybe hold off a bit." There was a slight silence as they both looked out into the garden before Jayden spoke. "So¡­ You wanna go back inside and dance?" "Huh? Are you kidding me! My legs are killing me! Dancing is so much harder than martial arts could ever be!" "So¡­ What do you want to do then?" That was when Moby took a deep breath and readied himself to tell her the truth. "Jayden, do you know why I called you out here?" "No¡­ Why?" "Well, I have something important to share and I thought you should know first¡­ But, since I''m going to elite school, I won''t be able toe back and visit for a year¡­ No calls, no texts, no nothing," "Wait what!? They holding you hostage or something!? Why is that!?" Moby could not help but smile at her reaction before once again going dead serious. "They said it''s necessary training¡­ Elites like us are usually sent out on long missions away from home for months or even years so they are saying this is preparing us for when that timees," "But mind-link will still work, right?" "Ah¡­ I think so.? But, I''m not exactly sure yet," "Then it should be fine then!" Sheughed hartley, almost overly exaggerated. Moby was taken aback at how casual and carefree Jayden seemed about what he revealed. He had imagined her to be far more... emotional. That was when he noticed small cracks in herughing figure¡­ Tears were falling down her face, which made Moby instinctively react by hugging her tightly. "It''s only for 1 year¡­ It''s gonna be okay¡­" Moby whispered softly in her ears before Jayden''sughter became even louder, breaking out of his grasp. "1 year? Is that a joke?! Just you watch! I will grow strong enough to join you up there in less than 6 months! You got that!? So wait for me! And don''t you dare hit on or fall for those elite girls just because they are richer, stronger, or prettier than me¡­ Okay!!" "..." "..." "AHAHAHAHAHAH!" Moby clenched his stomach as he burst outughing. It was one of those moments where Jayden boosted herself up trying to keep herself positive. "W-what''s wrong? Did I say something bad?" Her expression turned all nervous, which made Mobyugh even harder. "Who do you think I am?! Of course, I won''t cheat on you! And I like that spunk! Prove it to me and join me up there!" "Hey! Don''tugh at me like that! I was being serious!" "And I''m being serious too!" He continuedughing, which eventually Jayden gave in and joined him. The once dark, and gloomy air of the balcony suddenly turned bright and yful. Such was what usually happened when the two were together alone. That was when their conversation shifted. "Hey¡­ Want to go on a date? This party''s gone on long enough and it''s been kinda boring¡­" "Right now? Shouldn''t we tell the others you won''t be here for a whole year?" "Nah, that can wait forter¡­" He smiled. "Now I want some alone time¡­" "Well, we haven''t gone on a date for a long time so¡­ Why not!" She smiled back. "I have a few ces in mind to go and only 1 of them are in this house. Do you think your father will get mad if we leave?" "Nah! I''ll just text him that I''ll be gone! I''m sure he wouldn''t mind," Jayden responded, making Moby look at her with an eyebrow raised. ************************* They hopped down from the balcony and into the open grassy fields filled with flowers and well-maintained grass sculptures as far as the eye could see. However, they had seen the Griffith family garden so many times now that its beauty and grandeur no longer impressed them. That was when they decided to leave the mansion''snds, disguising themselves wearing other clothing as they went to a nearby teleporter hub and used a special card that Jayden had to go to a certain part of the country. The roads were far dirtier, stray animals were able to be seen and the streets reeked from the smell of garbage. The cars were of less than good quality and the racket of the loud yet ominous neighbourhood felt all too nostalgic. However, they did note simply to visit some run-down neighbourhood. Walking together, they eventually reached a park that looked way too well maintained for a ce such as this¡­ A luxurious patch of grass was nked by simr hedges, bushes, and shrubs. A pagoda stood to the right of the field of tall, overgrown grass that held small patches of grapevines. The flowers and nts were trying to take all the attention in the park, and seeding to arge extent too, highlighted with bright lights shining through the night sky. A single path, marked with round stones, curled around the garden presented visitors with an elegant way of discovering the different ces, such as a duck pond that Moby oh so fondly remembered. The pagoda in the center was for all intents and purposes the centrepiece of this garden, and therefore the most appealing part other than the duck pond, of course. Wondering around the empty park, Moby could not help but reminisce about many things¡­ This entire park symbolized his past while the beautiful girl to his side symbolized his future and how far he hade¡­ He remembered how much he loveding here every week with his parents, back when everything was seemingly perfect... It was peaceful, more than it should have been¡­ nothing but the sound of wind, crickets and birds filling the air. They sat down at the bench beside the duck pond, and with extra food from Moby''s inventory, they fed them, admiring their cuteness. At one point, Moby kidnapped one of the baby ducks to show to Jayden up close, only to be attacked maliciously by the mother that harboured absolutely no fear. That was when theyughed it off and went to the pagoda, Moby subconsciously admiring the nature of that mother duck and if his mother would have done the same¡­ The building itself was locked to the public for the most part. But, who needed entrance when one could simply jump onto the roof? There, at the top, they were able to see a magnificent overhead view of the entire park. The duck pond they were on only a few minutes ago now seemed so minuscule in size. Moby sat down on Jayden''s softp as they enjoyed the fresh air and thepany of each other. It felt so calming and peaceful yet so sad every time they thought about how times like these were never going tost for another week. So, they could not help but be rather intimate. "I love you¡­" "..." "I love you too¡­" They kissed on the top of the tall pagoda, the moonlight shining directly on them as they stared passionately into each other''s eyes, wishing that the moment couldst forever¡­ It was to the point that behind Jayden''s back, Moby used his freezing time skill until his mana ran dry, just so the moment couldst longer in his mind¡­ However, of course, it did notst forever and there were other things that they had nned before the night was over¡­ Reluctantly, their lips were split apart rather naturally as they hopped off the top of the pagoda and strolled out of the park and back into the dirty streets that felt as fond if not even more so than the park. Moby was almost able to imagine his small, past figure running on the exact same sidewalks and roads for his daily 10-kilometre run, which made him not help but smile as he reminisced. And, before he even knew it, he had finally reached his destination. A destination that made him almost shed a tear and wonder¡­ So, with a flick of his wrist, he controlled his demon energy to blow the dust off the sign at its front. "Wee, to the way of the blissful demon dojo! Sign-ups = $100 a month for children and $150 for adults! We hope you join us and enjoy your stay!" Chapter 291 - Home Sweet Home

Chapter 291: Home Sweet Home

Other than the dust surrounding it, the blissful demon dojo seemed exactly like he remembered it. A beige and purple, now rather dusty, old, Japanese-style building adorned with various ssical lights that shined on the otherwise dark sidewalk. "So¡­ This it? Is this where you used to live?" Moby didn''t respond to Jayden''s question immediately as he was lost in thought staring at his old home. "Yes¡­ This is it¡­ Come on, I''ll show you in," He held her hands and walked her up the stairs towards the sliding doors that were obviously locked. So, Moby had to whip out a key from his inventory that he had not held in a very long time. Like butter, the doors slid open with a satisfying m that left their vision and breathpletely dusty. But, after the dust was gone, the entire room came into clear view¡­ It was a wide-open spacious room with small windows on the top allowing for natural lighting toe in from the moon. The tatami floors were as clean as ever, with multiple different paintings and demonic statues filling yet not overwhelming the overall design. On the sides were a few shelves that used to house all the family techniques. But, they were all of course now in Moby''s hands. It was truly a beautiful and nostalgic sight. Despite seeing it so many times, he could not help but be inplete awe of the entire room. Yet, eventually, his gazended and was fixated on one single spot. In the middle towards the back, there was a small stand that held a picture along with various candles. On that picture were a family photo of him, his mother and his father. Jayden still beside him checking out the room, Moby suddenly walked from her side towards that same picture as he picked it up, feeling slight waterworks well up in his eyes. He could never forget the bright smile his mother bore that extended up to the beauty spot on her cheeks, her bright green eyes and long, silky smooth hazel hair that he could still remember the feeling and smell to this day. She held him, who was seven years old at the time from under his armpits as he sat on his father''s lean, muscr legs. His father''s face was well structured and his ck hair was smooth and fell down towards his purple eyes, his face bearing a simr expression to that of his wife. If anything, he reminded him very much of his current self. And, there, on thep was him, a seven-year-old child smiling andughing, his features looking rather skinnier than usual. The picture in one of his rather shaky hands, he could not help but let out a single tear thinking about how things were, before he suddenly felt a touch on his hands and a hug from the back. "It''s okay¡­ Things will be alright¡­" It was a warm feeling that Moby swore he would never get used to. Wiping away his tears and smiling, he held her palms back and spoke. "Sorry, sometimes I get lost in the moment," "Yeah, I can tell," She chuckled slightly before taking a closer look at what he held in his hands. "Damn¡­ You were a really cute baby¡­ Your mother is really pretty¡­ So is your father¡­ Handsome, not pretty of course. No wonder you''re good-looking!" "Thanks, I guess," He replied slightly awkwardly. "You really know how to bring up the mood do you?" "Of course I do! What did you expect?" He set the picture back down on the table with unlit candles and looked back at Jayden with a smile. "We can''t stay here forever. I want to go see more things," "Okay! Lead the way tour guide!" Holding hands, they walked all around the room admiring the architecture and the different pieces of art that as a child, Moby had the choice to sell yet chose not to out of respect. Although the dojo was in a Japanese style, his parents were not at all Japanese but simply liked the style and possibly even the culture. After they were done there, they went through the door to the back of the room where they all slept and lived. The building itself was split into twoplete halves, one for training and teaching and one for normal living with its own entrance on the other side. It was rather convenient for a family like the Kanes. The house itself was fairly simple, one kitchen, a small living room, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. As he entered the kitchen, it was dustier than he remembered yet just as empty. So, he decided to use his slight mastery over the water element to clean things up while he was at it. Next, was his parent''s room where there was not much to look at other than a clean bed. The living room waspletely empty in contrast to the other rooms that bore at least something. Moby had simply sold everything in there to survive... Lastly was his own room. Normally, when a girl and a boy are in a boy''s room, things begin to happen. Yet, Moby and Jayden had enough mutual respect to know that now was definitely not the time or ce. The room itself was extremely empty as he had to sell many things to buy the essentials. The posters, cabs, action figures, card collections, all of that was gone despite Moby remembering it. Only his bed and a certain metal box remained. It was the same metal box he had received his ne in when his parents had died. Just looking at it made several memories reenter his mind and how he might have actually killed himself if it weren''t for Avilia sucking off his negative energy. And, almost like it was just for shits and giggles, he opened the box only to find it empty. Though, he could not shake this weird feeling rubbing him in the air¡­ Yet, for now, he disregarded it as he and Jayden sat down on his bed and looked out through the windows showing the less than pleasant neighbour''s house. There, Jayden asked him several things about his past where he answered honestly. He had nothing to hide after all. That was when she asked him her final question. "So¡­ Do you think you''re parents are still alive?" He smiled at her words and looked out towards the moon from his window. "You know, I shouldn''t bring my hopes up like that¡­ But I do believe they might be somewhere out there. I don''t believe they abandoned me¡­ But they simply have bigger and better things to do and they trust me to do things for myself¡­" "Yeah, I hope so too," She smiled back. "I was supposed to go have a meeting with the military about them a few months ago but they cancelled it until next month because of apparently a lot of peace meetings and turmoil with the shalkers¡­ And I was looking forward to what they had to say¡­" Moby said what he said now recognizing that the military had in all likelihood no idea he was a demon and simply had some info they would like to either reveal or discuss with him about his parents. "Oh yeah, I always wondered why you never left¡­ I guess things are getting pretty wild with our two races nowadays¡­" As soon as Jayden finished her words, that feeling and cold chill that ran down Moby''s spine increased even more. No way it was just a feeling¡­ Something was definitely up. Abruptly, he shot up as straight as an arrow, startling Jayden who asked with concern. "What''s going on?! Something happened?" "Don''t worry, all is fine! I just want to check something," Instinctively, Moby walked out of the room and used his energy sense finding there to be absolutely no one. That was when he activated his eyes of sin that showed him something previously unseen¡­ A purple mist leading him to a certain part of the dojo¡­ Jayden followed suit, seeing Moby walk towards the training area once more. "Moby! What is it!? Talk to me!" He slowly looked at her with wide-open eyes and spoke, pointing at the ground blow¡­ "There''s something down here¡­ I''m sure of it¡­" Any woman in Jayden''s situation would have called Moby crazy. Yet, she knew him long enough to know he was 100% serious. Although from the bottom of his heart, Moby hated that he was about to defile the very ground he and his parents used to train on. But, for the sake of his own sanity and curiosity, he decided to do it anyway. Infusing his hands with demon energy, he stabbed a hole into the ground and pulled out an entire nk of wood. And, just like he wanted to expect¡­ He found something¡­ A golden box which greatly took him by surprise and awe, so many questions running through his mind as his heart felt like it was ready to leap out of his chest. Slowly and carefully, he lifted the box out of the ground and onto the wooden floor with eyes of anticipation and nervousness, readying himself to open it. And, after taking a deep breath¡­ He finally did it with Jayden peeking over his shoulders. "Here it goes¡­" As he lifted the lid and ced it, the contents were more than clear¡­ And even Moby was rather shocked to say the least¡­ There, in that box was a single, marvellously crafted, almost glowing katana that bore a peculiar aura that caught most of his attention. And, to the side of it was one other item that Moby felt like he recognized yet did not recognize at the same time... "I-is that¡­" Chapter 292 - Gods Bane

Chapter 292: God''s Bane

Jayden who was leaning behind him was just as shocked as he was looking at such a de, and he could not really me her¡­ In all his years of living in this dojo, he had never seen such a weapon. It was a jet-ck, long, sharp katana that gleamed with the ferocity of a dragon. The purple aura it gave off was mouth-watering, runic symbols of seemingly unknown origin and the figure of a demonic dragon engraved on both the red, paper-strapped hilt that had a ck gem embedded into it and the de itself that looked like it was able to cut down damn near anything in its path. The sheath that was to its sidepletely matched the elegant aesthetic with the same markings and engravings as the sword, although it seemed to be perfectly conceble and not too shy. Just by looking at it, Moby could tell its power and craftsmanship were impable. Yet, that made him wonder how his parents even had such a sword. But, maybe more importantly, how they had that other item inside of it that he was saving forter. ''Inspect,'' ------------------------------------- ?????? (you chose a name, idk- note, Avilia) A well-crafted evolving sword of demonic origin and unseen potential. +150 strength +50 agility +50 intelligence +50 endurance +50 mind Special effect: +15% demon energy control Special effect: +15% demon energy power Special effect: +15% mana energy control Special effect: +15% mana energy power Special effect: Along with demon energy, the user of the de can infuse it with one element the user possesses. Next special effect: LOCKED ------------------------------------- Moby''s eyes grew wide, almost popping out of their sockets. He knew the sword was impressive just by looking at it yet seeing the stats only added on to what he felt before. ''Avilia, do you know or feel anything about this sword?'' There was a moment of silence before Avilia finally spoke. ''Those engravings are 100% written in demonnguage, and this sword is 100% made performed with demon crafting methods¡­ Those dragon engravings might be either a hint or just a coincidence.? It''s fairly weakpared to the strong des I can craft but, just like you said, its potential and craftsmanship are indeed impable¡­ This is no ice stick that''s for sure¡­ But, you should be just about strong enough to wield it. To be honest, If your parents were the craftsmen I don''t know. Seeing how they had my ne I''m not surprised that they would also have something like this. But, it seems like it''s possible they meant it for you since no one would have known it was here without eyes of sin. I guess they must have somehow known that you and I have joined forces by now.'' What Avilia said did not seem like much, but in his year of knowing her she had never spoken about a weapon other than the top ones she could make in such high regard, so it was very much a big deal. And, as for the information about his parents, it was all spection just like before. He already considered the possibility of them being demons or dragons, this only added to that suspicion. ''Oh, and that second item, it''s exactly what you think it is. But, if you want to use it now orter is up to you. At this point, I''m not surprised they had it but it sure did save you a lot of time instead of going out to look for it,'' The item was a simple red, sphere-shaped pill the size of a pea and consuming it might change him beyond recognition. And, seeing how Jayden was with him he was definitely not going to risk eating it right now. He felt strongly about absorbing it when he found it before but now that it was in front of him, he was having second thoughts. Yet, he had not forgotten the promise to himself to do it and he promised it once more that he will go through with it very soon. But, for now, he put that thought to the back of his mind and stored the pill in his inventory before Jayden could notice it, not that she knew what it was. Right now, what was more pertinent to Moby was seeing what else was in the box. Like some sort of letter or even a secret message from his parents. He lifted the de out of the box and ced it on the floor as he looked closely with his energy sense and eyes of sin at every inch of it, seemingly like a crazy person frantically looking at nothing. "Nothing¡­ Why aren''t my parents giving me any information!? What''s the point of putting this here for me¡­ It''s cool but I''m tired of being left in the dark by them! I need to know!" He mumbled to himself in defeat, cing the box down back on the ground as heid down and stared up to the dojo ceiling. That was when a shadow was cast on him from above. It was Jayden''s smiling figure. She lifted his head and ced him on herp. "Don''t worry about it. I''m sure they left something for you somewhere¡­" "Yeah¡­ I know¡­" He smiled back at her. "But this just gets frustrating¡­? Who gives a present with no apanying letter?" "Don''t worry about it!" Sheughed at his remark. "Maybe the letter is just somewhere else and you''ve yet to find it! I wouldn''t get too paranoid. That''s a cool ass present! What you should be focusing on is that katana! That sword looks sick! It might be near a god-tier item! What can it do!? Show me! Does it have a name!?" "It has no name, but I''ll name it God''s Bane. Pretty fitting isn''t it?" Moby''s own expression suddenly turned up, smiling at Jayden as he lifted his head off herp and picked up his new katana, feeling immense power flowing through his veins, it almost felt overwhelming. He almost felt like he was going to pop, no wonder Avilia said he was ''just about strong enough to wield it'', she was not kidding. However, for the power, he felt the strain was more than worth it. And, he sure as hell did not show that pain in front of Jayden as to not worry her. "Here it goes¡­" Both hands on his hilt, he closed his vision and imagined ice being infused into his sword along with demon energy. And, when he did, he opened his eyes to see a me of demon energy glowing out of the ferocious sword that gave off a purple, chilly air. It was amazing, he had never felt so powerful wielding a weapon in his life. Yet, the trade-off was he was not able to maintain it for long as the stress and strain on his body increased as well. So, in the end, he only managed to get one sh in before his body could take it no more. "Wow! That was awesome!" Jayden cheered, shivering from the side-line. It seemed like that one sh did more than he expected¡­ "Hahaha! Thanks!" He scratched the back of his head casually before he once again spoke. "This is a training dojo isn''t? Why don''t I give you some free lessons on the way of the blissful demon while I''m at it? I''m nowhere near as good as my parents but I think I''ll manage." "WOW! FREE LESSONS! That''s so nice of you! But sadly, I don''t use the katana¡­ "Don''t worry, we teach daggers too!" Time flew by as Moby and Jayden trained, almostpletely forgetting about the party that they were supposed to be at. The entire time, Moby used his new katana as a training stick. Simply holding it was hard enough for him let alone swinging it. So, it served to be rather good stress training for him. The time was now 5:00 am and they only noticed it due to the sounds of the barking stray animals outside. That was when they decided to say goodbye to the dojo with sad eyes, once again locking the door for the foreseeable future before they returned to the empty mansion where they received a lecture from Mason himself. All the guests had long left and they were nowhere to be found. However, he could not get too mad at them and if anything, the guests seemed to only cheer them on when Mason told them where they had run off to. That was when Mason began to ask inquiries about what they were up to, including potential inappropriate actions that they of course denied doing, making Masonugh. The day was still young and there was still much to be done and discussed about. And, the top of the priority list was informing Nags and Ray about how he was noting back to visit them even once. Although he had done it twice now, it was never easy to break the news. But, luckily, this time, he had Jayden by his side for support. ''Hey, guys! How''s it going!'' ''Boss! It''s you! You just up and left us yesterday¡­ I hope you two had fun on your date¡­'' ''Yep! It was fun indeed!'' Moby did not deny it as heughed before suddenly bing serious. ''But, that was not why I called you now¡­ I have to tell you something very important¡­'' The air fell silent, no one speaking a word before Moby continued. ''For elite school, I won''t be able to contact you guys at all, or visit. Maybe mind-link would work but I''m not sure¡­ This might be thest time we talk in a year or possibly even more¡­'' As Moby finished his words, the silence and tension in the air somehow multiplied, as he could probably guess what those two were feeling... ''Y-you for real?'' Chapter 293 - Final Goodbyes...

Chapter 293: Final Goodbyes...

The next few days went by as usual, and Moby used them to do all the important stuff before he had to leave, which included a good mix of hardcore training and spending time with his loved ones. It was to the point where he did not even sleep, which was no big deal considering he was a demon. There was no room for sleep after all. Yet, although he liked to believe and act like things were still normal, he knew it would neverst and so did the people around him. Avoiding gloomy, slightly awkward moods was almost impossible. And, the height of it was during hisst day there. *Argg¡­* Moby grunted, stretching his tired eyes awake after his first-ever nap of the week. He woke up to a velvety blue ceiling in afortable bed,pletely naked under the sheets. To his side was a naked Jayden, her sexy curves on full disy, sleeping loudly like a bear in hibernation yet he could not help but also find it rather cute and attractive. He smiled, slowly getting out of bed and swiping his hands to fully dress himself using his inventory, making sure not to wake Jayden up. Looking around, he noticed he was in Jayden''s personal room in her own mansion and quietly but quickly exited the door to do his daily quest and take his shower beforeing back to see her already awake, getting ready to leave. They chose not to take their morning breakfast and simply exited the mansion with everything prepared in storage rings and their inventory, going towards the Griffith family mansion with the butler. There, they noticed everyone was there waiting for them at the dining hall, it was no party, just simply all the people that he knew, including general Ryker that seemed to have brought HikariYami along with him. "Hey, high general Ryker, do you think I''m also gonna be well known and famous with the elites?" "Well, you were on national television and received a medal of honour young man," he replied,ughing. "I would be surprised if no one knew you up there!" "I don''t know if that''s good or bad¡­" "Oh! I wouldn''t worry about it! I have faith in you! We all do! Just show them your might ande back to us safely as hardened elites! Make our school and country proud! That goes for you too youngdy!" "Yes! Of course sir!" Hikari smiled brightly, eating another bite of her rather small breakfast. There, they all had breakfast and casually conversed amongst each other, trying to avoid the gloomy situation to have a more yful, upbeat conversation. Everything that had been talked about had already been addressed prior, speaking about the situation would add nothing but anxiety. Everyone on the table knew that both Ryker and Mason were not exactly on good terms with each other even now yet they managed to somewhat get along, which was slightly off-putting as they did not know if it was an act or not. Moby, who sat next to Nags, Ray, and Jayden could not help but notice HikariYami taking subtle nces at him from the other side of the room. Yet, it seemed like he paid it no heed. It was now 10:00 am and there was no more real-time, they had to go, yet Moby could of course not forget about one important person. He went to the only red door in the entire mansion and said his final goodbyes to Abby, who cried in his arms before smiling and telling him good luck, both she and Alucard with a regretful look on her face that hurt Moby more than he expected. Altogether, they took a limousine that fit all of them and went to some massive military base, the main one for country Z and where the teleporters to elite school were safely guarded. The outside had fairly mild security, allowing named people to enter and visit whenever they needed. However, it was certain areas on the inside that harboured most of the security. Altogether, they exited the car at the foot of the building and they could not help but admire its grandeur. It truly put into perspective how much power the military held. The building spanned for what looked like a kilometre in both directions. It was made out of white quartz along with certain blue gemstones and opaque ss giving the building a futuristic vibe. "This is it, I''m really going to miss you guys¡­" Moby took a deep breath looking at the long flight of stairs ahead of him before turning towards his family with shaky eyes. It was hard to keep things civil and calm the entire time, especially now at a moment like this. And, without even knowing it, they all hugged him at once. "Moby, I''ve been working on a present for you¡­ A personal invention of mine¡­ I put a storage ring in your pocket¡­ I hope you like it¡­" "Show them who''s boss¡­ Boss¡­" "Stay strong and don''t you forget about me¡­" He heard their voices enter his head all at once before, in what only felt like a split second then went away leaving only him and Jayden who kissed him passionately on the cheeks. And, part of him could not help but feel a slight look of envy stare at him from behind. "Thanks for that guys¡­" He smiled as hints of water began to well up in his eyes that he swiped away, looking at his friend''s twitchy smiles and tear-filled eyes. He only wished that one more person was there to fill out the team. However, he knew fully well that it was not possible. He turned around to face Ryker and HikariYami who seemed to be waiting for him. Yet, before he even spoke a word, he felt another painful p to his back. "Go get ''em, tiger! Show them what I taught you!" "Geeeezz! Do you know how to hold back gramps!?" "I was holding back! Is that how you talk to your master?!" Heughed, smacking him again even harder until he tumbled to Ryker''s side. "And, you better not be ogling other girls while you''re there¡­ Or else you will be getting paid a visit from me personally¡­" Mason leaned in and whispered thest part, making Moby nervously smile and nod with a slight chuckle. "Yeah¡­ Don''t worry about it¡­ Gramps..." Ryker smiled at what happened and looked at the two teens to his side, one taking nervous peeks at the other. "Well, we''re now off! Let''s go!" As all three of them were going up the stairs, he could not help but shake away an ominous feeling from someone or something below him¡­? However, those thoughts were brief and were immediately followed byughter, as Moby could not help but chuckle picking up on the soundsing from below. "DAD! Why are you threatening my boyfriend!" "Wait! You heard that!?" "Yeah! Of course, I did! You couldn''t have been louder!" "B-but" Yet¡­ His smile did notst for long¡­ In the middle of the mayhem happening underneath, he heard a voice that he never expected to hear in a million years¡­ "MOBY! I CAME TO SEE YOU OFF! I-I couldn''t stay at home knowing I will never see you for a long time¡­ I could never be able to forgive myself¡­ I just came here to say¡­ I really do love you! You really mean a lot to me but I know that you have to go¡­ Alex and I really wish you the best of luck!" "A-Abby?" Moby mumbled, his eyes out in disbelief¡­ It was undoubtedly her voice, and when he turned around he saw exactly what he expected yet almost didn''t want to believe. It was indeed Abby, her messy bed hair on full disy, her face looking both bright and half-dead at the same time with an endless stream of tears running down her face from her shaky, crimson red eyes. Behind her was a ck car with a servant in the driver. She wore her usual reddish dress that looked more like what one would see in a hospital, standing strong with her hands to her side. Moby''s shock was beyond unquantifiable. She actually left her room¡­ And not only her room but the entire house and drove¡­ It was more than she ever did for thest year. Why¡­ Why now had she done this? Why must she do this when he had to go¡­ He felt conflicted, happy that she was doing better, and sad that he won''t be there for her anymore, and the pain leaving her will cause her. Was that what it took to take her out of herfort zone? Taking away something or someone she relied on? Moby thought that he cried for thest time that day yet here were the waterworks welling up in his eyes once more looking at Abby''s figure. "Thank you foring here! It really means a lot! More than you think actually¡­ I may not be here for you now. But I''m sure Jayden and everyone else here will! They are great people! Trust me! Like I told you, you two were best friends at one point... It shouldn''t be too long! Only 1 year! And hopefully, by then, Ie back here and see all of you doing better than ever! This is my final goodbye! Thank you, Abby¡­ and thank you all for everything¡­" His voice rang out to everyone below him who looked at his crying figure, before he turned his back and entered through the automatic front doors of the building as he heard a subtle screaming from behind him¡­ "MOby don''t lea¡­" Chapter 294 - Beginning of a new Chapter

Chapter 294: Beginning of a new Chapter

Moby''s figure stepped in those automatic scanning doors with a contrasting expression, a deep smile yet with watery eyes. He looked up to see the entire inside of the building. It was much smaller than he expected yet far more futuristic-looking with all the robots and the electrical flowing designs on the walls and floors. There, in front of one of the desks in the distance, he saw Ryker and HikariYami waiting in line behind one of the reception desks. There, he once again took a deep breath and steeled his resolve. From here on out, there was no looking back, there was only moving forward. He wiped the tears from his eyes and brought his face back into a natural position before jogging towards the other two that were supposed to be with him. And, by the time he arrived, it seemed like Ryker had already finished all that was necessary. "Okay, We''re all set. Let''s go, follow me," There, as they walked through the wide, expansive hallways of the white and blue building, he heard nothing but the sound of footsteps, light whispers and machinery scanning. He finally had time to clear his mind, ponder and think to himself. And, as he let his mind drift, itnded back on Abby''s words that at first made him smile yet on further inspection, made him slightly nervous about one line. ''I love you¡­'' His mellow eyes immediately shot out wide. What if Jayden misunderstood what she meant by that?! What if she now thought that every time he went to see Abby, it was not to talk, but for s¡­ He was too much in shock to even finish that thought. Instinctively, he tried to open a mind-link with her to clear the potential misunderstanding. Although he knew it would be a rather awkward conversation after the heartfelt goodbyes they had, he still felt it necessary. Yet, when he tried to do it, it would not work¡­ There seemed to be antimunication crystals in the building. That was when he tried a trick up his sleeve that might work¡­ He tried to open a small dimensional shift, that was usually solely meant for teleportation, and use it to send his mind-link through to a marked location outside, yet, it also seemed like dimensional magic and abilities were either severely weakened or disabled within the building. Reaching her was impossible it seemed¡­ He once again took a deep breath to calm himself down, and just hope he can establish contact soon enough and that Abby in her state would be sensible enough to clear up the misunderstanding. But, would that even be possible? If this base had this much security, he imagined the school might be even worse¡­ The hallways around him seemed more like a maze or abyrinth. Nearly everything looked the same and the only distinguishing features were room numbers and hallway numbers. And, after walking for about five minutes, they finally reached the main area of the building and the silence was immediately reced by chatter. The sight gave him shbacks of the teleporter hub tower; robots, transport rails, and teleporters were as far as the eye could see, there were even restaurants on the side for soldiers to eat and converse, various gates on all the floors that were clearly seen since this middle section of the building possessed no roof to be heard of. Yet, there seemed to be no time to fully admire the grandeur of the building as Ryker followed a certain path to a teleporter that led him to one of the top floors, getting noticed and saluted by his fellow soldiers along the way almost like a celebrity. ''Floor 52¡­'' It was one of the top floors, and it was a known fact that the higher one went, the more important it was meant to be. It was a floor reserved for elite school teleportation and rarely used after all. The entire floor was nk, other than one, massive hallway that most likely led to the teleporters, and that was exactly where they went. The hallway was dark, lit by dim blue lights. They began to hear frail beeping sounds with slight tingles on their skin that seemed to do nothing. It felt like it spanned forever, but, for some reason, as soon as it started, they already found themselves at the exit. It was a fairly small room with only two people inside of it, both wearing military uniforms with a hardened look on their face, their uniform disying their ranks, the man being a rank of captain and the woman a lieutenant. "High General Ryker!" He saluted, he along with the girl behind the desk, "It is an honour to meet you! I assume these two are heading to elite school today?" "Yes, they are, captain. They are my prized students, please take care of them for me. Sadly I can''t stay here for much longer, I have other duties to attend to," "Yes, I can imagine¡­ A man as important as you are must be constantly busy. I promise to do all that I can sir!" "Good," He nodded at the man before turning around, putting his hands on both Moby''s and HikariYami''s shoulders as he whispered with a smile on his face," Good luck¡­" before he turned around and left through where they first came. "Greetings future elites! I am captain Schneider! And this is my trusty lieutenant Martha," He pointed at her, making her bow. "I''ve heard a lot about you two! And, I''m rather impressed! I know you all have been informed about everything along with all the rules of Elite school. However, under the rules I must do it again¡­ And, it seems like you both have your old school watches intact. Martha, can you please take them off and rece them with the new ones?" "Yes sir!" "The new watches will function nearly identical to the old ones. Even at elite school, the military must follow the privacy policy so we don''t go around stealing family secrets and techniques. The only difference and boundary that is pushed now is that we will be able to track you anywhere within the school premises. Oh, and now the watches go off when someone is severely injured, and not just killed. We don''t need any violence, or god forbid, killing at this school. You all are the future of our. We can''t afford anything like that." "The only fights allowed in here are organized fights set up with the watches. It needs two consenting parties and the watch will start beeping when on the losing end when a fighter is too injured to fight, continuing the fight after that will warrant security." "Communication is enabled on the watch only for your fellow schoolmates, any other form ofmunication is banned and I will be checking your clothes and storage rings very shortly." "Oh, and the watches can also read power levels up to 100,000 before bing useless, but considering everyone can simply suppress their power levels at will, it won''t be that useful other than for your personal use¡ª most people just have it reading the time anyways." "Do you have any questions concerning the watches?" They both stood silent, taking in everything that was just revealed to them, not asking any questions. "Okay, and I will now be going over the rules! First off¡­" Moby pretty much nked out and began training some of his skills and magic while listening to what he knew was going to be almost ten minutes of non-stop talking about small, petty rules. Yet, he did leave one ear open just in case something new was revealed. After he finished his speech, the two new watches were installed on their hands, their clothes and storage rings were emptied and searched finding nothing suspicious. They were all scanned once more and got their picture taken to receive their new student cards, and now they were standing in front of the massive blue teleporter, ready to say goodbye to earth for a full year, in a ce filled with rich elites where he knew absolutely no one¡­ He did not know what to expect other than from stories about how it used to be decades ago so it might have been far different now for all he knew. "Don''t forget! The first thing you need to do is look on the massive board to find your ss!" He heard a voiceing from behind him as soon as he was about to step in. "Yes, we know sir! Thank you for caring!" Moby turned around and smiled before looking at the blue beam of energy ahead of him, taking a deep breath, looking at the smiling yet nervous HikariYami that seemed to be shaking too much to even move, looking at him with shaky eyes. ''Was she told horror stories about this ce or something?'' He inwardly sighed before holding her hands abruptly and walking into the light with her... Chapter 295 - Other Worldly School

Chapter 295: Other Worldly School

Now within the light, Moby felt an immediate jolt ravage his entire body, as he instinctively let go of Hikari''s hand. It was to be expected, and what next he expected was to appear at his destination slightly disoriented, however, that did not happen. When he opened his eyes, he found himself still engulfed in white light, a bright void all around him, Hikari still nervously to his side. Then, a voice from seemingly all directions emerged, one robotic in nature. And, what followed was a series of blue lights being scanned straight on him and the girl to his side. { Scan Complete! } { Students identified: Moby Kane, Hikari Yami, original name: Asakusa Hitomi } Instinctively, Moby raised an eyebrow. "Original name?" He mumbled to himself, only for the still nervous Hikari to instinctively shudder, like some sort of pain entered her heavily breathing body, taking a step away from Moby which he found to make absolutely no sense. However, before he could even speak, the robotic voice spoke once again. { Here are your student uniforms! Please wear them! } Suddenly, seemingly out of thin air, two pairs of clothing emerged, one clearly bigger than the other and meant for a man. He held it firmly in his hands. It had an odd texture, feeling both hard and soft at the same time. And, with a swipe of his hands, he wore the outfit, finding it to fit him exactly. It was a gray and elegant button-up shirt with a few metallic, intricate silver and golden designs with a white shirt underneath it, the pants and shoes were perfectly matching his top and fit snugly around his waist, not too tight and not too loose. With a grin, still, in the white void, he began stretching, jumping and attacking the air, getting a feel for the new uniform that he would probably be wearing every day. He felt empowered. It felt almost like he was wearing nothing, it was unlike anything he had worn before; far better than his previous uniform that was for certain. Yet, he could not help but notice Hikari once again, nervously holding her student uniform with shaky hands, not putting them on. "Hey, are you okay?" Moby spoke, trying to check up on her. However, despite his efforts, all she did was grumble and look away like a little child. Nevertheless, eventually, she spoke. "I''m sorry¡­ I''m a mess¡­ I''ve never done anything like this before¡­ I-I-I-I just can''t..." Moby took a small pause, thinking before responding. "Is it your mouth? Does this uniform cover your mouth?" There was a small silence, neither one of them speaking a word as she spoke once more, almost as though she was crying. "Yes¡­ K-kinda¡­ That''s part of it¡­ I-I don''t want t-" "Give me that!" "W-wha-" "I said give me your uniform!" Hikari slowly turned around with tears in her eyes, bowing before handing over her uniform. "O-okay big brother¡­" With a smile, Moby grabbed the uniform out of her hands and spoke. "Now turn around, and don''t look back until I say so. Okay?" "Okay¡­" She was unsure why he was doing what he was doing, yet she did as she was told, like she had some sort of underlying trust. And, not even a few secondster, Moby''s voice rang out in her ears. "Done! You can turn around now," And, almost like it was a surprise birthday present, there in his hands was still her uniform, yet it looked custom modified with a bigger peak on the shirt allowing it to fully cover her mouth. She was unsure how it even happened, yet she was beyond ecstatic. "Here you go! Is this better?" She started crying once more, which made Moby slightly nervous. "Hey! Don''t cry! I''ll fix it! I didn-" "I love it¡­ Thank you so much, big brother¡­" She grabbed the uniform out of Moby''s hands and immediately put it on, finding it to be perfect as she jumped up and down like a little child until the robotic voice once again snapped her back into reality, making her nervousness return. { You have finally reached your destination! Wee, to the Alexander Davis School of Elites! } ''Took long enough... Was this teleportation process just for show or is this actually that far away?'' Moby thought to himself, as he prepared for another wave of slight disorientation. Once again, their vision was engulfed in a bright, white light, and the next thing they knew, they were both in a wide, open room standing on one teleporter respectively. Their vision was slightly hazy yet everything then quickly came into view. They were in a wide, expansive room made out of ck metal, purple energy flowing through cracks like circuits, reflecting off the metal, giving the room a slight purple shine and tint. Students of all ethnicities from all over the world were as far as the eye could see, wearing simr uniforms to what they were given, a fair mixture of boys and girls with a hardened expression on their faces. One by one, all around them, they appeared on the teleporters and followed through to the clear, wide-open exit leading to the light of the outside, staying a fair distance from one another as to not touch. The atmosphere was beyond serious and tense. Despite the immense amount of students in the room, the chatter was nearly non-existent. The only thing that entered his ears was the sound of footsteps and machinery. Everyone around him was around his same age, yet the power he felt from them was that of children their age at all¡­ Every single one of them possessed question marks when he would try to inspect them. It was clear now why Jayden was not good enough toe with him¡­? It was not to say that he felt inferior to any of them, he simply felt like he fell in line with the rest, which was something he had never felt ever since his first few days of military school. He took a deep breath and marched forward, trying to blend in with the crowd for now. Still, he could not help but notice that something was missing¡­ or more like someone... Hikari was not to his side, she was still standing on the teleporter, trembling with wide-open eyes like she had seen a ghost and had a heart attack at the same time. ''Shit!'' Moby inwardly cursed. The teleporters were still in use and she might get in trouble if she stood on it for too long. He hated to do this, especially in front of so many people but he went back and held her hands, forcing her into the crowd with him. He wanted to ask her what was going on with her, yet, he did not want to stand out more than he already did, considering the quiet atmosphere of the area¡ª he was already attracting a few gazes his way after all, either from her or his reputation. He was unsure if he had already been recognized. She was usually very outgoing and upbeat in her light side. Why was she acting like this now of all times? And why not just switch to her dark side if this was bringing her so much pain and hardship? He looked down at Hikari who was reluctantly walking behind him and let go of her hands, which made her heart seemingly nearly stop. But, that was when she felt an invisible tug on her palms, bringing her ever so forward. It was odd, there was nothing in front of her yet there was a warm hand tightly sped around her tiny fingers. And, it all led back to Moby, who was probably trying to help her. She took a deep breath. She had been trying to get over her fears and seeing how much Moby was trying to help her only pushed her even harder, although it was not enough for her to even halfway ovee it. As they both exited what seemed like the teleporter building, their new world came into view¡­ They were all in a tunnel, clear ss around them, and under them a transparent moving walkway taking them at breakneck speed towards something bright and massive ahead. Throughout the past year, Moby had seen various differents on his XP farming and hunting journeys, but none of them couldpare to what he was seeing in front of him. The sky was mostly pitch ck yet had other colours mixed in from different sections such as purple and orange. The sky clearest he had ever seen, stars glowing brighter than they ever could on earth. Around him were endless expanses of gray rock and mist with a bright white light shining in the horizon. In the sky, there was a small white star acting as the new sun, along with other objects floating around. There were two extremely massive others, or possibly even moons. One of them was cracked with a massive hole in it, chunks of space rocks flowing out of that massive hole that looked like someone took a bite off of it. And, up straight ahead of them was their destination¡­ It seemed like a quiet city, yellow lights flickering from it, buildings of all sizes looking rather futuristic sprouting from the ground like trees. Around it was a slightly clear, bright white bubble engulfing like a defensive barrier. It was truly a marvel to look ating ever so closer to it. Still, that was not what his eyesnded on at first... What was truly eye-catching was the one building, a one ck and imposing, looking like a mixture of a castle and a futuristic battle station, a massive tower growing from the center of it that pierced through the clouds and reached the edges of the white, semi-clear bubble engulfing the area, making the city underneath it look more like pebbles inparison. ''Is that¡­ THE SCHOOL!?'' Chapter 296 - Beef

Chapter 296: Beef

Moby stood quietly on the moving walkway still taking in everything around him. The walkway was moving so fast that what felt like ages away now was in his face, making him stare at the glowing city below him. That was when he felt a small tug on his legs as they were about to reach their destination. And, when he looked down, it was Hikari just like he expected, a mixture of nervousness and fright on her face. He was so confused on why she was acting in such a way, he wanted to ask her but with the quietness of everything around him, that would only make him stand out even more. For now, he simply had to deal with it. He chose to ignore her, taking a deep breath as they entered a tunnel most likely leading towards that massive building they saw in the distance. The tunnel showed various lights of different colours, along with the g of every single country in the world before they all exited onto a metal tform. And, in front of them were the massive front gates of the school that led to that same building they saw from very far away. The sight was truly grand, even the clearly rich and arrogant kids around him could not help but stop and stare at the building with their breaths almost taken. That was when he noticed another tug on his legs, snapping him out of his moment. If he said that he was not getting annoyed he would have been lying, but for both her own and his sake, he had to endure. The next wave of students wasing in and he had to move out of the entrance and enter the school. He left Hikari behind yet used his devil''s hand to once again chug her along with him without grabbing any more attention his way. As he stepped through the front gates, he noticed that the ground underneath his feet changed from its previous ck metal to what seemed like normal, orange rock that could be found anywhere on earth. As he walked, he looked around him and found the massive bulletin board that was in in sight, and was probably where the sses were listed. As he and Hikari strode through the front yard, or more like expanses of the school, he could not help but notice the other students around him. The area was still fairly quiet. Most of them were all alone, reserved, keeping to themselves; they were all in an unknown ce where they knew no one, and knew no one around them''s strength after all. It was a ce ofpetition and they did not want to make enemies so early on. However, there were already people on the other side of the spectrum, choosing to be as outgoing as they can, conversing in groups to make new friends and potential allies. It was truly ck and white. Moby belonged to the former. He did not want to go out and talk to new people since he found it hard to trust people like them. The only person he can rely on and somewhat trust in this new environment was HikariYami, and that was why he had to make her keep him on his good side. Yet, after they found their sses, he did n on talking to her about her odd behaviour. As he walked by, he could not help but notice sparse nces his way. They were so faint to the point that he could barely detect them. Yet, he knew what he felt. He expected as much from a student body filled with people around his level and higher. After what felt like an eternity of walking, he finally reached the massive crowd around therge bulletin board that had all of the students'' names electronically etched on them in alphabetical order which made it easy to find. ''Moby Kane¡­ ss 3-E¡­'' He mumbled in his head, taking a mental note. And, while he was at it, he also found what Hikari Yami''s ss was, finding it to also be 3-E, which was quite fortunate and extremely lucky. When he looked at her to see her expression, her nervousness was slightly fading away and was reced by a smile, like it was a hurdle she had been scared of yet finally overcame. He looked at his watch and noticed the time, [9:09 am], which was 6 minutes away from the starting event, enough time for him and Hikari to converse about her odd issues. Luckily, even in the midst of the crowd that most likely noticed who he was, nobody approached him. Nobody seemed to be stupid enough to start a fight on the first day of school and give themselves a bad reputation, especially with all the staff wat¡ª "Hey cunt! I''d recognize your face anywhere! You''re Moby Kane! The kid that the news wouldn''t stop sucking off! I had a feeling I''d find you here!" The sudden shouting drew everyone''s attention towards them, making a circle form around them with clear whispers from the crowd from people who recognized his name. Luckily, Hikari was not caught in the mess and was watching from the crowded sidelines with open eyes. There, in the middle of the circle were two men, one of whom being Moby. The other man was of simr stature, his lean muscles seen from his student uniform, his short, orange hair looked slick yet messy at the same time and his moderately handsome face bore a smile like that of an excited predator. "Should I know you?" Moby spoke with a sigh, clear annoyance on his face. "No, I don''t expect you to know me¡­ BUT! That doesn''t stop me from introducing myself! I''m Rigrit Oswald. That''s all you need to know¡­ And, I am here to put you in your ce!" From his attitude and demeanour, it was very hard to know who he was and what was his ranking in society. At times he seemed like a rich noble, and at others, he seemed like a country bumpkin, a poor kid, or possibly even a fellow orphan... "Hmmm?" Moby raised an eyebrow. "Why is that? Do you have something against me? Is it because seeing an orphan from a poor family like me thrive and go big ces in life makes your blood boil? Or, is it something else? So many people at my old school were simply jealous of my fame and wanted to beat me to bring me down and push themselves up. So, tell me, Rigrit. Are you jealous too?" Yet, as soon as Moby finished his speech, he heard a loud *Ding*ing from his watch. And, as he looked down, he noticed what was written on its screen. [ Student Rigrit Oswald has challenged you to a 1 vs 1 duel. Weapons are allowed and time limit is 3 minutes. ] "I don''t feel like answering for myself! Just ept the duel and let''s let our fists do the talking!" "But, you said weapons are allowed..." "You know what I mean! Just ept the damn duel pussy!" The crowd around them was quiet, yet the whispers became more and more frequent, with looks of excitement on their faces. "I refuse this fight!" Moby''s answer seemed to have caught everyone by surprise. "WHY!? Are you really a pussy then!?" Moby bore a look of calmness despite his opponent''s outrage, yet, he could not vail his annoyance to the ones with a keen eye. "I don''t care, call me a pussy all you like. But, think about it like this¡­ I know nothing about your powers or ability, and you know everything about mine since I was on national TV. How would that be a fair fight? Knowledge is key in battle. And besides, I think starting a fight on the first day of school is not a good idea." The crowd that was previously in outrage suddenly realized the circumstances of the fight, even though many of them were in understanding before. It all made sense after all. "W-why you!" In that instant, Moby felt pulses of energy emerge from Rigrit''s body. ''What the hell!? Is he really about to attack me!?'' He thought, instinctively taking up a defensive stance, ready for whatever unknown attack was going toe his way. Yet, that was when a massive gust of wind erupted from out of nowhere, and in the next instant, there was someone else in that circle surrounded by the crowd. He seemed almost like an angel swooping in from heaven, his grace was immacte. Hended with two feet on the ground, around his same height and a hand tightly grabbing Regrit''s shoulders. "Calm down boy, now is not the time for this¡­ The opening event is about to start¡­" His soft, almost child-like face was white as snow, bearing a handsome, almost shining glow. His golden eyes were keen and bore a certain radiance and calmness to his look. His short hair waspletely silver, not from age but as a natural colour, flowing nicely to the bottom of his eyes. "Let go of me pu-" Rigrit roared before meeting the man''s golden gaze, with slight sweat running down his face, knowing at a simple nce that he was no match. "Tch! Fine! You''re saved this time Kane¡­" He scoffed and walked away, shaking the man''s grip from his shoulders, the crowd making a path for him. ''Who is this guy?'' Moby thought, extremely interested in the man ahead of him. When he tried to listen in on the crowd around him for insight they seemed to be just as confused as he was. Many people here seemedpletely unknown due to their families hiding their identities and secrets for elite school and he seemed to be no different. "Hey! Thanks I guess but you really didn''t have to do that. He was really no threat to me," That was when their gazes met, and Moby felt a small jolt and an odd feeling in his stomach and lurched heart looking into his golden eyes¡­ He did not know what it was or how to describe it, it was not fear. It was something unlike he ever experienced in his life¡­ And, just as quickly as the man came, he also left, jumping up from the crowd like a sh with a deep sigh and a slight look of hatred. ''Avilia¡­ Did you¡­ Feel that?'' ''...'' ''Yeah¡­ I did¡­ My sensing powers have been really wonky ever since I was put in this ne, but there is definitely something off about that man¡­'' That was when their conversation was cut short by the school bell that echoed in all of their ears, followed up by the loud screaming of a womaning from the top of the school building, grabbing everyone''s attention to up above. "Greeting Students! I will be your new principal! Rayna Davis! And wee, to the Alexander Davis School of Elites!" Chapter 297 - Date in The City

Chapter 297: Date in The City

''Rayna Davis¡­ DAVIS!? Is that just a coincidence or is she rted to the great Alexander Davis himself,'' Moby thought before the woman above spoke once more. Her pitch-ck hair waved in the wind of the towering school, her smile was long and wide, showing her almost sharp, pearly-white teeth, her smile almost reaching up to her blood-red eyes that bore a glint of excitement. She wore a military coat of all white along with ck pants, not too tight and not too baggy yet enough for everyone to see her clearly voluptuous and endowed figure. On her arms was a red Katana unsheathed from its scabbard, hanging on her neck, her right leg stepping on the very edge of the building with her white boots. "Wee, to Ilios! Where you will be spending most of your time in theing year! I won''t be holding you kids off for long! I''m sure you''ve already heard all the rules so many times already that hearing it again would break your spirit! Today is the first day and is meant to be a happy day! So, you should enjoy it! You will have the entire day to yourself! I don''t care what you do! Screw around, train, explore the city, whatever! Just know that sses start tomorrow! You will be given your dorm rooms shortly! If you don''t want to deal with the BS of living with more than one person like in regr military school then you don''t have to! BUT! If you want to for some reason live with other people, please let a staff member know and we will set that up for you! Now! With that all out of the way, you kids are free! Go make some friends! scram! AND DON''T CAUSE TROUBLE ON THE FIRST DAY! OR ELSE! bye!" Rayna yelled out with an upbeat smile that still bore a hint of oddness and seriousness that shook everyone down to their very core. As soon as She left from the top of the roof, the entire crowd was silent, with wide eyes, sweat on their skin and their jaws almost to the floor. But, then suddenly, they began to talk, and seemingly all of them had the same thought in mind. "THAT''S OUR PRINCIPAL!?" She waspletely unlike any of them expected. Most likely, all of them, in their heads assumed her to be a serious, hardened warrior that was not tolerant of any joke. However, what they got was a hot, upbeat tomboy that seemed to like some fun but would not hesitate to tear their heads off at any moment''s notice. They were honestly not sure which was scarier¡­ For now, they all decided to follow orders, especially while they were the most watched on school grounds. Around him, he noticed the previously quiet crowd that kept to themselves were trying to start conversations with people, forming alliances and friends early on to survive in this warzone. Yet, Moby seemed to be disinterested. It was not like anyone would want a friend like him anyways, with his reputation, he would only bring them trouble. With a sigh, Moby strolled in the midst of the ncing crowd and reached the quivering Hikari. "Hey, do you want to go explore the city?" "..." There was a slight moment of silence as she looked up at him with shaky eyes. "Yes, that would be lovely¡­" Together yet far away, Moby using his devil''s hand, they walked out of the school grounds with seemingly no problems and used one of the various teleporters that led to the city below. The city was of average size and did not house normal people. In the city, nearly every single citizen belonged to the family of someone in the military. At times, the military would promise soldiers protection of their family in return for their service and this was where they were all sent, one of the most secure cities in the human empire, overseen by some of the strongest soldiers that resided in elite school. The citizens would there live a normal life, yet be sworn to secrecy if they ever wanted to exit. And, the city functioned as a ce for students to go, explore, rx, and have a normal life while they attended school. It benefited both parties. Knowing the identity of the people he will be seeing around him made Moby more self-aware of how he should speak and act. Not that he was going to act rudely anyways. However, he was certain he could not say the same about many of the arrogant students. Although most people in the school were fairly rich, for the odd expeditions, the school did give out some money for students to use in the city. There was also another currency system that Moby knew all too well also. One that he wanted to focus on since amassing enough points would allow him to purchase very specific things in the school which included information, armour, weapons, and more. Moby and Hikari both stepped on the teleporters and were immediately transported to the heart of the city that seemed indifferent to any other, shing lights, flying cars and towering skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. Yet, there were still the simple "mom and pop" shops and fairly quiet areas to be found all around. As they walked around in the streets, it was hard not to get lost in their unfamiliar environment. So, they resorted to using the GPS system embedded into their watches to navigate the city. As they walked, they could not help but notice how multicultural the city around them was. There were buildings of different styles and traditions on every corner and it was also reflected in the faces of the citizens and pedestrians, most of their faces being very different, just like all of the students at school. It was to be expected due to the military being a unified force yet it was still rather shocking to actually see. Eventually, their rather quiet yet loud journey led them to a restaurant that served drinks. It was in a more quiet area of the city and had a nice atmosphere under an umbre so it was a perfect ce to talk. There, at one of the tables sat Moby, an iced tea in front of him and a slightly less nervous Hikari, her feet not even reaching the ground from her seat, a lemonade in front of her. Moby had many things on his mind, including that golden-eyed white-haired man but, he decided to focus his entire attention on Hikari in front of him. "So, you wanna talk about why you''ve been acting like this?" Moby spoke, casually taking a sip of his drink before ncing at Hikari who was looking at the ground and waving her tiny legs. "T-to tell you the truth¡­ I''m- I''ve never actually been to school before¡­ I''ve never made any actual friends and I''ve been a social outcast my entire life¡­ The only real friend that I ever had other than you was my sister and Emilia who took me under her wing¡­ But, you know how that ended¡­ I did everything for the sake of our friendship and I found it so fun to do¡­ No one in the world mattered for me other than her and Yami...? She was the only person to ever show me kindness but it turned out that she only wanted me for my power¡­ Nobody really cares about me¡­ They all want me for my power¡­" She took a moment of pause before she nervously looked up at Moby with puppy eyes, twiddling her thumbs. "Moby... You don''t just want me for my power¡­ Right?" "Of course not! I like you for you! Not because of anything else!" Moby''s voice was firm yet he was lying through his teeth, such was the power of the poker face he had honed throughout his first year of school. "Thank you¡­ It''s been hard for me to trust anyone ever since Emilia¡­ I kinda hung onto you out of shock and desperation to not be alone but I''m d that I did," She looked up and smiled brightly. "Of course! You can always count on me!" Moby continued like it was nothing. Yet, he could not help but feel slight guilt. "You said that this is the first time that you ever attended school¡­ How is that?" Moby could not help but ask, which made Hikari take a deep breath and respond. "Well¡­ Throughout the school year, have you seen me other than when we first met and at the graduation?" "No¡­ I haven''t now that I think about it¡­" "That''s because the military was keeping me a secret¡­ Since I trust you, I''m gonna tell you everything... This is top secret... The only people that know about this are higher-ups in the military and Emilia Reid..." "Okay, thank you for trusting me," Moby nodded with a serious expression, making Hikari nod back and take a deep breath before she spoke. "I''m sure you''ve heard of demon children right? It was a rare condition that urred in every 1 in 100,000 babies¡­ It was a very real thing, I don''t really remember what happened, but, ording to my orphanage, as soon as my parents gave me my ability, they discovered I was a demon child and immediately put me up for adoption." As Hikari continued speaking, her voice began to be shakier and shakier and her eyes began to well up in tears. "And, for as long as I could remember, I was in Ringel''s Orphanage for the Special". Even amongst kids that were supposed to be just like me, I could not make any friends, only enemies. I was shunned, called a weirdo, and beat up every day with the caretakers not even batting an eye and looking at us like some animals. Not even the people who came to adopt a child took a second nce at me other than a look of disgust. I was all alone¡­? No one in life, nothing at all to live for¡­ I cried and cried and cried for days, months¡­ or was it years? I have no idea¡­ At that point, I had lost all perception of time¡­ That was when¡­" "..." She took a small pause, her tears now running down her face like a waterfall, taking a deep breath before she continued. "That was when the only shining hope in my life came¡­ Or, more like the endless abyss of darkness¡­ The person I care for and trust the most in the entire world¡­ Yami¡­ My sister¡­" Chapter 298 - Orphanage of The Wicked and Evil

Chapter 298: Orphanage of The Wicked and Evil

"One day, as I was having a tea party with the only people that wouldn''t berate me, my light puppets, Joshua, the tough kid at the orphanage came in and killed all of them right in front of my eyes, tore down my entire tea set and kicked me repeatedly on the ground with his little friends like a pack of wolfs piling up on a sheep. I had experienced simr things multiple times in the past but that was the moment that broke me and made me lose hope unlike any other." "I cried tears of blood from all the pain, I wanted to give up¡­ I wanted to end it all¡­ But, that was when she came¡­ It was almost like it was out of nowhere¡­" "In my darkest time, a voice appeared in my head,forting me and telling me that it''s going to be alright. No one, in my entire life for as long as I could remember had ever been this nice to me. I didn''t even know if it was real or not, if I was just imagining things, but after she took over my body and changed my appearance, I knew she was more than real¡­ She was my first ever friend, no, more like a sister¡­" "For the first time in my life, I was actually having fun, talking and sharing my experiences with another person who did not shun me. We yed games with each other all the time and I introduced her to all my other friends, the light puppets of course, and instead of making fun of me, she was more than thrilled to meet them. Those were some of the best memories I have¡­" "Yet, it all came with a downside, I was not able to share my new sister and best friend with all of the rest of the orphanage because I knew it was not normal and would only lead to trouble. So I kept her a secret." "Over the years, me and my sister, who Iter called Yami became really close, almost inseparable. I was still bullied and abused every day, but with her at my side, it was far more bearable." "Yet, that all could notst¡­" "One day, which just so happened to be my 8th birthday, Joshua and his goons noticed that I had been acting a little too happy for the past few days. So, he thought that it was his job to do something about that¡­ The orphanage threw birthday parties for all of the children there, and I was no different. That was when they would strike¡­" "In the main dining hall, we were all left unsupervised while all the staff were in the kitchen. And there, I was all alone against those demon children¡­ I had never been more scared in my entire life looking at their fake smiles and devilishughs¡­ And, in my dread, Joshua pulled out a knife¡­" "All of the kids ganged up on me and pinned me to the ground, as Joshua sat on top of me and repeatedly stabbed me on my face and body while he mocked, and screamed at me as I cried and begged for mercy. Yet, mercy was far from my grasp as all of the kids around him did nothing but stare like it was not their problem while others joined in andughed cheering them on¡­" "The pain was almost too much for me to handle¡­ Yet, I did not fight back or find the energy in me to do it as I continued crying and epted my fate¡­ That was when the staff walked in on them and they were all shocked to say the least¡­" "Although it had never happened before, for some reason, part of me thought that they would punish the children for what they had done to me¡­ But, now I realize I was being far too optimistic¡­ All they had to say was that Ished out at them first like a crazy person and they were only defending themselves¡­" "And¡­ Guess what? They actually fucking believed them¡­ hahahahaha¡­ Like they were some kind of angels instead of demons! Like they could do no harm as they were simply punishing the devil themself! Hahahahah¡­ ¡­" Hikari had a look of pure madness as she put her hands over herughing and crying face. "I couldn''t take it anymore¡­ It was too much¡­ more than ever before... I wanted to give up¡­ I wanted to end it all¡­ The memories are still fresh in my mind even to this day¡­ But, on that faithful day, my sister, Yami, had enough¡­ She had been sitting idly by through all of the torture for so long and she could take it no more¡­" "As I was pinned down to the ground, bleeding from every part of my skin, I suddenly stood up, with a pulse of ck energy flowing out of my body, my hair and eyes turning pitch ck from their previous white¡­ It was not me in reality, but my sister¡­" "She screamed and retaliated against the children and the caretakers who looked at her like she was some sort of demon. She screamed things like "How dare you do this to my sister," and "I will tear you to shreds from your insolence," But, all they were able to respond with were a mixture of 2 words as they tried to either kill her or cower in fear¡­ "Monster," and "Demon,"..." "She had enough¡­ And, in a fit of blinding rage, she went on a rampage, her burst of energy decayed and obliterated the entire orphanage along with every human and living being that resided in it like the insects and maggots they were¡­" "Through her eyes, I was able to see all the death and destruction, including all of the dead faces of the children and caretakers¡­ I was¡­ Happy¡­ You would not believe that pure bliss I felt seeing that look of horror and despair on Joshua''s face with my blood still fresh on his knife¡­" "But, as you can imagine, things did notst like that for long¡­ There were many pedestrians who were walking by the building at the time and witnessed all of it crumble. So, the police were called. And, before I or Yami even knew it¡­ We were knocked out and detained without getting a chance to retaliate¡­" Chapter 299 - The Ugly World

Chapter 299: The Ugly World

"When I woke up, I found myself in a metallic cell somewhere, tied up in a chair. And, by the time it took me to regain full consciousness and use of my body, I found there to be a man on the other side of the table." "I remember this exact scene almost like it was yesterday... It was a middle-aged blonde-haired man with a deep gaze that could damn well kill if he wanted to¡­ He sat with a pile of papers in front of him, his hands sped on the table with a serious expression. From his clothing, I could immediately tell he was a captain, which he revealed himself to be soon after anyways." "He was captain Conwell. By the time I woke up, he and his team had already done analysis on my body and investigated all there was at the orphanage and its destruction." "Looking at him at the time, I was filled with dread unlike any other, and deep down In my heart I knew it was over¡­ I was gonna die¡­ That was when Yami once again came to my rescue andshed out at the man without him even speaking a word. Yet, despite her efforts, she was not able to move out of the chair no matter how hard she struggled and raged it was all useless as the man stayedpletely calm, looking at us without speaking a word." "Eventually, even Yami''s mana had to run dry and she had to calm down, which was when the captain introduced himself and dropped the bombshell on us. Apparently, the military found me to be quite peculiar and interesting due to my power... They had deemed the destruction of the orphanage justified and they were willing to keep it all a secret and sweep it under the rug. And, in return, I would be kept safe and a secret in theirbs and training camps." "I was in no position to deny their request. There was never really an option, so I epted." "There, Yami and I withstood harsh training day in and day out, honing my abilities and skills to the limit. Other than those though, almost robotic instructors, Yami was all I had¡­" "My time training in the militarybs was not too bad if I''m being honest. I was properly fed, had some free time to y with my sister and didn''t get tortured every day by children who looked at me like a poop stain on the road, unless extreme training counted as torture." "There, for four years straight I had not spoken a single full sentence to anyone other than Yami that did not consist of simple answers like "Yes sir," and "Right away,". Being locked up from the outside world made the time go quickly as every day felt almost the same other than my time with my sister. It made me wonder about the mystery of the outside world¡­ What school was like¡­ And what is was to be a ''normal child''." "That was when one day, as I was training, I met a new face for the first time in seemingly forever. And, this time¡­ It was someone around my own age." "It was a small, red-haired girl and her family, looking at me from the ss of theb like I was some sort of wild animal locked up in a cage." "But, the girl bore a different look to that of her parents, one that was filled with great interest." "She talked to them from the other side of the ss , saying things I could not hear. And, before I knew it, there she was in the same room as me, looking at me with a smile." "Naturally, I was hesitant to talk to her¡­ I never really had the best experience with kids my age, or anyone for a matter of fact. But, after seeing the deadly glint in my instructor''s eyes, I gave in and talked to her." "At the time, I felt like it was the best decision of my life¡­ She was so kind and epting. Itpletely shattered my expectations of what people were actually like, other than Yami of course. I had made an actual friend." "She introduced herself as Emilia, and she woulde to visit every week from that day on. I introduced her to Yami and we yed so many games together. At first, they were not really on good terms, but after a little love and friendship from me, I managed to get them to get along." "Monday, the day she woulde to visit suddenly became the best day of the week. She gave me faith that humanity was not so bad after all. It made me think that my past experiences had been simply a flook due to me only knowing demon children." "Those four years were by far the best years of my life, and with me turning sixteen and finding out I would go to the exact same military school as my best friend, I felt like it was only going to get better." "I was so excited to meet new people, explore the outside world for the first time in my life and see all that I had missed out by being locked up in my prison." "However, I was thenter informed that I was too unstable to be left around other kids, and I would be kept a secret and taken in by the general of the military school and his special staff¡­" "I was devastated¡­ No, beyond devastated and Emilia was not there for me to talk to. But, after Yami cheered me up, I was more motivated than ever to see my dream through!" "As I was being escorted to school, I managed to fool the soldier escorting me with a light puppet in my figure and snuck into school¡­" "The sky was so blue, the clouds dancing were so beautiful, the way the people around me talked and had fun was fascinating. I went around and met everyone I saw and shook their hand. And no one mocked me or anything, all they did was smile and look at me cheerfully. It filled me up with so much joy. But, now I realize they probably only acted like that because of the number on my watch. Even still, my fun didn''tst for long and I was immediately escorted away and scolded by General Ryker himself." "From then on, my life pretty much went back to normal, my training was even harder and I was isted from everyone else. Although, this time I was allowed to go out every now and again to get some fresh air." "However, sometimes, I did sneak out and manage to trick my instructors to go hang out with Emilia. It was still so fun and I would have done anything for her at that time." "She then invited me to join her gang and I was introduced to so many cool and nice people like Nagsy, Jassy and so much more. But, that was when Yami really started to doubt and feel suspicious of Emilia, which at the time I thought she was jealous or something. But, now I know all too well how she was right¡­ I was just ignorant of so many things being locked up for so long..." "One day, I was called by her to capture her own sister or capture you and bring you to her while she was stuck at a party¡­ And, to keep our friendship, I of course epted with a smile on my face and chose to have fun while I was at it. That was around the time when we first met¡­ And you know the rest¡­ I captured your friend and that eventually led to the death of your other friend¡­ All due to my selfish and brainless desire to appease and satisfy someone, my best, childhood friend who I now found out was the enemy¡­ And, someone who couldn''t really care less for me all along..." "I''m so sorry... I don''t know if I can ever make it up to you for that... But, that doesn''t mean I can''t try my best..." "I was being used¡­ I may have been the puppet user, but I was the puppet who was being used and manipted for my power all along¡­" "You... You and Yami are the only people in the world left for me¡­ I can''t trust anyone else... I-if I found out that you were using me too and had been lying to my face¡­ I-I-I-I-I-I wouldn''t know if I would ever be able to trust anyone ever again¡­" Chapter 300 - New Ally

Chapter 300: New Ally

So... These were the events that shaped who she was today... It was quite tragic. However, it was not the first tragic tale Moby had sat down and listened to, far from it. Indeed, her story was interesting; it filled many holes and answered many previously unanswered questions yet brought up a few others. On the outside, he sat there with a serious expression, carefully taking in and analyzing every part of her story, like if she and Yami were one person split by trauma or two actual people in one body, if her ability was one ability split in two or jus two abilities, one for each sister, and, if Hikari was the original, or if it was Yami? Yet, on the inside, those were only a small part of his concerns, as his brain was spinning in high gear trying to formte an appropriate answer. Indeed, Moby was a demon, but he felt somewhat bad for her. He was the exact person she was describing, although admittedly slightly better. He did not simply see her as a tool, but as a valuable potential ally if enough trust was built. Even still, that did not change the fact that at first and even now he mostly only cared about her because of her strength and not who she was. If she were not as strong as she was now, he might have not even batted an eye in her direction. He was not so naive to take everything told to him at face value and was not about to let some sad backstory and tears hinder him too much. Other than the fact that she indeed did not properly attend school like every other student, was seen by some people on the first day like he heard in the whispers at school and, many of her actions and tendencies lined up pretty much perfectly, there was no proof that what she said was true. For all he knew, she might have just been trying to lower his guard with an borate and carefully nned sob story so he could sympathize with her. An easy check would have been to simply ask General Ryker, yet he was not sure when would be the next time he would ever be able to talk to him. Plus, he had still not forgiven or forgotten her contribution towards Alex''s death and Abby''s mental state and he was unsure if he ever will. Nevertheless, some part of him in his demon heart sympathized with the crying girl in front of him and felt her story to be truthful. From what he saw of her, she was slightly weird, but she was not at all a bad person, only a little naive and childish, justifiably so¡ª she seemed to genuinely care. She saved his life against that shalker thenter stayed up for days looking after him when he went unconscious. He began to think that if he turned her into a demon, would he truly see her as family and disregard the doubts and hints of contempt towards her? Would his good impressions of her be boosted and the bad be suppressed? It was part of his n after all, a n that he still felt like he should go through with anyways, especially considering that she was still bound by the demon contract to never share his secret with anyone. He just hoped all would end well and that Hikari had been genuine with him the entire time. "Hikari, even if I can''t fully forgive you for what happened with my friends, I care for you too. You''re so kind and did so much to help me. I know you can''t really help it after what you''ve gone through and I can''t me you, but Don''t let those negative thoughts get to you because a lot of the time it''s your own paranoia speaking. Don''t evenpare me and Emilia and put us both in the same boat! She absolutely disgusts me!" Moby spoke with a serious yet bright smile. Hikari in front of him sniffled lightly, a small simper appearing on her visage like light shining through cracks. "Thanks¡­" She mumbled in a low voice. "It really means a lot¡­" "From your story, I see why you were acting so shy and reserved, almost scared. Emilia, the shining hope in your life and proof that humanity was not so bad after all turned out to be aplete lie, and your doubts and fears had once again resurfaced. What you''re feeling ispletely natural. You''ve clearly learned a lot from your first time going to school and you recognize going around and greeting everyone when they are around our same level wouldn''t really end well." "Yes¡­ That''s more urate than you think¡­" "Well, that''s all the more reason we should stick together and watch over each other''s back. We should expect the unexpected in this new environment and be wary of anyone we meet. Luckily, we ended up in the same ss. Do you think this was Ryker''s doing?" Moby''sment made her subtle smile growrger as she chuckled through the lingering tears on her pale cherry face. "You know what¡­ It really might have been¡­ Was this also part of your promise old man? Honestly, if you and I weren''t in the same ss, I wouldn''t know what to do and might have given up early on," "Also, mind if I ask you something? If this is all so hard on you, why not let Yami take control for most of the time? I imagine she would have an easier time right?" "..." "Well, she might be too aggressive, start trouble, and make enemies early on, and, it might have ended badly considering she was not the apex predator anymore," As soon as Hikari finished her sentence, she almost seemed to have a smirk on her face, that was when her hair turned ck and her other self arrived. "NO! I know how to control myself when needed! That was all a joke! Tell him the main reason Hikari!" Yami retaliated, switching back to her sister as soon as she stopped talking. "He, he. Fine, fine! Although Yami''s temper was definitely a factor, it was not the MAIN reason. The main reason was that she wanted me to grow ustomed to environments like this, crowded, massive, dangerous, andpetitive. Many of these to you might seem like simple things in life but, to me, they are now more like an imprable wall," Sheughed once more, making a smile appear on Moby''s face seeing that she was doing better. "Yeah! I can imagine¡­ But, at least it must have been cool experiencing the world for the first time, not as a baby but as a teen. Maybe not cool, but rather unique¡­ Right?" "No! It really was cool! Trust me! After being locked up in a cell for your entire life and only seeing grey techy walls, everything seemed cool inparison!" For the next while, they were all uninterrupted as they ordered more food and simply chatted. The conversation never became dark or depressing like how it was before and stayedpletely upbeat. Moby gradually saw her break out of her nervous, shy shell and moderately revert to how she was before. It seemed like shepletely had zoned out everyone and solely focused on Moby. But, as soon as she noticed the crowds of people around her, her nervous demeanour began to slowly return which Moby could not help but tease her about. Then for the rest of the day, they both explored the area. It served to get a general map and feel of the city along with seeing some of the more important ces to keep tabs on. Not to mention, it was a good practice to help Hikari get out of her anxious habits. Luckily, they had not met a single other student on their journey. Yet, Moby could not help but shake off an odd feeling following him where ever he went. Before they even knew it, the time waste and they had to go to their dorms. They exited the city through the same teleporters and re-entered the dark, oddly empty school; it seemed like everyone else was going about their own business too. The boys and girls dorms were onpletely opposite sides of the school, and trespassing was not allowed for obvious reasons. So, Moby escorted Hikari as far as he could and tasked her with the mission of heading to her room all by herself. He was not too worried about her considering Yami was always watching her back. As he trudged back towards his own dorm room, he could not help but take a deep breath and smile at the wild ride he had experienced today, and what tomorrow, the true first day of school had to offer. He was happy to see her doing somewhat better. But, the true victory was that he managed to secure himself an ally in this warzone where he was undoubtedly the target of many people, which was clearly proven not even a few minutes after he entered school grounds. He knew he had to watch his back from many people, especially that white-haired man with the golden gaze. Now, before he even knew it, in front of him was the massive, mostly ck and lightly purple dorm buildings¡ª they seemed more like hotels than anything else. They were muchrger, more high-tech, and cleaner than the dorms were in his old school, which should havee as no surprise to him. He entered the quiet building and checked his watch to see what room he was in before he took the elevator up. It was not that he hated Ray''spany, but he was happy to know that he was going to finally have a ce all to himself. It was not like he wanted to share it with anyone here anyways. Not to mention, from the elegant yet futuristic designs of the walls around him, he could not help but feel excited to see what his new home was going to look like. "RM 139¡­" He mumbled to himself, taking the elevator and walking towards his room with slightly tired yet excited eyes. There, he stood face to face with his door. With a tired deep breath and a smile, he scanned his new military card and watched as the doors unlocked. He was d that there was a preparation day before the actual first day of school. He could not wait to rest and go to sleep. He had been sleep-deprived for weeks and the sex with Jayden the night before left him more tired than rested considering how wild it was. There, the door was unlocked, and as he slowly pulled it open, the entire room came into view and he noticed that the lights had already been turned on. Yet, that was far from the most surprising thing he noticed as he looked in front of him with beyond-shocked, wide-open eyes. "HUH!?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!? THIS IS MY ROOM!!" Chapter 301 - New Bestfriends?

Chapter 301: New Bestfriends?

There, in front of Moby was that same rowdy, orange-haired kid who he had talked to when entering the school. He was sat at a table with a cereal bowl in reach, wearing bunny printed pyjamas as he casually ate with a tired expression. However, that all changed when he noticed the doors were slowly opening, and who it was on the other side. "PFFFFFF!!" He spat out all the food in his mouth like pellets from the absolute shock and disbelief," WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?! HOW DID YOU EVEN GET IN!? AND DA FUCK YOU MEAN YOUR ROOM!? THIS ROOM''S MINE!" "Dickhead! This is my room! See!" Moby shed his watch towards Rigrit, the boy in front of him. "See! This is MY ROOM! How the hell do you think I got in here!? The real question is what are you doing here!" "Idiot! Do you even listen to yourself speak!? How the hell DO YOU think I got in here!?" He shed his watch back, the numbers 139 written on them from a nearly identical message from the school. "See! CUNT!" Moby was in disbelief, but, he was more in outrage than anything else. His hopes and dreams of having a room all to himself were crushed, and stepped on over, and over, and over again until it turned from heaven to hell. Or would it be from hell to heaven? If it weren''t for the obvious repercussions, he was nearly certain that they would have been fighting by now. "Wait, wait, wait! This doesn''t make any sense! How the hell do we both have the same room!? They literally just said we will all be having our own rooms! Is this an ident or did they have it nned!?" "Shit¡­ It might be nned¡­ Is this why there were two beds¡­" "And are they in the same room!?" "Y-yeah¡­" "Damn¡­ What did you think the other bed was for then!?" "I don''t know, if I ever snuck a chick in here to smash, it woulde in handy..." Moby could not help butugh at hisment. "There are two reasons why that will never happen, the first is due to all the security here, and the second one is pretty obvious if you look in the mirror. "What the hell do you mean!? I don''t get it? Did you hide something in the mirror!?" He went off in outrage and walked into a room that Moby assumed to be the washroom. "No way he''s that dumb right?" Moby mumbled to himself, trying to hold in hisughter as he closed the door behind him and prepared for the explosion. "What did you hide in the mirror?! Did youe here before me earlier in the day? All I see is¡­ ¡­ ¡­ KANNEEEE! You calling me ugly!?" He rushed out of the bathroom with glowing eyes, damn near ready to knock theughing Moby out. "No way you''re that dumb!! Hahahaha!" "Hmph! I''m tired and angry okay! Don''t get too ahead of yourself. First, let''s figure this shit out¡­" "G-good idea¡­" Moby responded, holding his stomach from overughing until he calmed down." I''ll try and call staff and see what they have to say about this," "Good idea. But make it quick!" "Don''t worry, I''ll be as quick as I possibly can," Moby lifted his wrist up and walked into another room, talking with school staff about their room problem. ******************** "So¡­ What did they say?" Rigrit spoke, looking as the gloomy yet enraged Moby walked out back in front of him. "Apparently, this was no ident, and it was a requested change by the principal herself¡­ She expected us toin to the staff member who gave me a message from her. ''This is what you two get by starting trouble on the first day! Learn to tolerate one another and be friends! This school is no ce to start senseless fighting! This is elite school! Remember that! It''s nothing like whatever bum of a school you''re used to! We are all on the same side! If you two ever fight other than in a STAFF AUTHORIZED duel then you will both be EXPELLED!? Anyways, have fun!''" "..." The air fell silent, as the reality of the situation began to set in. "Well, shit¡­" Rigrit grunted, sitting back down on his chair. "Well shit is right! This is all your fault! How can someone strong enough to be enlisted here be such an idiot!? Why the hell did you have to start a fight with me on the first day!? What''s wrong with you? And what did I ever do to you to deserve this!?" "I don''t feel like telling you! And, even if I did, I doubt you would ever get it¡­" Rigrit scowled once more. "What are you 12!? Going through a phase or maybe just on your period? What''s stopping you from telling me? You scared or something? Spit it out! Do you hate me or something? Why do this anyway!?" "I just don''t feel like fucking telling you! I''m too pissed right now to talk! I get it! It''s my fault!" "I don''t think you understand the severity of what''s happening. We are stuck living with each other for an ENTIRE YEAR! If you''re gonna be acting like this the entire time then how the hell are we gonna live!?" "Fine! But not right now! Sometimeter! You''re one lucky ass son of a bitch, you know that? Now, I can''t even beat your ass if I wanted to. I''m tired, I''m gonna go to sleep¡­ My head hurts¡­" He walked off slowly holding his head, a flurry of emotionsing from him. He even left his unfinished cereal bowl on the table. Moby had not been this confused in a very long time. He was not able to read nor understand who that person was and what were his intentions. He took a deep breath and sighed out to calm himself down. He just had to deal with the fact that having a room all to himself was nothing more than a fantasy. He looked around the room, seeing it with a whole new light now that his nerves were settled. It was massive, and seemed more like a hotel room than his previous dorm. The walls were entirely clean white, the smooth texture giving off a futuristic feeling to the already futuristic design of the room. Decorations seemed to have been put in ce everywhere and there were branching doors extending from the main room. Before he slept, Moby went to explore. The kitchen was empty, and there was an entire empty room most likely reserved for work. He took a small peak into the bedroom and noticed that Rigrit was already snoring, and his snoring sounded akin to a dying pig. Luckily, Moby knew a spell that could help block out sound. If it weren''t for it, he doubted he would ever be able to get a good night''s rest. Finally, there was one more room he had not checked yet, and the door looked different to everything else. And, to his surprise, when he opened it, he found it to be a training room. It was not too big and not too small considering it was in an apartment, and it was kitted out with training dummies, a machine in the corner and screens that he had no idea what they did. For now, he decided to ignore this room and head back to the bedroom. He walked in and made sure not to wake up his roommate and tucked himself in, noticing that it was far morefortable than he expected. He waved his hands forming a few symbols, casting his probably new favourite and most useful spell: "Sush", his ears and sanities saving grace. And immediately after it was cast, the sound of snoring disappeared and he was left in absolute peace. As heid in bed, he closed his eyes, trying to contact his family back on earth. But, sadly, just like he feared, his mind-link did not work. There must have been somewhere on this weak enough to where he can get his mind-link through and he nned to go find it tomorrow. Today had been a very hectic day and he could not remember being this tired in weeks. For now, sleep sounded like a good idea. He had to be in good shape for the first day of ss after all. **************** The next day came by quickly and Moby woke up feeling as fresh as ever. It was 8:00 am and school started in an hour, enough time for him to do his usual morning routine. "Hmm?" As he looked to his side, he could not help but notice that Rigrit had been already out of bed. And, when he walked out of the room, he heard the faint sound of panting and mminging from the training room. "How long had this guy been training for? There go my ns of testing it out before school," Moby sighed before he went to the kitchen to eat his breakfast, then do his daily quest by doing all of the workouts and running around in a circle considering there was no real ce to run, which was no big deal considering it only took him a few seconds toplete casually anyways. After all, was said and done, Moby wore his student uniform once more and headed out the door with his head held high. As he did, he noticed various other students from the other doors exiting their rooms as well, heading to one of the various elevators. He would be lying if he said he was not slightly nervous but the excitement and determination to do things right overwhelmed it. ''Do you think Hikari will be able to get to ss all by herself?'' He heard Avilia speak in his head. ''Yeah, I wouldn''t worry about her.'' He smiled, ''She should be able to do this, I can''t be holding her hands all the time or else she would never learn,'' Chapter 302 - The First Day

Chapter 302: The First Day

Moby simply followed the crowd outside of the building and walked out into the slight light from the faraway star. He hoped that he would not get noticed, but after what happened yesterday, even the people who did not know about him from the news now knew. It was the worst-case scenario but there was no reason toin now; it was best to forget about it and simply deal with it. The crowds were not that dense, especiallypared to his old school. He doubted he would see anything anywhere close to the cramped hallways he was all too used to. The school was muchrger, yet the number of students was much less numerous. If he had to estimate, there might have been a total of 1000 students or slightly more attending the school. And, all those students came from all around the world; such was the exclusivity of the school he was attending. Moby now stood under the archways of the school''s massive entrance, pirs holding up the top. The massive, elegant, open doors led into the main foyer of the school, the central hub of sorts. It felt like a mixture of a medieval and futuristic setting. The floor was a blend of white metal and marble with an intricate golden and purple pattern all over it. The walls were adorned with various decorations, some locked up behind ss panels only fit for people to watch from afar. Various paintings and pictures were hung on the wall, including a massive one of the old Alexander Davis in the middle of his vision. As he walked in, a cold wind breeze hit his face, feeling rather refreshing. He could not help but notice all the staff watching them with hawkeyes; it waspletely different to all the teachers that could not care less about students that he knew in his previous experiences of his school. With such tight security, he doubted that there would be any trouble to be seen amongst students. This was how it should have been all along. Even from the entrance, the school looked rather emptypared to what he was used to¡ª having his own space was quite refreshing. "ss 3-E¡­" He mumbled to himself, trying to find which one of the tens of branching hallways led to his ss. From the outside, the school looked massive¡ª navigating it must be a nightmare, which made him think of poor Hikari and how she would fair. ''3-E¡­ 3-E¡­ 3-E¡­ Found it!'' After a few minutes of searching, he finally found the correct initial path to his ss. As he entered the hallway, he was met by a staff member, a young, ck-haired man wearing a casual yet professional button-up shirt sat at a table with tired eyes and a coffee mug in hand. Moby did not think too much of him, but knowing his type he could very well be wrong. He was the one who told all the students the locations of their sses. ''3rd floor, right of the elevator, past two doors and straight right¡­'' He had memorized the directions that the man refused to repeat. Little did he know that this was the first-ever evaluation to see how students followed orders and were able to memorize tasks and directions. The hallway of the third floor waspletely ck with what seemed like purple energying out of the walls. The windows on the left shined some well-needed sunlight on the hallways and made him feel oddly at home. It did not take long for him to arrive in his ss, pushing the sliding doors open only to be met by white, almost everything was white, some parts were light blue and purple but that did not take away from its true colours. Once again, it followed the general theme of the school, elegant yet futuristic which Moby had really grown to appreciate. He noticed it to be already half full. Most of them were white, just like him but the students from all of the other ethnicities were definitely present. Yet, what truly felt odd was that the teacher, unlike professor Leo he was so used to, was already in ss before the bell, casually sitting down at his desk with an unknown book in hand. His skin colour was dark, but he was unable to tell if it was natural or a good tan. His hazel eyes sat firmly and keenly looking at the printed pages, a slight glow in them suggesting some sort of contact lense. His wavy, dark, purple hair was odd, like it was a mix of two styles, the back of it was slightly standing up while the front fell down right above his eyes. And, there was a beauty mark clearly seen on his cheeks that added an elegant air to his already well-defined face. He wore a white, clean shirt and left it unbuttoned at the top for a more casual look, especially since it wascking a tie. On top of the shirt was a sleek vest with 3 buttons, it had a very narrow v-line, which allowed for arge portion of the top to remain visible, even if his suit''s jacket was buttoned up. The man looked extremely young, if Moby had to guess, he would have not guessed anything over 30. If he had to describe him in two words just from looking at him, it would be calm and elegant. It was truly odd, his unelegant, casual attire made him look even more elegant, which Moby did not know was even possible until now. As he entered, everyone in the ss took a quick nce at him, noticing a reaction from a few but none of them spoke a word. He followed the atmosphere of the room and decided not to speak. He noticed that names were engraved on each and every one of the desks, and it did not take him long to find where he sat. Once again, it was in the bottom left corner by the window. He had gotten used to sitting there for a long time and he was d it had made a return. On his search, he managed to find Hikari''s desk, which was on theplete other side of the ss, at the front yet still in the same column. It was rather unfortunate yet good training for her shyness to be at the front of the ss. He could have spent time looking around more to see the desks of all the different students and if he recognized any names, but he didn''t want to look like a weirdo and stand out so he simply took his seat and waited with closed eyes, training his spells, not his eyes of sin as he wanted to keep his eye out on anything that might happen. Many minutes passed and students trickled in slowly but surely. There were 2 minutes until the ss started yet there was no sign of Hikari anywhere. ''Did she get lost or did she give up?'' Just as Moby started to question things, the doors were slowly thrust wide open once more and there was the person he was waiting for. Hikari seemed calm on the outside but Moby could easily tell that was not the case, especially from the hints of sweat on her face. She nervously inspected the ssroom and began walking towards her seat almost like a stiff robot in need of oil. On her way there, she could not help but notice Moby who smiled at her, which gave her slightly more motivation as she slowly sat down at her desk and prepared for the start of ss with a hint of sadness in her eyes. There were a few empty seats still left and from Moby''s angle, he was not able to tell if there were any names engraved on them. A minute before the bell rang, a deep breath was heard from the front of the ss, followed up by the sound of a book mming shut. It was non-other than the teacher, his book still in hand as he stood up and looked at the ss, ready for either an anthem, the bell, or school announcements. That was when, unexpectedly, the doors were mmed open once again, catching everyone off guard. There, at the door was the figure of a panting orange-haired boy with a smile on his face. "I''m here teach! *pant*... *pant*... Don''t mark mete just yet!" These were the first-ever words anyone had heard uttered in this ssroom. "You''re mister Rigrit are you not?" The teacher''s deep voice rang softly around the room, it was rather soothing to the ear, unlike the voice of the boy he was addressing. "Yes sir!" He stood up high. "Did you have trouble following directions or something?" "No sir! Of course not! I just did not tell the time when I was training!" The professor took a quick nce at Rigrit before he spoke. "You know what, I respect that young man. You are clearly working hard. But, time management is an essential skill in life. Everything has its own time. I won''t hold it against you this time, but promise me this will never happen again okay?" The teacher''s voice was not at all condescending or overbearing like most teachers he was used to. It seemedpletely genuine and harboured no malice. It seemed like Moby had been blessed with an actually good teacher but cursed with a massive nuisance and a pain in the ass, like a hemorrhoid that stuck to him and can''t leave. Having him as a roommate was bad enough but now he also had to share his homeroom ss too¡­ He could not help but let out an audible sigh witnessing the sight in front of him. That was when he heard a voiceing from directly in front of him. "That is quite the luck you have there Kane. But, maybe he won''t be that bad when you get used to him," And, instinctively, almost without thinking, Moby mumbled back. "Yeah, tell me about it¡­" That was when he noticed who it was that uttered those words. "Hello, Kane, it''s nice to see you again¡­" "W-wait¡­ You''re¡­ When the hell did you get here?" Chapter 303 - Introductions

Chapter 303: Introductions

"W-wha¡­ How did you get here¡­" He whispered with wide-open eyes, which led to a small chuckle from the man ahead of him. *RING* *RING* *RING* *RING* "Oh, seems like the bell rang. I didn''t get a chance to introduce myselfst time, Moby Kane¡­ I am Artorias Kmeet, but you can call me Art. It is nice to finally meet you," The man simply smiled at him with what seemed like graceful love and care but Moby could not shake off the feeling that there was something else¡­ And, before he could even respond, a loud voice rang throughout all of their ears. "Good morning students and staff! Congrattions on making it to your first day of ss! This will be the beginning of your new journey. A journey that will be tough but not impossible with perseverance! Everyone, please stand for the international anthem!" { The world is our homnd, earth is our domain. All¡­} Moby stood up for the anthem proudly like everyone else, yet he had simply zoned it out as he focused on the man in front of him. He was that same golden-eyed man he had seen the previous morning. He came out of nowhere¡­ No way he was there when he entered the room right? Had he been blind or this distracted? He could have sworn that seat in front of him was empty. ''He''s been there the entire time. He was simply using some sort of item or technique to mask his presence. I''d watch out for him if I were you¡­ He''s quite the cunning one, I don''t trust him.'' Avilia spoke in his head. ''Way ahead of you,'' Moby inwardly nodded. As the national anthem was going, Rigrit noticed that Moby and him shared the same ss. He seemed to have a look of pure joy and excitement on his face seeing it. He tried to motion at Moby to catch his attention during the anthem. But, he was not paying attention no matter what. That was when he decided to give up, taking his seat as soon as things were all over. "That will be all for our morning announcements, have a nice first day everyone." The girl on the announcements spoke, which led to everyone taking a seat back in their chairs. The only man that remained standing was the teacher. He slowly ced his book back on his desk and picked up a tablet, not before stretching his stiff limbs. "It seems like everyone is here today. d to see no one got lost. Anyways, let''s get right to introductions. My name is professor Zave Mylcen, and I am your homeroom teacher. I hail from country Y and I am going to be teaching youbat and history. As for my aspirations in life, I think many of them have beenpleted. I used to be a simple military school teacher only a few years ago but rose up the ranks to where I am now. Isabell, now it''s your turn, please introduce yourself to the rest of the ss, exactly like I did." He spoke with a smile, looking at the girl in the top right of the ss. The entire room seemed rather shocked at his demand. "Wait, isn''t this going against privacyws?!" One of the students blurted out, yet, instead of getting absolutely destroyed, he was calmly responded to. "I''m sure your parents told you that you should stay reserved and keep as many secrets as you can in order to get apetitive edge. But, for elite school, the only promise we have with any family pertains to secret techniques excluding spirit mode. Name, country, and aspirations don''t seem like a big deal to me. I need you guys to get along with each other. We are all part of one team after all. So, isabe, please introduce yourself to the rest of the ss." Moby could sense the clear disapprovement from everyone, even if it did not show on their faces. Yet, they were in no position to reject the request, so they did as they were told. "Hello, my name is Isabe M, I am from country F. My aspirations for the future is to graduate and join one of the top guilds in the world. It is nice to meet you all," She stood up straight as an arrow before sitting down. "Good! Next!" Professor Zave called, leading to the person below them in the column to do the same thing. "Yes sir!" It was all quite boring and generic. Moby was not able to tell if what they were saying for their dreams were real or simply a lie to the ss. Most of them consisted of: Forming a top guild, getting a high rank in the military, joining a top guild, taking over the family business, and other things of the sort. He wanted to almost fall asleep listening to them yet kept his full attention just in case something happened. And, his eyes were fully open once it came to be Rigrit''s turn to speak. "Hi, I''m Rigrit Oswald! I''m from country Z. And, my goal is to be, and prove myself as the strongest! That is all." ''Country Z? Wee from the same country?'' Moby slightly raised an eyebrow. He was expecting more to be revealed about him now, but now that he thought about it, that would have been quite dumb considering he wasn''t even willing to share anything in private so why would he in front of the entire ss. The turns once again made the rounds until it finallynded on him, and he felt everyone''s attention was keenly on him more than anyone else, which did not bother him very much. "Greetings, My Name is Moby Kane. And, for now, my goal is to master as many skills as I can and get as much out of elite school as I possibly can," He bowed as he prepared himself to take his seat when the teacher interrupted him, the first student so far. "So, did you take the swordsmanship, Ki maniption, mana crystal creation, crafting, enchantment, and ability creation courses?" "Yes sir¡­" "That''s nice to hear! I did the same thing when I was your age. I hope to hear great things, don''t disappoint and say it was too much work! If I did it, so can you!" "Yes sir! You can count on me!" "Good!" Moby sat back down in his seat, this was one of the few times that the teacher smiled this much and he did not know why. "Next!" Finally, it was the turn of the man in front of him. This one, he was extremely curious to listen to, even more so than Rigrit. "Good morning to you all. My name is Artorias Kmeet, but you could all simply call me Art. I am here by order of my mistress, and I will do anything in her name." He gracefully bowed. "And, what about your country? What is it young man, where were you born?" "Professor, I do not originate from a country, I was born in and far, far away on a different." "Hmmm, very well. Thank you for the insight Art! Next!" Artorias''s answer left Moby more confused than anything. Everyone was so vague and cryptic, which he should have more than expected. People continued to say their introduction until it finally reached Hikari, the final person. "Hello everyone, my name is Hikari. And, this is my sister Yami." She took a small pause as her hair immediately turned charcoal and her expressionpletely changed, catching absolutely everyone off guard. "We are sisters from country Z. Our dreams are to get along with people and live a normal yet exciting life. That is all." Yami finished her speech before sitting back down. *p* "Thank you all for the introductions! And congrattions for those who have passed the second test of the school!" Zave''s smile gleamed brightly as he pulled out a green crystal from underneath his desk, and the looks on the students said it all¡­ "For those who told the truth, congrattions! You passed, and for those who lied to my face, you will be losing 250 out of your original 100 points." The ss was in silent outrage, the reactions from the various students were obscene, shaking and sweating like crazy with an open gaze, a gaping mouth and shaky hands like they were ready to yell andin but simply couldn''t in fear or for even worse consequences. "It''s funny how you could have all just said something extremely vague like "My goal is to graduate with high grades" But some of you deliberately went out of your way to lie to my face, yourmanding officer!? You all think you are so slick and sly, It never ceases to entertain me every year." "Remember, you need a total of 1000 points to make it past the first semester¡­ I hope this will set the stage for the days toe, and what kind of environment this school is¡­" He spoke with a wide smile and a peculiar glint in his eyes, making everyone inwardly shudder. Indeed, it was a very good wake-up call for the uninitiated¡­ The ss still in shock, Zave continued smiling as he resumed speaking at his students, some of them spiralling down into depression or panic while others sitting there with silent outrage, and, of course, the people who told the truth, which included Hikari, Rigrit, Moby, Artorias and more were sitting there normally, ready for the next part of the lesson. "So, ss. Since today is the first day of school, I''ll give you a choice, and a chance for some of you to gain your points back¡­ By show of hands, who here wants to sit down and listen to a 4-hour lecture about politics, how humanity formed an alliance against the shalkers and split the countries ording to the energy sources. And, who wants to head to the arena to beginbat training?" Chapter 304 - Diagnostic

Chapter 304: Diagnostic

In a broad, expansive dome-like area, a massive door automatically opened from a tunnel, and from that tunnel emerged an entire group of young adults not in their usual uniform, led at the head by a tall, tanned, smiling man. As they entered, they were dazzled by the blinding light, before the entire room came into view¡­ They all felt utterly dwarfed. The dome itself was the size of dozens of football fields and spanned hundreds of meters in height. The walls were ck with purple tinges, matching the entire aesthetic of the school, rows and rows of benches were seen all around them protected by a green energy dome keeping off any possible attack at bay, of coursepletely empty. Most people in the ss, including Moby, looked absolutely stunned, while others seemingly could not care any less or were too nervous to react. To Moby, it seemed like the room was simr to that of his future father-inw''s arena, only on a far, farrger and grander scale. "Okay ss! Wee to Arena D2 of elite school!" Professor Zave motioned wide with his hands, a slight echo being heard from his voice. "You all have chosen to do the training first and skip the lecture, which is actually quite surprising¡­ Every year, people chose the lecture to save face, but it seems like all of you are quite eager to show me what you''re made of!" The entire ss simply stared firmly back at him with determined eyes, even the nervous ones immediately shifted at his words and mannerisms. "Good! Now, first off, I need to get a good grasp of where you all are! One by one, show me all of your spirit modes!" And just like that, the entire ss stared wide-eyed once more, yet they did not want to talk back out of fear of losing points, which seemed to not surprise the professor at all. "Like I said, spirit mode is no secret, you will be forced to use it all the time anyways! This is no time for such childish ideals! Now, once I call your name, you will demonstrate your spirit mode to me! Understood!?" "..." The ss remained deathly silent, trying to take in everything before they somewhat hesitantly responded all at once. "YES SIR!" "First! Irilim, it''s your turn, show us your spirit mode. Don''t worry, this is not a test, but a diagnostic. You have nothing to lose, now show me what you got!" "YES SIR!" She walked out of the crowd with her back straight, now standing between the teacher and all the students who were keenly looking in her direction. She soon after closed her eyes and calmly took a deep breath, hints of red mana flowing all around her before it all exploded into a brilliant shine. Shepletely changed, her previously pitch-ck hair now had a rosy shimmer and undertone, masked by the light of her pping, butterfly-like crimson wings. On her face, there were adornments and decorations of red aura, along with two antennas sprouting out. She finished her demonstration by flying around closely towards the ground before softlynding back on the arena floor, reverting to her base form. "Hmmm," Professor Zave nodded. "Beautifully done Irilim! You can go back to your spot now!" He smiled at her. "Thank you so much for your kind words professor," She bowed deeply with a smile, her voice sounding slightly high pitched, raising her head and returning to her spot. "Okay! Next! Rashford! You''re up!" "Yes sir!" For the next ten minutes, students went by one by one, and Moby analyzed every single one of them. Indeed, he found them to be quite impressive, but only a few managed to really catch his eyes. "Next! Moby Kane! You''re up!" That was when it was finally his turn. He hoped he would have been before everyone else, especially Artorias but he simply had to deal with it. "Yes sir! Right away!" He shouted with passion, walking up to centre stage with all eyes keenly on him. Just like everyone else, he closed his eyes and focused his energy. And, not too long after, energy began pouring and flowing all around him, one ominous, pitch ck, and dark in nature. The ground underneath him started trembling as the aura began to encircle his body, forming scaly armour, one both sharp and soft in nature. Sharp ck scales slowly crawled up his face and stopped sitting firmly under his eyes in a jagged state. The shoulder pads were not at all symmetrical, the right one being far more spiked than the other that looked verycking inparison. The gauntlets were almost w-like in nature, and were protected by pointed,yered metal rerebraces which sat loosely under the shoulder tes, entire chunks missing from the right side. On the chest was a massive, scaly chest te that slightly protruded forward in an odd manner, far different in all areas, the non-symmetrical nature making it seem rather badly made. His leggings fully matched his upper body, both in colour but also in its scaly, unpolished design. It was to the point that the left leg waspletely missing a knee guard, and the right leg was missing vital areas in joints. Taking a deep breath, Moby once again opened his eyes. And, the first thing he witnessed was the rather approving look of his professor who gawked at him with nearly star-like eyes, the most of any student so far. So, he couldn''t help but smile. But, that was when he turned around to face his ss, and unsurprisingly, some of their faces were red, trying to hold something in. That was when one of the boyspletely broke¡­ "... ¡­ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What the hell is this shit!" That initial outburst caused many other people to follow in his footsteps. "His spirit mode looks like it''s straight out of the ghetto!" "PFFF! No! not even! It''s so scuffed! I doubt that it''splete!" "Well, no shit it''s notplete! I don''t think this has ever happened before!" "How the hell did a guy like this ever enter this school!?" "It''s probably from all that media and military attention! If they praised him like a hero and he didn''t even get to this point, they would have all seemed like idiots!" "Mister Zave! Please kick this imposter out of our school! This is more than enough proof! He doesn''t belong here!" Many of the students in the ss bore an entertained expression, but only a few of them went absolutely wild and voiced their disapproval. But still, there were people with the decency to stay calm and indifferent, some even impressed. Moby fully expected something like this, but, he would be lying if he said that he didn''t think this reaction was over the top. He thought they would have stayed more tame considering the teacher was there, but he didn''t realize that getting into the school with an iplete spirit mode was unheard of. No wonder they went wild, they thought that they were in the unquestionable right. Indeed, his spirit mode was still iplete. As he trained, his mana core that was leaking a dark aura slowly began to crack and shed even more than before. In many ways, it reminded him of an egg, but he could not see any other corrtion. Now, it was to the point that it was mostly broken but notpletely. It did not take him very long to figure out that it was linked to his spirit mode, and that it would most likely bepleted once it fully cracked. Moby once again took a gander at the ss, with cold, deadly eyes, softening up slightly seeing that Hikari, Artorias, and Rigrit did not follow the crowd, Rigrit especially, bearing a serious gaze that nearly matched his own, catching himpletely off guard since he did not see anything like it from him prior. He took a deep breath and prepared to retaliate to theughing crowd, saying something like "If you think I''m a fraud, why don''t you fight me?" Yet, before he could even speak, the voice of a pure demon rang from directly behind him. "SILENCE!" The entire arena shook, and the force field surrounding them began to crack from it alone. It was surreal, and it made everyone go quiet in an instant, most of their faces going pail. Some nearly even fainted, like they took a gander at the deepest depths of the abyss of terror. Indeed, it was non-other than an outraged professor Zave, his killing intent and purple aura rushing from his body spreading to every corner of the arena, even Moby had to take a step back from his disy, his heart heavily beating faster. "Uneptable! Absolutely uneptable! Have you no manners?! I get that an iplete spirit mode had never even been seen in this building, but that doesn''t justify this! Do you all truly think his admission here was a mistake, ident, or some sort of conspiracy!? You think he''s a fraud? Fine! One of you! One of you step up and fight him! If you''re so confident then do it! What''s stopping you!? This is your chance to do it! I allow it!" He yelled once more, his aura subsiding when he noticed some students were nearly unable to breathe, and others too overtaken to think. Everyone was taken back, even Moby did not expect such a thing to happen. The professor finished his speech, and Moby expected there to be a full silence. Of course, he did expect there to be some students willing to do it, but after a good amount of thinking. No one would be confiden- "I''ll do it sir! Pick me!" Not even a full secondter, a hand immediately and enthusiastically shot up, proving him wrong. And, when Moby focused on the voice, it was non-other than his own roommate, Rigrit. In hindsight, he should have expected it, but he still could not understand why he was trying so hard. "Sir! Please pick me! I''ll fight him!" He continued to enthusiastically wave his hand in the air, catching not only Moby''s surprise. "Rigrit, you weren''t evenughing or being demeaning to him, why do you want to fight him? What do you have to prove?" Professor Zave asked with an eyebrow raised. "O-oh! I-I was just keeping my opinions hidden of course! I will show this FRAUD the true meaning of being an Elite school student! He doesn''t deserve to be here and I''m gonna prove it," Heughed heartily with his chest puffed out. "Rigrit, you''re not fooling anyone, all staff has been informed about this. All you want is an excuse to fight Kane legally." "N-no-no-no-no-no! Of course not!" He waved his hands vigorously before he inwardly scoffed and sighed, took a deep breath and bolted straight at the teacher with a serious gaze, which left everyone''s jaws on the ground, but what happened next made them sink even further. "Please sir! I beg of you!" Regrit immediately slid down into a bowing position right under the teacher''s feet, his head firmly nted on the ground. "Please let me fight him! I truly hate his guts for having the gull to cheat the system. Let me put this fraud in his ce." Professor Zave let out an audible sigh of annoyance, which was then followed up by a slight smile as he prepared to speak. That was when another voice suddenly sprung out of the crowd. "Professor! Allow me to do it!" A rather sophisticated-looking light-pink-haired man walked out of the masses, with a confident look in his eyes. "Oh¡­ You seem sure of yourself," "Yes, of course, sir. I am going against a man who had not even done the meagre task ofpleting his spirit mode, this should be rather quick and simple¡­" He bowed elegantly, his right hand on his chest. "Hmmm¡­ very well, let''s see how you fare. And as a bonus, Kane, if you win I''ll give you 50 points, and Lisvern, if you win, I''ll give you your 250 points? back from failing the test." As soon as Zave spoke, everyone''s eyes immediately red with envy¡ª they should have been the ones to volunteer and step up. However, their opinions were quick to change with the next "Lose conditions are simple! loser gets expelled, are both of you up for the challenge?" Those conditions caught them, along with the entire sspletely off guard. How did things escte to such an extent!? Both sides were clearly dumbfounded, staring wide at the professor with hints of sweat running down their faces, deep in thought. "But sir! I came here first! I should have been the one to fight!" "*Sight* Rigrit, go back to your spot and quietly wait and watch, I won''t be repeating myself, is that clear?" "Yes sir¡­" He slothfully stood up with immense disappointment, slowly walking past Moby and Lisvern, not even looking at their faces as he gazed at the ground, dazedly kicking at invisible rocks. Chapter 305 - Battle For Dignity

Chapter 305: Battle For Dignity

"Sir, don''t you think that''s going too far!?" Lisvern suddenly blurted, which only led to a slight chuckle from the professor''s end. "Going too far? Isn''t this what you wanted? You wanted to prove him as a fraud and get him expelled, I thought I was doing you a favour since you seemed so confident. And, if you failed, that only makes you worse than a hypocrite and a fraud meaning you should get expelled. Isn''t that only fair?" *tch* The sweat on Lisvern''s forehead became visible as he looked at the ground, a smile suddenly appearing as he lifted his face. "Fine! You are absolutely right professor! I agree to these terms! If I can''t beat someone like him, then I deserve expulsion!" The crowd was rather stunned, yet a part of them had a look of approval as they cheered him on. ''Wa-wa-wa-what!?'' Moby''s mind was malfunctioning taking all of this in. Instinctively, he nced over at the professor to voice his disapproval, but he was only met with a smile staring directly into his eyes. ''H-huh¡­'' His confusion began to slightly settle, he took it as a message, and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Fine, let''s do this!" Moby finally spoke, the mockery in the crowd more than evident. *p* "Good to hear! Seems like bothbatants are ready! To make this as fair as possible, you will be using the standard weapons and armour given by the school! No killing is allowed, the match ends when I say so! Understood!" "Yes sir!" They adamantly replied. "Excellent! The rest of the ss and I will be watching you both from the stands above! Take your positions and only start when I count down," "Yes sir!" Their voice rang once more. That was when Zave once again smiled in Moby''s direction before turning around, the entire ss following in his footsteps. Neatly and quietly, they sat next to each other in rows, most keeping their distance as they stared down at the two readybatants below, Hikari''s hands on her heart, her gaze firm yet shaky at the same time. The only man standing was the professor, his hands up, one leg ce on the edges of the stands. Or, at least he was at first. "KANEE!! DON''T YOU DARE LOSE BEFORE I GET THE CHANCE TO BEAT YOUR ASS! YOU GOT THATTTT!?" He scream was heard from the stands, and when Moby looked over it was of course exactly who he expected. "Don''t worry about it! Just sit down and enjoy the show!" He waved off his cheers like they were nothing, making him sit back down with his arms crossed as he mumbled in an inaudiblevoice. "Show me what you and the blissful demon style are capable of¡­ Kane¡­" "Are you two ready!?" "YES SIR!" They both hovered their hands over the hilts of their weapons, standing onpletely opposite sides of the Arena. "Okay!" "5" "4" "3" "2" "1" "START!" At once, they unsheathed their des, an explosion erupting from both sides as they did not hesitate to enter into their spirit mode. Moby''s was a scaly ck knight, there seemed to be no beast or spirit attached to it while the same could not be said for his pink-haired opponent. An aura of pink mana enshrouded Lisvern''s entire body like spiked body armour, animalistic ws on his hands. But, what stood out the most was his hair that had the highest concentration of mana, spiked from every edge, now nearly hitting the floor as he stared at his opponent with his glowing eyes. To anyone looking, it was clear what spirit he possessed, it was that of a porcupine or possibly a hedgehog. Everyone''s attention was fixated on Lisvern''s speech and disy of power and turned a sort of a blind eye towards Moby, but not Artorias, whose gaze had not shifted once from Moby''s side. There, he saw him with one hand behind his back, waving one of his hands at near unseeable speeds like he was fidgeting with air or practicing gang signs for some reason. "Intresting¡­" His eyes grew keener as he ced his right hand on his chin. "YOU SEE THIS BOY!? This is what a true spirit mode looks like! And now I''ll show you what it feels like!" Lisvern roared, cing his 2 hands on the ground like a quadruped ready to pounce. But, instead of moving, the spikes on his hair extended, forming tiny mana needles, as he shouted with a smile. "TAKE THIS!" There, a barrage of what seemed like tiny mana needles shot up high in the air and fell down likepact rain all aimed directly above. Yet, the man who was ready to be drenched in the downpour did not react aggressively, but simply lifted his hands and with one simple swipe of dark purple energy, wiped out every single one of the iing attacks. "Impressive! Very impressive indeed! But how will you fare against this!" He shot out another barrage, and just like before, Moby swiped his hands up to destroy them. However, unlikest time, the rain did not stop¡­ It only intensified, more and more needles fell and Moby had to suffer the consequences, as he got hit and suffered injuries, albite minor cuts as he continued to dodge the assault. "Dance! Yeah! That''s it! I''ll make you into my pin cushion! I''m not running out anytime soon so enjoy yourself while you still can!" Lisvern continued to mock, yet Moby remained silent in his face and the cheering crowd, simply looking up with glowing dark purple eyes. Now, he was able to much better dodge the needles that he at times destroyed with his ability and other times deflected with his de. It was clear to anyone that he was on the losing end, there was only so much room to dodge with so many needles after all. To anyone, it was clear if Moby had to win, he needed to close the distance, which was much easier said than done considering the size of the arena. Things looked dire, yet Moby could not stop smiling, like it was all just fun and games. Soon after, out of his body emerged ck and purple energy-like smoke, formed in the figures of his appearance, touching each one of them in the back as he continued to dodge the oing assaults. There were a dozen clones, no, possibly even more as it was hard to tell from some of them getting destroyed from the source. The clones were rather quick and agile, quite hard to hit just like the original, yetcking all of the firepower so they did eventually fall, but that did not at all discourage Moby. "HAHAHAHA! What are you smiling at!? Have you gone mad? Have you already epted your inevitable defeat or what?" It was clear that they were some sort of gimmick or illusion to spread the firing of arrows and posed no actual threat. Like before, Moby stayed silent, his smile, more like the smiles on all the clones growing wider as they continued dodging, inching ever so closer to Lisvern in the far distance. In an attempt to confuse his opponent, he and his clones began switching spots repeatedly, almost like blurs or shes through the rain. Indeed, it did confuse various people in the crowd yet his opponent seemedpletely unphased, still focusing solely on one of the Mobys. "Are you serious!? Do you think this will confuse me? Who the hell do you think I am!?" The barrage on that one Moby grew crueller and harsher, and much less so on all the clones that were almost ignored, and allowed to continue inching ever closer towards Lisvern. And, eventually, one of the clones managed to reach him and went for a strike to the chest with his deadly katana. Yet, even still, Lisvern did not react at all as he did not stop the barrage of never-ending needle rain focused on the one Mobycking in the far back. And, just like he expected, the Moby''s sword that attacked him simply went through him like it was nothing. And, it could not help but make himugh. Soon after, four more Moby''s joined the assault on his body, and just like before, nothing happened, which even further increased his amusement. Indeed, it was a hrious site to see, five clones endlessly attacking one man, their swords going through him as he had no care in the world. "PPFFFF! Please! Just wipe that smile off your face already, you yawning and smiling at a time like this!? It seems like you both have no brain, no power, and have gone mad! How are you so delusional!? It''s clear that you''re the real one! You''re the only one taking actual wounds! All your clones would get one-shotted by one needle!" He took a moment to nce at the final remaining clone ready to join the others as it thrust its de towards his chest, and with a smile, he decided to shoot it with a single needle to prove a point. "SEE-e¡­-e ¡­ W-what¡­ How did you¡­" "So... You were saying?" Chapter 306 - Easy Victory

Chapter 306: Easy Victory

Lisvern''s eyes almost popped out of his head as soon as he witnessed that de that was supposed to be an illusion now stabbing him through the chest. His body immediately felt weak as he went down on one knee, facing the demonic figure gazing at him like he was nothing but a simple insect¡­ That man¡­ That man had just single-handedly ruined his life¡­ Everything that he had built up so far for nothing, and to him, it seemed like no big deal. What was an assured, easy victory in his eyes suddenly turned into his worst nightmare as the sword was pulled out of his chest, making him drop like a corpse on the ground. "And the winner is Moby Kane!" Moby took a deep breath and smiled hearing those words, dispersing all the clones with a single snap, looking up at the crowd. Most of them sat there beyond stunned, their jaws unconsciously open. However, there were still some of them cheering and pping, especially this one orange-haired man who seemed most ecstatic of all. "Now! As per the agreement! Lisvern Beru, you shall be expelled from this academy with shame! Leave ss now! Go back to your dorms, pack your stuff because I will be sending a staff member toe and get youter today! Understood?" The professor''s words were only met by the mad whimpering of the injured man below, a waterfall of tears falling down his face as he had forgone any sense of dignity, his life was over anyways, so what was the point? He was nothing but a broken ugly shell that awaited death. It was truly an unsightly scene. "And, as for you all! Take this as a lesson! Don''t judge a book by it''s cover! Not only would you be killed in a mission so fast with that concept, but you will also lose your dignity and curse yourself for doing it! Never underestimate your enemy! Kane might have an iplete spirit mode, but it already surpasses many of thepleted ones! Such is its power! Don''t let arrogance ovee your judgement!" Seemingly, the crowd did not react to the teacher''s words, but that was due to them taking in that Moby was this powerful and had yet to evenplete his spirit mode¡­ His iplete spirit mode wasparable to a normal one, so how powerful would he be once it waspleted? There was no longer any signs of mockery to be seen. Indeed, without a doubt, he was worthy of his student status. Moby deeply sighed looking at the crowd before smiling, sheathing his de and dispelling his spirit mode, looking at the notification in front of him. [ Level Up! ] It had been too long since he had seen such a notification, leveling had gotten nearly impossible these days for him. Indeed, before the fight had begun, he knew he was going to win, he was more than certain by professor Zave''s eyes. In the fight, Moby barely even tried, the wounds that he got were self inflicted, just to test out how his new strategy worked against themon foe. If he had the use of all of his powers, killing him would have been no differant from killing a defenceless child. Yet, he wanted to keep as much of his powers a secret. He had already shown his demon energy cloning technique on television before when he had no idea he was being recorded and he did not want to reveal anything else. Simply, all he did was mark his clones with a teleportation seal, and as soon as one of the clones was going to strike, he switched ces with him¡ª his spirit mode allowed him far greater control over his powers so it was more than possible. He could have easily ended it after his first clone had made it past, but he wanted to test the perception of the crowd and the stupidity of his opponent. And, from the looks of it, non-of them realized what had happened. It was truely a good test. If that person was around the strength of the average student, he felt veryfortable. "Thank you so much professor! You''re truely too kind! I don''t deserve such praise!" He wanted to assign his stat points, but not when all eyes were on him. "Oh, it was the least I could do!" He nodded with a smile before continuing. "One second everyone, ss will be on hold until I take care of this sorry excuse for an elite school student crying and drooling on the floor! In the meantime, you can enjoy some free time!" For the next few minutes, professor Zave spent his time on the phone, most likely contacting the main office while the rest of the students were left to wonder around. Immediately, many of them flocked towards the still crying Lisverm taking pictures secretly and looking at him like some exotic animal. Yet, they did not mock him for his weakness, because god knows how they would have ended up in his position. And, the rest of them ended up around Moby, who was sitting on a bench drinking some water. They were not like his fanclub he was used to, they were more like actually curious people, and people trying to be friendly seeing his true potential, which was oddly like a breath of fresh air. Yet, it still annoyed him that he was not able to assign his stat points. "So! What''s your spirit animal? Do you know? I wasn''t expecting a fight like that! How did you get so powerful? If it''s all a secret then you don''t have to answer." A female student asked, devoid of the lustful womanly gazes he always saw. "I don''t really know to be honest¡­ Maybe it''s a dragon?" He asked to test the waters, maybe these elite kids knew more than he did so he tried to bait out answers. "Hahahaha! Good one! Dragons are just fairytales! It''s quiet sad¡­ When magical beasts were discovered, so many people were looking forward to possible dragons, but that never happened!" Moby inwardly sighed, they knew nothing new. "You know¡­ They might not be fairytales though¡­ My grandfather said he saw a dragon once¡­" A small, rather shy purple haired girl spoke, which made Moby''s eyes grow wide. "Wait! Really! I''m such a big fan of dragons! They''re real!?" "..." "I don''t know¡­ My grandfather''s dead¡­ This is only a family story, I don''t mind sharing it¡­" "sixty years ago, patrolling at the very edge of our gxy, he reported finding or triggering a massive glow in the distance. And, in that glow was a certain, dull, rocky. But, when hended on it, as if the full rocks were a mirage, they turned into the most marvellous crystals he had ever seen." "ording to him, it was very beautiful and the ores would have been sold for a fortune. Hended on that and began looking around. All the crystals were white and purple, filled with mystery. He was around the strength of a general in the military, but even he said the power he was sensing on that wanted to make him quote: dirty my pants and get the fuck out of there,'' But, for the sake of curiosity, he went on. And, that''s all I know of him¡­ Before he died, he sent a transmission all the way back to earth that said "D-dragon" before he was finally no more¡­" Moby was at the edge of his seat listening to her story, unlike some people standing around him that took it all as a joke. "And, where exactly is that?" "..." "I really don''t know now, things might have changed¡­ It was sixty years ago when technology wasn''t as advanced now. When the military sent a retrieval team for my grandfather they never returned so the military ruled it as undetermined. To warp someone to that area was very costly, so they could not afford another mission. And, now, that area is firmly deep into shalker territory, so we can''t explore there even if we wanted to." "And what exactly are the coordinates of this ce!? How haven''t I heard about this!?" "Wow, you must really be into dragons huh?" She smiled. "Well, you''re an elite school student are you not? You should now be able to do your own research on this topic. For people who possess the rank, the coordinates are no secret. But, I wouldn''t get your hopes up, the shalkers might have done something about it by now." "I, see¡­ Thank you for the information!" "No problem," She slowly nodded back. The information was useful, the possibilities of that seemed endless yet there was not much he could do to find out about it. Yet, this also made him wonder what other things he was now authorized to ess... Currently, Moby was at level 98, and he needed some way to reach level 100. If more people challenged him to spar, there was really no problem. It served both as good training and as a good source of XP. He doubted he would be able to go hunting anytime soon and defeating elites seemed to be his only way, which did give him a fair amount of XP. For now, killing for XP was strictly off the table. "Okay ss! Things have been dealt with and we can finally go back to showing me your spirit modes! After we are done with this, we will be reviewing some of the fundamentals you''ve learnedst year to refresh your memories! Then, there will be lunch for an hour, and you wille back to ss for the lecture! If you have not taken any extra sses, then tomorrow will be a day off for you! Understood!?" "Yes sir! Understood!" "Line back up and await your name to be called!" "Yes sir!" And, in the midst of the crowd, Moby finally had the spotlight off his face, and had time to assign his stats. ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 7 void Level: 98 XP to next level 1,900/380,000 Dragon skill tree level: 2 Dragon skill tree XP to next level: 0/500 Power Level: 63,350 Hp: 188/188 Demon Energy: 1210 /1210 Mana: 1210 /1210 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 18.1 Energy/ minute Strength: 1595 Agility: 1768 Endurance: 1282 Intelligence: 1690 Mind: 500 Avable Points to distribute: 50 ************************** Chapter 307 - Angel?

Chapter 307: Angel?

One by one, they all went and showed their spirit-modes. They were quite the variety and ranged from various beasts, not only animals found on earth. Some of them were truly eyecatching and caught Moby''s interest while others seemed very weak and simple in nature. Yet, Moby was no hypocrite in this sense and was not about to judge a book by its cover. "Next! Regrit Oswald! Show us your spirit mode!" "Yes sir!" ''Hmmmm¡­ This should be interesting¡­'' Moby thought to himself, his right hand rubbing his chin. He was more interested in what Artorias''s spirit mode was but seeing Rigrit''s confidence piqued his interest more than it already was. He was his roommate and first challenger after all. With a wide smile, Rigrit walked up and stood up straight, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. That was when the earth underneath his feet began trembling abnormally more than everyone else prior. Around him emerged mana, an orange aura surrounding him wildly and calming down as it emerged, covering him almost like a coat. His face began to change, small little markings now more than clear, glowing cat-like or fox-like flickering ears sprouting up through his orange hair. Yet, it was the back that was most interesting¡­ From his behind emerged five, fox-like tails around his entire hight, flickering and waving in the air like he had full control over them. He looked oddly wild and elegant at the same time. Undoubtedly, he was a fox¡­ Moby had more than heard about the legend of the kitsune and the 9 tailed fox but he never imagined it to also be an ability spirit one could obtain. Yet, what was slightly confusing was why there were four tails missing¡­ Had he not unlocked the rest of the tails? Was he holding back? Or was five the maximum? Nevertheless, what he saw was truly impressive. He could feel the power radiating from him like crazy. No wonder he was confident when they first met. Looking at him, he felt like he would be no match in a head to head battle¡ª sin mode was definitely required, and even still victory was not assured. It was once again a reminder of the true power people in this school possessed. Yet, the question also arose¡­ What ability did he possess? From his transformation, it seemed like fire. Was he a member of one of the famed fire households? When looking them up prior, he did not remember seeing the Oswald household mentioned. So, what was he? He shook his head. There was no need to worry himself, the answer would surely reveal itself soon when they begin proper ability training. "Very good Rigrit! I can tell you''ve been working hard!" "Thanks, professor!" Heughed before bowing, dispelling his spirit mode as he walked backwards exuding confidence and pride, looking at Moby''s eyes with a certain look that spoke to him more than a thousand words. Next! Samantha! You''re up!" "Yes sir!" Once again, there were three students up before there was someone that Moby was waiting for. "Artorias Kmeet¡­ It''s your turn¡­" "Yes sir¡­" He elegantly bowed, slowly strolling towards center stage, holding the same position as everyone else as they all waited with baited breaths to see what happened next¡­ Especially Moby. He was the man most shrouded in mystery out of everyone else. There was always information floating around about every student considering they were powerful enough to enter this school but he seemed far different¡­ It was odd, maybe since it was due to the fact that he was from an unknownnd. He stood still, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The ground stood still and energy began to slowly and elegantly flow all around him like a calming river. A feeling of grandness and serenity swept over every onlooker, like they were by the sea staring at the sunrise. The aura slowly became denser all around him, forming white, lion-like armour with a slight protruding eagle-like beak for the helmet, wings from his back sprouting far and wide. "A griffin¡­" A stunned onlooker mumbled in a concealed breath and Moby could not agree more. Indeed, it was a white, majestic griffin. It held a calmness and elegance not born by any spirit mode before it¡­ It was the least shy yet the most eye-catching of them all. The crowd could not help but be left speechless. Moby had an odd, inexplicable feeling in his heart looking at him yet he waspletely unsure what it was. ''Avilia¡­ Do you feel anythinging from him?'' He resorted to her assistance. ''...'' At first, he received no response as she took time to ponder before answering. ''It feels odd indeed¡­ It''s cryptic too, he''s strong but I can''t quite grasp his power. Shit¡­ I wish I had my full capabilities and senses back¡­ He holds the powers of the spirit exceptionally well, like he and it are fullypatible. There was a reason his energy did not rage and the ground did not shake. I have a feeling like that is how it''s supposed to be like¡­'' She responded calmly. ''I see¡­ I''ll try to look into him even more¡­ But I''ll be sure to watch my back,'' Moby nodded back. Avilia seemed to be rather calm. If there was any impending danger she would have warned him. So, he decided to not worry himself too much concerning this. "Excellent Artorias! Truly excellent! This! This is how it should be done! Take notes kids!" The teacherughed hartley, an expression that he did not bear towards anyone else. "Bless you, sir! You truly honour me!" He bowed elegantly, dispersing his spirit mode. "Oh no! Don''t be modest young man! What you''ve done is truly exceptional! Hold your head up high and be proud!" "Thank you, sir," He smiled, lifting his head as instructed before gracefully strodeing back towards the ranks of the students with his eyes closed, not batting anyone an eye, not even the ones intently staring at him like he was some sort of rival to them. "And finally, thest student left is miss HikariYami! Please show us what you''ve got!" "Y-yes sir!" "Hmmm?" Many of the people were confused that there was still someone remaining, when a little girl suddenly emerged from beneath them, looking no older than 14 years of age. It was like they forgot about her existence. She was very small, quiet, and did not exude much of a menacing aura. Even Moby forgot that Hikari still had her turn, which made his eyes grow wide. Now that he thought about it, he had never actually seen Hikari''s spirit mode despite them being on good terms. Back when she fought his friends, she managed to barely break a sweat defeating all of them while not even needing her spirit mode. "Oh¡­ She''s the girl with the split personality right?" "Yeah! How the hell did you forget?" As she walked up, Moby heard the slight whispers of his peers finally recognizing who she was. When she reached the middle, she took a deep breath, not before looking back at the crowd with a smile. However, Moby knew that smile was not directed at the masses, undoubtedly, her gaze was fixated on him. So, he gave her a smile back and cheered her on. Her smile became wider as she turned around and face the towering professor Zave in the distance. "Are you ready?" "Yes!" She nodded with more vigour than ever before. "Good! Now show us what you''ve got!" "Yes sir!" Like everyone else before her, she took a deep breath and calmed her mind, a small rumble forming from under her feet as snow-white energy flowed all around her, adorning her with decorated, golden engraved light armour from head to toe. And, behind her back were two feathery, angel-like wings. Her look¡­ It gave Moby more than just a moment of pause¡­ He was far beyond speechless as he went to Avilia for assistance. Yet, before he could do even that, Hikari spoke¡­ "Is it my sister''s turn now professor?" "Yes, that would be lovely," He smiled back at her. "Okay!" That was when the ground rumbled once more and her entire appearance changed¡­ Not only was her hair now pitch ck, but her aura was now radiating a simr colour of pure darkness. "Is this good enough professor?" Her voice was stiff and almost overbearing, aplete contrast to her other-self. "Yes, that''s excellent! You can go back to your spot now!" He ordered, making her sigh and revert back to her sister, her appearance going back to white. "Thank you, sir!" She bowed deeply, marching back to Moby''s side with everyone looking at her like some sort of exotic beast. Who could me them¡­ In human history there had never been a person who possessed two-spirit modes¡­ But, here she was living and breathing right in front of them. "Hikari¡­ If you don''t mind me asking¡­ Are you¡­ Are you an angel? He softly whispered in her ears¡­" Chapter 308 - Good Old Roof

Chapter 308: Good Old Roof

"Uh-uh-uh¡­ Excuse me¡­ angel?" She whispered back, her face turning beat red as she slowly put her hands up to cover her cheeks. "Yeah, you heard right¡­ For real... Are you an angel?" Moby asked once more, dead serious. "This is all so sudden¡­ I-I didn''t know you saw me in such a way¡­" That was when Moby looked down and noticed her expression, realizing truly what he just said. "No, no, no! It''s not like that! It''s just that your spirit mode reminded me of an angel. Do you know if your spirit mode is somehow rted to them?" His face turned red out of embarrassment. "Oh no¡­ I''m so sorry, It''s my fault for misunderstanding ummmm¡­ So¡­ Are you trying to ask what spirit is my spirit mode?" She waved her hands slightly before looking away from shame. "Yes¡­" He whispered back, looking at the teacher who was readying himself to speak. "Well¡­ What the military told me was that my spirit mode was a pegasus¡­ I definitely could see how it would look like an angel¡­" "Oh¡­ That makes more sense now¡­ Thanks for telling me," He breathed a sigh of relief. "No problem¡­ That fight you did was really cool¡­ You could have ended it far faster but I appreciate putting on a show. It was fun!" "No problem," He slightly chuckled. "We can talkter, the professor is about to speak." He continued, making Hikari nod back to his words. "Well, that''s it! Took long enough! Now, I have a general idea about all of your power-levels but I still have no idea where yourbat knowledge, techniques, and strategies lie. But, I will save that for another time! For now, let''s review the basics! But first! All of you! 1000ps around the arena now!" "YES SIR!" ******************** "Damn¡­ That was quite a workout¡­" Moby mumbled in a faint breath, stretching out his stiff limbs as he walked out of the school, Hikari by his side. "So, what do you n on doing at lunch?" "I don''t know¡­ I''ll just go wherever you''re going¡­" She nervously responded. That was an answer that Moby did not want to hear. He wanted some alone time where he could explore the city and the school looking for some sort of breach where he could make contact with earth. Having Hikari around him would be somewhat of a hassle he did not want to bother with for now. That was when his saving grace came at a time he did not expect, roaring behind him like a crazy lion. "KANNNEEE!!! Come back here you coward! Let''s go asking teachers to spectate our match and face me!!" "He he, I''m so sorry Hikari, this guy can''t get off my back." He spoke as quickly as he could, sweat running down his face. "Do you want me to beat him up so we can spend time?" "Oh no! That will be okay! We can hang outter! Are you good with going back to your dorm?" "Yes, I''ll probably be heading there since I don''t feelfortable outside alone¡­" "Okay! Sounds great!" "I''m so sorry! Got to go! BYE!" Like a sh, he disappeared from his spot. "Okay bye!" She slowly waved with a sad expression, only for another sh and gust of wind to pass her by, this time being a glowing orange. "KKKAAAAANNNEEE YOU PUSSSYYY!!" ************************ *Pant* *Pant* *Pant* ''Avilia¡­ Do you think I lost him?'' ''Yeah¡­ You should be fine." ''Good,'' *Pant* *Pant* Like a bunch of madmen ying cat and mouse, they ran around the entire rather empty school. And, only after manipting the walls when there were no cameras to phase through did he finally manage to getaway. Yet, all of that time was not spent in vain. Moby managed to check damn near every area of the school for a possible connection and did not manage to find a single one. Now, he was sat near the only ce he had yet to check¡­ The school roof. He might as well enter it. It was a new ce and a fast getaway by simply jumping off the roof to the bottom. If the roof had no connection then he would have to resort to slogging through the entire massive city below, which gave him a headache just thinking about. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened the unlocked door to the school roof. For a tower, the top was far different than he expected, far tter. A good 125 meters squared of a t area overlooking the edges of the school. The door behind him was underneath a small block of the building that eventually protruded up into arge pointy antenna. When he looked up, the forcefield surrounding the school was so close that he felt like he was able to reach out and touch it but that was far from the truth. Still, it did not take away from the force field''s beauty that was even better up close than faraway. It was truly a masterful piece of work. However, despite his sense of wonder, he could not shave off his duty to first check if he could get a signal since he was so close to the forcefield. ''Hmmm? ¡­ HMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!??'' There was a hint, the first hint of hope in a very long time. He tried to contact them but it still did not work, yet he felt like he was making good progress. It was possible! Just a little bit more effort and he would be able to breakthrough. A smile grew on his face as he prepared himself to use all his mental fortitude¡­ That was when he heard a sound¡­ And the creaking of the metallic, roof doors began to slowly open. His first instinct told him that it was Rigrit who had once again found him. Yet, to his surprise¡­ It was someone else¡­ "Hello, Kane¡­ He he he he he Remember me?? He he he he he... You ruined everything¡­ Everything... I''ll kill you¡­ I''ll fucking kill you even if it''s thest thing I ever do¡­" Chapter 309 - Golden-Eyed Eagle

Chapter 309: Golden-Eyed Eagle

Out of the door emerged Lisvern the pink-haired menace he had only just put in his ce. His smile was wide, heavily breathing with absolutely no fear in his manic eyes. He had long jumped the cliff and was now spiralling down an endless abyss. "Hmmm? It''s you¡­ How did you even find me? How were you even let out of your room? Eh, doesn''t matter. Did youe here for me to put you in your ce again? I''d be d to do it," Moby casually spoke; people like him were absolutely no threat to him. "Haha¡­ Funny words for a man who''s about to get maned¡­ I know that I can''t beat you alone¡­ So¡­ I brought back up!" As soon as he spoke those words, two other men walked out onto the balcony bearing that same crazy expression as Lisvern, an ugly blonde-haired man and another with hazel hair. The look on their faces told an entire story. They were being serious¡­ They were really trying to kill him¡­ "Wow wow wow! Calm down there, do you really want to alert the school about all of this?" Lisvern and the others simply smiled at Moby''s remark, their palms on their foreheads. "Now¡­ Why would that matter to any of us when we have nothing left to live for¡­ Our life is ruined and people like you are the reason¡­" "Well, it wasn''t my fault. You were the one who challenged me? Right?" "DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE!?" His smile grew even wider, his screams echoing far and wide, hitting off the shield above. "Oh well, it''s been nice seeing you again but I really have no time for this." Moby wasfortable in a one-on-one fight with Lisvern but the addition of two others was the main problem. He was not confident of winning, especially if they were around Lisvern''s level. They were elite school students after all. "See ya!" He waved, before looking off to the edge of the school to jump down. That was when he was met by a purple forcefield that was suddenly erected all around him. And, when he looked out behind, he noticed it was the work of the hazel-haired man. "Do you really think we''ll let you escape so easily? Well¡­ THINK AGAIN!" ''Shit¡­'' Moby inwardly cursed. There was nowhere to run; he could not jump off and they were guarding the exit. The only way to win was to fight back. He was certain that if he killed them and exined it to the military, they wouldpletely understand and would be a good source of XP. But, that feet would undoubtedly require sin-mode to aplish. In such an open area, he was hesitant to use his sin-mode in case of being caught. It would undoubtedly be rming. Yet, from the looks of it, it seemed like his only option. He turned around to face the three opponents behind him as they slowly walked towards him with an ever-growing bloodlust. He took a deep breath and calmed his mind as he prepared. From how they were acting, he was certain to receive a massive power boost. "We''ll tear you to shreds and make your shitty orphan ass wish you were never born!" Lisvern''s arms turned into small, needle-like spikes as he held it in front of him, ready to fire. "This school is no ce for people like you¡­" The other two behind him followed his lead, an odd void in the hazel haired man''s palms while tentacles were growing out of the other''s. Moby''s eyes turned into deadly slits from their previous casual nature, ck energy flowing all around him as he prepared to unleash all hell on the three in front of him. *sigh* ''Let''s get this over with¡­'' ''Huh?'' That was when suddenly, Moby noticed a small sh from behind, and the shadowy figure descending from the sky like an eagle pouncing on its prey. *CRASH* There was a loud impact from where the three boys once stood, and in the wake of that crash was a fourth man, pinning the two men behind Lisvern on the ground with his hands alone, causing massive cracks beneath their nk, now white-eyed, unconscious heads. "Oh, hello there Kane. I had no idea you were up here too. Were these men causing you some trouble?" Moby couldn''t believe his eyes. It was all out of shock, yet the shock was not simply due to the identity of the man, but how he was so easily and swiftly able to eliminate both of them like they were nothing. Admittedly, Moby did not have his eyes of sin active, but with his still superior senses, he did not manage to even track that man¡­ "Artorias? What are you doing here!?" "Hmmm?" He seemed slightly confused before he smiled. "I always go on the roof. It''s my favourite spot to rx, which I was doing there above the door before they started making some noise. "YOU! ARTORIAS! ARE YOU WORKING WITH HIM!?" Lisvern yelled, looking at Artorias like he was some sort of monster, holding his new friends on the ground like they were training dummies, unconscious and foaming out the mouth. "FUCK! THIS CAN''T BE HAPPENING! DIE!" A burst of energy exploded off of his body as he transformed into his spirit mode. But, instead of rushing towards Artorias, he bolted towards Moby who was still prepared, activating his eyes of sin. He was unable to use freezing time considering he was using his void ability but Lisvern''s desperate rush of pure rage towards him was so extreme that he was confident enough to take advantage of it and counter. But, before he could even do it, it was already done¡­ "Where do you think you''re running off to?" Behind him, Artorias was already there with a smile, and with a simple love tap on the neck, he was skitting on the ground, knocked out cold. ''W-wha¡­.'' This time, Moby had his eyes of sin active and he was only able to perceive Artorias''s movements when it was toote. He was powerful, more powerful than he expected¡­ It was to the point that he did not even see him use a single ability. He did not even think such power was possible from a single student. Although Mason was definitely holding back, It felt more like when he would watch adults, like when he trained with Mason Griffith or professor Leo. It was a huge eye-opener and put into perspective how far he was from even the top echelon of his fellow students, let alone the adults. "Thanks, Artorias¡­ I guess¡­" Moby thanked him slowly. "No problem!" He smiled back brightly, walking over and holding all three unconscious boys by their cors. "I''m sure you didn''t need my help. These chumps wouldn''t be a good match for someone like you." "Oh no! You''re thinking too much of me!" Heughed, rubbing his hands at the back of his head. Artorias simply smiled back before walking towards the edge of the school and throwing off all three boys down to earth. "Don''t worry, this won''t kill them with their constitution and now the staff will go get them from down there instead of bothering us up here. It was clear they wanted to kill you so taking them out is no big deal," "I see¡­" Moby nodded back. "Anyways, what made you go up here? People rarely ever go on the roof these days." "Well¡­ It''s rather calming and all¡­" "Hmmm¡­ Calming you say¡­ Yes... That is also the reason Ie up here¡­ It makes me forget about the hectess of the outside world and what lies even beyond this mortal grasp." He lied on the ground slowly and thrust his open palms up in the air. "That''s some pretty deep talk¡­" "Yes¡­" He smiled wider. "One of these days I''m sure you''ll understand¡­ We¡­ Everyone here are mere microscopic chess pieces on a massive, ever-expanding chessboard and struggle of ck and white¡­ But now, the white has ovee the dark, and now the chessboard is consumed in its blinding darkness¡­" "What do you mean by that? Who exactly are you? Can you stop speaking in cryptic code?" "Like I said in ss¡­ I am a simple man who is in absolutemand of my mistress¡­ I am not always in ordance with her words. This is a perfect example of something I''ve felt very conflicted about but she insisted it was only me who could do it... She''s not exactly famous, but I''m sure you''ve heard of her before. Still, I''ve be quite interested in your power. It''s quite unique, I could not help but notice. You will undoubtedly go ces in life; on this massive chessboard. So¡­ This will be a simple practice match¡­ Do you want to face me in battle? We can keep it all confidential. Don''t hold back, I want to see where you truly lie¡­" He slowly stood up and stretched, his gaze now focused off of the sky above and straight at Moby, a hint of ominousness sending shivers down Moby''s soul. "So¡­ What will it be?" Chapter 310 - First Duel

Chapter 310: First Duel

"Wha¡ª" Moby mumbled under his breath. Artorias''s duel request seemingly came out of nowhere. He had just saved him from those two and now here he was challenging him to a fight. Part of him thought that this was a perfect opportunity to see where he would stack up. There was no one watching them so he might be able to use more techniques and he would not have much of a loss in reputation when he loses. But, at the same time, what was the point in all of that? If he fought him now, he might not have the chance to find time to contact his friends back on earth. He was more than certain that with his current power, even if he used his spirit mode, he would not even be able to bait out his ability. He would need to use sin mode to force it out of him, and for a simple spar, would it even be worth it to expose such a thing? It might cause some problems. No, even if he used his sin mode, by looking at the man in front of him he seemedpletely calm. Sin mode''s emotion-sucking might not be so effective, even if he did sense hints of odditying from him. "So¡­ Kane¡­ What will it be? I am patiently awaiting your response!" Artorias smiled brightly, asking his question once more. "*sigh* I''m sorry Artorias, but you think too highly of me. I''ve only got 1 year of experience with my ability and I know for a fact I am no match for you. Besides, I had other things nned for today¡­ I''m sorry," "Oh! Come on! It''s just a simple spar! It will not take too long!" "..." The air stood still, Artorias''s expression turning more serious. "I see¡­ So, you are the kind of person who only fights knowing they will win¡­ Or, when you know you''ll get something out of it¡­" "Well¡­ Yeah¡­ What''s wrong with that?" "Fine¡­ I''ll y your little game¡­ 10 seconds¡­ If you survive for 60 seconds then I concede. I''ll even use my ability, and we will both use standard weapons from the military. But, no spirit mode. You said you''re low on time, and your reward will be that you get to see my ability.? As an added bonus, if you win I''ll tell you exactly who I am and what my true mission is. You must go all out! If you lose it will simply be your loss. Fair trade right?" Moby thought about it slightly before he made up his mind and smiled. "Sounds good! Those conditions are lovely." Already, Moby had failure in his mind. He had no intentions of using his sin-mode for a simple spar as even then victory was not guaranteed. He was going to get the simple reward of seeing his ability and that was it. He could not allow himself to be reckless, recklessness was what led to his agony. "Very well! Then Prepare yourself!" An odd aura of light overcame Artorias''s entire body, a light forming and flowing around his palms until it came into the form of what could only be described as a bastard sword with the intensity of something devine, like it was Excalibur itself. "So¡­ This must be your ability¡­ Impressive¡­" Moby grinned, pulling out a standard military katana from thin air, transforming into his ckened spirit mode once more, eyes of sin fully active. *Ding* Suddenly, a sound came from Moby''s watch, making him look down only to see exactly what he expected. A duel request with all the conditions stated, which Moby quickly read." "ept it so we could start. After you do, there will be a count down until we begin." "I see¡­ Well, let''s get this over with¡­" Moby''s remark incited a certain look from Artorias, which he didn''t notice due to looking down at his watch. [ ept ] [ 3 ] [ 2 ] [ 1 ] [ START ] Immediately, Moby went for the defensive approach, doing exactly what he did with Lisvern by creating clones to buy time and distract his opponent. Artorias did not initially react, which made Moby feel like something was wrong as he was switching positions. "Such circus tricks won''t work on me¡­" Artorias mumbled in a low voice, and before Moby even knew it, there he was, besides his real body striking directly at his chest. Moby only had a split second to react, which he did by swapping his body with one of his clones. Moby was at a loss for words at how quickly he managed to track him¡­ It was not even his first time teleporting. As he was mixing himself amongst the clones, he switched ces with a few of them, so how was this man able to so easily make out who was who? "Impressive... " Artorias smiled, lifting his sword up in the air. And, with simple shes of his de, shock waves and swipes of light were seen cutting through the air, straight towards Moby''s actual body once more, forcing him to teleport again¡­ And again¡­ And again¡­ Until he was the only one left. "I''ve figured your tricks out long ago Kane¡­ Show me something new¡­" Moby simply stood there speechless, his sweating hands grasping his sword as he prepared for what wasing towards him next. "Show me your true strength!" Just like before, and possibly even quicker, there was Artorias once again straight in his face, aggressively shing his sword towards him, and now with no clones to hide behind, he was forced to fight back. Right before the sh hit, its mark, Moby blocked and deflected it with his Katana, but instead of counter-attacking, he decided to use the opportunity to back off. However, his actions seemed to have garnered the wrath of his opponent even harder, as he seemingly teleported towards him once more,unching a fury of attacks with his brilliant de. "Come on Kane! What is this!" He casually mocked, he clearly was not even trying, shing des together as Moby continued to back off towards the edge of the school roof. That was when he snapped his fingers, and 10 massive orbs of ckened purple appeared right above him, crashing down towards Artorias like meteorites. ''This should buy me so¡ª'' "PATHETIC!" His eyes glowed keenly, and with one swipe of his sword, all the attacks that Moby spent a good chunk of energy on were dispelled¡ª he did not even bother to dodge. "COME ON!! I refuse to believe this is the same man that fought that high-ranking shalker!" Artorias''s attacks were relentless, they were quick and near impossible to react to, yet that did not take away from his clear skill and mastery over the de. What made it worse was that it was a style of swordy Moby had never seen before. He was struggling, clearly on the ropes. ''Avilia! How long has it been?'' ''It''s been 24 seconds,'' ''ONLY!? Oh well...'' His conversation was brief, he could not afford to split his mental focus. "Kane!!? Is this what the famous reported hero has to offer!? I really doubt it! Push yourself! Break past your limit! Don''t you dare hold back against me!!" "..." "I know you''re far stronger! Show me what you''ve truly got! There is definitely more within you that you have not shown! Show me your might! KANE! How do you expect to win like this!?" Artorias''s screams echoed in the air, yet there was no reaction from his opponent. Artorias''s annoyance was not obvious, yet to the keen eye, it was more than clear on his face. *Tch* "I''ve had enough of this stupid game¡­" As if Artorias''s power multiplied tenfold and his moves became more unpredictable, Moby suddenly felt an odd feeling in his stomach, like he was ready to face death¡­ And, in that blink of an eye, he found himself on the ground with beyond bewildered eyes, a glowing sword pointing directly in front of his face mere inches from stabbing him through. "That''s all¡­ I''ve won¡­ You still had 20 seconds left to win too¡­ That was the sorriest disy of a hero I''ve ever seen. I''m beyond disappointed in you¡­ Kane¡­ This is not the way a ''Hero'' should act¡­ This is not the way a leader should act¡­ And, this is definitely not the way a KING should act..." Chapter 311 - True King

Chapter 311: True King

"A king must always strive to do better! To push past his limits! A king never settles for what is merely given to them at the palm of his hands but strives to reach out in front of him and seize all he can! When has a king who took things safely ever seeded? In life, in order to survive, one must struggle and face adversity, one is not required to do anything more than what life throws their way. BUT! In order to thrive! To get ahead of thepetition, One must take risks, sacrifices, and push past their limits! That is what being a good king is all about! A king without greed is no king at all! YOU! For a fact, I know you had more hidden in you! If you pushed yourself you might have won! The living soul is truly a wondrous thing, when pushed against the walls it wille up with thousands of things previously unseen. But you! You never even tried! You came into the fight with the mindset that you must lose! What is holding you back!? Why do you hesitate!? Being careful is one thing, but you take things too far! Youck ambition! And as such, you will never be a king!" Moby, who was still on the ground, looked up at Artorias''s passionate disy like he was some sort of ancient hero, the''s star piercing down to shine a bright light on his face. He was quite mesmerized. He thought deeply about his words and messages yet none of them managed to click. Yet, that did not stop his inner nervousness and instinctive anger. Still, despite all of that, he managed to maintain his outwardposure. ''King? Who is this guy? Does he know who I really am!?'' Moby thought as he prepared to speak. "Hmmm? What are you on about!? I was using my full power, even with my spirit mode. What more could I have done? And, what''s this all about suddenly talking about kings!? Hero I understand but where did you get king from!? And, besides, who the hell are you? What do you know about being king to speak so much about it!?" "Fool! If you had tried and won the fight, then I would have dly shared who I am! That is quite discourteous of you to be asking me now! A hero is a leader, and a leader is a king! It is all connected! I know and have met my fair share of kings in my lifetime! They are all different and unique in their own ways yet share many of the same principles! And for certain, you are not one of them¡­ Would that same man who risked his life against that shalker and sacrificed all be that same man in front of me!? I beginning to have my doubts that you are even a hero!" "Hmmmm¡­" Moby sighed. "Maybe, that man had simply learned from his mistakes and matured?" "I would have to disagree. I came here thinking very highly of you. I expected great things from all the stories I''ve heard about you. But, all I am left with now is an immense disappointment. *Sigh* I honestly don''t like you or your kind. Not at all. But, for the sake of my mistress, I hope you make your way up the chessboard and promote to something great. Farewell¡­" His vigour slowly disappeared as he gave his final speech, sounding fairly sombre by the end as he dispelled his magic de, looking down at Moby once again with a keen gaze before jumping off the roof of the school. Moby breathed in deeply as he lied down at the ground, staring up with a mixture of various emotions. "Who the hell is that guy and what the hell is wrong with him!? Who does he think he is telling me how I should live my life!? He sounds like he''s above everything, it''s kind of annoying!" "Well¡­ to be fair¡­ From the point of view of another king, he does have a point¡­" Moby''s eyes grew wide hearing Avilia''s response. "WHAT!? You''re taking his side!?" "He''s speaking the truth¡­ To be the demon lord, I wasn''t given power out of sheer luck like you, I had to struggle for it. And, much of that struggle came from me oveing the impossible by taking risks, most of which being admittedly very reckless. For an entire year after that incidence with the shalker, you did not take a single risk. You didn''t risk getting into trouble even once for the entire year when from before, you did a lot of things I would have considered fairly reckless." "See! Exactly! I was reckless! I don''t want to do that!" "Well, you can just take calcted, well thought out risks. You''re definitely more experienced now to know what is reckless from not. You''re not doing anything wrong per se, that man is making it sound like we are in the apocalypse and the end is near. He''s definitely over exaggerating things. All I''m saying is be a little more daring, find more risky shortcuts to greater power." *Sigh* "I guess I''ll consider it¡­" Moby''s mind was hurting, he had never been lectured like that for as long as he could remember and the way that man spoke was rather exhausting. Although, now he indeed began to ponder more about what he was saying and who he truly was. "Whatever, let me just get back to what I was doing from before¡­" He stretched his fatigued muscles and looked down at his watch. "Oh damn! 5 minutes left!" It seemed like all of this thinking had wasted more time than he expected. He slightly panicked, and for the remaining time he tried to break through to earth from the roof. But, in the end, he did not manage to do it. He was uncertain if it was simply due to his physical and mental fatigue or if it was simply impossible from the roof. Nevertheless, he decided toe back at the same time the next day to try once more. The bell had rung and he needed to once again head back to ss. However, he could not help but notice that the door was slightly open which made him take a moment of pause. He could have sworn that Lisven and his goons had closed it shut when they had entered behind him but he must have been mistaken. He walked through the now slightly more familiar hallway until he reached his ss, noticing that most had already arrived, including Regrit who gave him a certain, slightly odd look which he attributed to him getting away from the chase. And, of course¡­ Artorias was there too, in his seat directly in front of Moby''s, his eyespletely closed. With a slight sigh, Moby walked past everyone and sat quietly at his seat, staring deeply at the window. The only person that had note was Hikari, who came in only a few minutes after he did. And, only then did the teacher finally arrive¡­ "Sorry that I was slightlyte ss¡­ I had run into some unexpected issues with your old, now expelled friend Lisvern. I''ve already wasted enough time so let''s get started with the ss! Like I said before, we will be discussing how all the world countries found peace and shared the energy amongst each other! As you all know, there are 26 energy sources powering all of humanity. These energy-" As the professor slowly spoke, his voice in Moby''s head became lower and lower until it was no longer there. Moby was lost in his own mind, simply pondering over seemingly minuscule and meaningless things as he stared out the window. Before he and Avilia properly met, he used to do such things quite often. But, he could not remember thest time he did such a thing. Artorias''s words made him think more about the state of the outside world and what was happening. It sounded like he knew quite a lot¡­ ''Maybe it was worth going all out¡­ Maybe he had some vital information I could not part with¡­ But now maybe I''ll never know¡­ Grrr¡­'' He inwardly shook his head, reassuring himself he did the right thing. Why was he even bothering himself with something so meaningless? *RING* *RING* *RING* *RING* *RING* ''Huh!? ss is already over!? What the hell!?'' Moby could not believe he had been daydreaming for hours on end. "Well ss! That will be all! I know the lecture was really long but It was very important! Keep in mind, you will be tested on this material in the very near future so keep your notes organized! Tomorrow will be a day off for those who did not take any extra courses, but that does not mean you shouldn''t work and train hard! And for those who do have sses tomorrow, good luck! You''re gonna need it! ss dismissed!" ''Avilia, did you pick up on the lecture?'' ''Yeah, pretty much did you sleepy head! Memorized almost the entire thing!'' ''Damn, that''s quite impressive. I''ll be counting on you for test day then,'' He slightly yawned. ''Sure thing,'' She responded with a hint of concern. As he rubbed his eyes and looked around, he noticed that most of the ss had already left, and there was Hikari standing right next to his seat. "Can we please walk back together?" Hikari''s figure was the first slight sort offort he saw in a long time. He could not help but smile at her childish, innocent expression. She was like a bright light shining through in a dark den of fatigue and confusion. "Of course! Why not! Let''s go!" Chapter 312 - End of Day One

Chapter 312: End of Day One

After what seemed like the longest day Moby had experienced in a while, he finally retired back into his dorm. He looked around at everything once more and how empty it all felt. Yet, even still, he bore a smile on his face. He walked Hikari back to her room after they chatted and trained slightly in the city and she seemed to be having genuine fun. She did express to him how her first day of school was rather exceptional, but not perfect, and the only reason it was this way was because of him, which he felt like she was giving him too much credit for. Time was getting fairlyte and Moby had a lot of things to do. And, that all began with eating dinner and taking a quick shower. In the meantime, he could not help but notice the sounding out of a certain area in the house, the training room. ''Seems like Regrit''s already back and hard at work¡­'' He thought to himself. Out of all the terrible qualities and impressions he got out of that man, he still admired his work ethic and determination, although some of that was admittedly still odd. Until Regrit got out of the training room, Moby decided to head to one of the two PCs avable in the room and immediately went to work. First off, he tried to ess the standard social media of the world only to find them blocked as he expected. It was a very different experience than he was used to. There were only a few essible websites and those websites only served as information and training instructions sanctioned by the military itself. And, the main website out of all of this was the worldwide military''s official website. After signing in using his new student ID, he was met by endless waves and waves of articles that were previously off-limits to him before. Still, a good chunk of these articles were locked behind a paywall. However, it was no normal pay-wall, if it were that then it would have not been a problem at all. This paywall required school points and some of them were in the thousands. Luckily, this would not affect his chances of making it through to the next semester as school points were permanent and expendable at the same time. Students were allowed to spend their points since the only thing that mattered for moving on to the next semester was the total points acquired. Currently, Moby was very poor and was not even able to ess any of the important files. Even still, the free ones were interesting indeed, they even included that single dragon sighting that girl in his ss talked about. Moby was slightly overwhelmed at the amount of content avable there was. So, he did the only thing natural anyone would have done in his situation. He filtered out all of the results and only kept very few terms. "The Kane Family," "Angel", "Demon", "Devil", "God", and "Dragon". Sadly, he saw none concerning his family but the same could not be said about everything else that was mostly locked. He came across so many religious conspiracy theories, how some people believed that the shalkers were angels who came down to smite humanity for abandoning god in the name of greater power and abilities. And, entire articles about demon children, documenting all there was to know about them. Most of the theories regarding demon children were very wild but extremely in-depth. Yet, both Moby and Avilia did not find any reason with their knowledge to take them as fact. The only theory that they found that might have some merit stated this: ''Since the phenomenon appeared after the arrival of abilities and mana, then it must be some sort of mana rted poisoning or disease affecting the minds of children.'' However, there seemed to be a lot of research debunking this theory and iming it as part of propaganda spread around by the poor who could not afford abilities. Nothing was really definitive and it was all rather convoluted and confusing. This was also the case for all the demon and angel-rted content. Still, it gave a very good insight into what humans perceived as gods and demons; it was all very religious. What really interested him was the locked articles, especially a certain one created by the great Alexander Davis himself titled: "The Truth". It was a? document worth 1 million points, and the only alternative was to achieve a supreme general rank in the military. It was very odd¡­ What was hidden in that document¡­ And, was 1 million points even possible!? Moby sighed looking at hisputer screen. It seemed like he was expecting far too much from the free information provided by the military. All of the interesting and well-made documents were hidden behind a pay wall or a certain military rank. There was still various subjects he did not explore such as what the military believed abilities to be and how they were created but he could save that for another time. Besides, he had entire sses dedicated to that exact subject the next day. For what felt like forever, Moby leaned back on his seat and cracked his fingers. He checked the time and found it to be extremelyte. He had no idea he was reading conspiracy theories for this long. That was when he heard a creaking sounding from the door. "Hmmm? You''re still awake¡­ Kane¡­" He turned aroundzily to see exactly who he was expecting. "Yeah, I was just doing some research. I see you''ve been working hard, but what''s with this pissy attitude of yours? It''s even worse than usual!" "I''m tired! That''s all cunt! It''s 2:00 AM and I have ss tomorrow! You should probably sleep too if you don''t want to act like a zombie in ss!" "Okay there¡­ I thought your period was yesterday but I guess I was wrong," Moby chuckled, closing his PC and hopping into bed. "I did n on going to train in the room but you''ve been hogging it ever since we came." *Tsk* "Shut your mouth or one of these days I''ll rip out your tongue! And whatever! You can use the room tomorrow in the morning before ss!" "That''s nice of you! So, I''ll get it in the mornings and you get it during the night? Not bad but why can''t we just share it?" "HUH!? In your dreams! I''d rather die than train with you and let you see all my secrets!?" "Secrets? What are you doing in there all day? Jacking off? Is that what all the sound ising from? We already train in ss so what''s the difference?" "S-shut up! It''spletely different!" "Hahaha! Okay, sure thing buddy!" Moby smiled, staring at the ceiling of the dark bedroom. He could not remember thest time he had yful fun talking with anyone ever since talking to Jayden and Alex before the incident¡­ It felt like his brain degraded to the level of a chimpanzee but he could not help but find it amusing to let loose like that. It was different from when they first met. The air suddenly fell silent. Moby had nned to check out the training room since he was not at all tired but that would arouse some suspicions since every human needed sleep. So, for now, he decided to train his freezing time and eyes of sin while pretending to sleep in bed, that along with doing various meditation rituals taught by Mason Griffith and Avilia, along with the ones he developed himself. However, when he was about to close his eyes, he heard a faint whisper enter his ears. "Hey Kane¡­ You''re record states that you''re undefeated right?" "Y-yeah? Why?" "Good¡­ Don''t you dare lose to ANYONE! It''s gonna be me who finally puts you in your ce¡­ Not even a pretend loss when you don''t even try! NOTHING!" "O-okay? Why are you being so serious about all of this? Why does it have to be me? Why are you so deadset on it?" "Do you know who I am Kane?" "No¡­ Should I?" "Heh¡­ I should have expected that¡­ And no¡­ You shouldn''t know who I am¡­ Goodnight¡­" He turned his head to the other side, staring nkly at the wall. And, unbeknownst to Moby, a single tear flowed down Regrit''s face along with a hurt, slightly angry-looking expression as he tried to sleep... Chapter 313 - Training Room

Chapter 313: Training Room

The time was 6:00 AM, well before any ss started and Moby was already wide awake. It was not like he actually slept the night, but it was now that he finally decided to start his day with a smile. Moby hopped out of bed as quietly as he could and immediately headed over towards the kitchen to eat his breakfast, he did not want to wake Regrit up who was still fast as sleep, snoring like a wild animal, his face turned the other way. Today was different from his usual routine, before he did his daily quest, the training room was empty and waiting for him. With a smile, he walked into the darkroom and turned on the lights just so it would not seem weird. There, just like before, he saw various machinery one would normally see at the gym but these seemed somehow different, especially a certain machine in the corner that he decided to save untilter. He looked around him and made his mind up on the first machine, the one for bicep curling. And, only as he sat down on the ratherfortable seat he noticed what the difference was from what he was used to. They were gravity crystal powered¡­ The weight of the exercise was free to choose by the person exercising. He could not help but think of Ray when looking at such a mechanism¡­ He shook his head and decided to test it out. At the bottom of the machine, there was a calctor-like screen where inputs for weights were possible, including any measurements the user desired from metric and imperial. First, he set the weight at 6 tons, approximately that of a normal elephant and managed to do it with no problem at all. He expected it to way far more to the point that he felt like he almost broke the machine from pulling his biceps up too hard. It felt almost like pulling up air... ''That''s what I get for not touching weights in over a year¡­'' Moby mumbled to himself. He sighed slightly, looking down and changing the weight on the machine, punching in the number for 200, around the weight of a blue whale and amercial airne from the ancient days before abilities were a thing. He took a deep breath and held on tightly, pulling up the arm of the machine with less force than before. ''Not bad¡­'' He smiled, pulling it up a few more times. This time, he actually felt it, however, it was only slightly, and he knew he could do far more. He bent down once again and changed the gravity for thest time. And, after a few minutes of pondering, he punched in the numbers for 1200 tons, around that of a moderately sized cargo ship and far more than a blue whale. And, even before he did any movement, simply by grasping on the handles of the machine, he already felt like this one was going to be far different than the rest. Like before, he took a deep breath and steadied his hand. Using no enhancements from magic, or any of his skills or abilities he pulled his arms back up using his raw strength alone. *Ieeghhhya!* He grunted, feeling the pressure between his two arms and on his biceps. It was more than he expected it would be. He was visibly sweating, his arms bulging up from only one attempt. ''Ooooonnnneee¡­'' ''Twoooooo¡­..'' ''Thrrreeeeeee¡­'' ¡­ ... ''TTTEEENNNN!!!'' ''Ten¡­ Ten seems to be my limit¡­'' He instinctively fell back on the back of his seat staring nkly andzily at the ceiling with his sweaty hands hovering slightly over his beating heart. ''A-avilia¡­ I almost forgot to ask¡­ But¡­ Does this even help me in anyway?'' He struggled to even speak, his arms felt like they had their own heartbeat throbbing up and down. ''Well¡­ Kinda? It''s not very effective and the stats you would gain would be minimal. Even humans would benefit more through this than you. Training physically for demons is not as important as training mentally and training magic and skills. The only benefits you would gain is through the daily quest, anything more than that is extremely slow and probably not worth your time.'' ''So¡­ You''re telling me if I trained here it would be a waste of time?'' ''Yeah, pretty much¡­'' She inwardly nodded to him. ''Wait¡­ I also have another question¡­ Why is the daily quest so specific? Do I have to do exactly what is said in it? Is it some sort of secret demon ritual?'' That was when he heard a slight chuckle to his question. ''Nah! It was just some random training exercise I used from this one funny anime series I saw you watching once before we both properly met! And, I found out it was the perfect exercise to give to you as a quest! If you want, I canplete your daily quest now. You did more than enough exercise lifting there than necessary.'' ''Oh¡­ I see¡­ HAHHAHAHA!'' Moby could not help butugh; of course, it was like this, it was Avilia after all. ''Don''t worry about it, the daily quest has be some sort of ritual for me! Let me finish it now!'' ''I see¡­ It''s all up to you in the end,'' She inwardly smiled at him. Slowly, Moby stood from his seat and stretched his stiff arms that were not as bad as they were at first. Demon regeneration was truly a marvel. With the small space provided, hepleted his daily quest and assigned his stats appropriately all in intelligence. He looked down towards his school watch as he stretched and noticed the time. [6:35 am] The time was far from school starting and there seemed to be nothing of use for him in this room. Like Avilia told him, all of these machines were useless to him and his demon body. ''Oh well¡­'' He sighed slightly. There seemed to be no use in this room after all and giving Regrit full ess was the way to go. But, he had to word it carefully to make it seem like he owed him a favour. That was when one thing caught his eyes and he remembered. Indeed, he nearly forgot about that weird machine in the corner. He smiled, walking towards it. It was like a capsule of some sort, blue, green, and purple circuits flowing through tubes all around it. And, there was a note on the machine board beside it that bore all the controls and instructions that Moby read it with a smirk. [ VR Combat Machine ] ''Heh¡­ Maybe there is use for this room after all¡­'' Chapter 314 - VR

Chapter 314: VR

Moby thoroughly read what was written on the pamphlet carefully ced to the right of the capsule and began to learn precisely what this VR machine was all about. "Wee, dear Elite school student to a new project released by the military! And you will be the beta/prototype testers before its official debut!" Moby slowly nodded as he continued reading the introductory statements until he arrived at exactly what the machine did and how to use it. "In its current state, this machine will grant the user a safe arena in virtual space where they will be able to train with a designatedyout provided by the military. The user will have ess to unlimited mana and stamina toggles. This will allow the user to experiment with their mana and develop new techniques that will be able to be tranted to the real world, that along with martial arts techniques. Sadly, the time flow in the space will correspond to that of the outside world, but experiments with time crystals are in the works! And, student vs studentbat will be implemented at ater time. The major downside to all of this is that one''s actual body will not be at all affected by any of this. It is all mental and virtual. Hence, if one expects to go in to train their body or to strengthen their abilities, it will not be of use." Moby continued reading until he finally reached the instructions, which were much smaller than he expected considering all theplex machinery he saw in front of him. "Step 1: Press the indicated massive red button to the side of the capsule¡­ Step 2: Enter the capsule and when you are ready, close the door behind you by pressing the same red button from the inside. The area around you will then be filled with purple liquid. Do not panic, that is as it is intended, (The liquid will not stain your clothes so, DO NOT go in naked.) Step 3: Enjoy! Once the liquid enters your system, the VR machine will take over and you will be transported to your new reality! Once you have finished, and to ess any other service such as the time, please say "Menu" and you will be able to safely navigate your way out. We hope you enjoy this experience and don''t hesitate to send us any suggestions once you have tested!" From what Moby read, this seemed to be exceptional! But, the only problem was if it also worked with demon energy, which part of him really doubted. He also did not worry about the military spying on him whilst inside. That would go against militaryws on so many levels and parents would have immediately been outraged. They wanted to protect their secrets after all, and what would be an easier way of stealing them than spying on them whilst they trained. As instructed, he pressed the red button indicated and the capsule was immediately opened like automatic doors at the supermarket, only these ones released white, smoke-like air from inside of it that for some odd reason, smelled like that of minty toothpaste. There, as he entered, he noticed the intricate design of the previously hidden insides. It was fairly ne with metal and ss all around him, and two odd tubes from above where he assumed all the purple liquid would pour. And, before he pressed the red button once more to enter his new reality, he heard a sudden, unexpected voice in his head that made him instinctively raise an eyebrow. ''Hey, what do you think will happen to me when you''re in this thing?'' This was one of the only times Moby could ever remember Avilia asking him a serious question. It was always the other way around where he had to rely on her for knowledge and wisdom. ''I''m not sure¡­ Is this something to worry about? Wouldn''t it be simr to when I sleep? I''m not sure we will be able tomunicate with each other but it shouldn''t be bad. Right?'' ''I know it won''t have anysting effect but this machine might be doing something to your soul, almost like putting you in a dead state and using that to their advantage by transferring your consciousness elsewhere.'' ''Wait, how do you know this?'' ''Well, I analyzed the inner workings of this machine,'' ''What the hell? How? What kind of demon magic is that? And why haven''t you taught me!?'' ''It''s advanced stuff okay! I''ll teach youter but that''s not important now!'' ''I still don''t understand why this is a big deal? You scared I''ll be ripped away from you or something?'' ''NO! Well¡­ Kinda¡­ For a really long time, I had your soul and consciousness so close to me so it might feel kinda odd if it''s away¡­'' Avilia''s voice was low and Moby could not help but chuckle and smirk. ''I didn''t know you had a crush on me! You would really miss me that much?'' ''Dickhead! You wish! It''s not like that! UUggghhh! How do I exin this without iting off as weird!'' ''Eh, don''t worry about it¡­ I''m just messing around. I know exactly what you mean and I don''t really have a response¡­ Maybe just take a nap or something¡­ If my consciousness my drift elsewhere momentarily, my half-alive body might seem colder than usual but I''m sure you''ll manage!'' ''Eh! Whatever! It''s gonna be okay! Let''s just get this over with! You''re right! It''s been a while since myst good nap!'' Moby chuckled once more at Avilia''s behaviour. He could not remember thest time he saw her like that but it was certainly refreshing. It was a reminder that Avilia was also a normal person and had her very own emotions, it was just that she rarely ever showed that side of her. He put his hands on his face and shook his smiling figure back to normality, taking a deep breath and pressing the red button. *BEEEP* *BEEEP* *BEEEP* Sounds and red lights began to echo all around him as the open doors in front of him were closed shut. Soon after, purple, glowing and sparkling liquid began to slowly yet quickly gush in the capsule but Moby kept his calm. As the liquid reached his knees, that was when he truly noticed that his clothes were not wet. So, he decided to take a small sample of the liquid and store it inside of his inventory forter experimenting and use. Before he knew it, the liquid had reached all the way up to his neck, and slowly made its way up to his nose. He was no longer able to breathe the normal air but as a demon, the air was not exactly necessary. He was not going to go unconscious by simply running out of air and drowning. So, he closed his eyes and shut down his senses, not before opening his mouth and nose so the liquid could enter his body. He let his mind wander and drift. Several images popped up in his mind of a soothing purple river. He imagined his consciousness falling into the river and moving freely through the beautiful cherry blossom forest until it reached the end¡­ And, the end was an ornate pod encircled with gray, pointy rocks, flower petals in the water with a thunderous waterfall crashing down. That was when he opened his eyes¡­ There, in front of him, he noticed he was not where he once was¡­ It looked exactly like the arena where he and his ss trained the day before¡ª wide, broad, and empty. It was almost an exact replica, even down to how the barrier around him and the stands looked. He could not help but marvel, it looked all too realistic. That was when he looked down towards his own body and moved like he normally did. He was unmistakably naked and touching his skin felt identical to real life to the point that he doubted it was virtual reality, even his measurements were true to size. But, at the same time, he could not help but feel like it was different. A specific thing that made him know for certain that he was in VR but he was not able to immediately identify it. That was until he pinched himself, and he found there to be absolutely no pain. That then led to him punching himself in the face, and once again he felt nothing, not even a spec of blood despite the force he used in that punch. However, this time a certain sound arrived in his head. *Err* That was when he noticed above him¡­ [ HP: 91/100 ] [Mana: 100/100] "An HP bar!? And a mana bar!?" It was exactly like a video game. It felt both odd to see yet firmly at home at the same time. What was next for him to test was how the movement was like, and after that he decided to check how demon energy functioned in this space, if it functioned at all. He was not able to have this level of privacy in a long time. He felt free and like he could let loose. So much so that he didn''t even bother to see if there was an option to put on some clothes. Almost like a little child in a yground, with a wide smile on his face, he sped naked around the entire arena, trying his best to utilize every muscle group along with certain moves and techniques he normally used in battle to see how they tranted in this new space. However, his moment of freedom was interrupted by a certain sound that echoed wide and hard around the entire arena and inside his virtual skull. The voice felt familiar, and was unmistakably female¡­ "Hey! You naked ape! You seem to be having fun without me arent ya? Didn''t think you were like this when I was away!" Moby felt an odd feeling in his non-existent stomach and a bewilderment in his mind as he gulped in his empty saliva and turned around to face the voice. "W-w-w-w-w-WHAT!?" Chapter 315 - VR (2)

Chapter 315: VR (2)

When he turned around, he saw exactly who he expected yet didn''t want to believe¡­ Her purple, leaning slightly towards ashen hair was long and silky, falling down to her waist, unhindered by her deeper purple, well-hidden wings. The ck horns on her head stood tall and proud, growing slightly purple from within. Her bright purple, red pupiled eyes shined brightly in the virtual space. Her sleek long-nailed hands were softly on her lips slightly covering the malevolent smile on her undoubtedly attractive visage. Below that face was a standard female school uniform he had almost gotten used to seeing. Her shirt seemed slightly tight, emphasizing her clearly well-endowed breasts and hips. Underneath she wore a sort of blue skirt along with white thigh-high socks covering her thick, elegant, yet muscr thighs. "Avilia! What the hell are you doing here!?" Moby yelled on instinct, more than taken aback at what he was seeing in front of him. "I just followed you in here! What? Didn''t know you wanted to get rid of me that badly!" She smiled, looking at him with a slight chuckle. "Ah?" *EEEEK* Moby immediately covered up his private parts that he only now noticed were exposed, only making Aviliaugh even harder. "HAHAHAHAH! Why are you covering up!? I''ve seen you naked a million times already! Hell! I''ve seen you have sex more times than I would like to admit! I live in your head remember?" Moby''s face turned bright red out of embarrassment. He already knew all of these things but he never really wanted to think about them "W-whats going on!? How are you here? I thought I was all alone! And how the hell did you get clothes!?" "Well, just use the menu obviously! You''ll get a lot of choices!" "T-thanks!" Moby immediately spoke the words "Menu" and an entire list of options were listed in front of him. Yet, despite all the choices, he could not care less about any of them as he simply used his mind to scroll through the options until he found "Equipment," and immediately selected the default option. And, not even a secondter, he felt a slight tingle and a glow all around him as he was now d tightly in his usual student uniform. *Fhew¡­* Moby breathed a sigh of relief before directing his attention towards Avilia in the distance, walking slowly over to her amused figure with a face of bewilderment. "Exin! How the hell are you here!" "Wow! Why are you being so bold? Aren''t you happy to see me here?" "Well, yeah, I guess¡­ But it just caught me off guard¡­" "Pfff! I see! It''s kinda weird being here since I can''t read your mind like usual!" Aviliaughed once more, almost like a little kid. That was when Moby noticed something he should have realized long ago but was simply too distracted¡­ Avilia was moving normally. This was his first-ever time seeing Avilia other than a slide show of her or simple images¡­ She was moving, talking, andughing like a normal person would. It was like the demon lord was in front of him in the flesh. He could not stop ogling her as sheughed right in front of him. Yet, what was odd was that he sensed no auraing out of her which he did not know was due to the VR or due to Avilia suppressing herself. "If I''m being honest, I''m not certain about 100% how this is happening but pretty much, this is what I get from it. This machine somehow works with people''s consciousness along with virtual reality technology. As long as something has a consciousness, it can enter whatever the hell this ce is. Pretty much, as you went in, I hung onto your soul and was transported here along with it! I couldn''t really believe it either! It''s weird in here, I feel alive and dead at the same time! This ce is amazing! Who knew humans could develop something like this! I feel like I can probably cast a simr spell to project my true self but not when I was locked up in your head! This is amazing!" Moby was beyond stunned at what he was seeing in front of him. He had never seen Avilia act like such a child before for his entire time knowing her¡­ It was almost like she was a different person. "Heh! Why are you gawking at me like that? I understand you have never seen anyone that looks as good as me but make it more subtle!" "It''s not that! I just never saw you moving like that before!" "Ha! I guess that makes sense too!" She checked herself out. Moby put his hands on his temples as he felt like a slight headache overcame his mind before he spoke. "Well, anyways¡­ This is all really amazing! Other than this machine letting me talk to you directly, maybe this will also help me train! It was a nightmare when you would try to describe how some demon magic hand symbols were just by words and slight shes of images. But¡­ that would all depend on if demon energy even worked in such a ce¡­" That was when Avilia''s smile grew even wider, with a hint of wicked excitement written all over it. "Good idea! Let me check!" Avilia put her middle finger and thumb together, and with that simple movement, cracks began to form on the ground beneath them and several pulses of purple energy tore the defensive barrier around the arena into what looked like ss shards¡ª Moby was left speechless at the disy. "Let''s see if this is gonna work¡­" And just like that, she snapped her fingers and everything went into a blinding light of purple that was followed up by a st so massive that it would have put busting explosions to shame. And, in less than a fraction of a second, Moby''s health dropped from a healthy 100/100 to a dead 0/100. Yet, despite that fact, he felt nothing¡­ All that happened was that his vision went ck and he found himself materializing and standing exactly where he first spawned into this world. But, unlike the first time he spawned, the world around him was far different¡­ It was still the arena he firmly remembered, only now it was shrouded in gray ash, cracks and piles of rubble everywhere like someone had set off a nuclear explosion. The smoke clouds were thick, yet they gave off no noticeable smell or breathing problems towards him, the air felt nearly exactly the same. If mass destruction had a visual representation it would be what he was seeing in front of him currently. Yet, even still, he felt like it was far too little for what Avilia had done, and he seemed to not be the only one thinking that¡­ "Damn¡­Well, demon energy works¡­ But, I thought that would wipe out the entire building at least¡­ What''s this made of?" That sight was so shocking that he nearly forgot that demon energy actually worked. But, before he could even open his mouth, a white energy shed upon all the walls and smoke around them. And, like time rewinded itself in a split second, the arena was back to how it was like before, all clean and prestine. "Avilia¡­ Why did you st that in my face??" "Oh! Don''t worry! I know it wouldn''t hurt you!" "Yeah, I guess¡­ Eh, anyways, how is demon energy even working here? If you have a mana bar, can you tell me what number it says?" "95/100 mana¡­ What is that? No way that attack depleted 5% of my energy reserves!" "Hmmmm¡­ I guess it wasn''t able to emte you at full strength, which is very understandable. But, you''re still strong as hell¡­. And, why in the world would demon energy count as mana in this reality? Is the game bugged or does it count anything energy-based as mana? This is confusing." "I honestly don''t know¡­ But, I doubt it''s anything major¡­ Eh, I guess in this state I would be able to p around any human imaginable and I would still be able to use a few of my spells. I guess I can''tin, this is more freedom than I could ever dream of¡­ I never imagined I would be talking like this to another person so soon... Move freely with a body I had full control over and not just a limited, simple mental projection... I never thought I would be able to see, train, and interact with you in such a way¡­ It''s truly a blessing¡­ This kind of tech is amazing..." "And, I never thought I would be able to see you like this before I get you a new body¡­ This is far from ideal but it''s a good first step¡­" They both smiled at each other, standing a few feet apart with Avilia being slightly shorter than her sessor. It was the first moment of calm in a long time. But, like all good things, they neverst and will alwayse to an end... "So¡­ Now that we''re here. Are you gonna whip something new out and train me? Knowing you, you probably have something whipped upright?" "Uhum, of course, I do!" She nodded at him. "But first! I want to see if I put in a bit more energy, will I be able to destroy this building? I''ll be using a very high-level spell so pay attention to my energy flow and technique okay?" The smile she bore on her face was pure evil, sinfulness from the deepest depths of hell seeping out of every pore. "Oh no! It''s really okay! I''m not ready for that level of magi-" "Toote!" *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* Chapter 316 - Avatar

Chapter 316: Avatar

Once again, Moby opened his eyes to find himself in the spawn location, the arena around him looking just as damaged as before. And, just like earlier, it slowly regenerated back into ce. "Well¡­ It seems like this arena is indestructible or something¡­ Or¡­ Maybe if I put in even mor¡ª" "NOO! Avilia! It''s quite fine! It''s indestructible! You don''t need to try more! Why are you ac¡ª" Moby stopped his words early before he finished them. "Huh? Why am I what?" "Eh, nothing, don''t worry about it. This must be a special moment for you and all so I''ve got no room toin¡­ I couldn''t imagine being in your situation¡­ Locked up with nothing to do and a spirit for a body¡­ If you want to blow this ce up again then go for it. Sorry about earlier." Moby looked at the ground, and was unable to see Avilia''s face as he took a deep breath. That was when he felt a tough, strangling feeling wrap all around him that slowly turned into something more soft and gentle. "Thanks for that, it really means a lot¡­ You know, I''ve never felt the touch of another person for thousands of years. It feels so weird but at the same time, it feels so familiar. The same goes for my powers¡­ Blowing my enemies to pieces was one of my favourite sensations but it just doesn''t feel the same. We''ve been through a lot together but this is the first time I could be free and truly express myself¡­" Moby was dumbfounded. Avilia was hugging him!? The demon lord in his head always stayed calm and collected no matter what. He was so flustered that he didn''t know what to say. His brain spun in high gearing up with any response to make sense of what was happening such as. ''Express yourself? You''re expressing yourself with a hug¡­ Does that mean you like me!?'' But, not too long after he calmed himself down and took low breathes. He tried to put himself in her shoes and experiences that even he could not fathom¡­ She just must have been truly lonely and holding it in the entire time as she watched silently in his mind as he had a normal life. "It''s okay Avilia¡­ I get it..." He hugged her back. It was a moment of odd calmness and warmth. Unbeknownst to both of them, they stayed like that for almost a minute before they snapped back to their senses when Avilia let go of him. "Just so you know! D-don''t get the wrong idea from that! I ju¡ª" "No need to exin yourself. I can''t really say I know the hardships of your life¡­ But, I feel like I get what you feel¡­" Moby''s face bore no smugness or child-like remarks¡­ He was being serious which made Avilia''s face brighten up. "Well¡­ I''m d you understand¡­ You''re just the only person I could ever make contact with... It''s really weird talking to you like this¡­ For the longest time I could always read your mind but now there''s nothing¡­ It''s almost like meeting a new version of you¡­" "Yeah, I could imagine," Moby chuckled. "..." "ANYWAYS! Enough of this waste of time! Let''s get to work!" As if Avilia changed her attitudepletely, she took a deep breath and spoke, moving on from what was happening prior. "But, before I train you more, I need to test out a few things!" She closed her eyes and focused her energy, a marvellous purple aura surrounding her as Moby watched. ''Seems like she''s back to normal¡­'' Moby internally smirked. "Okay, from what I can find, long-range teleportation magic outside of this dome is prohibited, extreme time magic is prohibited as well, so I won''t be able to extend our training time," "So, what are you teaching me today?" Avilia smiled softly to his question. "Today, I will be teaching you how to control all four basic elements!" "HUH!?" Moby''s shock was clear on his face. "How!?" "With demon magic of course!" She slightly chuckled. "We demons are able to control many elements, but first I''ll teach you the very basic ones." "Wait wait wait! Why didn''t you tell me this earlier!? Did I waste my ability on getting ice!? I could have just gotten it using magic!?" "Well, not exactly¡­ Most demons specialize themselves in 1 or 2 elements and neglect the rest or simply have low mastery of them. Luckily for you,? I''ve mastered all of them! And so will you! The ability you possess is still good! It will most likely greatly boost your mastery in that area. Plus, it uses a different energy source sobining them may be possible!" "Wait! I just realized¡­ Are you teaching me this because of my new sword!?" "Bingo! That''s definitely part of the reason! I think focusing on this is the way to go! You would be able to infuse all the new elements you learn into your sword!" Arge smile of excitement was seen on Moby''s face imagining how that would be like. "I''m ready! Teach me how to do this!" That was when Avilia''s tone became more serious. "Okay¡­ But, I have to warn you¡­ This is much harder than you think it is¡­ Demons have trained for thousands of years in theher realm and some don''t even get to master a single element¡­ I won''t be really able to help you by imnting knowledge in your mind since the process for this has unique factors for each person." "I fully understand¡­ But, I''ve always been a fast learner and with you as my teacher, I''m sure I''ll get the hang of it soon¡­" Moby seemedpletely confident, which also made Avilia look slightly more optimistic. "Well, there isn''t much for me to teach you but okay!" Sheughed before continuing. "First, let''s start with this. This is the agi symbol, the symbol for fire." She lifted her arm and with her right hand, put up her middle and index fingers straight and bent the ring and pinky hovering over the bottom of her palm, her thumb out wide. And then, in that same hand was a bright orange, slightly red ball of fire, crackling like it was alive¡­ It was something he would have only expected to see from a fire ability. "Next is the symbol for garu, the wind element." With that same hand, she dispersed the fire. With her thumb still out, she raised up all four other fingers and bent them like an inclined staircase, a slight separation between the index and middle finger. And, as she did that, currents of visible green wind were seen dancing all around her like a gentle tornado, making her hair flutter in the air. "After that is aqua, the water element and it''s like this," She dispersed all the wind. And, with her same hand, she tucked her thumb in and ced her index on top of it while keeping all other fingers firmly pointed up. And, just like the fireball, there in her hand was a ball of pure water like something found in the expansive oceans of the earth. "Andst but not least is the earth element, ragna," The water fell and sshed on the ground. She tucked her thumb in on her right hand and rigidly bent her other fingers down to their second joins, a very stiff position for the hand. And, as a disy of the element, a chair made out of the metal of the Arena sprung out of the ground under her as she casually sat on it. "Well, that''s all I''ve got to teach you! From here on you''re on your own," She casually sat on her chair-like throne and leaned back. "WHATT!? That''s it!? That''s all you''ve got to teach me!?" "Well yeah¡­ I already told you, it''s all about inner energy control and something like this can''t be taught. It''s all different for each person andes from personal experience and practice." "B-b-but! Can''t you give me any hint!? Anything?" "Nope! You''re on your own now! I would suggest focusing on a single element for now. If you want me to give you another demonstration just let me know and I''ll do it for you¡­ Show me that great talent of yours!" Moby was left absolutely speechless¡­ But that didn''tst for long. He took a deep breath and calmed his mind. Other people were in the same boat as he was¡­ It was a good lesson for him to do more on his own instead of depending on Avilia and her advice for everything. It was time for him to prove himself and show how much more he could aplish on his own! He remembered exactly what all the symbols looked like, they were extremely simplepared to what he was used to. And, after not a lot of thinking, he decided on the fire element. He was confident, pumped to see what he was able to aplish since it looked fairly simple. He once again took a deep breath and calmed his mind, focusing his energy into his right palm, bearing the symbol on it and making it explode! ''FIRE! COME FORTH!'' "..." "..." But, his moment of excitement and ecstasy was cut short when absolutely nothing happened other than making himself look like an idiot. "Oh! Wow! They have a video game prop in this VR space in the options menu! A video game in a video game! I''ve never actually yed one of these! Seems fun from what I''ve seen you y! What game do you rmend that''s good for passing the time?" *********** Checkments for HikariYami art! Chapter 317 - Mana Crystal Class

Chapter 317: Mana Crystal ss

''FIRE!'' ¡­ ''FIRE!'' ¡­ ''FIRE!'' ¡­ ''FIRE!'' ...''FIRE!'' ...''FIRE!!'' ¡­ ''FIRE!!'' ¡­ ''FIRE!'' ... ''FIRE!!'' ¡­ ''FIRRREEEE!!'' ¡­ ''WHY! WHY IS THIS NOT WORKING!'' Moby had been doing exactly the same for what felt like an eternity and he seemed to be making absolutely no progress. He was on the verge of losing his mind. It had been a very long time since he did not get the hang of a new technique immediately; ever since the summer before school where he practiced his family techniques day and night. Ever since then, he had been almost handed his new techniques by Avilia and never really struggled to learn anything new to this extent. "Hey! Moby! You said there was a shortcut on map two. Where is it again?" "It''s on the second path by the waterfall, there should also be a gold chest along the way, you can''t miss it!" "Thanks!" She giggled, smiling like a child ying the game. "You know, you''re being too tense. Just rx and calm your mind¡­" He decided to take her first hint of advice. Moby took a deep breath trying to subdue the visible vein popping out of his head. "Okay¡­ I''ll try¡­" He closed his eyes and tried to do some mental gymnastics. He envisioned a me in a dark void of nothingness, small and fragile glowing a small area around it as it struggled to stay alive. That me then slowly grew and grew, until it became a raging inferno. The light around it increased and now the red, rocky ground was more than visible, screams of terror and manicughs echoed all around him as the mes slowly exploded into a purplish-blue with a scaly eye at its center that seemed like it was staring into his very soul¡­ He could no longer contain himself and sprung his arms out forward with the symbol of agi, fire on his right hand¡­ ''Fire¡­'' *Poof¡­* Moby opened his eyes only to see a small puff of ck smoke exit his palms along with the subtle smell of charcoal. Still nothing¡­ "Oh well¡­" After all he had done and tried he could not do it. His disappointment was immeasurable and his day was ruined, but there was still tomorrow to try more. There was no way he was about to give up now. "WOW! WHAT THE HELL! THAT WAS AMAZING! YOU REALLY DO HAVE TALENT!" Avilia sprung out of her seat andpletely ignored the game console in her hand. "Wait what?" Moby''s surprise was more than clear. "That was pathetic¡­" "You don''t understand! What you did is incredible! People doing this take months or sometimes years to get to this stage! Considering your talent, I expected it to be a week or so but never a few hours!" "Thanks, I guess¡­" Moby raised an eyebrow. He was having a hard time seeing if Avilia was exaggerating but it still made him feel much better about what he had done. "Be happy! At this rate, you should be able to produce actual results in a few months!" "I guess I''ve been really rushing things. It''s nice to have this power¡­ We shoulde here everyday from now on," "Agreed," Avilia nodded. "By the way what time is it?" "Oh¡­ haha¡­ I know you told me to keep you updated on the time while you focus on training but... It''s 8:57, your ss starts in 3 minutes¡­" "WHAT!!" With no hesitation, Moby promptly opened his options menu and logged out. And, by doing so, Avilia was forced to do the same without her input. A split secondter, he found himself in that same capsule as before, the liquidpletely drained and the door wide open for him. Like a sh, he rushed over to the washroom to brush his teeth and take a shower, using his agility stat for what it was truly meant to be used for before jumping out of the window of his dorm and sprinting straight to ss. *********************************************** 8:59 am In a white ssroom of around thirty students stood a tall and proud woman. She wore a very sleek and polished attire, a navy and white suit that had tapered pants that fit her snugly, ck boots on her feet. Despite her clearly intimidating aura, she was still very attractive. She had long navy hair that matched her clothing, tied into a bun at the top of her head, underneath her sses were keen, dark blue daggers that bore a terrifying yet certain charm. And, her well-endowed figure and assets were not so easily masked under her well-tailored suit. "Good morning. ss is about to start soon, so I''ll be introducing myself! My name is Rayna Archibald and I will be your mana crystal teacher for the semester! So first, I''ll be¡ª" "I''m-I''m notte am I?" Suddenly, interrupting the entire ss, a man was seen at the door, a hint of panic on his face. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* "Well... In the school rules, you''re notte¡­ But, showing up on thest second is really disrespectful!" "I''m sorry miss¡­ I was too caught up training to realize the time¡­" *Hmph!* "That is no excuse young man! Is this how you expect to start the new year at elite school? Unbelievable! Do you see this ss? Don''t be someone like this!? I guarantee someone like him won''tst for the first semester! Training is important but showing up to ss appropriately is even more important!" The ss sat stiff and silent, not even moving an inch before a few heads nervously nodded, their eyes switching between the teacher and Moby at the door. "Excuse me?" Moby interjected. "Excuse me you say? You dare talk back!?" Her screams echoed throughout the entire ss, a ck tentacle-like aura springing out from underneath her with strength and ferocity he had only seen matched by Mason Griffith himself. But, even still, Moby stood his ground and did not budge nor cower and simply responded, reaffirming his words. "Yes I do! What kind of teacher insults their student on the first day?" The entire ss''s eyes grew wide out of shock. Any man in his ce would have just taken the insult and stayed silent. He was pretty much asking to get points deducted. "Huh¡­ You know what¡­ Congrattions!!"? Her aura of intimidation and power suddenly disappeared and a bright facial expression was seen on her face." I actually appreciate the courage from you young man! I just expected you to stay silent. Standing up for one''s self when they feel wronged or insulted is an excellent characteristic to have in life. Keeps you from being a sheep following the herd. I would have done the same thing if I were you! +100 points!" ''Huh?'' ''HUH!?'' Moby''s, along with everyone else in the room''s brain felt like they were malfunctioning taking in exactly what the teacher just said. "And for the rest of the ss, there is a difference between standing up for yourself and being an idiot. I always do this once a year where I act poorly to every student and the first one to talk back adamantly would get points. But, for all my years of teaching, it never happened. Some might get close but when I scream back at them they just cower in fear. From now on I will act more fairly, but still strict so if you think you can farm me for points don''t bother unless I myself deem it justified!" Moby''s brain was still hurting. When he first entered the ss and heard what the teacher said, he absolutely despised her and dreaded that he was in her ss. But, just like that, in the matter of a split second, she might have be his favourite teacher of all time. So, far, the teachers in this school seemed to be fair and of good quality which was aplete contrast to those on the outside. "Thank you for your kind words miss Rayna! I truly appreciate it!" Moby bowed deeply to his teacher. "Don''t worry about it. But, please don''te thiste to ss again okay?" "Yes of course! This was only a one-time thing since I lost myself in the new VR machine." "Oh! You''ve tried them out¡­ Very interesting¡­" She nodded slowly. "Please take your seat in the back middle of the ss, there is an empty seat over there!" She continued. "Thank you," He lifted his head and directed his gaze towards the ss for the first time, and past all the somewhat familiar faces of shock and disbelief towards where his seat was. That was when he noticed who his seat was put exactly beside¡­ It was a scruffy-orange-haired boy staring daggers at him with glowing eyes and a serious expression on his face, twiddling with his fingers on the desk in front of him. ''Of all people¡­ Why did it have to be him? *sigh* this is gonna be one long year¡­" Chapter 318 - Cheaters

Chapter 318: Cheaters

Moby inwardly sighed, grabbing a seat next to Regrit, both of them taking a small nce at each other without saying a word as they looked up to the teacher who was preparing to speak. "*Ahem¡­* I would like to once again introduce myself, I am miss Rayna and I''ll be teaching all of you about mana crystals." "It is a misconception that mana crystals and ability crystals are the same thing or made the same way but that is all false as many of you probably know. But, you don''t know how false it is! That is part of what we will be learning about today! And then, we will be doing a small exercise!" "First off, does anyone want to tell me what a mana crystal actually is? The definition given to you in normal school is not exactly right¡­ I don''t need exact answers, guesses and educated guesses are all I ask for since of course, I''ve yet to teach this," And, just like that, various hands shot up eagerly in the air, some of them bearing extreme confidence, borderline smugness on their face. They were all keen for a chance at extra points. "Gary, please give me your answer," She looked at a brown-haired boy at the front waving his hands. "Thank you miss!" He stood up gracefully from his seat. "A mana crystal is a crystal infused with the pure amalgamation of mana, made either by certain rare minerals that house specific magical properties or by magical beasts that have simr abilities to that of the crystal created," "Thank you, Gary! Very basic and bareboned but still an excellent answer! Easy to understand! +10 points," She slowly nodded, making him smile and take his seat. But, she still noticed the hands of a few students still up. "Hmmm? Do you have more to add to his answer?" She asked the ss, and from their faces, she assumed the answer to be yes. "Leslie, tell me what you want to add¡­" "Yes ma''am!" She shot out of her seat and responded. She was a short, well endowed pink-haired girl with buckets of makeup on her face. She looked like the typical noble and rich girl that thought she was above everyone. Moby was not one to judge a person by their appearance but it was her attitude and demeanour that sealed it for him¡­ She reminded him exactly of Jayden when they had first met¡­ "He forgot to mention that the mana in the crystals are absorbed and spun in a clockwise formation around and within the crystal itself, but it''s so dense and bright that it was almost impossible to detect," She smiled, 100% sure of her answer, while Moby simply sat at the back with his eyebrows raised. "Thanks for answering Leslie!" Miss Rayna smiled, "-50 points!" "WHAT!?" She instinctively blurted out before covering her mouth. "Are you talking back? Do you feel wronged? If so then please defend yourself if you feel like I''m being unfair. ''Huh¡­ This must be another test¡­ Free points for me¡­'' She thought to herself, somewhat regaining herposure, a smile under her poker face. "Yes ma''am, I feel like you are being unjust." "Interesting¡­ And, where did you get your answer from young miss?" "Ummmm¡­ I just¡ª" She began to visibly panic, hints of sweat on her face. "I''ll tell you what it is, your parents who have already attended elite school must have told you that to get ahead of the curb. And, I know you''re definitely not the only one. We have made it very clear that information learned here stayed here and are only to be shared with fellow elite school students." "B-but, he knew I was going to be a future stu¡ª" "That doesn''t matter, the rules are simple! And, I guarantee you already knew that. Other teacher''s punishments are more severe so be lucky it''s from me. We''ve all been trained to spot these things, it''s not like how it was before. Take this as a lesson and don''t do it again, that goes for all of you!" "..." The ss went silent, the students who had their hands up alongside Leslie were also visibly sweating, thanking God they were not the ones picked and embarrassed. "Anyways, the answer you gave wa¡ª" miss Rayna suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence as she looked over towards the back of the ss¡­ One person still had their hands up with a confused look on their face despite all she talked about, and that person was non-other than the courageous tardy pants she talked with earlier. "Yes Kane? You have something to add?" "Yes miss, if you don''t mind," He slowly stood up from his seat as straight as an arrow and spoke. "Leslie imed there to be only a clockwise spin in the crystal, but that ispletely false! There are threeyers inside a crystal, the outeryer, the inneryer, and the coreyer. Eachyer looks almost identical but analyzed closely, they be much clearer. The outeryer houses a clockwise rotation of mana, the inneryer houses an anti-clockwise rotation of mana and the insideyer is an odd blend of both. I can understand the misconception of only seeing the outeryer since it is by far the most prominent. The anti-clockwise rotation is very hidden, almost like someone is trying to hide it¡­ But, I can guarantee you it does exist." The entire ss was wide-eyed looking at Moby''s im. Most thought he was spouting some nonsense while others did not know what to think. "Wait¡­ How did you know that? Where you cheating too? No¡­ That couldn''t be¡­ This was discovered only a few months ago after the school year ended¡­ No one outside of certain school staff know about this and no articles were published to my knowledge so how¡­How do you know this!?" "For thest year, I simply spent a lot of time studying various mana crystals and their make-up and this was something I discovered." "B-but how!? This took all of our top analysts to discover!? You have abat ability don''t you!?" "Well, as part of my ability, I have eyes that are very good at increasing mybat prowess and reaction times. But, at the same time, it can also be used for energy-sensing, so I used it for my personal analysis¡­ See¡­" He shed his piercing, purple glowing eyes at the beyond stunned ss and a small smile appeared on the teacher''s face that slowly became wide like she found a hidden gem in a pile of coal. "If I could give you 1000 points I really would¡­ But, sadly you, discovered something already discovered. So, Plus another 100 points! You truly have a future in this field! I''m excited to see what else you do this school year! Everyone else too! I hope you all live up to this! I am expecting much more from this ss!" "Thank you miss, you''re far too kind," Moby smiled before sitting back to his seat slightly disappointed. He expected to gain more points than that. But, what he truly hoped for was that the school did not know the info and he would have been able to show it to them and gain far more points or even certain rewards. But, this all might have been a blessing in disguise since, from the look on people''s faces, many of them assumed he had an inside source within the staff and cheated his way to get the information. He sighed. 100 points were good and he did not have the right toin, 1000 points just like that might have put an even bigger target on his head. "Always such a show-off¡­" He heard a faint, almost unhearable whisper from his right, noticing it came from Regrit. And, when he looked at him, he was simply staring straight with his arms crossed so he paid him no heed. "Now, thanks to Kane I can skip the lesson aboutyers and move to more of a history lesson. I know most of you will find it boring but it''s part of the curriculum and very important to know. Most of it will be review and stuff you knew before but there will be new things so don''t doze off. After that, I will be showing you all the most important exercise of the entire semester..." Chapter 319 - Mana Practice

Chapter 319: Mana Practice

The teacher began her lecture as normal, and everyone pulled out their note-taking devices and wrote as much as they could. And, of course, Moby followed suit, although he was half asleep the entire time, only paying attention to the new things while training. And, from what he had seen,? nothing seemed to be particrly important. That was when miss Rayna put down all that she had and walked up to the front of the ss once more with a subtle smile. "Okay ss, that will be all for today''s lecture. Now, I''ll be teaching you all about some mana control." "Some of you may know this, but to actually get a mana crystal to work a certain type of pure mana needs to be infused into the catalyst. That also goes for recharging it. That''s why it is left to the experts to recharge a dead mana crystal once all of its energy is used up. This is usually really expensive considering you must hire experts and some crystals may require reinforcement to the catalyst if it''s too old. If it''s not done correctly the crystal will be corrupted and no longer usable. By the end of the ss, you all will be able to do all of this on your own!" The teacher''s smile grew even wider, pping her hands together rather loudly. And, as soon as she did, small sparks of red energy that did not give off any light was seening from her fingers, and as she opened her hands up, a crimson ball of energy was seen hovering over her palm, making the entire ss instinctively lean closer in their seat. "This, between my hands is mana, expelled out of my mana flow in its purest form, not as part of my ability. This is what is used to charge these mana crystals." "There are more than one type of discharge and they all conveniently bear different colours each time. There is Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet." She spoke, switching between all the three colours with a simple flick of the wrist. "Each discharge has it''s own unique properties that I will discuss with youter and each catalyst or crystal will require a different discharge. I made this look extremely easy but I promise you this is far more difficult than you would expect. This requires an extreme mastery over mana maniption and months or years of training." "Sadly, there is a massive element of talent in this field¡­ More often than not, people are not able to use all the discharges. Some people simply can''t use some of them no matter how hard they tried. Finding someone like me, who is able to use all 7 discharges is extremely rare. If you can''t use all the discharges, don''t be too down since mastering even 1 or 2 will set you up well for the rest of your life!" She paused for a moment, letting the ss take everything she just spoke in before she continued. And, Moby in particr was very surprised, he never knew that such a form of mana maniption was even possible¡­ It almost reminded him of how he used demon energy, sometimes discharging it in its purest form and at others manipting it into something far different. This also raised a certain curiosity in him¡­ What if he tried to infuse a crystal with demon energy instead of mana. How would it turn out? He could not contain his curiosity and ecstasy just thinking about it, he had never felt this way in a very long time. "But! Before you get into these advanced discharges, let''s begin with the absolute basics." She flicked her wrist once more and the ball of mana shifted tones into a white with hints of darkness orbiting all around it. "This right here is the most basic of basic discharges. It can only be used on low-grade crystals and nothing more. Here is where all of you are gonna start! Everyone can do this, but it will most likely take a few weeks to a month toplete depending on the person. Let me show you a more slow and thorough run-through of how to do this now." She closed her hands into a fist and dispelled her ball of mana before taking a deep breath and looking over at the impatient ss. "Focus on your mana, flowing from within your core¡­ And, instead of letting it explode outwards out of your body like you would with abilities, you must slowly guide it out of your body. This is the hardest part since if you lose focus or control, your mana will go out of your grasp and you would have to start over. For this, it is best to release the mana out of your fingertips rather than your palm like most of you are used to. "This is much harder than it sounds since controlling mana to this extent is stressful on both the body and mind. First, take it slow and steady¡­ But, the more you practice, the faster you will get at it until you reach a point where you could do it without much thought like this." She demonstrated once more, before taking it away. "Now, we have around 30 minutes left of ss. I''ll give you all of this time to try and do this. Experiment and see what you can do! Don''t be afraid to ask questions! You can start now!" The ss went silent, only small grunts of frustration filling the air from time to time. Everyone was fully focused on the task at hand and was clearly struggling. That was when a small shout of celebration was heard from the front. "I did it! I did it!" However, he was thenter disappointed yet reassured by the teacher that he was on the right track but had not yetpleted it. In his hands was a small ball of white mana and nothing more¡­ It was a far cry from what the teacher had shown. Not even a few minutester, other students began to show the same progress with the white balls while the others were still left staring at their empty hands. Although Moby had gotten past the very initial stage, it was all much harder than he expected. He imagined it to be as easy as controlling his demon energy but when he tried to control mana, it was extremely wild and unpredictable, it would start leaking on its way to the outside of his body and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it other than practice¡­ At times he almost felt like the mana itself was rejecting him. Still, despite all of that, he seemed to be about on par with every top student in the ss, if anything he seemed slightly ahead of everyone even still. It seemed like his energy controlling training from Mason Griffith was paying off. That was when he heard a voicee directly from his side, words that were spoken a few minutes prior as well. "Okay Miss, I did it, I''m done," It came from Regrit, and he seemed to be much calmer than usualpared to how he would imagine. Still, that was not the most surprising aspect¡­ It was the fact that between his hands was a perfect ball of mana¡­ Identical to how the teacher did it. People could not believe it. "Huh?! But how!? wow! Oswald! That''s amazing! You''re the first person in my ss to ever do this! +150 points! Congrattions! You truly have a talent for this!" Yet, despite all of the teacher''s praise, he did not brag or seem full of himself. "Eh, it''s no big deal¡­ This is how my family makes all of it''s money. I''ve seen this process happen more than once but it''s never been directly taught to me. This should all be natural, I have an advantage over everyone else¡­ I deserve no praise for something handed to me. I only take praise for the merit of my own hard work¡­" ''Is this still the same guy?'' Moby questioned himself. That was when another voice suddenly sprung up from the front of the ss. "I''m surprised you''re not trying to show off as always Regrit! Maybe humility finally hit you!" Everyone''s attention immediately turned towards the front where there sat a smug-looking orange-haired boy with streaks of blonde flowing down vertically. He stood at around a respectable 6 feet and was rather handsome and polished even amongst all of the rich students in ss. His open eyes were split between a glowing yellow on the right and orange on the left. He bore an appearance like that of an exotic lion, even his teeth looked abnormally sharp. And, in his right hand was apleted ball of pure mana, white with a dark energy orbit just like that of the teacher. When Moby looked around the ss, he did not even notice him since he was fairly quiet and well reserved but now that he thought about it¡­ Regrit was really avoiding looking in that direction... "But, I won''t allow you to outdo me¡­ It''s sad we only share one ss¡­ Brother¡­" Chapter 320 - Brotherly Love

Chapter 320: Brotherly Love

"Shut up Kai¡­? you know you''re no brother of mine!" Regrit immediately scoffed in the man''s direction. Kai, the man Regrit was addressing''s eyes grew wide with evident shock on his face. He was clearly taken aback by his response. "Hey! Stop being so harsh! You''re jokes sting! I''m only trying to say your better now! Don''t be so mean! We''re part of the same family are we not?" He nervously chuckled. "Both of you calm down! This is no time for such things!" Miss Rayna''s voice broke their tension, leading to Regrit scoffing once more and Kai bowing down to apologize with the ball of mana still in his hands. "Fatebringer! I see you''ve also mastered the basic mana discharge! Is this also from the family business?" "Oh, I''m mostly self-taught but my parents did show me a thing or two¡­" Kai smiled. Moby was slightly confused¡­ How were they brothers when they don''t share a family name? ''Fatebringer¡­ Fatebringer¡­'' Moby squeezed his mind trying to remember that family name that felt so familiar¡­ That was when the answer hit him and made him feel rather stupid. Of course, it was the family name of one of the noble fire households, one famed for its production of mana and ability crystals. "But, teacher, that''s not all I can do¡­" With a wide smirk on his face, he switched his basic discharge into a red, then orange, then a yellow with a simple flick of the wrist. "WOW! That''s really impressive! You''re already months ahead of everyone in the ss! You truly have some talent with mana control!+300 points! Good job and keep it up! I expected a lot from the Fatebringers but you blew my expectations out of the water!" "Thank you so much, miss!" He bowed once more, receiving an ugly look from his so-called brother. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* The sound of the bell ringing filled the room, and just like that every student packed up and rushed out the door for their lunch. "Oh! That will be all for today''s ss! See you after tomorrow! Don''t forget to practice when you have time!" As the students left, Moby wanted to look for Regrit to ask him questions about what was going on. However, before he even knew it, Regrit had already left. With a sigh, Moby lifted himself out of his seat and looked towards the door. He was finally going to go to the roof to attempt contacting earth once more. That was when he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind¡­ One that he sensed yet allowed to happen. "Can I help you?" When he turned around, he saw the bright face of that same man¡­ Kai Fatebringer. "What could the son of the esteemed Fatebringer household want with someone like me?" "Oh! Come on Kane! You don''t remember me? I''m really impressed to see you here but to be honest, I shouldn''t have expected less¡­" "Do I know you? Should I know you?" Moby turned around to face him, making Kai''s hand leave his shoulder. "Wait, so you really don''t remember me!? And you don''t remember Regrit either!?" "Ummm¡­ No? Care to exin to me why I should know you?" Moby raised an eyebrow. "Sure! Only if you fight me! It''s been a while since we fought! I want a rematch¡­" The man in front of him''s smile turned slightly sinister, with a keener look in his slightly glowing mismatched eyes. ''Why do they want to fight me so badly??'' Moby thought to himself. "No thanks, I''ll take a raincheck on that one. I''m busy right now so maybeter." Moby brushed him off and walked away. He was most likely the first son of the esteemed Fatebringer household. He knew nothing about or his powers. For all he knew, he could have been even stronger than Artorias. He was not about to take any risks. "Ohe on! For old time''s sake! Stop being so cold! I''ll pay you in points if you win!" "That''s still a no. I told you I have ns so maybeter!" Moby brushed him off once more, walking out of the ssroom like he was not even there, leaving Kai all alone. "Fine¡­ Be that way¡­ Kane¡­" ************************************** Moby opened the doors to the roof and peered up at the now all too familiar sky and barrier surrounding the school. "Time to try this again¡­" He mumbled to himself. "Avilia, what are the chances this actually works?" "By my estimates, it''s really low¡­ You have a chance but I doubt you would get anywhere." "But I was so closest time!" "No you weren''t¡­" She softly sighed. "Then why the hell did I dump so many points in mind if this isn''t gonna work!?" "Come on! You got a lot of cool skills and upgrades! Besides, I didn''t say it was impossible¡­ The roof is definitely your best bet¡­" "I''ll give it a try! This better work!" Moby sat down and took a meditating position on the roof, using all the vigour he could marshal to push through themunication restrictions. But¡­ Despite all of his efforts¡­ He was unable to breakthrough. Even still, he felt like he was getting impably close so he hopped on the building behind the roof doors where Artorias previously was just so he could be closer to the outer dome. When he did, he found that Artorias was thankfully not there. He went back into a cross-legged position as he focused his mind just like before. This time he felt like it was closer yet more distant at the same time¡­ When he felt like he had broken through, he was thrust behind anotheryer of a mental battle. Sweat rushed down his face as he focused all of the energy he could muster. It was like having an actual battle¡­ It was affecting him both physically and mentally. "FUUUUUCCCCKKKK!!" He yelled out in frustration, opening his eyes andying on his back, sweating and heavily breathing in defeat¡­ He nkly stared out at the ckened sky and the barrier above him taking in what just happened¡­ He was unable to contact his family at all¡­ He thought he had mentally prepared himself for such an oue but the feeling that overtook him was worse than he expected. He slowly raised his hands and put his palm over his face as he began to slowly chuckle at himself. The realization that he might have to go for an entire year without hearing a single word from them began to sink in even harder¡­ Even still, he was not ready to give up¡­ There was still an entire cityscape for him to explore and more opportunities to attempt a breakthrough on the roof. At least he had told his family that if he did not respond or contact them, then it meant it was impossible or he was having trouble... He just hoped from the deepest depths of his heart that they could survive without him... Especially Abby who was now out of her cage... ''You sound like an overprotective father seeing their children leave the nest, you know that?'' ''Uh-'' Moby was startled by Avilia''s voice in his head... It seemed like she was reading his mind once again. ''Don''t worry about them. They''re not children, let them have some Independence. It''s a good experience for them. This might just be a side effect of your demon nature. Might be good training trying to get over it...'' ''Yeah...'' He mellowly responded, a sh of the item he found in his parent''s box entering his mind... He took a deep breath and shook his head. When he looked at the time, he noticed it had only been 10 minutes since the start of lunch even though to him, it felt like an eternity. There was much time for him to try again. Then, as he was still t on the ground, a single thought crossed his mind. ''Why hasn''t Regrit been following me today? He''s been so quiet¡­'' It was beginning to bug him¡­ What did he have to do with Regrit and his so called brother? Nothing was making sense¡­ He closed his eyes and took a deep sigh¡­ And, out of the many voices, he was able to pick up from all the way underneath the school, a faint, nearly undetectable whisper entered his ears. Immediately, Moby activated his eyes of sin that now boosted all of his senses, amplifying the sound and listened carefully. "Hey! Idiot! What the hell was that for in-ss huh!? Are you trying to bring shame to our family household!? Showing inner conflict is not a good look!" "Why don''t you stop shouting? It''s not a good look for you either¡­ Maybe we''re being watched¡­" "There''s no one within half a kilometre from us other than maybe some people in the building! No one is listening! I''m trying to get this in your thick skull dipshit!" "..." "You know what¡­ I''m tired of your bullshit! I''m not gonna just sit silent and take all of your shit with a straight face! You''ve never treated me like a brother and you never will! And you know why!? Because I''m of lower birth than you and I can still beat your ass with one hand tied behind my back! The only reason you have better mana control is because of those personal trainers that taught you shit day and night!" "Wh-wa¡­ So¡­ You''ve been keeping that hidden in you this whole time¡­ I knew you were a rowdy guy but I never imagined this¡­ You''re really saying that to my face now!? I''ll¡­" "You''ll what huh!? What are you gonna do now!? Tell your parents about me!? You''re not the boss of me anymore! I''m no longer your ve or some shit!? Not for some weak-ass punk like you! Stop acting all fake and nice around me! I''m done with that shit!" Chapter 321 - Brotherly Love (2)

Chapter 321: Brotherly Love (2)

When Moby took a peak from the roof all the way down to the back of the school, he noticed exactly who he thought he heard¡­ It was Regrit and his brother Kai, Regrit leaning onto a wall while Kai was pressing him. "Yeah! I will! Keep talking like that and you''ll see what will happen! Nothing will save you! And all of this is because your ass wouldn''t stay in line! Go run your mouth off to whoever you want! Be as independent as you can be! But nothing will save you once we get out of here! Your filthy mother you keep harping about will be executed for giving birth to a failure like you!" As Regrit heard Kai speak, a visible vein slowly crept upon his forehead, his hands clenched tighter¡­ But, at one point, hepletely snapped, his hands bleeding from how hard they were clenched. "CUNT!! DON''T YOU EVER FUCKING TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN OR I''LL¡ª" Regrit raised his hands instinctively into a fist. "You''ll what? What will you do huh?" Kaiughed, bringing his face closer to Regrit''s fist with a smug, evident smirk on his face. "Come on¡­ Do it¡­ I know you want to¡­ Do it and get yourself expelled real quick, it will only speed up you and your mother being thrown out as a disgrace to the family¡­" "FUCK!" Regrit exploded in frustration, lowering his bloody hands and smacking them on the walls. "Just you fucking wait cunt! I''ll get to the absolute top of this fucking school no matter the cost! I''ll be so valuable to the family that your ass will be forgotten! You go run your mouth off to your parents when we get out! I don''t give a shit! But they would be willing to get rid of you before they get rid of me! Just you fucking watch! I''ll prove myself the strongest!" Regrit stormed off in anger, his face redder than Moby could ever remember seeing. "Just you wait and see¡­Huh..." Kai simply just stood there smiling, looking at Regrit in the distance with a less than innocent, mischievous smile. "What the hell is up with those guys¡­" Moby mumbled to himself. "From what I''ve got, they seem to be brothers but one is of higher birth than the other¡­ Do they share 1 parent? Did the master of the household have sex with a servant girl or something?? Is he the bastard child of the noble Fatebringer household? If that''s the case then did he take his mother''sst name instead of his father?" He sighed, putting his hands over his mouth, going deeper into his moment of thinking. "I''m not sure, but your guess seems to make sense. It''s honestly as good as mine¡­" Avilia responded with a small yawn before continuing. "You know, there is an easy way to find out all you want to know¡­" "You mean¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Ahhhh! But that would be too risky," He lent back on the roof and stared up at the sky. "It''s probably something he wants me to do¡­ It might be a trap¡­" "But, from what you''ve learned from them is that Regrit is much stronger than his brother¡­ So, beating him might not be that bad¡­ It''s all up to you, I won''t force you into anything. But, consider all the benefits and then act¡­" "Yeah¡­" Moby mellowly responded, still peering up at the sky. Many things ran through his mind, thinking of all the possibilities, benefits and consequences. And, in the end, it only made sense for him not to go¡­ It was just not worth the risk¡­ Especially if it meant he would be on the bad side of one of the most important families in the world. Maybe biding his time until¡ª ''A king must always strive to do better! To push past his limits! A king never settles for what is merely given to them at the palm of his hands but strives to reach out in front of him and seize all he can! A king without greed is no king at all!'' That was when suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard a voice bugging him in his subconscious, and his eyes grew wide staring at the beautiful sky, and he looked deep down into himself and took a deep breath with a slight smile. The future was uncertain¡­ And, Moby did not want toe face to face with a future he was too weak or too unprepared to face. "So¡­ Did you think about it? What is it? Tell me, what have you decided on? Future demon lord?" "I''ll do it¡­ But I''ll do it on my own terms¡­ It''s about time I began taking charge and gain some sort of grasp on this school¡­" Just by his words alone, Moby could feel a tingle in the subconscious of his mind. Avilia''s glee was more than evident, she clearly approved of his answer. He stood back up from hisid-back position at the top of the roof and slowly stretched his stiff muscles. Finding a breakthrough could wait, it was not like he was going to get it done today anyway. He would be lying if he said he was not anxious, he felt blood throbbing and adrenaline pumping through every pore. He had not done such a hunt in what felt like forever yet the taste was still on the tip of his tongue. However, he was not the same person as he was before. No, he was far from who he used to be when he did those risky hunts... unlike all those other times, his motivation was not out of petty anger and a thirst for blood and barbaric revenge¡­ he felt poised and had thought things through. He clenched his fists and activated his eyes of sin once more, leaning on the edge of the roof and gazing down like a hawk until he finally located his prey¡­ "Found you¡­" Chapter 322 - Sin Rises

Chapter 322: Sin Rises

"I''ll make him wish he kept silent like a dog¡­" Kai walked out with a sign of clear frustration on his face, yet on the inside lied a hint of something sinister. He simply walked around the massive school campus near the barriers, nothing but metal under his feet as he used the time to ponder over his future ns. That was when suddenly, his thought process was unexpectedly interrupted. "Hey Kai, how''s it going?" He heard a rather familiar voicee from behind. He turned around with his eyebrows raised¡ªst he looked, there was no one there for miles and this man managed to creep up on someone like him? "Huh!?" When he turned around, he saw a man around his same height, maybe even taller, his features screaming "handsome," even to a man such as him. His radiant green eyes stared at him casually, his hair fell down slightly over his eyes, red streaks all over it. He wore a standard student uniform, and he looked over in his direction with a casual smile, his hands in his pockets. "Kane? How did you find me? What are you doing here!?" The man in front of him simply chuckled, walking closer as he took his hands out of his pockets. "I thought you wanted to fight me? I''ve thought it over a bit and I decided, why not? I''m curious on how the hell you know me, and I don''t mind betting points too. You gained a pretty chunk in today''s ss, why not bet it all?" Kai was having a shitty day prior, but hearing this, he couldn''t help but put a smile on his face. "I see¡­ I''m down for that! d to see that you''re not chickening out! I''ll tell you whatever the hell you want if you beat me¡­" "Sounds good!" Moby smiled. That was when Kai looked down at his watch, clicked a few buttons and waited¡­ And, not too long after, a sound was heard from his opponent, making him look down and check. "Wait, you want to fight here? Wouldn''t you want somece more private? I''m sure both of us don''t want to expose our powers to everyone right?" Moby raised an eyebrow once again, yet it seemed slightly off, like he was expecting such a response. "Well, we have no choice, the Arena''s are not open yet for everyone. And, besides, I can just do this!" That was when Kai snapped his fingers together, and they were both engulfed by a massive tornado of mes that erupted out of the ground. It burned heavily around half a kilometre from where they stood and they both barely felt any heat. However, unlike the crimson mes of destruction that the Reid family possessed, this one was far more calm and sombre¡­ If anything, the properties of these pure golden orange mes resembled more like water than an actual fire. "This should be good enough right? No one will be able to see us while we''re in here!" ''And, everyone will see your ass on the ground begging when it''s all done¡­'' He inwardly thought. "So, what do you think?" Moby took his time thinking, carefully taking in all that was around him. "These mes, you''ll be able to use them against me, don''t think I''m stupid¡­" "Oh! Come on man! It just took me a snap to make! If you really want, you can dispel the mes and show everyone around us our fight! People definitely saw the tornado and are on their way now. Or, you can just decline my offer, no one is forcing you to fight right?" Moby looked down and sighed before looking back up with a smile. "Fair, but if that''s the case, I propose we use non-standard weapons. Ones from our inventory¡­ How does that sound?" Kai''s eyes grew wide hearing those words. He couldn''t believe what he was hearing, it was one of the most ridiculous propositions he heard in his entire life to the point he broke out intoughter. "Hahahaha! Wait! Are you being serious? You get that I have my family artifact right? It''s better than 99% of the weapons you can buy right now! I get sad that I don''t get to use it! But, when I do get the chance, people fear me more and beg for standard weapons! And, you, a filthy, poor orphan like you who got power from a mere¡ª" "Just shut up and tell me your answer! I''m getting bored of this useless chatter," Moby slightly snapped before calming down. *Hmph!* He looked down at his watch and once again changed the conditions of the fight, and Moby immediately answered by epting. "You''re the same as always! You never know your ce! I''ll dly ept that offer of yours!" And without hesitation, he reached out and pulled his weapon from the void of his inventory. An orange and gold, metal rod that gave off a certain glow slowly came out, its appearance looking more like a rock with cracks showing magma, it was much longer and thicker than one would expect and, it continued to slowly emerge until the tip was finally seen, one that resembled the tail of a fox and a burning fire. It was truly a grand and impressive sight, as expected of the Fatebringers. Yet, even then both Moby and Avilia did not seem at all impressed. That was when his skin began to pulse and a certain aura exploded from his body like a volcano. Fox-like features began to appear all over his face along with an orange and gold armour to match, one far more elegant and less barbaric than that of his brother. But, the biggest difference he noticed was that, unlike Regrit who had 5 tails, Kai only possessed three. "Three tails huh? So you''re weaker than your brother?" Moby smirked, transforming into his scaly, ckened spirit mode that caused a certain reaction out of Kai, yet what opened his eyes the most was what came next¡­ Moby pulled out his weapon from his inventory. As soon as it was shown, it made it''s presence known with an aura that engulfed all. A jet ck de with an unknown runic pattern Kai had never seen, sharp, elegant, and rough all at once,? the figure of a demonic dragon engraved on both the red, paper-strapped hilt that had a ck gem embedded into it and the de. "What¡­ What kind of de is that!? How do you have it!?" Kai immediately cried out. "It''s a family artifact, passed down to me just like yours¡­" Moby smiled, pointing the de straight at him with pride. "Bullshit! No fucking way! Your parents are a bunch of abilityless, no-good bums that couldn''t even afford an ability! They can''t own something like that!" "Huh?" Moby couldn''t hide his confusion. "If that''s the case¡­ If they were a bunch of no-good nobodies, why do you know so much about me? And why are you and your brother so obsessed with fighting me!? HUH!?" "IT WAS MY PARENTS OKAY!! I DON''T KNOW WHY THEY WERE SO OBSESSED WITH THAT BLISSFUL DEMON SHITHOLE!!" mes exploded from all around him, and his eyes began to glissen, his three tails heavily waving violently in the wind. He boosted himself up? with a wave of fire under his feet, surfing in the air and looked down like he was reading to strike, heavily breathing out of his mouth. He revealed all of the pent-up anger he kept hidden, it seemed like he won''t be holding back. But, instead of taking a step back to reconsider after his opponent''s disy, Moby''s smile simply grew evenrger as he mumbled under his breath. "Damn¡­ I didn''t even need to say anything to get you mad¡­ Perfect¡­" The atmosphere suddenly grew cold and silent, and Moby''s aura abruptly disappeared before exploding into darkness that surrounded his open smile. Dark energy that looked like it was straight out of the depths of hell engulfed him in a shadow mist that went all the way up to his eyes, horns grew tall and straight on his head with dark purple engravings on, pulsing like a heartbeat. The pattern in his eyes grew moreplex, his red pupils turning into something akin to a lizard or viper. An odd rumbling was seen from his back, his clothes stretching like something was begging to be released. And, not too long after, there stood two massive pitch-ck wings spanning over two meters, taller than where Moby stood. A dense wave of unfathomable, dark aura shook the ground underneath him and surrounded his entire, body¡­ Yet, out of that dark aura, his predator-like glowing purple eyes pierced through and stabbed at the heart of the flying man above, making his heartbeat grow abnormal and sweat to run down from his face. A scaly, demonic personification of despair was standing mere meters away from him. "Wh- What the hell are you!? I thought your spirit mode was iplete! No! That''s no spirit mode! Are you a¡ª" *Shuh* Moby cast his spell, a wave of white spreading to all corners of the tornado, now not allowing any sound to exit. "SHALKER!?" Chapter 323 - Humbled

Chapter 323: Humbled

Moby inwardly smiled at himself, he was expecting such an answer. After all, Nags had the exact same reaction when faced with his sin mode. And, just like everyone else, seeing a shalker incited some sort of primal hatred towards them. All humans were affected by them in some way and were taught to hate them out the womb more than anything else in the world. And, Kai was no different, proof from all the power he was receiving from his emotions. "You! You''re no fucking hero! You were with those fuckers! YOU FOOLED EVERYONE! This¡­ This is insane¡­ I-I¡­" "You''ll what? I''m no Shalker, you can believe what you want. All that you need to know is that I''m gonna beat your ass!" "Heh¡­ I never expected this might be why my parents liked that ce¡­ You understand¡­ That once I''m over with you¡­ Your life is over¡­ And, I ALONE AM GONNA BE THE ONE TO STOP YOU!" Moby''s smile grew evenrger. As expected, he was not willing to release his fire tornado and ask for any outside help. He wanted to defeat him all by himself, to reserve all the honour and prestige to him and him alone. Moby looked up, tightly grasping the hilt of his sword in his hands as he witnessed an enraged Kai lifting his spear up in the air, a massive, perfect sphere of fire hovering over the tip, and several smaller ones floating all around it. The walls of mes previously erected quickly crept up and began moving closer to the center, now giving barely any space for movement. "SHALKERRR!!" Kai yelled at the top of his voice, his face looking like a red, frenzied mess as heunched all of his charged-up attacks all at once. There seemed to be no escape from this eventual barrage of destruction. Yet, as Moby looked up, he did not worry or fear. There was no hesitation in his keen, steady eyes, if anything, he felt abnormally calm and confident. He had attempted to use the sword before but never once in sin mode considering he saved it for emergencies and it felt nothing to how he currently felt. The sword in his hands began to greatly resonate with his will, pulsating a purple, almost distorted aura that Moby had never seen before¡­ Just by wielding that de in his hands, he felt like a one-man army. It invigorated him more than he could ever remember. It was almost like it was calling him or was fated to be in his hands. He Readjusted his god yer and his aura multiplied and grew more and more distorted in the space around it. He needed some way to dodge or bypass all of these iing attacks in the narrow tunnel of fire and reach his opponent. And, like it was some sort of embedded instinct, he looked at his sword and knew exactly what to do. He bent his knees and dashed off the ground like a lightning bolt, forming a hole on the terrain underneath his feet and facing the balls of fire head-on with a serious expression focused solely on what lied ahead. As he moved closer, he felt his sword and spirit grow in power, and as he was mere inches away, he shed directly in front of him at an open space. *BOOOOOOOOM* Like massive fireworks, the balls of me exploded in the air, their power nearly destroying the burning wall surrounding it. The disy of power left massive dust of orange smoke in their wake. A wide grin from ear to ear appeared on Kai''s face. Yet, he did not celebrate. More than anyone else, he knew the powers of the Shalker and he was not about to underestimate them. Even still, there was no doubt in his mind that his barrage of attacks connected and managed to do a great deal of damage. He kept his guard up, spear in hand looking down at the work of his own destruction. There he saw a single body falling to the ground through the smoke. But, with his knowledge, he knew that the body could very well be a clone, so he did not solely focus his attention on it. He prowled around the entire area under him, looking for more he might have missed and prepared for the unexpected. But, nothing could have possibly prepared him for what happened next... Out in front of him was an explosion of void that turned into some sort of pulsating ripple in time and space, as though someone had cleaved it clean in half. And, out of that ripple was the winged demonic dragon, his dark aura consuming all, sending cold shivers down his spine, his glowing sword thrust out in front of him and his gaze piercing through the darkness and into his heart. He was so bewildered that he did not have time to react, and before he knew it, there was a sword firmly nted into his chest¡­ He coughed out a mouthful of blood on his opponent''s face and tightly clenched his teeth, regaining his vigour. He did not give up, nor did he waste any time to question what had just happened. His glowing eyes turned bloodshot, and his aura exploded, focusing solely on the eyes of his opponent. And, using all the power he had left, he manipted the still-raging firewalls all around him into sharp, streams of fire-like spears andunched them straight at the shalker without him noticing. But, even if he did notice, there was nothing he could do to stop them at such close proximity and from all sid- "WHAAAAA!!" Kai could absolutely not believe his eyes as he coughed buckets more of blood from the glowing sword in his chest. The flurry of attacks he had just incited were now all blocks of purple ice, frozen mere centimetres away from his body¡­ The calm yet raging tornado of mes all around him began to slowly disappear, revealing itself to the outside world. Yet, his opponent allowed no such thing to happen, as he reced it with a dome of his own ckend pure demon energy. That was when Kai gave up all hope, and his eyes became blurry, the sword thrust out of his chest as he dropped on the ground like a ragdoll, going out of his spirit mode and causing cracks on the ground below¡­ His body felt like jello, that purple energy in his body did more damage than to just his chest¡­ His bones felt brittle, his energy was non-existent. Not in a million years did he imagine himself in such a pathetic state. Many thoughts were suppressed in his mind as a single thought overtook all of his senses¡­ SURVIVE. Tears ran down his face, the heavy snoting out of his nose mixed with the blood from his coughs and drools turning them a disgusting red. With all of his might, he tried to force his body to crawl to the edge of the dome of ck, using his teeth when needed, it was to the point that he was left with no teeth and was forced to slither like a worm. Still, despite all of his efforts, it was all for not, a pathetic, non-existent hope he forced upon himself to escape his dreadful reality. The figure of his own demise swooped right in front of him¡­ And instinctively, he looked up to gaze upon its shadowy, demonic face, its gaze down on him like a hawk scouting its defenceless prey, ready to tear it to shreds. A faint whisper was seen from his disgusting, toothless face, begging for the life he had¡­ the life where he was chosen to lead above all else¡­ Yet, he did not hold any pride in those words, that had no meaning or value to him now... All he had was only pure desperation, and a sudden fear looking at what was soon to be his own fate. "Pelllleassse¡­ ssshparrre meeee¡­" But he received no answer¡­ At least not one he expected¡­ His opponent simply crouched down to his level with a serious face and spoke in a near otherworldly voice, a small smile appearing towards the end of his speech¡­ "There shall be no salvation for the likes of you¡­ You are a mere stepping stone for my path to power¡­ But, I can promise you safe refuge for the time being¡­" He smiled, and slowly ced his hands on his forehead. "Now, stare into my eyes and all will be okay¡­" Chapter 324 - Joy

Chapter 324: Joy

A massive tornado of fire expelled out into the sky and was like a beacon for those far and wide. It did not take long for it to attract an entire crowd wondering what it was for. The heat surrounding it was clear, its power was evident to any onlooker. Many doubted they would be able to breach it even if they tried. The sound of fire crackling filled the air, the ground underneath the tornado dyed itself a mixture of orange and yellow. However, what felt odd was that there was no sounding out from the inside. Things looked wild, yet, it still begged the question of what was going on. The discussion quickly started amongst the people while some of them contemted if they should force themselves in to see what was happening. That was until one man spoke. "That me! It''s definitely the Fatebringer family''s refined mes of destruction!" And with those simple words, any attempt to enter the tornado promptly halted and reconsidered. If what that man said was indeed the truth, then entering would be very bad. Many of the students belonged to wealthy families and their parents had several connections with each other. But, even still, no one in their right minds wanted to be on the bad side of the Fatebringer household. "Who do you think he''s fighting?" "I''m not sure, but it will have to be someone super ballzy¡­" "True, Kai Fatebringer seems to have all the advantage. I can''t wait to see when it''s over! From what I''ve heard, he''s one of the strongest prospectsing here," Rumours and talk continued to spread amongst the crowd until all of a sudden, a massive explosion and rumble were seen from within the tornado, and not too long after, a ck and purple dome of unknown energy appeared in its stead. When people attempted toy a finger on it, they were immediately burned¡­ Yet, the sensation felt so surreal¡­ It felt like a burn, yet there was no heat¡­ It was like pure pain incarnated into an energy form. Confusion grew. People had no idea what was going on. And not too long after, the dome disappeared in an outward burst of energy and revealed what was on the inside. Cracks, craters and scorch marks were seen littered like the remnants of a warzone, yet, that was not where everyone''s attention lied¡­ No, they were all fixated on the two figures in the center¡­ One of a ck and red-haired man with a ripped student uniform standing tall and proud, panting and heavily injured, blood all over his face and another man t on the ground, his half orange and half gold hair more than clear, that along with all the injuries and anger on his face; His bones did not look proper and his clothes were barely intact. it looked like he had just taken a visit to hell and back. "..." The air stood unnervingly silent to the point it almost felt eery. Nothing but the sound of the wind was heard as everyone was left dumbstruck¡­ That was until one man broke the tension. "Is that¡­ Kane!?" Chatter was once again incited in the crowd, yet no one dared to near him or even take a single step in his direction. "Wait, so that''s him!? That''s the guy!?" "He defeated Fatebringer!?" "Yeah! Wait¡­ So he''s not a pushover?" "Of course not! He''s the same guy who held his own against that shalker leader!" "Or¡­ Maybe it was Fatebringer who''s overrated¡­" "Ha, I always thought he mighta been a spoiled brat." Moby stood there in the center of a crater, listening carefully to everything going on, arge vein appearing on his head before he finally spoke. "ATTENTION EVERYONE!!" His screams were abnormally loud, piercing the eardrums of everyone in sight until it was once again sombre, all eyes on him. "I am the winner here, but I do not want to hear any nder! Kai was an amazing fighter! I only just barely managed to win! My dignity was challenged so I epted the call! But still, all I have is respect for my opponent!" Everyone stood speechless, and Moby only heard a small grunt from below him, grabbing softly on his feet. Making him nce down at Kai''s visage that bled anger from every pore. All he could do was grunt to voice his disapproval. He could not allow himself to speak or even open his mouth. After all, he had no teeth and did not want to further embarrass himself. "That will be all I needed to let be known¡­ I''ll be personally taking him to the nurses'' office. Please don''t try to follow me. I wish to be alone!" And like a flicker, Moby disappeared from his previous location, leaving several people startled by his speed, but many others were able to follow him just fine, including a certain orange-haired student staring keenly at him, and a slightly smirking man with white hair. ********************** As Moby ran in the open field with the nearly unconscious Kai drooling on his back, many thoughts ran through his mind, and the first was the fact that no one was chasing him, which he felt relieved for. Yet, what he felt more relieved for was that his mind skills worked as intended. He wasn''t able to turn him into a demon considering the watch would pick up on his near-death state in the middle of his transformation so this was the only way. Indeed, he had manipted Kai''s mind and erased his sin-mode out of his brain. That was what 500 points in mind was for. The effects were near-permanent but of course, it was not perfect and left many uncertainties. He was not able to read his mind nor could he manipte something he had no knowledge of. Moby was only able to change one single thought and allowed his opponent''s mind to auto-fill the nks. From the looks of it, Kai''s fear of death and absolute despair was reced with anger and a probable thirst for revenge. "Heyyy¡­ Yoouuuu Know you wonnn''t get away wiiiithhhhh thhhhissssss¡­ tttt asssss niiiceeee assess youuuu wannt¡­ Youu¡­? Youu... won''t be ssssavved..." Moby sighed hearing the man talk behind him, he was barely able to even understand him in his toothless state¡­ That was the main reason he wanted him to get to the nurse as soon as possible. "Just be quiet and calm down. You''ll pass out from exhaustion at this point." Moby once again took a nce at Kai and smirked without him looking, thinking of what he just did. It was a feeling he had not experienced in what felt like forever¡­ Ever since his first fights at the Griffith family mansion. It was a total sess! Yet, He would be lying if he said he was fullyfortable doing it. All in all, it was a good first step and a new, yet already trodden path he was happy to follow once again. The god yer he possessed was far stronger than he ever dreamed of. It did not act like this when not in his sin mode... With it, he was able to sh through reality and make a gateway all the way to his opponent... A new move he dubbed "Reality sh,". **************************************** [Reality sh (lvl 1)] Unleash a sh that cleaves through and connects areas of space. It does not deal any damage and should only used as a utility. 3x daily limit. Only avable when sin mode is active. *************************************** It had its fair share of limits yet far exceeded anything Moby had in mind. This made him even more excited to see how his ice ability would react to his sword along with all the new elements Avilia was teaching him. Though, he was uncertain if he was willing to waste sin-mode on a test run when it could be a possibility he would be in need of it. Moby had a feeling and had faith that his family''s sword would do him justice when he needed it most or in his sin mode. But, even still, what he did was fairly risky... After all, It was still an all-or-nothing strategy¡­ If he won, he was able to erase memories, but in the case that he lost, it was all over... Despite all of that, looking back at things now, Moby was confident he was able to win rtively easily even without reality sh. To him, it was just a bonus; an exceptional move he managed to develop on the spot. Moby was moving as fast as he could in order to keep bnce and he was not too far from the school. If he had not injured himself, he was certain he would have already reached his destination. He just had to reinforce the facade to everyone to make it seem like he was weaker than he actually was. And also to give Kai some hope and motivation instead of killing his spirits which would have seemed highly suspicious. In Moby''s mind, he needed to keep a good bnce. He did not want to be thought of as a weak pushover or coward who actively avoids fights but at the same time not one of the strongest in the school. Staying as low profile as possible while seeming like a model student were his priority. Besides, having people underestimate him is a massive advantage in battle. He just hoped that he did not overdo it¡­ "Lettt meeee go¡­ I don''tttt neeeed¡­ Helrp fromm the likes off youu¡ª" Moby felt an urge to drop this man on the ground just like he requested. This same man who was crying and begging for his life suddenly regained all of his vigour and pride. But, in order to keep his facade, Moby did not do it. Still, he was well aware of his true colours. Now, Moby finally arrived at the school and was spotted by several students that looked brazenly his way. By the look on their face, they seemed to know exactly who he was carrying on his back. It all seemed inevitable yet could be minimized for now. Instead of going through the front entrance Moby opted to enter through one of the lesser-known ones at the back. And, after a few minutes of searching and asking around, he found the nurse''s office. He mmed the sliding doors open like he was in an immediate panic, panting as he looked around the entire room. It was all white, more white in a room than he had ever seen in his entire life. Various types of machinery he had neverid eyes upon before, doors leading to separate rooms along with a few segregated beds with covers surrounding them, that along with tools on the side counter, a window in the back of the room with white blinds covering them. "Hello there boy. Can I help you?" He heard a voicee from his side, one that felt all too familiar to him for some reason. But, when he turned around to face in that direction, he was beyond stunned to see who it truely was¡­ "Nurse Joi!? Is that you?? Why are you here!?" Chapter 325 - Nurse Office (1)

Chapter 325: Nurse Office (1)

"Oh, hello there Kane! It''s nice to see you again!" She smiled brightly in his direction. "If you''re asking why I''m here, I was recently transferred here this year to rece thest nurse who''s really in need of a break. I am a graduate from here you know. Aren''t you happy to see me?" Moby stood there silent, taking in everything¡­ He didn''t even properly respond to her question. He still couldn''t believe why or how the nurse of his old school was standing there in front of him. Yet, he didn''t have much time to overthink things he had no knowledge of. "So, what brought you here today? Do¡ª" She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she noticed the injured, barely conscious man on his back. "Oh my! Quick! Put him on the bed right there!" Her expression immediately shifted from bright and cheery to that of something akin to a concerned mother. "Yes ma''am," Moby quickly nodded and did as he was told. Moby always found the nurse particrly quite oddpared to the normal person. She seemed pure as snow, but from what Moby had learned throughout the years, that could not be fully trusted and there was probably something else brewing underneath the bubbly facade. "How did this happen exactly!?" The nurse asked, rushing over and examining Kai''s body. "Well, me and him got into a duel and this was kinda the result¡­" "KANE! Has power taken over you!? This is the second time we meet but I''ve gotten so many visits due to you taking things too far! We first met when you were nearly bullied to death, now have you be the bully!?" Moby was taken aback by the nurse''s words as he quickly snapped to the first response that came to mind. "Ummm¡­ No, ma''am, it''s all in the name of self-defence! You know how duels are right? In a pinch, things happen and people get lost in the mayhem you know?" "I see¡­ Sorry foring to rash conclusions¡­ I''m happy for your sess but too many times have I seen the weak who always came to visit me in the office eventually turn into the people they hated most when poweres their way¡­ You seem like a good kid, I just don''t want that to happen to you too¡­ Good people are hard toe by in this world¡­" "Yeah¡­ Sorry, I promise to be more careful next time. It was not my intention to go this far¡­" Moby bowed. "You really are a nice kid," She smiled softly at him before looking back to her injured patient. ''This nurse¡­ I''ve had my doubts about her from day 1¡­ Does she genuinely care? I remember professor Leo saying the same thing before¡­ How he had seen so many people be blinded by power once they get a whiff of it¡­'' "Nurse, if you don''t mind me asking¡­ Why aren''t you simply using your healing ability on him? Wouldn''t that be faster?" "Indeed¡­ It would be faster, but less effective¡­ First, I need to make a diagnosis to pinpoint where all the pain and injury are. If not, then the healing might do more harm than good¡­ In an intensive fight healing would be more than okay, but in this case, it''s better for me to take my time¡­ It''s healer lingo, you don''t need to worry about it¡­" She responded in a serious tone, not even batting an eye in his direction as she solely focused on inspecting. She took her time, making sure to inspect every bloody area, raising her eyebrow in a few parts, especially at the sword wound which slightly concerned Moby. When she finished, she took a deep breath and stood back up, a radiant cyan glow enveloping both of her hands that she aimed directly at Kai, quickly spreading around his entire body¡­ Everything seemed to be fine until it suddenly wasn''t¡­ For thirty seconds, no visible change was seen on Kai, despite the nurses'' attempts at healing... Moby was clearly able to see the sweat and distress on the nurse''s face yet he decided to not let it bother him much. He simply concluded that it must have been a certain healing technique that he was not aware of and thought nothing of it¡­ That was until the glow faded away, and the nurse was left holding her knees and panting, the boy on the bed still struggling, no signs of healing at all to be seen on his bleeding body, which incited Moby''s panic. "What''s wrong? Why didn''t the healing work?" The nurse did not immediately respond as she continued panting¡­ That was when she finally looked up at him with a bewildered expression, staring straight into his soul with eyes of worry¡­ "What¡­ what did you do to him¡­ Whenever I try to heal him¡­ It''s like something is blocking and negating it¡­ At this rate, I won''t be able to fully heal him in weeks¡­" ''Wha- WHAT!?'' Saying Moby was shocked by the nurses'' reaction would have been an understatement. Yet, it wouldn''t have been obvious by simply looking at his face¡­ The true battlefield lied beneath it¡­ His heart sped up, and he felt an empty feeling in his stomach¡­ This had never happened to him before. What was he supposed to do? How in the world was he going to escape from such a predicament!? Was this an unknown side effect from his new de!? ''I have to knock out the nurse and change her memories¡­ NO! That would only alert the people in the nearby rooms and wouldn''t change the fact that Kai is blocked from healing. Then, I just have to kill Kai¡­ NO! That would only make it worse! I''ll just have to do it and lie in the lie detector test¡­ NOOO! But then they''ll just analyze my body like ab rat to see what was the cause!! I would never get away with it!!'' Moby''s mind was about to explode, when on the outside he stood silent and still, like a robot malfunctioning. But, in order to not make it awkward and incriminating, he had to respond fast¡­ So, he panicked and he spoke the only thing on his mind... Chapter 326 - Excuses

Chapter 326: Excuses

"I don''t know¡­" "You don''t!?" "I honestly don''t, you can ask me with a lie detector if you really want¡­" Moby spoke with confidence, hisposure impable. It was not that he was truly calm, but simply due to his own memory erasure being several times faster now due to his increased mind. "That''s¡­ Wha¡ª ¡­ I''ve only seen this thing two times in my entire life! The first is drugs that were engineered and given to us by the shalker to suppress our mana, that drug spread like wildfire and addicted many people which crippled some of our armies¡­ That was a nightmare for any healer¡­ Same with some shalker weapons¡­ But, other than that¡­ There was only one time I''ve seen this was from... It was from two great friends of mine I met in my early military days at the frontlines of the war¡­ But sadly, I can''t see them anymore..." "That''s it!" Moby''s eyes immediately grew. "Maybe someone drugged his food with that drug¡­ I know the security here is top notch but some things might have slipped through the cracks!" Hetched onto the hope handed to him, feeling a great sense of relief. For a second, he almost feltpelled to do something drastic that he would most likely regret. "Those drugs are illegal and more expensive than you think¡­ But,e to think of it¡­ Everyone here is super-rich and it is a great possibility that someone would want to sabotage the head of the Fatebringer family. This brings great concern! I''ll have to manually rap and heal Fatebringer''s injuries, then I have to go report this to staff for an investigation. This is a serious matter! If ites down to it, everyone in the school might be questioned." "Thank you for your understanding nurse," Moby bowed deeper than ever before, it was almost over the top and definitely caught the attention. "It means a lot that you have faith in my words and judgement," "No worries Kane. I was a bit harsh on you earlier, I''m sorry for that¡­ To tell you the truth, ever since you got your powers, cases of bullying decreased drastically, and the few students that made it to my office said that this was all thanks to you protecting the weak. I''ve been a nurse for quite a while and I never thought someday someone like you, who cares about protecting the weak and upholding justice woulde! I''m certain you will go big ces in life!" She smiled brightly in his direction, the first time she did ever since she examined Kai''s injuries. "I don''t deserve all of this praise¡­ You''re truly too kind¡­" He looked up to face her, still bowing. "You will most likely be questioned but I would not worry about it. The bell should ring any second now, you should leave and get back to ss. Come visit at any time! In Elite school, my office is much less busy than normal, so, if you want, feel free to stop by to chat or to check up on Fatebringer." "I will take you up on that offer," He smiled, lifting his head up and looking at the door. "I really hope he''s okay, I''lle to check back hereter today! Goodbye!" He walked towards the door and slid it open, hearing a very faint whisper from behind him that hepletely ignored. "Kane¡­ I''m not finished with you¡­" "Where did all this talk go when you were begging on the ground?" He scoffed and mumbled under his breath before closing the sliding doors behind him. ********************************************** "Seems like he didn''t need my help after all¡­" A man smiled from the other side of the outside wall, leaning against it with a smile. It seemed like he had been listening to the entire conversation, despite the sound dampening crystals around the office. ********************************************** As soon as Moby left the room, the bell immediately rang and he headed over to his next ssroom, one that was fully dedicated to abilities, their history, properties, and creation. When he entered the ss, the first thing he noticed was that the teacher was still not there. The immediate second was all the stares in his direction. It was certain that he would have a few people looking his way, but now it was abnormally more than every other time, which made sense considering what he did during lunch. He took a desk at his usual seat, the back left beside the window and simply closed his eyes to train, ignoring everything around him. That and to talk to Avilia who started the conversation. ''You handled that situation better than I expected. Even I almost forgot you had a sample of that drug. Stuffing some in the unconscious kid''s mouth while that nurse was distracted was good thinking, now there would be proof of the drug and might mask the demon energy you used.'' ''Wait, so you know what happened?'' Moby eagerly responded. ''I think it was a bonus, probably some unintended side-effect of your de. That and the demon energy concentration in it was so strong that it offset the bnce in the kid''s body. Even I didn''t notice that would be a thing until it was toote. That sword is definitely a work of art, top-tier craftsmanship. This would have never happened without it. It was the debined with your sin-mode that led up to that.'' ''Wait, so you''re saying I shouldn''t use the sword anymore?'' ''Oh! Don''t worry about it! All you need to do is cleanse and suck the depriving energy out of his body! It should be pretty simple for someone like you!'' ''True¡­ But, doing it now is not a good idea considering the nurse estimated two weeks, it would be highly suspicious if I go in and heal him myself¡­'' Moby pondered, leading to Avilia''s approval. That was when he heard a loud voice echo in his head, and he immediately opened his eyes. "Good morning ss!" The voice was deep yet raspy, and was followed up by the sound of mming books crashing on a table. "I will be your teacher for this ss, my name is professor Umbridge. Before I start, I will be making this perfectly clear¡­ No talking if I talk, you all need to respectfully be quiet. No, food, only ask questions after a lecture because your question will most likely be answered. no stupid questions. If you fall behind, don''t expect me to give you private lessons, I will wait for no one. If you don''t feel up to those rules, you can save yourself the embarrassment and loss in points by leaving, the door is right there. Now, does anyone have any questions?" Moby opened his eyes and was greeted by a grumpy-looking, clean shaven old man wearing an old-fashioned bottom-up shirt, and trousers. From his stature, he seemed no taller than 5 feet tall, his hands held behind his straight back. He worerge sses over his keen blue eyes, which was quite odd considering how far contact lenses have gotten, and he had a full head of hair that fell down over his thick, gray furrowed eyebrows. Moby definitely thought he was by far the most vocal and strict teacher, yet, he seemed to have done nothing wrong so far. He simply felt neutral towards him. "No questions? Good, now let me begin the lesson! And, like all your sses, let''s start with a bit of new history!" "You are all aware of the incident with the great Alexander Davis 100 years ago. I won''t be covering the advent of the rain. But, what was not covered in many history books was how the rain-affected animals on our." "Several of them turned into magical beasts of incredible calibre and were responsible for some of the strongest mana crystals humans have ever found. Magical beasts use the same energy as we do, mana, which led us to believe they used the same abilities as well." "The reason this part of history was well hidden was that within a week, all of the magical beasts on earth were hunted to near extinction. Only after the global organization for animal rights stepped in did we stop and put those beasts in areas for preservation." "This all proves one thing, the green rain gifted mana to any species, not only humans. In many ways, we are no different from the magical beasts we hunt., which groups of traitorous humans have taken advantage of and used to empower and further push their own agendas... Anyways, this also hinted that green rain had also fallen on several others to create the magical beasts, and the concentration of it led to a direct corrtion for their power and potentially even their hostility." "Recently, a group of students from a school in country Z went onto a that had suddenly spiked in power for what was supposed to be a simple test. Many of the students were massacred and it led to a big scandal in the country. Now it''s believed that in that time span where there were no tests, another advent of green rain hit that and provided all of the beasts a boost in power... They possibly even evolved some of the weaker species. Of course, that is just a theory and nothing has been fully confirmed." "We are still unaware of what mana is exactly, what the beams of lights are, and why they could only be found, to our knowledge on earth. The most recent discovery we''ve made was finding mana in the air along with the existence of Ki that we manipte to further power ourselves." "From what we found, there are simrities between Ki and Mana. There are many theories out there that ranged from Mana is simply a mixture of different types of Ki to Mana is its own separate identity and Ki is simply the essence of life itself." "Much of what we are going to study will be theory. It''s odd, we use and rely on this energy for our everyday life yet we know near nothing concrete about it¡­ Anyways, that''s enough of a brief history lesson for now. Before I continue, does anyone have any questions? The ss unsurprisingly stood unmovingly still, no one speaking a word. They were all clearly intimidated by the teacher ahead of them. ''Interesting¡­'' Moby thought to himself. This was the first lecture where he felt like he got something major of value. It confirmed many things about the rain he had only theorized about. It was clear that it was a higher power. But, it was not fully clear who was pulling the strings¡­ Angels, Demons, or possibly something else¡­ Another major power that exists in the mortal realm. "Yes sir! I have a question!" Moby raised his hands and subsequently stood up. "Ahhh. Yes, boy! Please go on ahead," "Professor Umbridge, you said that green rain can fall on others as well but at random¡­ What if it one day falls on a shalker owned¡­ Or, if they somehow managed to steal our ability creation methods¡­ What will happen to us?" "I''m not supposed to say some of this with you until your second semester where things be more real. BUT I believe you all need to know¡­ For your question, I''ll make it short and simple for you kid¡­ That is the one thing we are trying our utmost to prevent. If something like that happens, then we''re fucked¡­ From that rumour going around, it seems like Shalkers with abilities have already sprung up¡­ It might not be too long before they learn how to replicate them without an energy source¡­ That is why war has never felt any closer, and why you soldiers need to be prepared for the horrors of the inevitable battlefield¡­ It will be unlike anything you''ve ever experienced in your lives¡­" Chapter 327 - Drugs

Chapter 327: Drugs

The entire ss wore a serious face upon hearing the teacher''s words, more determination exuding from them. What the professor just said was not a surprise, it wasmon knowledge among the top families that war was on the horizon. Some of them felt genuine pride towards their country, while others wanted there to be war for more dubious efforts. Professor Umbridge took a heavy whiff of air, looking at the entire ss before speaking once more. "So, Kane, does that answer your question?" "Yes, thank you very much¡­" Moby bowed gracefully before once again taking his seat to listen to the rest of the lecture. For the next hour or so, professor Umbridge exined many theories and facts about the spirit beasts that resided within each ability user. And, unsurprisingly, he confirmed many of Moby''s assumptions and rebutted the lies told to everyone in regr school, including how an inner spirit was formed ording to a person''s personality and ability. The truth of the matter was that it was almostpletely random and there was no corrtion, which Moby found out when he received both a wolf and a cat for inner spirits. He also exined how once a person reached a certain level of mastery, it was possible to lightlymunicate with the spirits who don''t speak¡­ Yet, Moby knew that was also a lie considering they had spoken to Avilia more than once. It seemed like they were not speaking on purpose which did intrigue Moby. When the bell rang, everyone rushed out, including Moby who noticed that the teacher kept a particrly close eye on him. However, he sensed no malice from it. It waspletely different from those other teachers that he could sense had it out for him. The time was nearly 3 pm and he could have gone to his dorm to study and train. But, instead, he decided to go to the nurse''s office to pick up his reward from defeating Kai. He ignored most of the stares headed his way, even from some of the notable figures and reached the nurse''s office. But, before he entered, he closed his eyes and decided to prepare for something, just in case it arose¡­ "Hello Nurse! How''s Kai doing!" He entered the room wearing a bright expression, waving his hands at the whiteb-coat-wearing nurse who was deep in thought at her desk. "Oh! Hello Kane! I didn''t expect to see you back so soon! Kai is looking much better! But, I''m sad to say he probably won''t be in ss for a while¡­ Oh! I forgot to ask¡­ Are you two friends of some kind?" "NO!" An immediate, almost annoyed sound came from behind her where Kai''s bedyed, his speech as broken as ever. " I would never be friends with someone like him¡­ He has made me sick for more than you think¡­" "Oh¡­ I see¡­" The nurse awkwardly chuckled. "Anyways, I feel like you have something to discuss with each other¡­ But, before you do, Kane, please take a seat," She smiled, motioning to a chair directly beside Kai''s bed. Moby nodded slowly and walked in that direction, and, when he did, Kai''s figure was inplete view. ''Pfffff. Does the nurse not know how to wrap or is this the best that could be done?'' Moby could barely contain hisughter. Kai looked like a mummy wrapped in white, and his face looked bruised and swollen even without there being any major injuries he inflicted there from what he could remember. He shook his head lightly and took a deep breath, trying to ignore his glee. But, every time he looked his way, he struggled to contain himself. So, as he sat down, he focused his gaze wholly on the nurse''s visage. "You wanted to talk to me, nurse?" "Indeed¡­ But, I have faith in you. This is only a formality but it''s standard protocol." And there, she pulled out a lie detector crystal from a storage ring and held it firmly in her right hand. "Can you please ce your palm on this for me?" "Uhm," Moby nodded and did as he was told with confidence that even surprised the nurse. "Did you drug Kai Fatebringer?" "No." "Did you use any illegal or underhanded tactic to rig your fight with him in your favour?" "No." "Do you have any idea who might have drugged him?" "No." It was clear and not surprising to any party except for the man on the bed. Moby waspletely innocent, the crystal lit up in his favour every time. "I see¡­ You''re all clear¡­" She breathed some sort of sigh of relief. "Kai, you see that, this man is innocent. You shouldn''t be throwing usations when you''re not sure." Although Kai did not speak a word, the disapproval and rage was more than evident on his face before he turned it around. "Nurse Joi, you talked to me like you did find traces of the drug in his body." "Indeed." She nodded. "After some examination, the drug has been found in his system¡­ It won''t be expelled for another two weeks to a month as well¡­ It was administered sometime in the morning so at least we have a full time-frame. It was only when you came in that it was fully spread throughout his body." "Did you narrow it down? People like this are too dangerous to be running around and sabotaging the future elites of the army. Especially with what''s going on right now!" Moby spoke, making Avilia chuckle in his head, something that greatly confused him. "The school had started an investigation, many of the top suspects have been questioned already but we''ve got no result¡­ Kai did say he went on an eating spree in the city the night before but was too drunk to remember where or what he ate. We may never find who did it, but we have a way to weed them out. This is a massive blow to our school''s reputation and a massive oversight by staff considering this has never happened before¡­ From now on, we will be giving every student a food testing device they must use before every meal. If traces of harmful material is found in the food, then they should not be eaten, and the cook or restaurant should be immediately reported to school staff as soon as possible." "That''s pretty smart actually," Moby''s eyes grew in approval. "Of course, the department was really quick in getting things together. Every student should be getting a device at their doorstep within the hour. Anyways, I wasted enough of your time. If you need me I''ll be in the other room filing some paperwork and reporting your innocence to the principal. Oh, and don''t talk about any of this to people outside if you don''t wanna get in trouble. If anyone asks you about Kai just tell them he wasn''t feeling too well and he''s now better. And, that he''s currently taking private lessons from a special teacher, that''s why he can''t be found in ss or on campus." she smiled brightly in his direction before standing up, leaving them two alone, Moby feeling something odd in his stomach when she mentioned the principal. That woman looked like a conniving scary monster everytime an image of her popped up in his mind. "So, what brought you here? I know you didn''te to check up on me. Did youe to rub it in my face?" Kai spoke, yet Moby kept his calm. "No, I came to ask for my reward. How do you know me? Why did you just ask me to fight you out of nowhere? Tell me," "Fuck off, you didn''t even beat me! It might have not been you, but I was drugged! Just leave me alone and let me recover in peace. If you want answers, ask your roommate. Or, you can wait until I''m out of this bed to see..." He panted heavily at the end of his sentence. It seemed like Kai was slowlying to terms with things and gotten somewhat back to normal, calm and collected like when they first met, although now Moby could spot the many cracks in his personality. He was an odd mixture between a thinker, and a stubborn headstrong guy. Moby sighed hearing the response. The school seemed to have decided and there was nothing that could be done¡­ He simply got extremely unlucky by someone drugging Kai just when he was about to get his way with him. "So be it. I wish you a safe recovery¡­" Moby stood up from his seat, turning around and leaving. He didn''t even get the chance to see Kai''s red face that looked like it was ready to scream all of his frustration away¡­ His reputation, training, and time are all going to waste all from something that he was unaware of. And as soon as the door was mmed, he did exactly that, considering all the walls were sound proofed... ****************************************** On his way to his room, Moby called and checked up on Hikari, who immediately responded happier than he usually saw her. She exined that she stayed home all day to study for the day since she had no ss and how she had discovered how to browse the extremely limited inte for the first time. The story did go off into territories he did not expect to be discussed, which Yami immediately stepped in and confirmed that she did save her from danger. Moby felt like he was forced to check up on her to make sure she was alright and to keep up their good rtionship in the case he needed her help. Moby ended up closing the call when he was going up the elevator to his room and thinking to himself. ''I had no idea the military provided ess to those kinds of websites¡­'' When he reached the floor where his room was situated, he noticed the presence of metal packages neatly ced at the front of each door. It seemed like things moved quicker than he expected. Not to his surprise, he noticed the package in front of his own door was not there, which meant that Regrit had already arrived into the room. When he opened the door, he was greeted to the now more familiar look of his apartment, and two packages on the desk one opened and one closed. He walked in and closed the door behind him, opening his ears to see where exactly Regrit was in the house. And what did note to a big surprise was that he was in the training area, hard at work¡­ Despite the instion, Moby could clearly hear his abnormally loud grunting which he assumed had something to do with? his brother. Moby decided to ignore him for now and open his box, only to find some sort of scanner inside. Like those things, cashiers used to scan items over 100 years ago. It was definitely low profile and looked more like a toy than anything else. Along with the scanner, the box came with a letter. "Due to security reasons, all students are required to scan every single food and drink before consumption¡­" Moby read out loud before he mumbled to himself. "It seems like the school is really trying to keep what happened with Kai a secret¡­" He put the letter and the scanner into his inventory before he ate a quick meal. On his way to the room''sputer, he walked past the training room, staring at it for a few seconds deep in thought. For some odd reason, it was like he was hearing paining out of every grunt Regrit let out. He took even more time thinking to himself, his hands hovering over the door handle, and like it was out of instinct, he decided to open the door and let himself in... "What the fuck do you think you''re doing here!? I thought we agreed that this is my time after school!" Chapter 328 - End of Day Two

Chapter 328: End of Day Two

Regrit was sitting on the bench press, sweat covering him from head to toe. And, when Moby looked closer and noticed the number on it, it was twice what he was able to lift thest time he came in there¡­ ''What the fuck am I doing?'' He inwardly cursed at himself. "Oh, I just wanted to use the VR machine," Moby quickly came up with an excuse. "You''re lucky I wasn''t doing anything important in here! Now, get the fuck out!" He roared in frustration. Moby couldn''t care less about Regrit himself, but considering he got this far, he might as well go all the way. Maybe he can gain him as an ally in this warzone of a school when he only had the shy Hikari who was still afraid of the outside world. "Yo, just calm down. You''re even more aggravated than usual. Is this because of what happened to your brother?" "Huh!?" Regrit almost looked offended. "I couldn''t care less about that guy! He''s only my brother in name and nothing else! We''re nothing alike! Speaking of him, what exactly happened?" "Well, I beat him but he said that there was something affecting his performance, so, the school deemed the deul as null," "That''s just like him! Making excuses every time he loses a fight! He was clearly at full power! I didn''t expect you to lose at all. If anything, it should have been an easy fight with someone of your talent." "Wow¡­ You''re really open about this¡­" Moby raised his eyebrow. "Well, I''m done ying nice and putting an act. That part of my life is behind me! From now on, I will put my destiny into my own hands and carve my future using my own power and bare fists! I''ll do it all with my own brain and hard work by any means necessary! I''ll prove myself to everyone!" Moby smiled at his response, maybe he and Regrit were not too far apart. "Sounds good. So, why don''t we train together? We can help each other out! I can definitely teach you a few things and you can teach me too, like with your mana maniption. If we do that, we''ll both grow stronger! What do you say?" Moby smiled brightly and looked at Regrit''s face. "FUCK NO!" "Huh!? How¡­ You just said you''ll get power by any means necessary right? So why no?" Moby''s face wore genuine bewilderment he could not hide. "That''s different! I still have dignity!" "Well¡­ That''s hypocritical much isn''t it?" "Shut up! Just go to your VR thingy and get out of my face!" "Okay, I''ll just take you up on that offer," Moby sighed heavily, walking towards the VR machine in the corner. That was when he heard a sounde from behind him. "Wait," "What now?" He raised an eyebrow, turning around. "I want to ask you some questions of my own now¡­ Did Kai tell you anything particr about his past?" "No, not really," "I see¡­" "And, I have another question¡­ Why are you so weird?" "Huh? Excuse me?" Moby''s confusion grew even more. "Most people only try to protect their loved ones¡­ But you¡­ You try to protect everyone like some hero or knight in shining armour. It''s all over the news of people specting your gonna save humanity or this next big thing. Why are you wasting your efforts like this?" "You wouldn''t get it¡­ It''s because I was bullied my whole life, I finally have a chance to stand up to people¡­ I want to protect people like the old me¡­ I don''t want to be the person I hated most¡­" Moby spouted the biggest load of bullshit he uttered in a very long time, but, it was necessary to maintain his act. "I see¡­ You''re the kind of guy I hate the most¡­ You were never like this from before¡­ It''s a shame what kind of loser you''ve be. Helping everyone and saving the world is such a stupid ideal. It actually makes me sick to my stomach. Arrrgggghhhh It hurts my head just thinking about it!!" "Are you okay? How do you know how I was from before? H¡ª" "I got it from rumour and a few sources okay! Now leave me alone!" "Okay," Moby sighed once more, clicking the button to enter the VR machine as he stared at Regrit who continued to train away from the ss. Yet, his ferocity and grunting seemed to now be far less than earlier. ******************************** When Moby entered into VR space, he found it to bepletely nk, in the same arena as before. But unlike before, he made sure to immediately equip his clothing. There, as soon as he spawned in, he was greeted by a smiling Avilia in her school uniform¡­ A sight he was not sure he would ever get used to seeing. He began his training, yet, he was not fully focused on his task at hand¡­ His conversation with Regrit was starting to bother and give him a headache. He wanted to get on better terms with him so living together wouldn''t continue being this awkward and annoying but to do that, he would have to make him not hate him which was a harder task than he anticipated. He was in a massive dilemma. He could probably sort things out by telling him some of the truth, but if he did it would ruin his ns, and he wasn''t sure if it was worth it. ''Argh,'' He scratched his head, deciding to forget about it for now and focus on his training. He was sure he would figure something out eventually, maybe invite him somewhere but he was not exactly sure where¡­ That was when his mind went nk and sudden shes and scenes injected themselves into his subconscious¡­ Scenes of himself stuffing drugs using his invisible devil''s hands directly into Kai''s stomach and bloodstream by phasing into it carefully. He could not help butugh out loud. So it was him who did it all along. He simply erased his own memories. That was why Aviliaughed in his head when he was in the nurse''s office. Avilia who was on her chair ying video games could not help but notice Moby''s suddenughter, which made her smirk. ******************************** The time was now 1:00 am, and Moby logged out of his VR machine. The room was now dark, only lit by his own dark vision and the machines seemed to be clean and back to normal. He left the room and headed to his own room to rx after a long day of work. Regrit was snoring, fast asleep as usual so Moby did what he usually did to block out the sound, his favourite spell "sush". Heid on his bed and decided to work on his mana maniption before he went to sleep only to find it as hard as ever. He sighed remembering how easy it was for Regrit, Kai, and miss Rayna but he did not let it bother him. If anything, it was motivation for him to get better. He did his usual ritual of staring at the ceiling before going to sleep and thinking about his future¡­ Especially his family members stuck on earth without him. More than anything he wanted to talk and check up on them but he knew more than anyone that it could not be done¡­ But, that won''t stop him from trying. The image of Artorias shed in his mind suddenly, his face was now so ingrained in his subconscious that it was bing somewhat annoying. He was a cryptic mess in his mind, a wild card or unknown entity. He reminded him of other unknowns out there in the universe and how people might be out to get him at any time¡­ Like that incident many moons ago. He took a deep breath before closing his eyes. It was already the end of the second day of school and so many things happened he would have never expected. His ns to use the school to his advantage for power and knowledge was going better than he expected, especially with all the extra points and the teachers being seemingly on good terms with him. All he only wished for things to continue this smoothly, but knowing how things happened with him, that was nothing but a wishful dream¡­ *********************** Check thement section for Abby and Alucard art along with a sketch of Alex. It''s art of an old scene but I think you will like it! <3 Chapter 329 - Offer

Chapter 329: Offer

A week has passed ever since school first started and things continued like they normally were. Moby attended ss every day except for on weekends and learned several new things, but most were review and practice of material he already knew. Rumours about Kai spread all around the school along with Moby''s reputation yet luckily no one stepped up to fight him, which he found to be almost a miracle. But, good luck did not at all follow him everywhere he went¡­ He spent much of his free time exploring the city, trying to find anywhere he could break free to contact earth but he found no sess. If anything, the more he looked the more hopeless it became in his mind, though, it was nowhere near enough to make him give up. Hikari did not seem to be getting anywhere with getting over her anxiety despite all of Moby''s assistance. But, Moby did not expect her to this quickly so he was not at all bothered. It was a slight inconvenience but he knew it would pay off in the long run. Things had been looking more tame between him and Artorias, they did not talk much outside of a few simple exchanges, but, he did notice he kept a closer eye on him which he did worry about¡­ He was, to his knowledge, the strongest person in the entire school after all¡­ However, the same could not be said about Regrit who only seemed to be even more aggressive these days, despite how nice Moby was acting to him. The time was 3:00 pm and the school bell just rang. Everyone stood up from their seats as they respectfully bowed and smiled in professor Zave''s direction who reciprocated the sentiment. "Okay! Everyone! Don''t forget toplete questions 3, 5, 8, 10, and 11 for homework! If you decide to meditate and breakthrough and you know it might take more than one day if it seeds, please let the school know so we don''t mark you as absent!" Moby took a deep breath and packed his belongings. Hikari was surely waiting for him at the school gates so they could walk together and he didn''t want to make her wait too long. He casually walked towards the door and bowed towards professor Zave like everyone else before exiting. As he walked down the hall, he noticed the usual nces turned towards him but at this point, he was more than used to them. They were much better than what he was used to at his old school. But, what he was not used to very much was being approached by someone who did not want to start trouble or try and be his friend, either for their own gain or because they admired him in some way shape or form. "Hey, Kane¡­ Come here¡­ I need to talk to you about something that I''m sure you''ll be interested in¡­" In front of him was a short man that stood around 5''6, a small stubble on his face and eyes as sly as a fox. All in all, he reminded him of a small rat that he would not have batted an eye if he was stepped on underneath his two feet. "What is it?" Moby tried his best to hide his annoyance, he did not have time for such an inconvenience. "Come on, don''t be so cold bro¡­ This is something I''m 100% certain you''ll be interested in¡­ To most people, I sell this information for points¡­ But, to you my friend, this will all be free of charge¡­" The man continued to whisper. Moby took a moment of pause taking in what was just told to him. ''If by a slight chance this man was telling me the truth, then it might be worth my time¡­ It would be a missed opportunity so why not¡­ Sorry, Hikari, I''ll have to make you wait alone for me longer, but, it will be good training to your anxiety¡­'' "Okay, what do you want. Speak!" Moby whispered back to the man in front of him. "Shhhh¡­ Not here¡­ There''s too many people¡­ Follow me¡­ Let''s go somewhere more private..." He turned around and walked, and Moby walked behind him a good few meters away. They did not walk for too long until they reached a stairway he was certain no one used. But, before Moby entered it, he scanned it with his energy sense and found there to be no one else there waiting for them like some sort of ambush. "So, now what is it?" Moby asked, only to see the man in front of him smile even wider. "I''m certain someone like you is a busy man so I''ll make things quick¡­ Here¡­" The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, thin piece of stic that looked exactly like a business card and handed it to Moby. "Hell''s Ace? What is that?" Moby read what was written on the ck card in his hands. "It''s a secret gambling gathering for all the kids in the school¡­ Everyone bets with points¡­ This is highly against school rules but this thing has been going on for so long that thiszy ass school hasn''t done anything about it¡­ The best part is, everything there is anonymous, so, even if they catch someone, they would never be able to snitch anyone out! Just make sure you hide your face, a mask would usually do wonders. Today at 5:00 pm they are hosting the main event of the year! The Mammon''s Greed! So many chances and opportunities will arise! You don''t wanna miss it! So, what do you say! You in?" Moby was taken aback. He did not expect such a proposal. He expected the great majority of the students to be weary and follow the rules like sheep, but, now that he reflected, he shouldn''t have expected any less¡­ "Why exactly are you telling me this? What makes you think I''ll be interested in something like this?" "Well¡­ You do got a lot of points¡­ More than most people¡­ So, I thought¡­ You know¡­ Why not let you know about this just in case you''re interested¡­ Right? Please don''t take it the wrong way¡­" "I see¡­ So¡­ What exactly happens there?" "Oh you know! The usual!" The man smirked, "Board games, card games, drinking games, slot machines, fight betting, and more! You''ll have to go to see for yourself! It''s amazing! And it''s all run expertly! Cheating is not tolerated and is very easily spotted. Any form of enhancements will be detected so it puts everyone on an equal ying field!" ''Sounds like free money,'' Moby inwardly smiled under his Pokerface hearing the names of the games. "Okay, where exactly can I find this ce?" "Oh! I''m d you asked," The man''s amusement grew seeing how Moby was so interested. "All you need to do is charge that card I gave you with mana and a map will be created¡­ The directions are very obscure so make sure you follow it exactly. Oh, there will also be an entry fee of 25 points at the door, but, other than that, you''ll be free to enjoy yourself!" Moby''s eyes grew curious as he did what the man spoke¡­ He injected his mana into the card and just like he said, a highly detailed pathing of the city map became more than clear. "Looks neat, but sadly, I''m not going, this isn''t my style.I like to y by the rules. I''ve got a reputation to uphold you know¡­" Moby lookedpletely disinterested as he threw the card away behind him in the air as he walked away. The short man''s smug smile was wiped clean away, now reced with panic and disbelief. "Wait what!? Are you sure!? You''re noting!?" "Nope, not interested¡­" "Are¡­ Are you gonna snitch now!? Are you!?" Moby stopped his advances and simply chuckled. "Don''t worry, I might be many things, but I''m no snitch, your secret is safe with me! I swear it on my parent''s grave¡­" The man knew exactly the weight of those words as he watched Moby leave the staircase. He was left simply staring at the card he handed him that was now on the filthy, metallic grounds with many thoughts running through his mind. "Is¡­ Is that guy for real?" Chapter 330 - Recruiting

Chapter 330: Recruiting

The bell had just rung and the front gates? of the school were bustling with peopleing in and out and conversing in groups. It was still a very spacious environment but still by far the most crowded time of the day. "Big brother¡­ Where are you¡­" Hikari leaned on the thick, metal walls of the school, twiddling with her fingers trying to ignore everyone around her and avoid any eye contact from the few stares that wereing her way. It was a strategy she had developed when in a crowd to calm herself down, though it was not always effective. That was when she heard a pair of footsteps approaching in her direction, and she immediately tensed up and raised her guard in anticipation for anything. But, when she lifted her head and looked clearly, she found it to be the same man she had been so eagerly waiting for. "Sorry for beingte. I was hung up on a conversation with someone. Hope I didn''t make you wait too long," "Oh no! You''re okay! I''m grateful that you even do this in the first ce¡­ You don''t have to walk me home every day after school..." She quickly responded, Yami sighing in her head unbeknownst to her. "Oh, don''t worry about it. It''s really nothing," Mobyforted her, making her anxious face slightly simper. "So¡­ are we going home like usual?" She continued. "Nope, not this time. I have something different nned for today! We''re gonna go in the city again. It will be great to get you ustomed to how it functions. But, I would also like to take you somewhere special¡­" He spoke, turning serious on hisst few words. "S-special¡­" She muttered, abruptly looking away. "Yeah¡­It will be somewhat risky but I''ll need you to trust me on this¡­ I''ll need to borrow some of your points¡­ We''re gonna go gambling¡­" He whispered in her ears, making her eyes go wide. "Oh¡­ I see¡­ Well, I trust whatever big brother does¡­ You''ve never let me down." Moby smiled. "I''m d you have so much faith in me." "So¡­ Where is this ce? Are we gonna go now?" She asked with a hint of excited nervousness. "It''s prettyplicated. But, you shouldn''t worry about it. As long as you stay behind me, you should be fine. But, we''re not gonna go right now. First, there''s someone else who''s gonna be joining us¡­ Follow me¡­" His smile grew as he turned around and faced his dorm building, and thus, Hikari quickly nodded and followed right behind him until they reached their destination. "You wait out here for me okay? I know it''s right outside the boy''s dorm but It shouldn''t take too long. If someone tries to mess with you, tell them you''re with me and they would usually leave you alone," "O-okay!" She bowed lightly and nodded at Moby who then turned his back and walked into the tall, crowded building ahead. He entered the building, went up the stairs for faster movement and reached his room, immediately scanning his new student ID on the door. When he entered, he was greeted by a clean kitchen table along with the usual silence that leaked a slight sounding from the training room just like he expected. He inwardly smiled to himself and walked further inside, closing the door behind him. And, with no hesitation or care for his own safety, he barged into the training room with an upbeat vibe. "Hey, Regrit! How''s your day been going?" "GOD DAMN IT KANE! I told you to knock on the door before you enter! What do you want now!? This better be something important!" He yelled, dropping his weights on his chest before pushing them away. "Oh! Come on! It''s not that bad! No harm has been done right? And, of course, it''s something important!" "Eh, whatever, why are you even here!? It can''t be to use the VR machine this early. So,e on! Spit it out so I can get back to my training!" "Okay okay! Calm down! I just came here to ask you¡­ Would you like to join me and a friend to go on a trip in the city?" "Huh?! Now, why would I want to go to the city with you? It''s not like we''re friends! It''s hard enough sharing the same house!" "Wait, wait, I know... That''s why I''m gonna make it worth your while¡­" Moby''s voice became more serious, and the atmosphere in the room immediately shifted. "You wanted a way to gain strength and I can provide that¡­ Don''t worry, you won''t be forced to show me any of your powers¡­ If anything, I''ll be the one exposing what I''ve got in my bag¡­ It''s a mutual deal¡­? I help you and you help me¡­" "Okay¡­ I''m listening¡­ Tell me what this is all about¡­" Regrit''s tone shifted corresponding to the change in atmosphere as they both stared daggers at each other, one of them slightly smiling more than the other. "There is a secret gambling ring for students in the city¡­ And today is an event that eclipses every other one that will happen this year¡­ There are not many people I can trust in this school, but something about you makes me want to trust you with this... I currently have 310 points, you have 220 points, and my friend has 150 points. For maximum profit, I need as many points to work with as possible. Don''t worry, I''ll be splitting your share with you fairly by the end¡­ The security is gonna be tough, but I know ways of winning almost every single event they have down there¡­ It''s pretty much free points. Points can help you buy weapons, knowledge and material¡­ Used properly, they are very powerful. From how you speak, you know what I''m capable of¡­? You can choose to trust me, or you can simply decline¡­ It''s all up to you¡­ So¡­ What will it be?" Chapter 331 - Unlikely Phantom Thieves

Chapter 331: Unlikely Phantom Thieves

Two figures exited from the boy''s dorms, one with an upbeat smile and the other with a chip on his shoulder. "I can''t believe you actually convinced me to join you¡­" Regrit grumbled. "Ohe on! It will be fun!" Moby replied. "Well¡­ I''m not here for games¡­" "Hmmm? What''s this about?" When they exited, they were greeted by an odd sight of a crowd formed around a certain area. It peeked both of their curiosity and they wasted no time trying to find out what was going on. But as they approached, they heard a loud, ear-piercing female voice that made their intentions known. "What are you doing staring at me like sheep? Get the hell out and leave me be!" And just like that, the crowd dispersed and Moby could not help but notice the nervous looks on many of their faces as they did as they were told. There, in the circle that once was stood a short girl, her mouthpletely covered and her hair pitch ck like darkness itself. Directly underneath her feet was the figure of an unconscious, injured, barely breathing man. "Yami!?" Moby eximed. It was the first time he had seen her in a very long time. She decided to leave most things to Hikari in order for her to grow more ustomed to the outside world. As such, to bring her out, something major must have happened. "Kane! Why would you leave a defenceless girl out here all by herself! Do you have no manners!?" She marched up to him, trampling all over the injured body below like he was her personal carpet. "Sorry! I didn''t think something would happen¡­" He nervouslyughed. "Well! Think again! This dickhead tried to approach Hikari, so she told him that she was with you, and that only made that guy even more aggressive!" ''Huh¡­ That''s weird¡­'' Moby inwardly thought. ''Is someone out to get me now?'' "Sorry, I didn''t think this would happen," "Sorry isn''t good enough! You''re lucky Hikari''s so nice to you! But! Remember, if you ever hurt her¡­ It will be your h¡ª" She was cut off in the middle of her sentence when her hair suddenly turned into a bright snow white. "I''m so sorry for what my sister said¡­ I''m sure she doesn''t mean it that way¡­ Don''t worry, I know it''s not your fault¡­" She bowed gracefully, which caught Regrit extremely off guard to see such an instant change in demeanour. He had seen her in ss before but this was the first time he actually heard her speak outside of her introduction. "No, it''s really my fault, I should have been more careful," Moby tried tofort her. ''Damn¡­ It seems like I have Hikari wrapped around my fingers and almostpletely dependant on me. But, her sister is a bigger problem than I first anticipated¡­ I thought me and her went along pretty well but I guess her overprotective side is really showing¡­'' Moby thought deeply to himself only to hear a slight whispere to him from the shoulder. "Hey¡­ Is this your girlfriend or something?" "No!" Moby half-whispered back. "This is the friend I talked to you about!" "Ohhhh¡­" Regrit spoke, making Moby inwardly let out a sigh. "Big brother. Yami managed to win 50 points from beating that guy! We have more to work with now!" "Good job!" Moby lightly rubbed her head. "Oh¡­ One more thing¡­ Who''s that man beside you?" She nervously looked over at Regrit who in her eyes, looked like some rabid wild beast ready to eat her alive. "Oh! He''s the guy that''s gonna be joining us. I hope you get along well." Moby smiled. "If me and you don''t get along well, then how do you expect me to get along with her?" Regrit casually scoffed, only to be surprised by the girl taking the initiative and walking up to him with her hands out. "Hello Mr. Regrit. It''s nice to meet you. Any friend of big brother is also a friend of mine¡­" Even Moby was surprised. What she did must have taken lots of courage and only proved her strong feelings towards him. "Eh, it''s nice to meet you too I guess¡­" He casually shook her hands. "Ughh, enough wasting time! Let''s just go to the city!" He scratched his head before walking towards the teleporters, with the other two catching up. "B-but wait! What about the injured man?" Hikari asked, not concerned for the man''s safety but about whether or not she will get in trouble. "Don''t worry about it, the school will clean things up. Plus, let him sleep, he seems prettyfortable down there." Moby responded. ***************************************************** The group went down into the city all together and stayed out of the line of sight of anyone as they entered into the filthy, cramped alleyways of the city. They made sure they were not being followed before they proceeded with Moby leading the way. The journey taken was abnormally quiet. But, during the middle, Regrit decided to strike up a conversation with Hikari. He seemed to be genuinely interested in her powers and split personality. Moby only took a few peeks back at them, but other than that, he decided to leave them be, it was nothing too important considering Regrit''s speech was as distant as ever. But, he was d to see Hikari having some fun talking and stepping out of herfort zone. It was not too long after did they finally neared their destination. Using his energy sense, Moby noticed a few figures headed in the same direction up ahead, so he decided it was perfect timing to show what he had prepared. He halted in ce and pulled out 3 animalistic masks out of his inventory. These were special masks made by using illusion beasts as material and it allowed the user to change certain properties around the contour of the face including eyes and hair. But, the most important thing was the embedded voice changer. It was all fairly simple things. He wouldn''t be surprised if others decided to wear coloured contacts, wigs and voice changers. But, even still, it was impressive to squeeze all of that into an all-in-one package. Hikari took the mask with no questions but Regrit was slightly hesitant. But, after some peer pressure, he sumbed and it was safe to say he was thoroughly impressed. "Wow! Where did you get these!?" He eximed before being taken aback at the sound of his own voice. "Don''t worry about it," He shook off his question as he deflected it with one of his own. "We can''t be using our real names when we get in. What do you want to be called?" That was definitely a very important question. And, it was one that they were all thinking about on their way so they did not have any problem answering. "Call me Fox," Regrit answered, only for Moby to raise his eyebrows under his mask. "Wouldn''t that make it too obvious considering your spirit mode?" "Exactly!" He smiled. "It would be so obvious that no one would think I''m stupid enough to use it!" "Well¡­ I can''t argue with that logic¡­" Moby inwardly sighed. "How about you?" He looked over in Hikari''s direction. "Noir," she immediately responded. "Like ck in french?" "Yeah, I''m sure Yami would be happy about it, plus, it''s like the opposite of my hair and stuff," "I see¡­ Good choice!" He nodded in her direction, making her smile underneath her mask. "And what about you? What do you want us to call you?" Regrit interjected, making Moby turn to face him. "Call me Joker from now on," He spoke with confidence. "Joker? You get that isn''t much of a hero name right?" Moby could not help but chuckle at Regrit''s reaction, a less than innocent smile sprouting on his face from underneath his mask. "Yes¡­ I know¡­" **************************** Checkments for Avilia in school uniform art <3 Chapter 332 - The Mammons Den

Chapter 332: The Mammon''s Den

Underneath the dark sky lit by the lights of the bright skyscrapers above sat a ratherrge, repulsive-looking building. The windows were closed shut by bs of wood and the few metallic parts of the mostly brick building were beginning to rust. Drops of water fell from the edges of the roof forming puddles underneath on the trash-filled, infested gravel, the liquid so thick that it almost failed to reflect the lighting from above. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an abandoned building situated in the most obscure, run-down area in the whole city. However¡­ Things were not always as simple as they appeared, especially from all of the masked and hooded figures discreetly headed towards it. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "What''s the password?" A deep, masculine voice appeared from the other side of a thick, metallic wall, a door the had a sliding slit at eye level that opened soon after, revealing a pair of dark, serious eyes that sat firmly under thick, furrowed eyebrows. "Momonga," A long, blue-haired man in a white demon masquerade mask confidently answered, his voice somehow even deeper than the man behind the door, which caught him slightly off guard. "I have a few questions for all three of you before you enter¡­" He panned a look at the entire group that oddly felt different from everyone else he saw. Other than the person with the demon mask, there was a lean man with a fox mask, his blonde hair clearly shown around his head, and a female of smaller stature wearing a panda mask, her hairpletely gray like why sky on a foggy day. "Are you with the military or some sort of authority or organization against us?" "No," They all answered at once, and the man behind the door took a small peak down at his hands before continuing. "Did you bring any tool with you that would allow you to cheat?" "No," They answered once again with confidence. "Okay,st question¡­ Do you have 25 points each for the entry fee?" "Of course," The blue-haired man nodded on behalf of everyone else, to him, from the looks of it, he seemed like the leader. "Hmmm¡­ Okay, that all checks out! Wee to the Mammon''s Den! We hope you enjoy your stay!" He opened the door to let them in. "Thank you," The blue-haired man lowered his head respectfully and elegantly strode into the building, the other two following close behind him. As he entered, he took a small nce towards the man who let him in. He was a towering tanned hunk of muscle, his eyes barely visible through his very own mask. But, what was most ring was hisck of a watch. ''Is this ce not ran by a student? Or, is it ran by students who hired people from the city as staff?'' The blue-haired man pondered to himself before he was snapped out of his thinking by a small whisper from below him. "Big brother¡­ Is this really the ce?'' "Shhhh!" He slightly panicked, scanning the area with his energy sense only to notice no one there, which was a massive relief. "Don''t call me that! I''m Joker, remember? Don''t forget that Noir!" "Oh-oh! Will do Joker!" She tensed up and felt slightly embarrassed by her sudden hup that could have ended much worse. "Oh, brother¡­" Regrit inwardly sighed as he put his hands on his head. Moby took a deep breath and calmed his nerves once more before looking up and taking his first good look at the area he was in. It waspletely different from what was disyed from the outside, which he should have expected but what he saw was still very impressive. The room, if it could even be called as such was rather massive, spanning for the size of a ser field. The roof was twice as tall as a standard one and bore an intrinsic design that revolved around what seemed to be a demon of greed. Purple lights and gems adorned the ceiling and shined a dazzling light on the soft carpet and reflective ground below. The walls were filled withvish paintings and decorations from all around the world, some encased in ss vases like statues and even ornamental weapons. The area itself was rather densely crowded, everyone wearing masquerade or full masks to hide their features. It was far more than Moby expected. And, around those people were tables and couches that had cards, dices, drinks, all sorts of activities for a gambler to indulge in. Yet, that was not where his eyes lied for long¡­ It was mostly on the dome of blue energy in the center of the room that surrounded a hole like a barrier and a stage at the back where all of the participants seemed to be funnelled. "Hello there, may I please direct your attention to the front stage? The boss is patiently waiting for you there," a soft gentlemanly voice spoke from his right which distracted him from inspecting the rest of the area, and, he was a person that also wore no watch, which added to Moby''s suspicion. "Oh, thank you very much, we will be there right away," Moby smiled and nodded before doing as he said. There was a very distinct andid out path he followed and he took his time as the other two followed his lead. As he slowly inspected the room, he was able to pick up on the presence of mana, more specifically, mana crystals embedded all around. He was not sure what they were for, but, it still made him keep his guard up and to expect the unexpected. As he neared the hole in the center of the room, he noticed it to be a sizable arena. From the looks of it, betting matches were going to take ce in such an area. But, that was the part Moby was not very interested in. It was not too long until they finally made it to the other side, surrounded by a crowd of abnormally silent students. Most came there all alone or in a small group and had no interest in making anything but money when they came in. As Moby looked around the crowd, noticing arge amount of staff staring daggers at them. And, in the midst of all of that, he tried to spot any familiar faces from his fellow students. That was when he thought it to be the perfect time to test out something he had nned for. He directed his gaze on a single man, tall with brown hair and rather handsome features from what he could make out of his face. ''Inspect!'' ************************** Name: Raul Ravenwood Race: ????? Ability: ????? ????? Power Level: ????? Hp: ???/??? Mana: ???/??? Strength: ??? Agility: 1291 Endurance: ??? Intelligence: 1001 Mind: ? ************************** He could not help but smile seeing what he saw. He might not have been able to inspect all of their stats, but his upgraded inspect skill was able to reveal some information, including their real name. As such, he was now able to ckmail these people to his heart''s desire. He never felt more satisfied with himself for spending all of those points into mind. As the crowd thickened, Moby felt a small tug on his waist. And, when he looked down, he noticed it to be Hikari being pushed around by the new arrivals due to her short stature. Moby did not want to cause a problem and bring attention to himself this early on so he simply put her in between him and Regrit where she would be safer. When he looked back up to the stage, all of the lights in the room turned off and a new light was shed on centre stage. And, from the darkness emerged a figure, stepping into the bright white light with a massive grin on his face that oddly bore no mask, revealing his likeness to the crowd. "Greetings my dear students! And, wee¡­ To my den¡­" Chapter 333 - The Mammons Den (2)

Chapter 333: The Mammon''s Den (2)

There atop the bright stage stood a single man. He was fairly short in terms of stature and his back was bent slightly arch, to anyone looking, his age was more than clear, especially from the gray hair and wrinkles on his face. If they had to guess, they would have guessed him to be a man in his early fifties. He wore an elegant pure ck suit, perfectly tailored to fit his body, jewelry on almost every finger on his hands and a sparkling chain around his neck. He almost looked like an old-school mafia boss. His voice was surprisingly loud and strong. Whenever he spoke, he demanded attention and thus, everyone listened. They all might have been from very important families and rich beyond belief themselves, but, they were now in his domain and had to abide by his rules. In their heads, it would all be worth it in the end when they walk out more powerful and richer in points from when they entered¡­ "Allow me to introduce myself¡­ I am simply known as "The Mammon," and I will be running the show tonight! Every single one of you had a n in mind and an aspirationing in here¡­ Some of it might be personal and others more general. But, be prepared for disappointment, not everyone will walk out of here a winner! So, when you lose, don''te crying to me!" "..." The crowd stood silent, simply staring up with serious eyes. "Good! Now that that''s out of the way! Let me exin a few general things! Like most of you know, what is happening here is illegal! The school wants you to gain points by your own merit, not by sheer luck or by ying stupid games! But, screw that! That''s nothing like how life truly is! It''s your money! You should be able to do whatever you want with it!!" He took another small pause, looking at the faces of approval and the slight nods from the crowd. "The military is forbidden from tracking what you do with your points! Thank your parents for that! And, we have all checked you with lie detectors so you should be safe in here! Before we start, I would just like to redirect your attention to this," He simply snapped his fingers and several crystals all around the room lit up, ones that Moby had noticed when he first entered. "These are mana detecting crystals! They are embedded in every nook and cranny of this facility! I am very strict about cheating and want to ensure a safe, equal ying field for all! This means any type of mana maniption is prohibited! IF ANY OF YOU are caught using a hint of mana! Things will not end well! That is all I am gonna say pertaining to that matter¡­" His smile grew slightly sinister before he continued speaking. "Furthermore, the crystals will disable allmunication devices on your watch or any other device, and your storage rings will also be disabled! This is all for fairness! Now, does any of you have any questions so far?" "..." "No? Okay, let me move on then. On the side of the room over there are a group of ATMs. By simply scanning your watch on them, you should be able to convert your points into physical currency, chips that you will use today for cing your bets! The machine will also take 25 points from your ount when you first use it since that was your entry fee! As you can see all around me, there are many things you can gamble and bet on to your heart''s content! But, as you notice, there is a distinctck of slot machines since god knows that''s no fun!" He slightlyughed at his own remark. "If you run out of points and still want to go on, don''t you worry! Simply head to the back desk and we can provide you with as many points as you want! However¡­ If you don''t pay it all off before you leave¡­ You will be forced to pay us back in some way shape or form¡­ With additional interest, of course¡­" The man could not help but smile as he saw the many shudders in the crowd, but to his surprise, most people stayed calm in the face of his words. "The center arena will be closed for now. I will let you all know if there any major events going down! So¡­ Without further ado! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!" And with those simple words, the crowd dispersed and immediately rushed towards the ATMs. There was more than enough for everyone to have their very own but they all felt some sort of sense of urgency. There were only a select few that simply walked their way to the other side, and Moby''s group was one of them. When they got to the ATM, they withdrew every single point from all of their ountsbined. Regrit did have slight hesitation at the moment but went through with it considering how far they had already gotten. In total, adding up all of their points and subtracting the entry fees, they were left with a staggering 655 points, mostly in coins of 10 and 100. "Okay, now that we have all of the points, where are we going Joker? We have to make 75 points to get our money back, and that''s the bare minimum! You also have to count all of this time we''re wasting! I could have been training! You better know what you''re doing! By the end, you better have 1000 points or more!" Regrit casually spoke to Moby who was out in front holding a bag of his own coins. "Oh, Fox¡­ Don''t you worry¡­ We''ll be making much more than that¡­ All you have to do is stay quiet and follow my lead¡­ Okay¡­" Moby turned his head slightly to face Regrit, and his less than innocent smile greatly caught him off guard. "You''re not the boss of me! But, I''ll follow your lead for now! Don''t get the wrong idea!" "Yeah, don''t worry," Moby slightly chortled before he walked forward, Hikari and Regrit following close to his side. For the next thirty minutes, they did absolutely nothing but look around at all of the events. Most of them gravitated to some sort of card games but for now, Moby did not seem too interested in them. Instead, his attention was focused elsewhere. It was like he was biding his time for something to happen. Regrit almost felt the urge toin when suddenly, Moby finally made a move. "Follow me¡­ Let''s go here¡­" He walked through various crowds and around different groups and tables until he reached a spot at the back that Regrit did not expect for them to go to. It was somewhere rather dense for the activity going on around it. It came to a big shock that such a thing was so popr. There was a crowd of people huddled around a single table as two people went head to head with each other in a true champion''s game¡­ "DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK!!" It was a drinking game where the more cups a person consumed without passing out was the winner. The two people at it now, one was a man of massive statures like a rhino, and the other was a woman whose lean muscles were rather visible. "DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK DRINK!! YEEAAAHHHH!!" In the end, the woman won, and the man was left foaming out of his mouth on the ground. So, the referee had to direct his attention to him and give him a certain pill that once again allowed him to breathe and stand up in a depressed mood. Regrit and Hikari seemed to be shocked that the winner was not the man who weighed three times more, but Moby simply kept his smile. Of course, it was to be expected. He had been keeping a close eye on this certain gambling table and knew that this woman had won 10 times in a rowpletely uncontested. "Y-yeah *hickup* Who''s next?" The masked woman raised her fists up in victory as the crowd cheered up, hints of grumbles also being heard from those who probably bet a good amount of money on the man. She seemed to bepletely fine despite all of the alcohol she consumed other than the slight hups and slurs in her speech pattern. It was not too long after did the referee give her a pill that she ate, bringing her back to how she was before and removing any sign of intoxication. "I SAID! WHO''S NEXT!" She roared once again, more vigour than before as she mmed her tanned hands on the table. The crowd went silent at her words, a few chuckles being hearding from them. "Hahaha! If that behemoth can''t beat her than no one will!" "Yeah, at this point this isn''t even fair¡­ What even is the point in betting?" "She''s too good! We should just cancel this and find something else¡­" That was when suddenly, a hand was raised from the crowd along with an impossibly deep voice. "I''ll do it!" Moby confidently spoke. However, instead of being received with open arms or as an actual challenger, he was simplyughed and mocked for even attempting to challenge the champion. "Is this kid for real!? Even the girl is more muscr than this twink!" But, even at the face of all of that, the smile was not wiped off of his face as he stared directly into the eyes of his opponent that could not help but open her eyes wide. "SILENCE! I will take up any challenge! It doesn''t matter who! I will not stand for such ridicule! Remember when I first came up here!? You same sexist fucks started saying stuff like "how does a girl expect to out drink a guy!?" Fuck off! Now, look how it is!?" And just like that, the girl put an end to it all and left the crowd speechless, yet, their opinions still stood unmoving. "So, boy! Come here and let''s drink if you think you''re up to the challenge!" "Don''t mind if I do!" Moby confidently took his first step only to be held tightly by the shoulder. "Hey¡­ ARE YOU AN IDIOT!? What do you think you''re doing! You yourself said in an interview that you don''t drink alcohol because it''s not part of your diet! What makes you think you can suddenly march right in here and out drink a professional drinker?! HUH!?" Moby could not help but chuckle at Regrit''s screaming whispers as he turned his head slightly and smiled. "Don''t worry about it. Just trust the process and bet all of your money on me okay?" He shook his hands off his shoulders and simply marched up to the drinking table with all eyes on him. Regrit was losing his mind over how stupid this all was¡­ It felt almost surreal, like it was all a dream¡­ It had to be all a bad dream... It just had to... He felt an odd pain in his heart and an empty feeling in his stomach¡­ Was he really about to lose all of his hard-earned points on something like this!? "What! Wait¡ª" He tried to reach out to Moby and grab him back before it was toote, but, that was when he felt an abnormally strong tug on his legs and a voiceing from his side. "You should have more faith in Joker, fox¡­ I''m certain he knows what he''s doing¡­ He would never throw himself willingly into a losing fight¡­ That''s just the kind of person he is¡­" Chapter 334 - Drink to Win

Chapter 334: Drink to Win

Moby coolly strolled up to the table, ignoring all the stares around him. And, with a smile on his face, he mmed his hands on the table and looked up at his smug opponent. "Are you ready¡­" "Hell yeah I am!" She smiled back in his direction. "Fair warning though¡­ I''ll have you know that I''ve never once lost to anyone in a drinkingpetition¡­ I can do this forever, you''ll never win¡­" "Cool story, but actions speak louder than words, let''s just get this started," He casually responded, only making his opponent seem more confident as she motioned the referee to start. "The match between the challenger and the defending champion is about to begin! Please ce your bets and I will record them down!" "I''ll bet 1200 on myself¡­" The woman smirked as she began a chain of simr bets. "I''ll bet 100 points on the champion!" "50 on the champion!" "275 on the champion!" "85 on the champion!" "350 on the champion!" People were dumping their entire stash on the champion for what seemed like an easy victory, and the referee was casting all of the bets. That was when a single voice went against the grain, raising their hands. "We will bet 655 points on the challenger!" The crowd was more than shocked and had the urge to ridicule them. "Are those your friends?" The champion asked. "Maybe," Moby responded with a smirk, only for the champion to slightly chuckle, not out of disrespect but out of confidence. In the end, the bets were in and the odds were clear. 2750 points went towards the champion and a mere 755 went towards the challenger. It seemed like one other person was feeling daring with their money and decided to take the huge risk of bidding on the underdog. "Okay! The bets are in! Are both contestants ready!?" He mmed a massive bottle of beer on the table and poured two heavy cups. "YES SIR!" They both spoke in unison. "Okay¡­ ¡­. ¡­ ¡­ GO!" And just like that, they went head to head and began drinking, one at a time going blow for blow as they kept up with each other''s speed. The girl was a monster, going through every cup like it was nothing while Moby was no slouch himself. But, after the 10th cup, Moby began to show major signs of dizziness and disorientation while the girl seemedpletely normal, smirking brightly as she listened to the crowdugh and cheer. "Fuck¡­ It''s over, isn''t it? I''m so stupid, why did I even agree to this¡­ I should have stopped this before it was toote¡­ There goes all my points¡­" Regrit looked down and away with the urge to curl up in a ball of depression and defeat, he looked like a soulless hollow from the outside, like all the life was sucked right out of him. "Don''t be down fox! He''s gonna win! I just know he will!" Hikari tightly held her fists together and continued watching with wide eyes and sweaty palms. They were both going at the same speed, trading blow for blow even though Moby seemed far more disoriented. But, that was until the 25th cup and the girl began to show slight signs of cracking while Moby only seemed slightly worse than before. Both were nowpletely silent, chugging down cups as fast as before staring daggers into each other''s eyes with confident smiles on their faces. The crowd began to get nervous, most people passed out by the 25th cup against that woman but that man seemed to be barely hanging on. And this trend continued along with their worries¡­ The man was barely even able to stand by the 30th cup and by the 40th, he had to hang on to the table for dear life just so he didn''t fall. He even struggled to pick up the cup. While the girl on the other hand was fairing much better. That was until the 50th cup where the man''s eyes were like slits and his face was red about to explode. It was like he was going to tumble any second now. The crowd began to cheer in victory when they witnessed him begin slowly slipping off the table. "Is it over yet¡­ Please tell me it''s over, I can''t take this anymore¡­" Regrit couldn''t stand to look anymore as he looked away from seeing all of his points going down the drain along with Moby. However, the girl to his side did no such thing, no, she could not allow herself to look away for even an instant, not once did she lose hope, even now. But, that was when a miracle happened¡­ "WHAAATTTT!?" "W-w-wai wha? What happened? Is it over yet?" Regrit spoke, his heart almost leaping out of his chest. "YES! HE WON! FOX LOOK!! HE WON!!" Hikari cheered and jumped around in celebration. "Wait what?" Regrit could not believe his ears, it almost felt like Hikari was ying a sick prank on him. But¡­ When he opened his eyes, it was safe to say that it was no prank at all. "Huh!! HAHAHAHAHA! I always had faith in you! LET''S GOOOO!! I''m rich! RICH!" Heughed and cheered along with Hikari as they danced while all the people around them did nothing but boo, throw tantrums, andin. Moby was still conscious, hanging onto the table with heavy breaths and a tomato for a face while his opponent was knocked out on the ground, gagging and struggling to breathe. He smiled once more and barely managed to lift his head up higher, thrusting a fist into the sky for a split second before bringing it back down on the table so he didn''t fall. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!? This is so rigged!? I want my money back!!" "Yeah! Are you sure you even gave that guy alcohol!? This is so stupid! I swear the girl drank much more in other rounds!" "Are you sure this guy didn''t cheat!? There''s no way that could be legit!" "SILENCE EVERYONE!" The referee''s voice was loud and filled the room, it even caught the attention of several of the nearby tables. "I can guarantee you all was fair! I have a job and a duty to uphold! If you are really doubtful, I will stick my name onto it and I''m sure this fellow will too! Ask me any question and I''ll answer truthfully!" He pulled out a lie detector crystal and handed it to the manining most before he went down to give the girl a pill to wake up, it seemed like she stopped gagging but has yet to recover and snap back into consciousness, she definitely drank more than every other round, the spectators must have been either blind or bias. Then, he stood back up and gave Moby a pill that brought him back to normal. In the meantime, the man with the lie detector crystal tested it on one of his peers just to ensure it was working and not tampered with before he directed his questions at the referee. "Did you rig this match-up?" "No," "Did you notice any cheating?" "No," "Was this match-uppletely fair for both sides?" "Yes," He answered all the questions with confidence, and every time, it came back as truthful which made the man lose hope of ever getting back hisrge investment. "Now you! He looked over at Moby''s direction," "Did you cheat?" "No," "Did you use any underhanded tactic or item to work things in your favour?" "No," "Did you make some sort of deal with the girl for her to let you win and split the points afterward!?" "No," "FUCKK!!" He roared, the realization that he had lost almost 500 points now setting into his consciousness, his heart beating faster than he could ever remember along with an empty feeling in his curled stomach. "Hahahaha! You guys are such losers! Just suck it up and face it! You lost!" The one man that bet against the oddsughed at the crowd of losers around him who mocked and berated him only a few minutes prior. "Sh-shut up!" The atmosphere around the table immediately became gloomy, everyone looked like zombies while some of them even broke out into tears. It just didn''t feel real that everything vanished in the blink of an eye. That was when a voice rang out through the silence, a voice that was rather smug. "Okay!! Who''s next! I''ll bet all my earnings on it too! You have a chance to get all of your investments back!" "..." "You idiot! We don''t have any money to bet anym¡ª" "I''ll do it!" A man from outside of the table itself spoke as he walked through the crowds. He wore an elegant green coat and had short brown hair and a beauty mark underneath the left side of his lower lip. He bore a smile on his face and spoke in a British ent. All eyes were now on him as they looked at him like he was an angel or their saviour swooping down from heaven to save them against the menace that stole all of their money¡­ "I''ve watched you from afar and I was quite impressed¡­ Still, I couldn''t help but think it''s a fluke but Imend you nheless! I would like to challenge you to a game¡­ We will y darts! But first, we will drink 10 cups of beer and spin around 10 times in a circle before we begin! How does that sound?" The man''s confidence was more than clear on his face, and it rekindled hope in the eyes of the losers around the table like never before. "If you doubt me then don''t! I''m a professional archer and have yed darts all my life! I''m confident of winning!" ''Even if that wasn''t a fluke, this guy has no initial stamina¡­ After 10 cups he looked like he was ready to pass out, but his endurance after that was phenomenal¡­ It seems like he gets hammered very quick and can maintain it for much longer¡­ It''s my perfect chance to use that to my advantage! Archery and darts are my forte and 10 cups of beer are nothing to me! There''s no way I can lose,'' The man inwardly thought to himself with a smirk as he confidentlyughed on the outside to hype up the gloomy crowd. "So, boy, what will it be!? Are you willing to bet all of your new earned money?" "Hmmm¡­" Moby looked at the man''s eyes and began to deeply ponder to himself. That was when he looked over towards Regrit''s direction and saw his distressed face that metaphorically screamed: ''Don''t you fucking dare waste all of these points or I''ll kill you,'' That was when he smiled in his direction and redirected it at the man ahead. "Okay! I''m in!" Chapter 335 - Darts

Chapter 335: Darts

"I''m d we''re on the same page! I''ll bet 1500 points, I assume you''ll bet everything you just won right?" He spoke those words with confidence and the crowd could not help but be taken a back. 1500 points was a staggering amount for one person and only meant that this man was smart and knew what he was doing¡ª He had to have earned those points somehow after all. "Yeah, I''ll bet everyst penny," Moby casually responded. If the crowd''s confidence in the man weren''t high enough, they sure were now. It was to the point that some of them left the table and rushed over to the empty back desk with stars in their eyes. "Hey! Where you going?" "To get more money!" "Wait what?! Did you hear that guy say what will happen if we don''t pay them back!? Aren''t you scared!?" "Yeah, of course we did! But, more than I''m worried about walking out of here broke as hell! Let''s get our money back and more! It''s gonna be all worth it in the end!" Hecked behind to exin to the rest of the group. "Okay¡­ I''ll do it!" And, just like that, an entire army marched, the only people left standing were Hikari and Regrit. "Hey guys! Can I get you to do something for me?" Moby called out to them. "What now¡­ Can''t you see I''m too busy being depressed¡­" Regrit mumbled back. "I need you to go to the back desk too and borrow some more money! Let''s try to match their bets! It will all be worth it in the end!" "YOU CAN''T BE FUCKING SERIOUS!!" Regrit almost had a heart attack listening to Moby''s words. "Don''t worry about it! We''ll pay it back right after!" "You''re gonna kill me with all of this you know that!? You think I''ll actually go out and borrow more coins!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND! WE HAVE ENOUGH POINTS! GET YOUR ASS OFF THERE!! I''D RATHER SUCK A CO¡ª" "I''m on it Joker!" His speech was immediately interrupted by the little girl to his side, and just like that his vigour was whisked away and his stress returned. "You¡­ You better not fucking lose this money¡­ That''s all I''m gonna say okay¡­" Regrit took a deep breath to calm his nerves, looking away from Moby''s smile that he could no longer bear. ''Huh, Hikari''s going out into the crowd all alone? Has she gotten morefortable due to this experience or is she forcing herself for my sake?'' He inwardly thought to himself. It was not very long until the initial crowd returned, now with heavy bags of points in hand, Hikari slightly more in the back with a bag that toppled all the other ones. All of the bets were set and the crowd was hyped, except for Regrit of course who was biting his nails wishing for it all to end and looking at his hair to make sure it was not turning gray. "Are bothpetitors ready!?" "Yes sir!" they spoke as one. "Okay¡­ ¡­ START!" The crowd exploded in cheering, it was to the point that all the nearby tables could not help but take a moment of pause and look over in their direction. Moby and the other man immediately chugged their initial 10 cups and picked up a dart, looking at the two newly set up dart boards ahead. Just like before, Moby looked like he could barely stand up while his opponent looked good as new. But, despite that, he was still determined as he was the first one to shoot after spinning around 10 times. "B-bbull''s eye!!" The crowd could not help but boo as they then looked over at their only hope shooting his shot right after. "GO NEW GUY! WHOOP HIS ASS!!" "BULL''S EYE!" They both shotpletely perfectly, and thus they had to shoot more¡­ and more¡­ and more¡­ But, despite what felt like endless shooting, they were still on even ground with no shots missing the red center. Yet, it seemed to be all out of Luck. Moby''s form was quite awkwardpared to his opponent but he still managed to hit every single shot. It was a miracle that he survived this long. It was to the point that Regrit felt his heart leap out of his chest and his stomach sink to his groin every single shot Moby threw. Though thepetition had stood still for ages, the crowd did not lose their vigour nor did the tension lessen, if anything, it increased with thoughts that the new kid might lose and that the new challenge was going to pull another miracle creeping upon their backs. But, that was when the referee stopped the match. "This has gone on long enough!" He roared, mming a cup of beer on the table. "Drink 10 more now! That should make things more interesting!" The new guy looked slightly hesitant at the new rules but when he looked over at his opponent almost ready to pass out, his confidence once again grew. "Okay! Let''s do this!" "I-I''m down too¡­" Moby seconded that opinion. And thus, they entered a new round with even more disorientation than before. The new guy''s shots were finally beginning to look wonkier but Moby''s movements were now so exaggerated that it almost looked impossible from the way he threw it. The more the match went on the more the people realized how much closer it was than they were led to believe. The first to mess up lost and both opponents seemed to be at their limits. To everyone, it was more than clear¡­ The event was reaching its climax and there could only be one winner. And after what felt like a 100-year long war¡­ It was finally over and one-shotnded on the green outer ring of that saught after red circle¡­ The crowd wentpletely silent, many of them with their hands hanging onto their heavily beating hearts "Oh lord please let us win¡­ Oh lord please let us win¡­ Oh lord please let us win¡­ Oh lord please let us win¡­ " Regrit closed his eyes and begged to some higher power to let things end well so they could finally leave, that was when he was shaken from the waste vigorously, opening his eyes only to see a jumping Hikari celebrating like she was out of breath. "He won! He won!" "Wait really!? Ha¡­ haha¡­ HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!" Hisughter broke the silence of the crowd before he got a menacing nce back from the red-faced challenger that looked more like a wild animal ready to explode, however, all that served to do was increase his hysteria even more. "THIS AIN''T OVER!! REFEREE! WHY AREN''T YOU CALLING THIS!? HE CHEATED! THE DART MOVED IN MID-AIR! IT SWERVED TO THE RIGHT!! YOU SAW THAT RIGHT!?" The new guy shrieked like a mad man, his red, pulsing eyes almost popping out their sockets. "I''m sorry kid, but that looked fair to me¡­" The referee waved off his usations like nothing and looked over towards the smiling defending champion who was on one knee smiling and looking at everything transpire. "WHAATTTT!!" His madness increased even more. "YOU CAN''T BE FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT!? IT WAS CLEAR AS DAY HE FUCKING CHEATED!!" Heavy pellets of spit were mixed into his speech as he shot his anger straight at the indifferent judge like a machine gun who had nothing but pity in his eyes. "I''m sorry boy, the decision is final¡­ And the winner is the defending champion!" "..." Other than theughing Regrit that attracted all the hating looks, the air was cold with everything sounding like odd static in their ears, some breaking down into tears looking at what just transpired while others went down on their knees as they felt their souls exit their bodies. "We trusted you¡­ We fucking trusted you and you failed us¡­ Now, what are we gonna do huh?" One man in the crowd finally spoke, tears of stress and depression falling down his face. "Yeah! What was that all about huh?" "You scammed us all!" They had gone on an entire emotional journey in merely thest few minutes¡­ From the highest highs of hope to the lowest lows of depression. They looked back it things and thought of how stupid they were. There was no reason for them to trust him¡­ It was simply due to the moment. They were just so desperate that theytched on to the only light given to them, and that light eventually ended uppletely blinding them. "NO! GUYS! Y-you have to believe me! It was all a mistake! He 100% cheated! Give me one more chance and I''ll prove it! I''ll¡­ I''ll rematch him for all that he has and you guys can go borrow more mo¡ª" "DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT WE''RE FUCKING STUPID ENOUGH TO DO THAT!?" "..." "Come on¡­ Let''s go¡­ This is just a waste of time¡­" The depression on their faces was more than evident as most of the crowd dispersed and decided to pay whatever debt they had as to not make it even worse. The new guy took a few steps back as everything began to sink in. It all did not feel real to him¡­ Everything was ruined and it was all because of that cheating bastard¡­ Yeah¡­ If it weren''t for him and his underhanded tactics, he would have never gotten to this point. IT WAS ALL HIS FAULT! "YOOUUU FUCKING CHEATER!! I''LL KILL YOU!!" And in a fit of madness, he lunged at the still drunk challenger with a green mana-infused fist ready to kill¡­ But, that was when the crystals on the walls began shing red, and before he even knew it he was on the ground in cuffs, detained by staff that worked there. "No mana or attacking other clients allowed!! You will be punished¡­" several staff members lifted him off of the ground and dragged him to a certain corridor that no one was able to see as he screamed in their arms as he struggled to leave to no avail. "LET GO!! LET FUCKING GO OF ME!! I''LL KILL HIM!! I''LL FUCKING KILL HIMMMMMMMM¡­" His mind had clearly broken, his screams echoed far and wide all throughout the room and seized the attention of many nervous faces wondering what happened to make him like that and what will they do with him now¡­ "Joker! That was amazing! I''m so happy you won!" Hikari rushed over to Moby who was eating his pill to detoxify himself. "Why did you ever doubt me?" He rubbed his hands on her head softly. "Uh, uh! I always knew you would win!" He smiled at her before looking at Regrit standing behind. "You know¡­ I gotta admit you had me worried more than a few times¡­ But, all''s well that ends well! It''s finally over! Now, let''s get the fuck out of here! We''ve made more than I could ever dream of!" "Huh?" Moby confusedly nced at him with an eyebrow raised. "What?" He responded with even more confusion than before. "Are you kidding me? No way we''re leaving now! We''ve only just started!" Chapter 336 - Suffering From Success

Chapter 336: Suffering From Sess

The Mammon''s Den had been on for hours now. Things were far different, most people''s faces did not match that of when they entered. Some of them looked even happier as theyzed around and settled for whatever wins they had, others wore smiles on their faces as they looked for even more to gamble on and gain more points, but, that was by far the vast minority. Most of the people looked like husks of their former selves, roaming around like zombies trying not to cry as they found themselves many points below where they started, while the rest were simply hanging onto their money scared as they contemted whether to spend it. The room had many seats and couches for people to rx but, they were instead mostly used by the crying and depressed losers contemting their next move. However, there was one man that was an exception¡­ He sat on a corner couch with a deadpanned expression under his mask, dark, heavy bags under his eyes. The mncholic, stressful air was hovering right above him like a visible raincloud seen by all, which incited many whispers in his direction, all of them being undoubtedly false. Indeed, this man was suffering, but unlike the others, he was suffering from sess¡­ "Hey Fox, want a drink?" He slowly lifted his tired neck off the couch and looked up to see where that familiar voice wasing from. "Noir? Why are you here?" Hezily asked as he inspected her along with the drink in her hand. "Joker is in a match right now and I thought I would check up on you¡­ So, want a drink?" She smiled at him brightly, bringing her ss of liquid closer to him. "Wow, that''s quite nice of you¡­ But, sadly, I don''t drink alcohol¡­" He waved her off, but that only made her chuckle and smile even more. "Oh! Don''t worry! This is orange juice!" "Oh¡­" He could not help but crack a smile through all his gloom. "You know me better than I thought you did¡­" He took the cup from her hands and took a massive sip as Hikari sat next to him on the couch. "So¡­ How''s things going with Joker?" "O-oh! Him? You shouldn''t worry about him! He still hasn''t even lost once! He''s in the middle of an organized ckjack tournament reserved for all the people with the most coins. It''s the final round and he hasn''t lost a single time! There was one time his opponent got super lucky but he came back with three ckjacks in a row!" Hikari ranted with passion, tightly sping her hands. "Heh¡­ Should have figured¡­" He mellowly smiled reminiscing about what transpired in the past few hours like it happened many moons ago. After his initial two victories, against all of his warnings, Moby did not stop, but instead continued to push forward with no fear at all. He marched into every major gambling table and won every single one¡ª It was to the point that his name and likeness spread throughout the entire casino and people avoided him like the gue seeing he had never lost. But, of course, there were always the few people that wanted to test their luck against him which allowed him to continue his domination. No¡­ What he did could not be called domination¡­ Not at all, it was pure madness. Most of the matches he took were impossibly close and he barely managed to win, not to mention the fact that nearly all of them called him out for cheating only for him to be proved innocent mere momentster. That fact eventually took a toll on Regrit''s heart, sanity, and mental health¡­ He had seen his life sh before his eyes too many times in the span of a few hours for him to care anymore. He eventually decided that it would all be the same whether he was with him or not and It was all not worth the headache, so he retired on the couch to ease the pain and wait it out until the end. "Wait, Noir, if he''s in the final round of that tournament why are you not there to cheer him on?" He spoke, taking another sip of his drink as he stared towards the ceiling. "Oh, well, I wanted to¡­ But, he sent me here to check up on you saying he was going to win anyways¡­ B-but, I also agreed and wanted to do it! It''s not like I came here just because he told me to!" She nervously responded, bing flustered seemingly out of nowhere. ''Damn she''s shy¡­ Has she lived in an asylum all her life or something?'' "Thanks, I guess¡­ But why are you acting so shy all of a sudden? I don''t bite. You should act more assertive or something..." He took his final sip of juice before mming it on the table ahead of him and once againying down on his couch. "Ahhhhhhh¡­." "Oh! I''m sorry! I''m still working on that... But, I''m getting there! I-I think..." "..." "Hey, Noir, how much longer until this dream''s over?" "You mean when the event is over?" "Yeah sure¡­" "Well, I don''t know, but it shouldn''t be much longer than one or two hours¡­" "Finally¡­" "Huh," Hikari looked slightly confused. "Aren''t you happy about all the points?" "Of course, I am! I''m happy as hell! But, more than that, I''m just tired and want to rest¡­ And besides, this doesn''t even feel real¡­ No way that man is that Lucky¡­ I''m sure I''ll wake up any second now and find myself still in bed¡­" "... OUCH! What was that for!" He felt a sting on his torso. "I''m sorry... I was just trying to be more assertive..." She nervously responded, scooting away from Regrit until she hit the other side of the couch. "Yeah, but why?" He seemed slightly annoyed. Well... I-... I just wanted to give you proof that you''re still awake! You should have more faith in Joker! He can do anything!" "..." "BLACKJACK!! Here is your winner!! JOKER!! Joker is the winner of the grand prize!!" He looked up slightly to witness a sea of people jumping up and down cheering, and a blue-haired man with a demon mask brightlyughing as he celebrated and lifted up his earnings. "Yeah¡­ Of course, he can¡­ I know that better than anyone else¡­ I guess no matter how hard I work, I really will never catch up to him¡­" He mumbled faintly under his breath, his voice being drowned out by the exorbitant cheering of the people in the distance. "Hey, did you say something?" Hikari asked leaning forward. "Oh nothing, don''t worry about it¡­" Chapter 337 - Cheaters Paradise

Chapter 337: Cheaters Paradise

Moby simply stood in front of the cheering crowd holding a massive bag of points more than satisfied. He had gotten far more points than he expected when firsting in, the mere thought of what he could do with all of them made his heart race with uncontroble glee. Indeed, Moby had won every single thing he entered, but unlike what people thought, it was not by sheer luck. No, not at all, instead, it was simply a clever maniption of what he had over these humans. Prior to everything starting, Moby had taken a risk and tested his demon energy in the face of the detecting crystals and he was all clear, then along with his inventory. He wanted to test out if he was able to use any kind of mana if he shrouded it with his demon energy, but in the end, he decided that it was not worth the risk. There were many ways where he was able to cheat, but cheating in a way that was slick and seamless was the true challenge. For the drinking game, Demons such as him were immune to all poisons which included alcohol, thus he could not get drunk. This served as a massive advantage but was at the same time the source of all of his concerns and problems. So, to simte being drunk, he had to bite his tongue to redden his face and stare abnormally long to make his eyes seem bloodshot, not to mention treating his body like it was several times its own weight. It was much easier said than done, especially when he would try to make the matches close. But, luckily, he was not called out¡­ However, that could not be said about everything else¡­ Whenever any of his opponent''s yelled and called him out for cheating, some of them simply resorted to that excuse out of desperation and due to the fact that it was impossible for someone to be that lucky but, they were mostly right on the mark, even figuring out what went wrong, but they always fell t of any valid proof which made them look like salty idiots, not to mention the refs actually confirming it was all legitimate. The earliest point of such an example was when he faced that man in darts and he began screaming like a lunatic how his dart moved in mid-air¡­ No one believed him, but he spoke the truth¡­ Moby had used his newly acquired elemental demon magic at full force to send a small gust of air just to end things quickly. The fact of the matter was that his dart did move ever so slightly to the point that it was impossible to even notice by the well-trained eye. But, despite all of that, the man was so convinced his dart moved and that his opponent cheated to the point he began to lose his mind. But, he was far from the only one¡­ The most notable after that was during a game of cards. Using his void ability hovering over the deck, he was able to perfectly and seamlessly switch the order of all the cards to his favour. He would always get the most clutch cards when he needed them most. To many, it was fishy what was going on but there was still no proof to any of it. Still, the demand and skepticism incited several in-depth investigations that yielded nothing. The only conclusion people could surmise was that he was somehow blessed by the luck gods. And now that Luck pushed him all the way. With arge smile and an evenrger bag in his hands, he walked over towards the couch where Regrit sat to show him the fruits of hisbour. He of course did notice the many looks in his direction, most of which consisted of hatred and envy, but a surprising amount seemed to have stares of admiration. When he reached them, he noticed them casually talking to each other, Regrit looking dead on the inside while Hikari was even brighter and more casual than usual. He hated to have to interrupt. But, if he had to, he decided to do it in style. "Hey you two, how has it been without me?" He dropped his heavy bag of coins on the table and sat on the couch beside Regrit. "Oh, herees the champion¡­ Is it really all over¡­ Please tell me it''s over... Can I finally rx¡­" Regrit''s speech was monotone, yet there lied a hint of desperation in his voice. "Yeah, I think it would be safe to do so¡­" He smiled, lying down on the couch and extending his slightly tired legs. "Thank god¡­ Ahhhhhh¡­ I''m tired as hell! You have no idea how much your dumbass made my brain hurt¡­" "Hey, Joker, how many points do you think you got?" Hikari leaned over and asked. "I don''t know how many exactly, but it should be a whole lot! We can count themter on¡­ The big problem is how we are gonna spend all this once we''re out. If we spend all of this, it would be highly suspicious. It would be like screaming at the military-like, "Hey! We cheated to get all of our points!" I have a few ideas in mind but I''m not sure about some¡­ Do you have any ideas Fox?" "Huh?" He lifted his head slightly, "What part of I''m tired as hell and my brain hurts do you not understand? We can think about this stuffter¡­ But, if I had to choose something it would be to give ourselves 100 points a day and im they were from some random source like duelling students or providing services and the such." "Not bad¡­ I also had a simr idea," Moby nodded. *sigh* "Anyways, I think the doors are locked and they''re not letting anyone out until everything is over¡­ I honestly really need a nap or something¡­ Wake me up when it''s all over...Knowing that you won''t go around and risk our money is actually gonna give me the brainpower to finally properly re¡ª " That was when he was suddenly and abruptly interrupted by a loud, boosted voice that rang throughout the various embedded speakers of the room, catching everyone''s notice. "Attention all clients! The initial events are over now! Close down all the tables! It is time for thest and most major event of the night! Can everyone please report to the backstage once again where everything will be exined! This is not optional! This is all mandatory! That will be all! Thank you!" "..." "Why now!? All I wanted to do was sleep!! FOR FUCK SAKE!!" Chapter 338 - Final Event

Chapter 338: Final Event

Whispers incited amongst the crowd as they were all escorted by staff off of their gambling tables. They all wondered what this major event was, although they have been there for quite a while now, many of them were interested, especially those who were in extreme debt. It did not take too long for the crowd to form and wait in front of the main stage. The lights then dimmed not allowing anything to be seen outside of one single area on the stage, and from the darkness emerged a man¡­ The same man that came out when they first came in. "Greetings to you all! As you know by now, I am the mammon! I hope you all found it fair and enjoyed everything so far!" His elderly face smiled as he panned a look at all the people present. "From the looks on many of your faces, I assume that things didn''t go as you wanted¡­ There are actually more losers here than I expected¡­ It''s almost like there''s someone hogging all the coins..." Heughed heartily to himself as his eyes naturally shifted towards one proud, smiling man whose bag of coins toppled all else, the crowd also doing the same. "Anyways." He closed his eyes and smiled, making everyone''s attention go back on him. "The starting events may be over, but that doesn''t mean you won''t have any chance to gain points¡­ If anything, this might be your best chance yet! So, listen up all of you who are in debt! Everyone will be participating in this one!" The silent crowd''s gaze grew keener as some of them unconsciously leaned in closer. "You see that big hole in the center of the room? Yeah! That''s what we''re gonna do! Hand to hand fight betting! You will either be a fighter, or you would bet on a winner! Simple is it not? And, to ensure this will all be fair, no abilities are allowed for obvious reasons, we don''t want you to expose who you really are do we? And, power levels will be limited to a mere 5000! This will be a pure fight of skill! Before the match, each contestant will be asked with a lie detector whether or not he was ready, and afterwards, they will be asked if they tried their best to win or rigged it for profit. I guarantee you this will all be fair!" He took a small pause, noting down the reaction of the audience before he continued. "For the fighters that want to participate, unless you bet on yourself, you won''t lose anything. BUT! If you win! You will be provided 10% of the total bets straight out of our pockets! We will allow 8 people! So! Who wants to join!? Please raise your hand up high and you will be escorted by a staff member to a waiting room to await your fight!" "..." The air was cold, and no word was spoken as everyone was deep in thought. Especially Moby. That was when someone broke the ice and raised his hands. "Me! I''ll do it!" "Great!" The mammon beamed. "Staff, please escort him to his room!" He spoke as several staff members showed him the way down a distinct set of stairs. "I''ll do it!" "Yeah! Count me in too!" After the initial spark, several people decided to follow in their footsteps and people began signing up at a much faster rate, most of them being the less fortunate of people. ''Do I really need any more coins? Is this worth the risk!?" Moby thought deeply to himself. Even in a situation like this, he had a major advantage. Not only was his martial arts superior to everyone else there, but he also had ess to his demon powers, though keeping them hidden in such a well-watched environment may prove to be a challenge. It was tough, but in the end, he came to a decision¡­ "Hey, Mammon! I''ll join too and bet everything on myself!" The entire crowd gasped at once and lost their collective minds, staring at him with eyes that were about to fall out of their sockets. Many whispers immediately incited. He was so rich¡­ Any man would have just settled on what he had¡­ But, he wanted even more¡­ This was no longer a game of luck, was that man truly that powerful!? "HAHAHAHA!" The mammon could not help but break outughing. "You know! I like you kid! Not many people are that daring! I guess that''s how you got this far right? This is what separates the strong from the chaff! Staff! Please escort this man to his waiting room!" "Hey¡­ Joker¡­ Please be careful¡­ He heard a voice from beside him, making him turn around and smile. "Don''t worry, I''ll be more than fine," That was when his eyesid upon Regrit, his hands were tightly clenched, and he could not help but find it to be somewhat odd¡­? He was either imagining things or there was a nearly invisible twitchy smile on his face. "Hey, Fox, you not gonna even try to stop me?" He raised an eyebrow. "Eh, I don''t care anymore¡­ It''s not worth the stress and I know you''re not gonna listen anyways. I''d rather keep my hair far away from any gray thank you very much! I''m gonna go to the washroom, maybe rx and take a nap as I shit¡­ Who knows¡­ I''ll just leave things up to you¡­ Good luck!" He waved him off as he walked away from the crowds, on his way to the washroom. Moby could not help but sigh at the sight, and not too long after, he saw two figures standing in front of him, one man and one woman of average stature. "Please follow us! We''ll lead the way!" They bowed their head slightly before turning around. "Okay, thank you," He walked behind them towards those same stairs¡­ "Good Luck!! I already know you will win!" That was when he heard Hikari''s final words of encouragement, making him turn around to see her waving at him. "Sure will¡­" He smiled back as he walked down the stairs below. Chapter 339 - Before the Fight

Chapter 339: Before the Fight

Moby was escorted down the long flight of stairs and was led down a hallway lit up by yellow-tintedmps on the red-painted walls. The walls themeslves hostedrge, fancy doors and at the end of the hallway lied a lifting gate with a vast open area ahead, which he could only conclude to be the battle arena. "Over here¡­" The woman escorting him spoke as she opened one of the side doors, motioning him to go in. Moby simply nodded and did as he was told. When he entered, he found the room to be rather small, at most he estimated a 3-meters by 3-meter area, only enough for a couch, table, toilet, along with some open area for him to walk around and move his legs. It was barely even enough space to stretch, but for his purposes, it was more than enough so he didn''tin "Please be patient and wait for your name to be called. Your quarter-final match should not be too far from now¡­" The man that stood at the door spoke before he looked like he and his associate were going to walk out. "Wait, one moment!" Moby called out, catching their attention. "Yes?" They turned around and stared. "Will I not be able to spectate the other matches? And, where is the power level limiting cor?" "Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention this, my apologies." He bowed slightly. "You will not be able to spectate any of your opponent''s to make the fights more interesting. You will simply be waiting here silent between every match. And, you will be given a cor right before your first match and you will keep it on until further notice. Do you have any more questions? I hope all is clear now." "Yes, all is clear, you''re free to go¡­" He casually waved them off as he sat down on the ratherfortable couch. "Okay, thank you¡­" They both nodded their heads, giving him a certain look that he was quick to notice. "I guess I''ll just rest until my name is called¡­" He yawned, cing hisrge bag of coins to his side and made himselffortable. ''Hey, Moby, why did you decide to do this? You had more than enough points to livevishly. And, you didn''t even consult with me before doing this¡­'' He heard a voice in his head, making him casually smile. ''Well, it''s all very simple¡­ You see, I know I have a massive advantage going in here. What is stopping me from wanting more? Why settle for what I have? If I won''t go for something when I''m almost guaranteed to win how will I fair once it''s an equal ying field or even if I am at a disadvantage?'' Avilia was slightly taken aback by his words and smiled brightly in his head. ''I honestly didn''t expect that from you! You still surprise me to this day! I''m proud!'' ''Proud?'' Moby raised an eyebrow, he hadn''t heard those wordse out of Avilia''s mouth in quite a while. It was mostly her being surprised at his learning speed but the word ''proud,'' was something else. ''Well, I am your mentor am I not?'' She smugly retorted. ''You can think that of yourself all you want! But thanks for thepliment!'' Heughed, ying it off like no big deal. The next few minutes were peaceful, he patiently bided his time by thinking deeply about his next moves. The only major problem he could see going in was that he will be forced to use unorthodox martial arts he doesn''t use often or simply something extremely loose from his family-style. His style was very distinct, having a heavy emphasis on counters and using his opponent''s moves against them rather than overpowering with brute force, he did not want to give away his identity that easily. In the end, he decided on something and used the rest of his efforts on whatever training he could muster, but, after what felt like a good amount of training, a sudden idea shot up in his head and he could not help but ask. ''Avilia, would this mask be able to conceal my eyes of sin if I use them?'' ''To a degree, yes, but I would not rmend you risk it¡­ If you do want to use them, I rmend you not do it at full power as to not break the illusion of your mask. The one you made was rather cheap, I told you that making a more expensive one would pay off!'' ''No! You said that this mask should be enough for my purposes!'' ''Yeah! As long as your purposes didn''t include heavybat!'' *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* That was when a sudden sound came from the door, along with a creaking as it slowly opened revealing two entirely new members of staff. "Hello there Joker! You will be the final match of the first round! Please wear this!" They handed him a metal cor, one that looked simr to the one he used with Mason Griffith as they trained. He held it and inspected it firmly in his hands before putting it on, feeling a rather familiar jolt that sucked him dry out of most of his energy. The cor itself felt somewhat flimsy and like he could break out of it by flexing his neck, but, he assumed that would mean instant disqualification. He used a fairly high-quality one so he knew all there was to know about them. The truth was that these devices only lowered the initial power level down to that amount, but further buffs such as eyes of sin and his several demon magic buffs. But, this also worked in terms of Ki, the energy that felt like angel energy he learned from Mason Griffith. This also applied to other non-mana-based energy such as his feint, impure demon energy that was invisible to the eye. "Are you ready?" They asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts as he responded. "Of course! Lead the way!" As he walked out into the not-so-familiar hallway and was now face to face with the lifting metal gate, he heard a voice came from behind him, making him respond without even turning around. "Please wait until your name is called and the gate will automatically open," "Understood," The air was cold, yet Moby could not help but slightly sweat despite his confidence. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he had yet to even start a match. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, casting all of his buffing spells by waving his hands into various symbols. Although he was excited to face someone in a match of pure martial arts, he was not about to ignore his advantages in pursuit of a fair fight. "Ladies and Gentlemen! The final match of the first round is about to begin!! This might be by far the most anticipated match of the round! Taking your attention to the right! You know his name! It''s spread far and wide! He had gambled his way to be one of the richest men in the entire building and has yet to lose a single time! Please wee! JOKER!!" Chapter 340 - Round 1

Chapter 340: Round 1

Moby heard his name being said from the other side of the gate, that along with the cheering crowd. And, not too long after, the gate slowly opened revealing the bright light of the outside space. With a confident smile, Moby marched out into the vast area, raising his hands up as he heard the crowd cheering his name. It caught him byplete surprise, when he looked up towards the bright light and the ckened faces of the masked masses, he noticed that even the ones that seemed to previously envy or despise him were cheering his name. ''Hmmm¡­ It seems like they probably bet all of their money on me to gain a quick buck¡­'' He thought of the only conclusion that made sense in his mind. As he scanned the dense crowd, he came across the short, fedora-wearing man with a ck mask holding a microphone along with the mammon himself on a specific stand in the arena. But, his eyes did notst there for long as he managed to make out the figure of a single person, hanging on the railing and jumping and cheering him on almost like a little kid, her voicepletely drowned out by the rest of the masses. He looked her in the eye and waved back at her. Of course, it was non-other than Hikari. But, when he looked around her, he could not help but notice something missing. ''It seems like Regrit still hasn''te out of the washroom yet¡­ It''s kinda weird¡­ I assumed the part of him being stressed was some sort of joke. I thought he would be stoked to examine my fighting style¡­'' ''Or, he just has a really heavy shit.'' He heard Avilia speak in his head. ''Oh yeah! Or that...'' "And, on the left side! We have, Raven! He is several points in debt and is looking for redemption! And! What better redemption than possibly beating the tournament''s favourite in the first round!" The announcer yelled as the gates of the other side opened, revealing a brown-haired man wearing a mask resembling a purple bird. But, unlike a bird, he did not seem to possess any of its grace or elegance. His introduction was rather tamepared to the one Moby received and the crowd''s excitement reciprocated that. He was several inches taller than Moby, his shoulders were broad and his build was far more muscr. Yet, it was not to the point where he would be considered stout. What made him stand out was his massive hands that looked like they could strangle a bear. From his looks, Moby could assume him to be fairly slow, he was more than used to taking out people like him so it should not be a big deal even if he could not utilize everything up his sleeve. "So, we meet again you cheating bastard!" His opponent spoke with a heavy breath and a raspy voice. "Do I know you?" Moby scratched his head. "OF COURSE YOU DO YOU COCKY BASTARD!" He roared. "You robbed me blind for everything I had in the beginning matches of that poker tournament!" He raised his voice; he couldn''t believe that someone who just ruined his life could so nonchntly forget about him, it made his blood boil. "Oh! That had a lot of people in it! You probably got out early in an elimination round before the tournament even started. No wonder I didn''t recognize you! You can''t me me now can you?" He chuckled casually. "Hmph! Just you wait! I''ll take those words and shove them up your ass! I''ll fuck you over ten times harder than what you did to me!!" Raven was mad¡­ Really mad¡­ But, it was no big deal in Moby''s eyes. If anything, out of the many people Moby met today, he seemed to be on the tamer side. Moby yawned in his face¡ª he could not care less about showing respect to such an opponent, victory was almost assured. "Cocky son of a¡ª" "Ladies and Gentlemen! The final match of the first round is about to begin! If bothbatants are ready! I will exin some of the rules!" The announcer interrupted Raven''s sentence with an upbeat voice that even drowned out the cheering of the crowd. "First off, no abilities! Ki is allowed, no weapons of any kind! Pure fists! Taking off your opponent''s mask is prohibited, and the match ends once the opponent''s watch starts beeping! Now, before the match starts! I have a few questions for both of you! Starting with Raven! Are you in this to win!?" "Yes!" He quickly answered, a massive lie detector crystal lighting up from above the arena like a brilliant chandelier, visible to the entire crowd. "Do you n on cheating or using any underhanded tactic?" "No!" And just as expected, the answers came out as positive. That was when the announcer shifted his vision towards Moby and asked him the same questions. "Now! Joker! Are you in this to win!?" "Yes!" "Do you n on cheating or using any underhanded tactic?" "No!" "Alright, folks!!! Bets will be closing in 50 seconds so make sure you''ve submitted everything you want! Now in the meantime, can I get one of you to send an anonymous duel invite to the other! Once that''s all settled we can finally begin!" "I''ll do it¡­" Moby took the initiative, and just like that everything was set. "Okay! That settles it! As you can see! Bothbatants are set! And without further ado! Let''s get this party started!" The crowd''s cheers multiplied, yet the actual exchange between the two fighters was dead silent. It was an interesting sight, it almost looked like a raging bull and matador ready to brawl. And like that, the announcer began to count down from five and the crowd followed speaking right after him in a matching voice. "5!" "4!" "3!" "2!" "1!" "BEGIN!" The match officially started, and bothbatants took the initiative by boosting to the center at full force, shing their forearms together. ''Huh? How can this guy keep up with me after all of my buffs!?'' Moby couldn''t believe his eyes. That was when he noticed a liver punching from below, so he evaded with a demon sh almost teleporting from behind him, going for a kick to his ribs. His opponent was startled and it was a nearly confirmed hit to connect¡­ However, when he did what he wanted, there was absolutely no contact, he hit nothing but air... instead, his opponent had suddenly moved faster than he even dreamed of and caught him in the middle of his attack. Moby gawked slightly as he felt a heavy punch to his stomach that sent him hurtling towards the metal walls. There was visible damage on the walls and Moby was clearly shaken up. He took several huffs of air to catch his breath and spat out a small mouthful of blood as he redirected his gaze at his smirking yet still raging opponent in the distance. ''This makes no sense! I''m buffed with demon magic and I''m using my impure demon energy! I should be winning in every way! So how the hell is this guy catching up!'' Moby''s brain spun in high gear and he began to slightly panic. Never in a million years did he expect himself to be on the backfoot in such a fight. There had to be an exnation for this¡­ But, the only thing he could think of was that he simply underestimated the Ki output of Elite school students. No matter how much he didn''t want to believe it, he might have to swallow the pill that his opponent''s Ki control was better than his own. "Stop toying around with that fatass! How''s he so much faster than you!? Finish him!" "Joker! You can''t lose to this guy! Come on! You''re undefeatable! I bet good money on you!" "Hey! Don''t rush him! That''s Joker''s specialty! I swear he''s almost like a demon giving his opponent''s false hope before he rips out their souls! I''ve seen it with my own eyes!" "That''s true! I''m not worried!" Moby heard the cheers of the crowd behind him. They were mostly right, but the fact of the matter was that their assumptions were not applicable to his current situation. A small scene shed in his mind, of a reality where he lost due to his carelessness and greed just like what happened with Alex and Abby¡­ But, he immediately clenched his fists and teeth tightly, shaking his head and once again stealing his gaze on his opponent. It was more than clear to him now. If he wanted to win, he had to take risks... push past his limits and attempt something he hadn''t tried in a very long time¡­ Moby dusted himself off and calmed his mind, focusing deeply on his energy. "Open your eyes and face me, coward!!" A loud voice came from ahead of him, followed up by a smashing sound from his opponent''s initial step to rush towards him. The crowd held their breaths in anticipation as it seemed like Raven''s fist was going to make contact with Moby''s face¡­ But, just like before, Moby shed out of the way, but, unlikest time, Raven was prepared and followed up with a barrage of punches from his massive fists. They were lightning quick, yet Moby was able to seamlessly dodge all of them like they were in slow motion. The crowd cheered at the sight they did not expect to see. Moby''s speed increased several times over. It was indeed a funny thing to witness, Moby had several chances to fatally counter-attack Raven, but he seemingly chose against it. Now it was more than clear, he was undoubtedly toying with Raven all along, it was almost disrespectful. "STAND STILL YOU BUG!!" A visible vein was popping out of his red face, he was not about to stand for such an embarrassment after he hade so far. But, all his opponent did was smirk. Raven''s rage intensified, and along with that, his attacks became more sluggish and barbaric. He eventually slowed down so much due to fatigue, visible sweat on his face. Compared to before, he was almost in slow motion. But, unlike his opponent, Moby did not seem to show any fatigue at all. Yet, his movements slowed down rtive to his opponent. However, eventually, Moby''s movements were so slow to the point where hints of struggle were seen on his face. In fact, it was so slow that the only reason he managed to keep up was that he was able to read his opponent''s predictable wild attack patterns and the way he prepared his attacks to dodge before he even threw them. "STOP PLAYING WITH ME!!" That was when finally, he took an unusually deep breath that was followed by an abnormallyrge bulge throb throughout his entire body, dodging arge attack by ducking his shoulder, and punching straight at the liver with all of the energy in his system¡­ Despite the attack seemingly only being that of a power level of 5000, it was still felt deeply through the hearts of all the spectators to the point they instinctively staggered on the inside like it was them who was punched. "Wa- AHHHH!" Raven''s shriek pierced throughout the entire arena as though he felt like there was an intense earthquake erupted in the middle of his body. Raven''s whole system and internals were rocked and broke down like a sudden car crash, and after barfing out what he had for his morning breakfast, he broke down like a mountain cracking and falling to the ground¡­ "..." "..." "..." The crowd was silent for a few seconds as they took in what just happened and how someone like Raven could be taken out with one hit. But, as soon as his body fell on the ground, their cheers began,pletely wild even surpassing when he had entered. "WOW, FOLKS!! That was quite the match! What a finish! Joker really showed his moves! It wasn''t even close but I couldn''t help but be on the edge of my seat watching all of it! There we have it! Your final first-round winner! JOOOKKKKERRRR!!" Chapter 341 - End of Round 1

Chapter 341: End of Round 1

the crowd roared loudly at the spectacle of domination they just witnessed and at the confidently smiling man standing tall in the middle of the arena, raising his hands up in victory. Yet, some of them stood there with wide-open eyes, keenly watching from the shadows. He was truly a force to be reckoned with, he did not tire nor sweat taking out such an opponent like he was a mere pebble on the side of the road. However, that could not be farther from the truth. What he presented on the outside was nothing other than a mere facade to hide his inner struggles. He just made it all look so seamless as he hid everything to keep his outer persona. What he did was nothing but a clever maniption of his stats to give himself an advantage. Usually, when a normal person put on a power-level limiting cor, it would lower all of their stats maintaining the ratio of what they had originally. As an example, if a person had 10 strength and their power level was cut in half, their strength would then turn into a 5. Moby was no different in that respect. However, unlike everyone else, he was a demon who possessed an in-depth understanding of the craft, and as such, he had more control over his power level. Thus, he was able to shift his point distribution however he liked as long as the total power level remained constant. In thest battle, Moby shifted most of his strength and endurance stats into agility to tire his opponent and make him lose his cool, before shifting most of his agility back into strength to deliver a devastating finishing blow. However, this was not all without their major disadvantages. The first being the strain on the body and mind. Moby had failed a few times attempting this before and was only able to do it perfectly with a much lower power level such as 1000.? Now he began to feel slight regret; it was a skill he never really bother to practice with considering he never thought he would find himself needing it. He quite literally had to push his body to the limits for this to be possible. However, that was not the only problem, or arguably the most frustrating. No¡­ It was the time it took to shift his power from one stat to the other. It was far from instant. This was why he didn''t retaliate immediately and simply dodged. If he were to retaliate, he would do no more than a wet noodle in terms of damage. So, he had to wait for the perfect opportunity to shift his stats back into strength to deliver the finishing blow. It was a closer match than anyone was led to believe and one that got Moby slightly nervous yet excited for what wille next. He had gotten more used to this technique using it now so he assumed his next match would not be as taxing, yet, from what he saw in front of him, nothing was for certain. "Joker!! Your victory was great! Do you have any words for your struggling opponent!?" The announcer asked, and Moby was slightly taken aback before he casually responded. "I guess he wasn''t bad. A little on the crazy side but maybe that''s just me. He should have just not came here and joined the audience to bet on me instead. At least then he could have made a quick buck." He casually responded, making the crowd''s cheers explode once more. "Indeed Joker! But! You may be the winner now, but we still have a few questions before it''s official!" "Ask away!" He responded with no care in the world. "Did you rig this match up to make you look good?" "No!" "Did you bribe your opponent to let you win?" "No!" "Did you use any underhanded tactic to cheat?" "No!" "Well, there you have it, folks! It''s official now! The first set of rounds are now over! Let''s give onest round of apuse for our winner before we see him again!" The announcer yelled as the doors to the arena where both challengers arrived once again opened, and the crowd cheered Moby on as he left where he came and mocked Raven as he was carried back by medical staff. The announcer looked up at the cheering crowds and put his microphone down, taking a deep breath and looking to the side at one silent man standing next to him in the booth with a voice thatpletely contrasted the upbeat one he used for announcing. "Sir, what did you think of him?" "He''s pretty interesting¡­ I''m honestly quite fascinated with what I saw¡­? He''s strong, an elite amongst the elite... It was unlike any match I''ve ever seen. To tell you the truth, from how the power dynamic shifted, I was surprised to find that he wasn''t actually cheating. I would have been impressed if he put up a good fight to still lose to the stronger opponent, but to win¡­ That was an oue I never would have expected¡­ He''s definitely special, there''s more to him than extreme luck that''s for certain... " "Yes¡­ His fighting style was very unorthodox¡­ It looked like it was aplete domination yet like I said, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time like it was a close match where I didn''t know the victor¡­ No wonder this guy managed to win all of those points¡­ He has some serious skill, it could not have been a mere coincidence¡­ We might be able to make use of him somehow... Sir! Do you want me to keep a close eye on him?" "No¡­ That won''t be necessary¡­ I have a feeling like that man is different and would be able to sniff our ns out like a wolf..." The man in the shadows waved him off. "We''ll just have to take things up a notch for the next two fights to see how he fairs¡­" "Understood¡­ Lord Mammon¡­" Chapter 342 - Round 2

Chapter 342: Round 2

After a 20 minute downtime, people had time to discuss amongst themselves, and by far the biggest and mostmon topic of conversation was about Joker''s fight and how it waspletely out of the ordinary. There were various conspiracies floating around trying to exin what happened but they were always exined by a simple difference in the Ki maniption prowess of thebatants. But, even still, few who im themselves to be experts insisted that Joker''s Ki maniption was top notch while his opponent''s was fairlycklustre. No one coulde to a definitive answer, all the conversations went round and round in circles so they dropped them all by the time the next round rolled around. Hikari was quite an anomaly out of the crowd as she sat alone in the corner and patiently waited, smiling and waving her legs. Of course, there were the usual people who approached her in an attempt to get information out of her since she was always seen with Joker. But, it always ended badly for them when Yami took over. As such, it became something rather well known that getting close to manipte that girl was not a good idea. "Attention everyone!! The first semi-final round is about to begin! Everyone, please make their way to the stands once they are ready! Oh! And don''t forget to ce your bets!" The announcer''s voice rang throughout the entire room. And like a moth to a me, the crowds once again formed and fought around the stands to get a better view as they patiently awaited the next two fighters to arrive. They all had their bets made, from the first round of fights, it was more than clear who the favourite was and it seemed like there were very few who wanted to deviate. The fighters were then announced, entering the arena with confidence, one man looking far more excited than the other. Like always, they were questioned for cheating, and begun the match. The two foes charged for the initial exchange, punching at each other''s face¡­ However, one of them was almost twice as fast, and his fists connected like a bullet train, sending the other flying to the other side and dislocating his Jaw. And, with the gaze of a predator, he did not allow his opponent any rest as he bolted to where he was to continue his onught of attacks. It was aplete massacre¡­ He kept him into a close-quartersbination of attacks that barely left him any room to counter, and when he did attempt anything he would always counter their counter with even more devastation. It was to the point where his opponent gave up fighting back and shifted hisplete attention on trying to tap out. Hikari could not help but stare wide-eyed at the utter destruction happening underneath. It was not even close and she would be lying if she said she expected anything else. She felt conflicted¡­ On one hand, she wanted to cheer for that man but on the other, she wanted him to lose so Moby could have an easy victory. But, that did not seem to be an option and those two behemoths will face in the finals¡­ The match concluded and as expected, the favourite was left standing with minor injuries while his opponent was coughing on the ground missing several teeth. The entire exchange was not as exciting to the crowd, but more brutal. Still, it was quite entertaining and exciting in the sense that they could imagine the final round and how exhrating it will be when he and Joker fought. It was a true sh of the titans, one that would unquestionably split the crowd since the victor would not be so clear. As the two fighters left the arena, one of them limping while the other was standing proud, they immediately announced the next match-up that made the room increase several decibelspared to thest round that left many people in silence thanking god they weren''t the ones down there. It was a match with joker after all¡­ "On the right side! His win streak seems to have no end in sight! He is going for the victory and do the unthinkable! He is still by far the favourite to win this tournament! Please cheer on as we wee! JOKER!" "LET''S GOOOOO!!" "BEAT HIS ASS JOKER! SHOW NO MERCY!" "And! On the other side, we have someone little but can sure pack a punch! His feet are quick, and he is light with his steps! Please wee the underdog! Shadow!" "Pffff! Shit! It''s that guy again! I almost forgot! Did you see hisst fight? Not only he''s not that fast but he hits like a toddler!" "That''s because he also looks like a toddler so it makes sense!" "This should be in the bag for Joker! This Shadow guy''sst opponent was aplete amateur who only participated as hisst chance to get out of debt! And even then he barely won! This match-up is a joke!" "I''d be very surprised if the domination did not matchst round''s! This match should be even more of a clean sweep!" Not-so-feint whispers circted around the slightly drunk,ughing and mocking crowd as they stared at shadow like he was a clown. He was a man that had the appearance of a child no taller than 5 feet. His mask was all ck and matched perfectly with his jet-ck hair. He heard everyst insult being thrown at him from up above, but it did not let it bother him as he kept his back straight and head up high staring at his towering opponent despite his reputation. The announcer then asked the usual questions before they got into a position to brawl. Hikari on the stands could not help but be excited as well as she cheered on, getting another smiling look from Moby that turned into slight disappointment, probably when he noticed Regrit was not to her side and still in the washroom, which made her nervously chuckle. Chapter 343 - End of Round 2

Chapter 343: End of Round 2

"If both fighters are ready! I will count you in!" The announcer''s voice echoed through everyone''s ears, and they answered by even louder cheering as they looked at the two nodding fighters below that took up a fighting stance. "Very well! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, START!" Both fighters bolted from their ce at incredible speed, yet when they reached each other, Shadow abruptly decided to stop while his opponent continued with his fists headed for the face. "ONE PUNCH!!" The crowd screamed as it seemed like his fists were about to make contact and put an end to all of Shadow''s hopes and dreams. But, like a shadow itself, it was as though he disappeared the instant before anything made contact. He, unbeknownst to everyone, ducked down and lifted his hands up for a devastating uppercut to the chin. Yet, despite the sudden shift in tempo, Joker did not hesitate nor falter as he maintained his same brilliant, keen-eyed gaze. As his opponent''s fists approached his chin, he dislocated his neck and jaw, snapping them backwards to promptly evade the attack and allow him room to counter by grabbing his opponent''s wrist and mming them on the ground with as much strength as he could muster, creating small cracks in the metallic ground. *AHHHHKK* Joker went to do another m from the other side, but by then Shadow managed to abnormally easily escape his iron grasp and take a few steps back to recover, heavily breathing and wiping the blood from his mouth. "Wow, folks! That was quite the first exchange! This match is far from over yet! Who knew Shadow had it in him for all of that!" "..." "Hmmmm¡­ That''s weird¡­ That Shadow guy shouldn''t be half as strong as he is now¡­" Hikari mumbled to herself, deeply analyzing the fight below. "Indeed, s, that fellow is unquestionably cheating in some way¡­ Whether he knows it or not." "Huh?" Hikari was slightly taken aback by the sudden response she did not expect, one that oddly came from a rather familiar presence. But, when she looked around, she found no one but the usual drunkards cheering all around her. ''What was that?'' *Pant* *Pant* *Pant* *Pant* Shadow held his ribs, looking up at his opponent''s eyes. "You''re pretty good for a cereal cheater¡­ I can''t say the same for most of your kind¡­ But¡­ I''m gonna put you in your ce¡­ Mark my words¡­" Shadow''s voice was faint, so the crowd could not hear it, but from Joker''s reaction, he certainly did. The second exchange began with Shadow taking the initiative, his speed somehow several times what it was from before. He attacked from one side, and immediately switched his momentum mid-air to strike from apletely different angle that Joker barely managed to deflect in time before it delt any major injury. To the trained eye, it was not that his movements were expert, but,pared to his opponent, it simply looked like that due to the difference in speed. Joker was once again put on his back feet, simply deflecting all attacksing his way as efficiently as possible while taking several steps back. It was honestly a miracle he was able to keep up with such a speed discrepancy. "What the hell is this bullshit!! We saw this guy fightst time and he wasn''t even half as strong! You telling me he got bullied in the first round against some random nobody and is even stronger than Joker!? I ain''t buying it!" "Maybe he was just pretending in the first rounds to make his opponent underestimate him?" "Huh? If he did! Then that''s some damn goodmitment to get the shit beat out of him and barely win just to give a false impression!" The tipsy crowd grew inints that they did not fear making vocal as they watched what was happening below. If anything, now, Joker was being pushed around even more whilst Shadow grew even stronger, some of his attacks making it through Joker''s defences and hitting his vitals. "BOOOO!! You might as well quit you fucking cheater! I''ve never seen something more obvious in my life!" "At least Joker has actual skill!" "JOKER!! BEAT THIS CLOWN AND PUT HIM IN HIS PLACE!" The crowd''s restless cries managed to enter Shadow''s ears, making his face turn red with a visible vein popping out of his forehead, screaming back as he continued fighting. "I''M NOT CHEATING YOU MORONS! I literally passed the lie detector test! You saw it with your own eyes!! If anything, Joker is the one cheating and still losing to my superior skill and might! Open your fucking eyes! You overestimate him! He''s not as strong as you think he is!" Heined, yet that only made the crowd berate him even harder. *Tsk,* Shadow inwardly scoffed and cleared his mind. It was not time for distractions, he needed his full attention on the man ahead to ensure his victory. Eventually, the exchange of blows led Joker to a dire position. He took his final step back and noticed it to be the wall directly behind him. There seemed to be nowhere for him to run and it appeared all but over. However¡­ That was when a mysterious atmosphere enveloped the entire Arena, and Joker managed to dodge Shadow''s final blow seemingly before he even through it. He ducked down, leading Shadow''s punch to connect with the hard metal wall. But, when he did, he found another fist waiting for him down below, making him flex his muscles and slide in between his feet to circle from behind. Shadow smiled like he expected such a move, and reacted by turning around to kick behind him. However, things did not go exactly as nned. *Cough* *Cough* He spat out several mouthfuls of blood from the ground and a familiar pain once again resurfaced, only this time felt far more severe. Shadow''s attack that was mere inches from connecting suddenly fell short as he continued to cough blood on the ground out of nowhere, tightly clenching his ribs, exactly where he clenched at the start of the match. And, this suddenly gave him the opportunity to attack for the first time in seemingly forever, one precisely on the ribs he so tightly clenched. As his fist made contact, he turned what was once whole into pieces, like splitting a chocte bar in half, the cracks being heard and felt throughout the entire crowd. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!* Shadow''s piercing, banshee-like cries filed the room with morbid gore, and was the switch that turned the crowd from adamant booing to excessive cheering once again. Shadow copsed on one knee, holding his bleeding, muddy ribs and looking up with his blurry, shaky eyes that had yet to fathom what happened. Nothing made sense in his wounded mind¡­ All that he felt was an odd sensation in his lurching heart and an empty feeling in his stomach, signs of waterworks welling up in his eyes. But, his tears did not manage to travel far. He wanted it to be all over. And, his wish was granted, but not in a way he hoped as he was greeted by a foot to the face that broke his nose and sent him hurling and crashing on the nearest wall like a bullet, hitting the wall and bouncing off like a corpse as he finally hit the ground for thest time. There was only one man left standing as the dust cleared on this semi-final match, he was panting with several wounds on his body, but that did not stop his smile nor did it stop his now-signature fist in the sky to announce his victory, eliciting a massive reaction from the crowd. "YEEEAHHHH!!" "WELL! That was undoubtedly a match for the books! No one could have expected it to be this close and brutal! It was unclear for most of it! But, the oue could not be more crystal! The winner here, and the person going on to the next round is! JOKER!" The announcer''s words did not elicit any reaction from the crowd¡­ At least not one that he wanted as the audiences mocking ridicule filled the room. "That was when he once again spoke in his same upbeat tone. "I know you all are concerned about the possibility of cheating from contestant Shadow! And believe me, I think so too! I want a fair fight just as much as you do! That is why we decided to deeply investigate him once he wakes up in a public trial in front of all of you! We might be considered a shady business! BUT! We here stand for fairness above all else and respect all of our clients!" This time, the cries from the audience did not bear the same hatred as before, it shifted into that of excitement. But¡­ To Joker, HikariYami along with several other figures in the audience, they were more than aware that this was nothing but an attempt to damage control and manipte the still drunken crowd. Chapter 344 - Final Round

Chapter 344: Final Round

Moby was asked the usual question to confirm whether or not he was cheating before he left the arena with his head up high and many thoughts running through his mind along with realizations he should havee too far earlier. "This will mark an end to the semi-final round! The round where the winner will receive a very special prize from the mammon himself! I''m sure you guys are excited as I am for the final match! It''s truly conflicting! Even I don''t know who''s gonna win! In the meantime, we will have a thirty-minute break to allow both fighters to properly rest and prepare themselves!" Moby smiled as he heard the announcer speak for thest time before he left through the gate and headed towards his waiting room where he found a single male healer waiting for him at the door. When he entered, he casually sat on the couch and sighed looking over towards his massive bag of money, the healer standing to his side recovering all of his wounds. Moby more than heard all the rumours going on in the crowd and formted his own conclusion. Funnily enough, he actually believed that his opponent did not cheat. No, it was the organizers who were the true cheaters. The people of the crowds were so brainwashed that not many of them even entertained the possibility that this abnormally just illegal organization would try to rig the match. It was all for profit in the end¡­ If there was an upset and Moby lost all of his money, it would greatly benefit them. It all made sense now, it was not that he overestimated his own strength and underestimated his opponent, the match was rigged against him before it even began. They must have increased the limits of the power-level cors to something akin to double what he had. No wonder they were all able to keep up with him¡­ And, they could not have made it more obvious than in thest fight where his opponent literally got stronger as the fight progressed. He had to take a massive risk and use his eyes of sin in the end. And, even still, If it weren''t for the initial blow he dealt when the match started and when his opponent was not prepared, he doubted he would be able to win outside some very risky magic manoeuvres. Now that Moby knew the truth, he was able to do one of two things¡­ Expose them for their corruption or keep silent and pretend like all was normal. He thought deeply about this dilemma and consulted Avilia just to reaffirm the choice he eventually concluded with. The only option that made sense to him was to stay silent. If he were to speak out with no solid evidence, it would not end well, especially in their domain. There would be many ways for them to hide and twist the truth by using fake lie detectors and other such strategies. It was undoubtedly a trap if he spoke out. But, on the other side of the spectrum, he would then be forced to fight once again in those unfavourable circumstances. And, from how the announcer and the crowd talked about his final opponent, they seemed to be far different from all of his prior opponents and far more powerful. Victory had never been so uncertain in his mind ever since he entered the mammon''s den. Even still, Moby faught to push his limits. There was no way he would quit aftering so far. Plus, from the way the announcer was talking, there must have been a reward for the victor that he wanted to find out about. "Sir¡­" "Sir¡­" "SIR!" "Wa-huh?" Moby looked around and noticed a slightly familiar masked man standing next to him. "I''ve finished healing all of your wounds. Please tell me how you feel¡­" It seemed like he lost himself in his own thoughts once again, he had to really break out of that habit very soon. Moby yawned and stretched his entire body that was stiff and felt good as new before he looked over towards the man to his side. "Thanks! This is perfect!" He smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Thank you very much! Your final match will begin any second now! Please use this time to prepare yourself, it shouldn''t be too long now." "I see¡­ Thank you so much for letting me know! Keep up the good work!" "Mhm, will do sir!" He bowed and gracefully exited the door, leaving Moby all alone with his massive bag of coins. ''Hey, Avilia, do you have any ideas how I can further boost my powers with this cor thing on?'' ''If I had anything I would have told you. Your best bet now is to train your energy maniption to better shift between your stats. ''Yeah¡­ Should have figured¡­'' He sighed, closing his eyes and going back into training for what little time he had remaining. *********************** *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* "Sir! Your match is now up! Hope you''re ready!" A voice knocked at the door, making him open his eyes and take a deep breath. "I guess it''s already time¡­" He mumbled to himself as he strolled over to open the door, finding the same man who healed him. He nodded slightly in his direction to thank him before he closed his door and walked over anxiously towards the arena gates, his heart beating faster than before as he knew full-well that the odds were all stacked against him. That was when the announcer spoke, and Moby straightened his back and raised his head up high in anticipation. "Ladies and gentlemen! It''s the moment you''ve all been waiting for! The final match of the main event in our glorious mammon''s den is about to begin!! There were many hard-fought battles here today, but only two were worthy of a spot in this final round! So! Without further ado! Let''s get this started!" "Woooooo!! Yeah! Let''s gooo!!" The announcer paused and allowed the crowd''s cheering to take center stage before he once again spoke. "Now! On the right side! You know him all too well! He overcame adversity unlike anyone in this entire den and proved to everyone why he was on top! He had several hard-fought victories before he even entered this ring, and now! His journey hase to its climax in this single fight! Please wee!! Joker!" The first challenger was announced, and the right-side gates were promptly opened. The crowd''s roar was unlike anything Moby had heard before. It was certainly loud after his two victories, but even then it paled inparison to now. Although they did not even cheer his real name and most people cheered him on for the sake of money, he could not help but feel pumped as he entered the Arena waving and looking up at the crowd. Just like he expected, the crowd was more hyped than ever before, yet his attention did notst on the masses for long as his eyes searched for Hikari, finding her exactly where she always was. But, looking around her, he was quite disappointed, even perplexed to see that Regrit was not there. ''Is he that constipated or does he really not feel like watching to ease his stress? I swear, I can never read this guy even if I think I got his antics down. Nevertheless, he could not keep such an expression on his face as he sighed and waved up at Hikari who oddly bore a nervous expression on her face,pletely unlike the overly encouraging one she normally wore. He could not help but shake off the feeling that something was off¡­ Moby finished his walk by standing still at the center of the Arena, waiting for the match to begin. The crowd settled down slightly as Moby finished his walk, yet were once again reignited by the announcer that announced the other fighter. "And, on the left side! He was fairly unknown before his time in the ring, usually seen moping around at the corner of the den receiving all kinds of ridicule. BUT! He now more than proved himself and has earned quite the reputation! From the way he had brutally yet expertly taken out all of his previous foes, his name was now synonymous with fear itself! Give it up for the one and only FOX!!" Chapter 345 - A Rivals Duel

Chapter 345: A Rival''s Duel

''WHAT!?!?'' Moby''s eyes shot up wide, breaking right through his poker face. He refused to believe his own ears. ''It must be aplete coincidence¡­ Yeah¡­ It must be someone else who chose the nickname of ''Fox,'' it''s a prettymon nickname! There''s no way Regrit would throw away all the money I gained just for a chance to...¡ª Fuck¡­'' Moby inwardly cursed and came to a realization that he should have assumed a long time ago. And, his realization waster proved right as the left-hand gates opened and showed the very same man wearing the fox mask he gave him before they entered into this event, the crowd cheering louder for him than any other opponent he had faced prior. "Ha! I knew you would make it to the final round Joker! There was no doubt in my mind! Now, I finally have a chance to put you in your ce!" Regrit''s smile was clear as he pointed his fists toward''s the still stunned Moby. He had never felt such anger in a very, very, very long time¡­ How could someone be this selfish? He could not fathom how someone so stupid could even exist, he had to hold himself back from dropping everything to go up to him right now and knock some sense into him. But, more than everyone else, Moby knew that it was toote for that. This even more put into perspective that man''s determination to fight him. But, even now, Moby did not understand WHY! Moby scoffed slightly before taking a deep breath to calm his mind, veering his gaze at his opponent. "I don''t know who you are¡­ But, from how the crowd spoke, you seem to be very powerful¡­ You followed me a lot when I first came here, I didn''t think much of you at the time. who knew you were someone I''d see here." It took a lot out of Moby to y along with Regrit''s game, but, in the end, he knew it had to be done. "I see¡­ Well, by the time I''m finished with you! This fake name of mine will be etched deep down in your subconscious!" The trash talk between the fighters was really getting the crowd going, as they cheered even louder, Hikari cheering Moby''s name since she of course wanted him to be the victor. The twobatants stared silently in each other''s directions, one wearing a smirk while the other wore a face far more serious. The announcer interrupted once again and asked the usual questions to make sure no one was cheating, and after that¡­ It was to the point of no return¡­ Then came the point where they were instructed to send duel requests to one another, and before he even knew it, Moby already had a notification on his watch that he promptly epted without much thinking. "Alright! Bothbatants are ready! This match will decide the winner of the grand prize! I am even more excited than you are for this! Believe me!? I will count you in on this grand, final match of the mammon''s denbat tournament!" "5!" "4!" As Moby heard the crowd cry on with the announcer counting down, many things Ran through Moby''s mind¡­ The first being his chances at victory. Moby was more than aware of how strong Regrit was in a general sense, but now, he would be fighting a super-charged Regrit due to the organizers'' cheating. If ites down to it, he might have to resort to some drastic measures. There was no way he was about to let Regrit beat him after all of his talk, and there was no way he was about to lose all of his points to something so stupid. He vowed to knock some sense into him. "3!" "2!" "1!" "BEGIN!!" The match started, but both opponents remained in their fighting stance. Joker simply kept his eyes on his opponent like he intended to react to what he did, but Fox, on the other hand, tried to move but immediately stopped himself like some sort of jolt ravaged his body. It was quite the odd disy¡­ He took a step back with his eyes wide open before his bewildered gaze inturned into that of absolute outrage as he looked up at the announcer''s booth, pointing his index with pure malice on his face. "Why¡­ Why you¡­" He whispered three simple words before he dropped his finger and inwardly scoffed shaking his head. This all left the crowd truly perplexed on what exactly just happened, even Moby could not help but join in their silent confusion. But, after Regrit took a deep breath and readjusted his gaze towards his opponent, he was more than ready to finally begin. He rushed from his previous position like a bolt of lightning, jumping with one leg forward using a flying kick towards Moby who simply sidestepped it as it came due to the aid of his eyes of sin. But, as he did that, Regrit then opened his legs and attempted to grab Moby in to crush his face. Moby could not help but be extremely surprised as he too naturally and instinctively lifted his forearms up stiffly to block the impact, and have an opening for him to retaliate by punishing his opponent''s open body that was suspended in mid-air. His fist managed to connect to Regrit''s chest, but this moment also allowed Regrit to kick him in the face, sending both of them flying in opposite directions from each other like it was a perfect exchange. ''W-what just happened¡­'' What Moby felt in that exchange was something he had not felt in a very long time¡­ An almost unexinable feeling. What he just did with Regrit did not feel like anything like the wild fights he usually entertained, but instead like a running river¡­ One calming and blissful in nature with a flow that was unparalleled. It¡­ It felt like when he would practice the blissful demon style with his family¡­ something nostalgic... It felt more like training if anything else. Chapter 346 - Busted

Chapter 346: Busted

"Hey! Stop daydreaming! All eyes on me!" He heard a voicee from ahead of him, and there he saw Regrit punching forward towards his stomach, allowing Moby to deflect the motion of his punch and counter. But, little did he know that Regrit expected such a thing and lifted his hind legs up, using the momentum given to him by his opponent to flip forward and perform a kick to the head. The crowd was abnormally silent as they watched those two fight. They were almost perfectly matched, a mirror image as they weaved their attacks in and out, countering their opponent''s moves. The only exchanges they took ended with them trading arguably equal blows. The fight was more intense than any of the previous fights, it was by far the most graceful and silent. As their fists shed, it was almost as if shes of the past were springing up in Moby''s mind. Like he was being led down a river of memories, yet it was one riddled with thorns and rocks as he could not focus on it for too long due to the fight happening right in front of his eyes. Moby was using his eyes of sin along with various other magical enhancements and was on equal foot with Regrit. In his opinion, it was quite an aplishment considering his power level was much higher. Once again, as Moby and Regrit ended their exchange, each of them panting with various wounds all around their body, they prepared themselves for another sh. However, as their fists were about to make contact, Regrit''s suddenly disappeared leaving a visible trace of energy in his path that Moby could immediately recognize. ''Demon sh!?'' And, he immediately reacted by pivoting his foot and kicking towards where he sensed his opponent in the rear, however¡­ There was no one there and the attack came from the side and attacked his ribs instead. *Argh* Moby grunted, the crowd suddenly cheering as this was the first clean hit and advantage of the entire fight. Regrit then shifted his stance into an uppercut, but, Moby managed to perform a demon sh of his own to dodge the iing attack and take some time to recover. But, recovery time was not something he would have as Regrit immediately pressed on and seized his advantage by closing the distance in an instant, punching towards Moby''s visage. However, his attacks suddenly shifted into something far more reckless, akin to a wild beastpared to before. He was far too aggressive and allowed Moby to slip his shoulders past Regrit''s fists and perform a devastating counter-attack, using his immense momentum against him by punching him in the face and sending him flying to the other side of the arena, slight cracks forming in his mask from the impact. Silence once again ensued around the room as Regrit crashed onto the wall and immediately forced himself back up, heavily panting, blood flowing down from under his mask as he took up a shaky fighting stance with all his might, his gaze far sharper, bearing far more frustration than before as he showed no signs of slowing down. Moby reciprocated the sentiment by doing the same. The fight was once again even, the victor was as unclear as ever¡­ Yet, the experts out of the crowd could clearly tell who was more exhausted, more damaged and who had the upper hand after that exchange. The atmosphere was ufortably silent, no one making a move, not even the announcer daring to break the tension. But, what did finally break the tension was not another bout to end the duel¡­ No¡­ Instead, it came from a rumbling in the ceiling. It started calm and barely detectable to the ear, but grew more and more boisterous as it slowly caught everyone''s attention. "W-what''s that sound?" *Ow!* one man yelled as he got hit in the head with something solid, picking up the object in his hands only to notice it was a rock. "Is the ceiling falling on us!?" The drunken crowd was fairly rxed at first, but their panic increased as the small shower of rocks turned into an avnche. "Everyone calm down! We will all sort this out!" The announcer yelled over the microphone trying to calm the masses, however, it only led to even more hysteria. Everything had gone out of hand. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?" "Is there a tornado outside or something!?" The crowd went into full-on frenzy as they watched the roof of the room above slowly break off like someone opening a pickle jar. There seemed to be no end in sight to the crowd''s sudden madness. But, as soon as that roof came clean off, that conclusion could might as well be thrown out the window and buried deep down under the earth... Every single one of the students fell silent as they stared up at the single figure above, their faces turning pale with fear that consumed all of their five senses. The atmosphere turned deadly cold, and it was as though shadows crept up slowly from the corners of their vision. Time felt like it slowed down to a stand-still, and their heartbeats grew drastic, skipping from hyper-speed in one instant and turtle slow in the next. Their shaky eyes began to slowly lose colour and, their body felt paralyzed from the top-down by the all mighty presence above but at the same time couldn''t help but shake like a vibrator. Her pitch-ck, wavy hair danced in the cold, nighttime wind. Her blood-red eyes that sat firmly on her face bore a slight radiance and were in between wide open and a squinting predator. She wore an uncanny snow-white military uniform and a glowing golden badge over her heart that could not be mistaken even by the filthiest of street urchins. Her left hand fell straight down to her well-endowed bosom while her right rested tightly grasping the hilt of her crimson katana. To the normal onlooker, the person flying above was nothing other than a beautiful youngdy. But, any man who knew who she was would not dare say that to her face, especially to the face she bore now as she stared at all the faces below like insects as she finally spoke with a distant, cold, otherworldly voice that felt like it shook the very ground and stabbed directly through their erratic heart. "Look what I have here¡­ I came here to conduct a fun little simple investigation to find a few stray fish but I ended up catching myself an entire pod of whales¡­ Care to exin yourself? You want to fight back? Or will you simply surrender and ept your fate? Huh? So¡­ What will it be? My dear students¡­" Chapter 347 - Mayhem

Chapter 347: Mayhem

The woman above was unquestionably the school''s principal, Rayna Davis in the flesh. Moby who stood firmly in the center of the arena hidden by crowds was just as bewildered as the rest as he was filled with a sense of panic and urgency unlike any other. It didn''t make any sense. ording to the Mammon, there should have been no way for them to track them down in any way. The anonymous battle sending was not tracked by the school nor did their withdrawals. So¡­ Why¡­ Why was the principal there herself? She said she came here for some sort of small errand but found this instead. It must have been aplete coincidence. The eerie silence continued, but, it did not take too long for panic to ensue as everyone tried their best to escape the room. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" "OUT OF MY WAY FATASS!!" The fear of shame, humiliation and expulsion never loomed any closer above their head. The thought of the slight chance they would be able to escape while no one knew their identity seemed more than promising now considering the guaranteed alternative if they surrendered. And now, like a sea of people, they climbed and shoved each other all to reach the exits of the room. Only a very select few decided to stand still and surrender. Whether it was because they pissed their pants and were too scared to even move or they had simplye to terms with their fate. "I see¡­ You have chosen your fate¡­ So be it... Soldiers! Go in and ascertain everyone in this building! Prioritize scouting and finding that sly little mammon!" Like flies, armed soldiers jumped through the roof in droves and came out all the entrances and exits like shes as they roamed around fighting and arresting all of the retaliating students. "HELP!! HELP!!" Absolute mayhem was happening on the above floors that camouged Moby from the principal. If he wanted to escape, there was no better time and no better distraction than those sheep above¡­ They will serve as sacrifices for his purposes. "Hey¡­ All eyes on me punk¡­" That was when Moby heard a slight whisper from up ahead and noticed it came from his injured adversary. "You idiot! Are you insane! The principal is now here! The fight is cancelled!" Moby tried to knock some sense into Regrit that seemed to have blocked out everything except for the fight. "It''s still not over! I''ll¡ª" "YOU IDIOT!! It''s not time for that! The fucking principle is here to bust us all!" Moby flexed his neck to break out of his power level restraints and punched Regrit in the stomach, making him take one knee as he stared up at the mayhem above, taking in what had just happened. "W-wha¡­ Is it really over¡­ How could this happen¡­" "Get a grip! It''s not over yet! We''re busting out of here!!" Moby spoke with passion, redirecting his gaze up towards the crowds. Regrit''s dim focus slowly shifted onto Moby''s body. His hazy eyes were getting tired and the pain was setting in from Moby''sst attack. He almost lost his vigour to fight back, like it was sucked straight out of him. His eyelids felt heavy, so he blinked slowly to refocus his gaze. But, that was when he noticed that Moby had disappeared, and his eyes shot out wide. And before he knew it, Moby once again reappeared in front of him seemingly out of thin air, holding a scared Hikari in his hands. "WHAT THE FUCK!? H-how!?" "I''ve got no time to exin what I don''t have time to exin! JUST TRUST ME!" Moby jumped onto Regrit''s body and held him tightly in his other hand. It almost seemed like a body m, but once Moby made contact, there was no pain, instead, he found himself in a free fall. The atmosphere suddenly changed and an odd feeling overcame his body. The next thing he knew he was in some sort of yellow, dim, barely lit wooden warehouse with several crates all around. "What ju¡ª" Regrit uttered only to find Moby''s hands firmly closing his mouth. "Shut up!" He aggressively whispered. "You''re gonna attract too much attention! I just phased us through the floor! We''re now at the room under the arena!" "W-wait! You can do that!?" "Yes! I can! But, let''s get out of here first! The exit is right there! We might be able to make it out of here unnoticed!" Moby pointed towards a door in the back. "Okay then! What are you waiting for! Let''s get the hell out!" Hikari''s hair immediately shifted colours as she stood up and rushed toward''s the exit. "If ites down to it, I can blind them with my darkness, it should buy us some time! Let''s get out of here!" "This better be the right way!" Regrit followed behind her, nothing on his mind but his survival. Moby then stood up and trailed behind. But, when they entered through the path of the open door, Moby suddenly halted and took a nce back. "Hey! Idiot! What''s with the hold up! Let''s go!" "Hold on a second¡­ These crates might be full of points¡­" "Huh!? Why should we care about any of that now! I''m leaving! It''s your fault if you get caught." "It''s okay, I nned to stay back alone¡­ I have my own ways of escape¡­" "Okay! Suit yourself!" Regrit ran ahead and left Moby and Yami behind. "Hey, Joker, you sure about this?" Yami asked with a hint of concern. "Yes," he slowly nodded, hearing arge number of footsteps and explosions from up above. "Leave me alone and escape with Regrit." "Okay¡­ Good luck then! I''ll trust you with this!" She looked at him with a serious expression and left through the hallway at incredible speed, leaving Moby alone as he slowly manifested a less than innocent smile from ear to ear. "Lord Mammon! The secret tunnel is this way!!" "Darn it all! How could this have happened! I''m ruined! Did someone expose me to the school!?" "No! That''s impossible my lord! We made sure of it!" "THEN HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN!? IT IMMEDIATELY HAPPENED AFTER THAT TWO FAUGHT IN THE FINAL ROUND!! I''VE DONE THIS FOR DECADES AND NOT ONCE DID SOMETHING LIKE THIS EVER HAPPEN TO ME!!" "Lord Mammon! Calm down! Your blood pressure!" Those screams echoed loudly in Moby''s demon ears while they were imperceivable by the ears of his allies. It seemed like this was indeed a secret exit and the mammon himself along with a few guards were headed in his direction. Moby could not believe his luck. From before, he was more than frustrated that was not able to get out with his heavy bag of points, but now, it seemed like he no longer had to worry about leaving empty-handed... Chapter 348 - The True Demon

Chapter 348: The True Demon

"How much longer is this pathway?" "It shouldn''t be too long! Just a few more rooms¡­" The mammon and his bodyguards sprinted through the chain of connecting rooms, making sure to maneuver around all of the wooden crates until they suddenly came across a room that had no light. Compared to even an average man, they were going rather slow but it seemed like it was the bodyguards that were waiting for the mammon to catch up as they scouted slightly ahead. It was truly like a group of elites escorting a cranky, wealthy old man. "Ow! What is this!" The mammon and his group did not halt upon entering the room, and it led to the mammon running into one of the massive crates and bruising his feet. "Someone quickly find the lights! I can''t move in this darkness!" He ordered, his voice ringing throughout the entire room. "Right away sir!" One of the men nervously responded as he bounced around the area in a panic feeling out all the walls in an attempt to find the light switch for his lord to move forward. After what felt like an eternity of searching and the mammon''s cracky, panicked cries for him to hurry up, he finally felt something hard and solid protruding from the walls, making his face light up as he went to flick the switch for the true light to consume the room. "Found it!" He announced with glee. "It''s about time! I was gon¡ª" *AHHHHHHHHHHHHH* That was when an earsplitting scream filled the room followed up by a sudden sh of purple light that did notst for too long. "W-what just happened! It''s impossible! Nothing and no one should be down here! Raymond! Can you hear me!" The other guard yelled out into the darkness with beyond terrified eyes. "What the hell are you standing there like a dead b of meat! for I''m not paying you to stand around! I don''t care if it''s a soldier or a wild beast! Take it out and see if the other guy is okay!" UNDERSTOOD!?" "Y-yes sir!" He gulped a mouthful of saliva and peered forward at the seemingly endless darkness that sent shivers down his spine. Never in his life had he been scared of the dark, but now was apletely different story¡­ It was like the invisible eyes of a predator were trained on him ready to tear him limb from limb. He tightly clenched the hilt of his broadsword and marched forward into the abyss, his de wide in front of him like he was using it as a shield or as an intimidation tactic for the beast ahead. Time slowed down in his mind as the ominous, bone-chilling killing intent overtook all of his senses. He was unable to hide the fear in his eyes, he no longer had to keep a facade to seem tough in front of his boss since he could not even see him in the darkness of the room. With every step, his heart would skip a beat, like he was walking on the walkway to his own grave. In all his years of being a stern, cold bodyguard with a top reputation and a heart of stone, he had never felt like this. "Raymond! Are you there! Answer me!" He called out in front of him, but, he received no answer other than his own voice echoing and bouncing off the walls back towards him. That was when he once again steeled his resolve and pushed forward, sweating more than ever before, not looking back at all. That was when his foot suddenly stepped into what felt like a puddle and then barged into something hard yet soft at the same time. It waspletely unlike how a wooden crate would feel. Part of him knew what that thing was and his curiosity got the best of him as he ducked down and felt the liquid protruding off of that solid object¡­ "Blood¡­ R-Raymond¡­" He slowly mumbled, grasping his sword and looking forward¡­ That was when that same purple sh of light emerged and the entire area was lit. And, for that split second, he witnessed the beyond bloodied, horrified face of his once friend and the horned amalgamation of doom that showed him dread unlike any other he had seen in his entire life. "Ah¡­ Ahh...? Ahhh¡­ AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" The mammon stared ahead as he saw that same sh of purple light followed up by that deafening voice that echoed all the way towards him. "What¡­ What''s going on¡­" He mumbled to himself unable to believe his eyes as he could only assume what just happened. His senses once again filled with panic, unsure of where he needed to go¡­ Both sides would lead to his death, towards the light of the door behind where he would be captured by the school and be tortured alive for all of his secrets or towards the death of the cold darkness ahead. He did not have much time to think so in the end, he chose the lesser of the two evils, looking back towards the door he came from as he began to sprint towards it. But, as soon as he felt the joy of survival, the doors to that heaven suddenly mmed shut and enshrouded him inplete darkness. And, before he even had the chance to scream out trying to bride whatever lied there, he was hit by a punch in the guts, knocking the wind out of his system as he instinctively took a knee and barfed out what he had for dinner. That did not feel like the strike of a beast, no, it was far more calcted¡­ He looked around with wide-open eyes, the fear of the unknown strong in his old, lurching heart as he wondered what lied ahead. But, luckily for him, he did not have to wait long to find out. A small ball of purple light slowly expanded into something little before it unfolded and spread around him in a ring of purple-me-like energy, lighting up the room. It was the first time he was able to see his own two hands and a slight hint of Joy was seen on his face. But, like a repeating pattern, that joy did notst any longer as a shadow was suddenly cast upon his body and he looked up at the figure above that created it. It was a man he undoubtedly recognized at but a nce, yet at the same time, he waspletely different from how he remembered. His silky smooth blue hair fell down slightly above his eyebrows, yet this time there were tall, demonic horns protruding from them, radiating an ominous purple glow. There were slight cracks in his ck demon mask allowing the cold, distant glow of his purple eyes to pierce through. Underneath that mask was a smile enshrouded by thick, ck energy of darkness, mixed slightly with hints of blue, red, and purple. And, from his back was a slight glow seen due to the circle of energy, showing two wings hidden behind his broad back. "J-J-JOKER!?" The mammon barely managed to mutter as he was filled with a sensation he had never experienced in his entire life. "So¡­ You''re the mammon huh? Not so confident now are you without all of your staff? Money can''t help you where you are now¡­ You havemitted the sin of rigging every single match against me in order to make a quick buck. Did you really think I didn''t notice!? Now¡­ You will do as Imand¡­ Is that understood¡­" Joker smiled, spreading his wings with a strong gust that made the Mammon almost copse. "You¡­ You''re not human!! You''re some sort of demon! No wonder you managed to win everything¡­ You¡­ You marched in here and ruined everything¡­ I wouldn''t be surprised if it was you who masterminded this whole invasion to capture me¡­ I-I call myself the mammon¡­ A demon of greed but when I am met with the true power of a demon¡­ I am absolutely speechless¡­ You have truly bested me in every way¡­" "Ahhh yes¡­ Indeed I have! This was all part of my n!" The mammon shuddered at the confirmation of the demonic, mysterious presence peering above him with a hawkeyed gaze like he was a worm not even worthy to slither on the same ground he walked on. Not once in his life did he feel so inferior to someone else¡­ It was always him outsmarting and messing with others, manipting everything from the shadows to gain all he wanted¡­ He used his powers to gain whatever he wanted and eventually built an entire criminal empire under his fingers. But, now¡­ That empire won''t save him, nor his money, and nor his abilities¡­ Not in front of this otherworldly being... now, he was naked before true power. His entire body shaking uncontrobly, he forced himself to look up at Joker once again, and even then he was barely able to meet his gaze. His heart was beating like machine-gun fire, and he felt himself age several years in these mere moments as he built up the courage to finally speak, mming his head on the wooden floors below. "Oh please! All mighty demonic presence! You are the only man worthy of the demon title! I will submit myself to you! I have never met anyone more worthy to serve! Please, allow me to serve you! I beg of you! I promise I can be more than useful!" Chapter 349 - Test of Loyalty

Chapter 349: Test of Loyalty

Moby simply stood there speechless as he witnessed this once high and mighty man crumble and bow beneath his feet, his face covered in his own vomit he had only excreted mere moments prior. In all his time, he had never seen something like this, which when he thought about it was rather odd. Most people wouldsh out at him for ruining their lives or simply beg for mercy and offer up any kind of payment. But, this is the first time someone submitted to him and asked to be his servant after a loss, especially a loss such as this. He did not know how to feel¡­ The mammon seemed to be well known for his sly tactics and trickery so he was unsure whether or not he should trust him¡­ The original n was to capture him and give him to the school under the pretext that he went to this gambling house in order to spy. He used his sin-mode along with his spirit mode just in case the guards were too powerful, but, he seemed to have not even needed them considering a single nightmare skill and a sneak attack was more than able to scare them out of their minds and kill them. He looked down at the prostrating man once more deep in thought, the loud rumblings and explosions of the rooms above gradually getting louder, that along with the screams and steps of the soldiers and students alike. This was meant to be the part where he showed his face to the mammon to let him know that Moby Kane captured him before he erased his memories¡­ But, now, he waspletely unsure¡­ He was running out of time, but he was certain of an escape if it came down to it so he decided to press onwards, acting as an all mightly being like his victim believed. "Hmmmm¡­ What exactly is your ability?" "O-Oh! The mammon looked up slowly with a slight smile, almost like a dog trying to please its master. "My ability is to change my face to anyone else''s I have seen before! Only that those faces will scale to my own age¡­ Like this!" And as such, his face began to shift and morph, his skin dissolving into a liquid as it moved around before it once again became solid into the face of an old woman." ''Hmmmmm¡­. So this is why he didn''t even wear a mask¡­'' Moby thought to himself. "Are you not able to change your body?" "N-no my lord¡­ that is outside of my toolkit¡­ BUT! This ability is unique to me and me alone! No one has such a morphing ability! With this, I can hide in in sight! I am certain it will be useful to you!" ''That''s odd¡­ He''s like a doppelganger but only restricted to his face¡­ And his face doesn''t even age properly¡­? He can''t even copy other people''s power, it''s just for appearances. And, with only this meagre power he managed to build an entire criminal empire¡­ Impressive¡­'' Moby inwardly nodded. Now came the time where he asked the biggest question yet. "Why should I let someone like you, well known for their sly deceptiveness join me? How can I trust you?" "PLEASE! I have an empire of crime under my fingertips! I can get you all the money you want! I can serve as an excellent spy with my ability! I can provide you with whatever you want! I will be under yourmand! It is truly an honour to serve someone such as you! You are the only man to have bested me at my own game! The only man to have bested me at all! I will only bow to you! I will prove my loyalty in whatever way you want! I will endure it all!" Even Moby was taken aback by the mammon''s excess screaming. Either he was a masochist, which Moby really doubted considering how frightened and scared he was to even be punched a single time by him, or he truly felt this strong about serving him. But, for now, what he said were only words and had nothing to back them. The sounds from above were slowly bing even louder, he doubted he would have enough time to turn him into a demon, so he deeply pondered only for Avilia to speak suddenly in his head. ''You know, you can turn him into a demon in a fraction of the time if you just give him more demon essence¡­ The only problem with that is that their chances of failure and death are almost certain. You can''t even knock them out for this considering they would need to be conscious to force their body to cope. The only way to endure with their is with sheer willpower alone... Only then will it be a sess¡­'' ''Perfect¡­'' Moby beamed hearing her words. "Hey, mammon, look up and face me again!" "Y-yes sir!" He quickly waved his head up and did as he was told. That was when Moby slowly walked even closer and ced his hands on his forehead, looking deeply into his soul. "Listen now and listen carefully¡­ I will be turning you now into my eternal demon ve¡­ After this, your soul willpletely belong to me and be at my will¡­ This is what you wanted right? But¡­ Not everyone is worthy of the power I will bestow and are not strong-willed enough to be my servant¡­ This process will be the most painful experience you will ever endure in your entire life¡­ Death is almost a certainty, BUT! If you manage to endure it all, you will be granted with the honour of serving me along with the new power of a true demon¡­ So¡­ What will it be?" Moby stared knives towards the mammon, and his purple-eyed gaze stabbed daggers into his opponent''s heart, yet even still, he did not falter nor hesitate as he quickly nodded and responded. "Yes! I am more than willing! I am grateful for this opportunity to disy my loyalty! I will prove to you how useful I can be to you!" "..." "Very well¡­ You have made your choice¡­ Now¡­ Suffer in my name¡­ Bathe in my demonic energy¡­ And birth a new as my eternal servant¡­" Moby''s soothing voice entered his ears along with an oddly blissful sensation entering from his hands and spreading through his fingertips towards his entire body. The mammon was in his early sixties, old and frail¡­ The sensation he was experiencing was somethingpletely new yet familiar at the same time¡­ He had never felt so young, energized and rejuvenated in years¡­ ''Is this what heaven feels like¡­'' He could not help but smile and dive deeper into the river of bliss that flowed smoothly through his veins. He swam around and looked at the floating inds that had waterfalls falling down refilling the river along with golden clouds that kept him in the cold, refreshing shade, only slight hints of the sun shining through towards his smile. He went on his back and began to take in the fresh air, looking up at the birds and the beautiful mermaids swimming in the distance. Things were absolutely perfect¡­ But, like all good things¡­ They alwayse to an end¡­ Only this good thing did notst for long¡­ Suddenly, that river of smooth, watery happiness began to change colour and turned into a river of boiling magma, burning him and evaporating all the water in his body in a mere instant. The golden clouds turned into a ck ash and began raining down poison as he gradually sank into the magma. The floating inds slowly fell into the river of red and created waves that showered him with even more heat. The once beautiful birds and mermaids turned into harpies and quickly swooped down with spiked tridents in hand-mixed with boilingva as they began stabbing him all over his body, their beyond disgusting, otherworldly facesughing as they turned him into their ything. "W-w-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! HELP HELP!! WHAT IS THIS!?" The pain was unimaginable. When he thought he would finally die, his body was once again regenerated fully for him to suffer once more. It was like a tease of salvation from the pain only to be shoved back into it over, and over, and over again. In what were only thirty seconds, it felt more like months or even years in his life, nothing on his mind other than his own survival¡­ He continued to cry out in from the deepest depths of hell for any kind of saviour, but nothing and no one woulde¡­ He began to lose hope and lose his mind¡­ But, that was when he suddenly remembered why he was even here¡­ The true reality of the situation along with his purpose... Looking from the outside, Moby patiently waited as he looked at the mammon''s transformation, and from what things appeared, things were not going so great¡­ In only a few minutes, the mammon looked several decades older and on the verge of turning into dust. The wrinkles on his hands were condensed like grains of sand and his hands looked thinner and more fragile than even the thinnest stick. From the angle he was grovelling on the ground, he was not able to see his face but if he were, he could only imagine how inhumane and shrivelled it would look. ''Do you think I went too far?'' Moby asked Avilia in his head. ''Maybe a little¡­ But, it should still be possible for him to endure this. At least this is a very good test of loyalty!'' ''Eh¡­ I see I might have fucked up and gotten too greedy¡­ The voices from above have gotten even less¡­'' Moby inwardly sighed with eyes closed, shaking his head and massaging his temples. *Gakkk* But, that was when he heard a disturbing sounding from ahead of him that made him immediately open his eyes. That was when he noticed the puddle of repulsive ck liquid spreading underneath his feet along with a single blue message shing brightly in his field of view. < You Have Created a Doppelganger Demon! > Chapter 350 - Test of Loyalty (2)

Chapter 350: Test of Loyalty (2)

The masked man''s eyes grew wide seeing that massive blinking screen in front of him¡­ But, his eyes grew even wider as he looked out in front of him at the man that once was¡­ He could not even believe that was the same person. His once twig-like arms were thick and muscr, the rugged surface of his wrinkly skin was now smooth and slightly darker, like he had been sunbathing for a few days. The gray hair that barely stood on his head was now long and deep ck with a consistency as smooth as silk. He slowly lifted himself off the ground, scratching his pitch-ck eyes thatid upon a new face fitting to be made into a statue in an art museum, that and his rock-hard six-pack. "Huh¡­ Is it finally over... Where am I¡­"? The world was still blurry from his vision, but the bright light of the purple energy ring came quickly back into view, the room looking far different from what he remembered it...? That was when he suddenly recalled everything and his expression immediately shifted as he took a knee, surprised at how light and agile his body was. "L-Lord Joker! It had been so long yet I have not forgotten about you nor my deal! I endure as you have asked and I seemed to have passed the test! Will you ept me as your eternal servant now? If yes, can you please answer something for this lowly being¡­ Why do I have night vision?" He looked down, not daring to meet his master''s gaze despite how long it felt like he did not see him in his mind. "Sure¡­ But, only under one condition¡­" "Yes! What is it! I am prepared to do anything!" He spoke with confidence, only now noticing that his voice was much deeper and far more articte. "Please put these clothes on¡­ You''re being a little umm¡­ Distracting¡­" "Wa-" His eyes grew wide hearing his master''s words before he paid attention to his naked body, and his face grew bright red as he looked up towards the disgusted face of his new master, filling him with uncontroble dread as he panicked, trying to think of what to do, swiping his hands randomly as he was suddenly adorned with a new student uniform from elite school, the first item of clothing that popped up in his mind since it was the one he had seen most often that day. "Huh? How did you do that?" The man above could not help but lift his eyebrows in surprise. "I-I have no idea my lord¡­ It-It just felt natural to do what I did¡­" The mammon spoke the truth, it was evident from his voice which made his new master nod up and down very thoroughly impressed. The mammon then took the time to inspect his new attire that came out of nowhere, noticing it to be nothing but a mere illusion, and as he did, he managed to notice everything else around him. Other than his vomit that was still fresh on the ground that told him that he was not out for too long, he noticed the clothes he previously worepletely ripped and on the floor. But, that was not the only thing that was ripped, as he looked down, he could not believe his new lean, muscr body that was many inches taller than hest remembered it. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, no wonder his body felt so different and lightpared to before. "Lord Joker! What happened to me! Why am I like this!" He finally built up the courage to look up at the face of his master and his purple, demonic stare and presence that still shook him to his core to this very moment. "Why don''t you see for yourself¡­ He put his hands into an unknown void that did not look like any void made from any storage ring he could remember, pulling out a simple mirror and handed it to him. The mammon gulped a mouthful of saliva and received it with not so elegant grace as he nearly dropped it due to his nervousness and shaky hands. He took a deep breath tightly holding the mirror before turning it around to see his own face that he almost did not even recognize. "W-what!! What is this¡­" He gasped and almost dropped the mirror on the ground seeing his own reflection, his heart racing faster than ever before. "I look like I am twenty! How is this possible!" For years humans experimented with the essence of mana to extend life, bring back the dead and reverse arge portion of time but never seeded. The mammon himself even spent a fortune trying to regain his youth when he felt his death was near, all ending in failure¡­ But now, his new master came in and fulfilled all of his dreams¡­ He was truly on another ne of existence. "Lord Joker!! I am even more forever in your debt! I will not make this gift go to waste! Now, I can change my face using my ability to different ages and will be of far more use to you! I have never felt more honoured to serve!" He tried his best to meet his master''s gaze, yet still looked away at the end all out of fear and nervousness, especially after that shameful disy and embarrassment. "Is what you say the truth? Is that truly how you feel?" There was a powerful purple glisten in his master''s eyes and he felt like something overcame his bodypelling him to tell the truth or suffer dire consequences. "Y-yes my lord! All that I have said are my true thoughts and feelings! I would never dare lie to such an all mighty presence such as yourself!" He replied with no hesitation. "Excellent! Now,e close to me¡­ I shall impart some of my knowledge onto you to let you know what had just happened¡­ We have no time for talk, the military soldiers should be down here any second now. There is much more that you can do than you initially realize¡­" "As youmand!" He nodded vigorously and scooted closer to his lord''s side¡­ That was when he ced his hands on his forehead. It was a simr position as he was in earlier, and the memories of what happened before suddenly entered in his mind along with a reminder of all the pain. He could not help but inwardly shudder and sweat profusely, yet he did not run norin, but instead epted whatever his lord was about to bestow upon him, whether it was a punishment for his indecency or a reward for his survival, he shall ept and endure it all. He closed his eyes and prepared himself for what was about toe, but, to his surprise, he felt no pain nor bliss, but instead a sudden shock of information infiltrating and overwhelming his brain like a tsunami. It was slightly fatiguing processing and receiving so much, but in the end, it made things make far more sense now. Still, the bewilderment of who he now was and able to do was not diminished in the slightest, he more than epted his fate, if anything, he was grateful and excited to finally be a true demon, like his title of mammon would suggest¡­ He opened his eyes once again and his new master removed his hands, letting him go as he tumbled on the ground from dizziness and fatigue. He managed to get information that would have took several minutes to exin in only a few seconds, even including visuals, but most importantly, his lord transferred him his new orders toplete, his first-ever task. "Hey, did you get that? ve," The still masked man looked down with that same dominant stare, making him kneel on one knee, regaining his bnce and speaking. "Yes! I fully understand my orders!" He slightly smiled and stood up tall, in his original body, he was a few inches taller than his master, but, he did notst in that form for long as he began shifting and morphing into something else¡­ It was truly a disturbing process seeing flesh and bone melting and moving like slime before being reced by somethingpletely new and natural. "Great, I will trust you toplete your task¡­ But, just as a reminder of what I can do to you¡­ I order you to snap your neck!" His voice was cold and distant yet possessed both vigour and authority. The mammon suddenly felt an odd energy-consuming his entire body. It suddenly began to move on its own like it was being controlled by an outside force, almost like a marite. But, it was a force that he epted and did not fight back, he surrendered himself to the chains of his master''s will. "Stop!" His lord''s voice sounded once again, and his body froze in ce, allowing him to move like normal. "Remember, I am able to contact you through mind link¡­ I can sense your true emotions and immediately know if any betrayal urs. Your life is quite literally at the palm of my hands, remember that¡­" "Of course! I am well aware! I will never betray you! Only the blind and ignorant would ever do that!" He took a knee once again. "There is a metal door here! TAKE IT DOWN! IT MIGHT BE A SECRET EXIT!" Both of their enhanced hearing managed to pick up sounds and banging from the other side of the hallway.? It was finally time to part ways. "Okay, you may now leave toplete your task, contact me through mind-link if anything important urs¡­" The masked man turned around and prepared to run towards the exit, that was when a sudden sound rang throughout the room, like a notification of a technological device. "Lord Joker!"'' At first he thought nothing of it, but when the mammon called his name, he had no choice but to turn around and see what was going on. When he did, he witnessed the mammon still on the ground with a smartwatch in hand that must have fell off from his body during his demon transformation, reading something on it. "Yes, what is it now?" "I am truly sorry for this, but I thought I would let you know this¡­ As expected, it seemed like your genius n worked... I have just received a message from a spy of mine saying that this incident was caused by a duel request from two watches that alerted the school, and that the principal only came here to initially personally lecture to those students and give them a punishment. I was 100% certain that anonymous duel requests did not send to the school, and normal messages outside the building were blocked by several mana crystals to ensure all went well¡­ You must have done something in that final match of yours! You have truly outsmarted me and I have only now just realized¡­ I can''t imagine the next part of your magnificent n, but I''m certain it is far tooplex for a mere servant like me to understand!" "¡­" "Lord Joker? What''s with that face? Did I say something wrong?" Chapter 351 - Rushed Confusion

Chapter 351: Rushed Confusion

Regrit and Yami ran at top speed as they finally made it to the end of the seemingly never ending tunnel, there was adder leading to the surface, and at the top of it was atch that felt rather heavy to move, but after one or two attempts, it finally budged and they witnessed the first rays of light in seemingly forever. As they climbed up to the surface, the smell of where they were was immediately clear, one repulsive and rancid to the nose. The first sensation their shoes felt was mush, and they were not able to move much in the cramped environment. As they looked around, they seemed to be in an alleyway leading to the street far, far ahead, mountains of trash thrown around everywhere like confetti on a graduation party, and, when they turned around, they noticed that the heavy thing stopping them from exiting was indeed a garbage container, which they thankfully somehow didn''t manage to knock over. "Where should we go now?" Regrit asked, looking around. "I''m not sure¡­ For now, let''s try and get as far away as possible¡­ Should we wait for Joker?" Yami asked. "Nah! Fuck him! He''s taking too long! It''s his fault doing that!" "But, it''s also thanks to him that we were able to escape. Even I understand that. What? Are you mad that you lost to him or something? You really know how to hold a grudge don''t you?" "I-It was a tie! Undecided! We didn''t get to continue! He didn''t beat me! Besides, that wasn''t even a real match! Our powers were restricted!" "Uhuh¡­" Yami looked at him with her eyebrows raised under her full mask. *Tsk* "Shut it! Let''s just get out of here! It was a mistake I ever came here in the first ce! It was such a waste of time! Let''s go!" "Yeah¡­ I guess we should do that¡­" They both nodded to each other and prepared to leave, but, that was when they received a sudden notification on their watches now that they were out, and it read something baffling that they could not believe. "Is¡­ Is this guy CRAZY!? NO WAY I''M DOING THAT!!" Regrit screamed in a whispering voice, his previous anxiety and PTSD from the earlier events of the day returning. "I-I¡­ I think we should trust him and do as we are told¡­ It seems to be really important..." He heard a voicee from his side, and he slowly turned around to see that the other half of that girl returned. "Why¡­ Has he brainwashed you or something? Let''s just go while we can¡­ This must be a trap or something¡­" "Uh-uh! I''m staying here! I have faith and so should you! You''re important to this so don''t you dare move!" Hikari''s voice was passionate, more passionate than he had ever seen before. He began to lose hope, spiralling into a pit of confusion. He needed her and her ability to safely escape the area, without her powers to cloak them in darkness, they would undoubtedly be noticed. But now, it seemed like there was nothing he could do about it. He eventually surrendered to her pleading and decided to let fate be the guide to his life, it seemed to have only let him down once that day¡­ **************************************** There was a bench beside the dumpster where they first emerged, one cleaner and even farther from the street. Hikari walked around in circles while Regrit sat waiting on the bench.? Compared to Hikari, he was especially stressed, sweat running down his face as he sped his hands and vigorously tapped his feet, praying for all to end well and for this nightmare to be finally over. That was when suddenly, he lifted his head and opened his eyes hearing Hikari''s voice suddenly enter his ears for the first time in what felt like forever. "He''s here! He''s here!" She jumped up and down as she witnessed the lid to the secret passageway open, and out of it emerging that same demonic mask she would never forget. From his face, he seemed to be in a major panic, closing the distance towards them inmere a sh. "Great! You guys are here!" He swiped the sweat off his face and looked up at his two masked allies, one of them with a bulging vein popping out of their head. "HEY! CUNT! What''s the meaning of this! Why did you suddenly leave us? And now why do want us to wait here while we could have been gone! I''¡ª" "Shut up and listen! There''s not much time so let me exin this as fast as I can! First! Both of you take off your mask!" "Why shoul¡ª" "JUST DO IT!!" Moby''s attitude took even Regrit by surprise, he had gotten this far, so he sucked it up and did as he was told, his face going back to normal as he handed his mask off back to Moby. "Good! Hikari, please stand there and wear a worried face on you, when I snap my fingers, pretend like you''re trying to break us up from fighting and tell us it''s gonna get us in big trouble okay?" "Is over here good?" She nervously mumbled. "Yes! Perfect! Now stay there and wait for my signal! Now, Regrit! You stand over there and wait for further instructions!" "Huh? This is so stupid! The hell are you doing? This isn''t the time to pretend to be some sort of movie director." "Just do it!" *Tsk* "Yeah! There''s good!" He motioned him to stop before he took off his mask and quickly marched to his face. "Okay! Good! Now, for the final part! All I need you to do is fight me! When we start, that''s your signal Hikari! " "Fight you!? Why? What the hell are you doing! We have no time for this shit!" He scoffed, trying to walk away only for Moby to stop him, marching up to his face once again. "You think I''d be rushing through this if I had time to exin everything? Just trust me and fight! Let''s finish what we started! I thought you wanted to fight me huh? Where did all that vigour and motivation go? This isn''t the Regrit I know! What? Are you now scared of me after I beat your ass despite going into that tournament for the soul purpose to fight me, to the point you would throw all your money away! NO! My money away! How are you gonna make your mother proud if you''re such a greedy asshole who only thinks of themselves!?" "SHUT THE FUCK UPPP!!!" As Moby spoke, there was a visible vein slowly protruding off of Regrit''s forehead, but in the end, his volcano welling up in his soul could hold out no longer, and it erupted into madness as he threw a punch toward''s Moby''s face. His senses were overwhelmed with the adrenaline and sensation of blood. He was punched back, trading blow for blow with the man ahead of him with no care in the world like it was thest thing he would ever do. The world around him felt like static, nothing else mattered or took priority over his current task, Hikari''s words from behind them were not even able to reach his ears. This was not a duel as much as a mad scuffle,pletelycking any form or grace. That was when suddenly, his body was ovee with an unknown feeling, like chains binding and restricting all of his movements. He had no idea what was going on, his vision was still dyed in red as he tried his best to break out of these bindings with no sess in order to reach his opponent, he looked like a leashed beast trying to escape like his life depended on it. That was when he heard a sudden familiar, bone-chilling voice that snapped him back to his senses, colour was brought back to his eyes and sucked away immediately as he felt his stomach drop and his heart halt like time had frozen still. Part of him knew what was happening and what there was toe, but he could not even force his head to look up towards the demon who is undoubtedly about to ruin his entire life and send him straight to hell after all of his efforts to seed... "There you two are! I finally found you! I received a notice that you two were fighting! I thought I had made it very clear that you two shall not fight unless authorized! Are you not ashamed of yourselves!? Now¡­ I will release you two very soon, and you better be calm¡­ I have many questions to ask you, this is very weird and things don''t really line up¡­ I promise to not get as mad if you tell me the truth of what was truly happening here and what you''ve seen... You better answer honestly, or else, I will expel you and do everything in my power to absolutely ruin you and your entire lineage¡­" Chapter 352 - The Truth And Nothing But The Truth

Chapter 352: The Truth And Nothing But The Truth

Regrit did not want to meet their gaze, he knew who it was just by the voice and presence alone, the sense of foreboding emanating from them was more than clear. But, in order to not make himself look initially guilty, he forced himself to look them in the eyes. Just like he expected, it was non-other than the principal''s iron gaze that met his vision, and he felt his life sh before his eyes. The previous adrenaline in his heart was gone, now reced with panic as his mind spun in circlesing up with an excuse or escape from his predicament, only for him to find there to be no way. But, in the madness thatid under his poker face, he heard a sounde from his side. "Yes, of course, ma''am, I shall answer you all that you need. I''m extremely sorry for this¡­" He looked over to his side to witness a bowing Moby, and he decided to follow in his footsteps to show the proper respect to his superior before it was undoubtedly toote. "Very well, I''m d to see you are so cooperative!" She nodded to herself. "So, I''m gonna get right to the point, exin to me why you''re here and what you were doing in the quickest way possible. Be specific in the parts you deem necessary. But first, answer me this¡­ Were you at the mammon''s den earlier today?" She spoke, and she did not hesitate to pull out a lie detector crystal from her storage ring. And, if Regrit did not know already, he certainly did now¡­ It was all over, and there was no way to escape. That fact was now jammed down his throat, and he prepared to choke and die by the hands of that crystal she just pulled out. Moby took a deep breath as he lifted his head up with confidence, ready to respond. It seemed like he was the one to put the final nail in their coffin. He took a second to think to himself before he let out his answer. "The mammon''s what? I''ve never heard of that in my life," ''YOOOOOUUU FUCKING IDIIOOTTTT!!!'' Regrit inwardly screamed, his poker face breaking as his eyes immediately grew wide and nearly bloodshot. His heart began beating faster than before, and time felt twice as slow. His life was over¡­ And Moby ruined it¡­ No! There was still a chance! As long as he told her the truth, he wouldn''t have to be punished by association, his words did not have to represent him too. But, when he panned and over and opened his mouth ready to speak, his eyes grew even wider seeing the lie detector crystal in the principal''s hands glowing a bright green, meaning that what Moby said was the truth¡­ ''W-what''s going on¡­'' "Me Regrit and Hikari just went to explore the city a bit, we were just at the Shaq shack not too far away from here a few minutes ago. I was trying to get along with him but, things got heated and I identally cussed his mother, which escted things into a fight¡­ We are deeply sorry for this ma''am. We promise it will never happen again¡­ As Moby continued talking, the crystal''s green glow remained and was not diminished. And, as he finished his speech, he bowed once again, the blood on his face dripping down the gravel below. And, without even thinking, Regrit followed suit by bowing even deeper trying to hide all the sweat on his face. "HAAHAHAHAHAHHA!" The woman looking over them''s tone immediately shifted into uncontrobleughter that caught even them off, guard. "You had me worried kids, I thought you were in that mammon''s shit hole gambling all of your points away under my nose! I just caught like a hundred students in there all because of the special signal programmed on your watches telling me that you were fighting in there. I guess the pinging wasn''t exactly 100% urate, but all ended well! If this was any other time I would have lectured you big time and given you a big punishment, but since I''m in such a good mood and because it seems like you''ve learned your lesson, I''ll let you off with a p on the wrist just this time!" "Thank you very much ma''am! We are honoured to be given such an opportunity, we promise it will not happen again," Regrit finally spoke for the first time, and he received a smile from the still chuckling principal. Her giggling echoed in the alleyway, and was only interrupted by the sound of one of her men speaking, bringing her back to her more serious tone. "Ma''am! We went across that secret tunnel and found there to be no sign of the mammon! The exit is just out there!" "Damn him! How the hell did he escape this time! I thought we had him for sure!! Order five soldiers to scout the area for any signs of him! And order five others to search the tunnel for any other exits! I refuse to believe he''ll get away! If he gets away too far, it''s all over! He can pretty much blend perfectly in any crowd! Hey, kids! Did you see an old man run in the alleyway within the past few minutes?" "No, we didn''t¡­ But, we had our back turned to it the entire time, there might have been someone there but we were too busy here to notice..." It was Hikari''s turn to answer this question. "Damn!" She cursed once more. "Okay, you kids are off the leash now! Go back to school, your curfew is very soon. Stay out of trouble! In the meantime, I''m gonna be searching for that damn mammon!" She spoke her final words and finally left, sting off in the air, blowing away everything underneath her as Moby and Regrit shielded their eyes. And, when they dropped their arms, the principal was nowhere to be seen, she and all of her soldiers. "..." "..." The atmosphere was unnervingly silent as the three stood alone once again, two of them with bloodied, battered faces. It was Regrit who finally spoke to break that unnerving silence. "Exin yourself¡­ How the fuck did you get past that lie detector?" "Huh? Isn''t it obvious? I just told the truth!" "DON''T BE SHITTING ME NOW KANE!! What the hell is going on!!" "Just like you have your secrets that you refuse to share, I also have my own¡­" Moby smiled at him less than innocently, before he began walking forward. "I have faith in you Hikari, but I trust that you Regrit, will keep this all a secret¡­ If this got out, then my words wouldn''t be trusted and they would reinvestigate and find out we did go to the mammon''s den¡­ And you don''t want that to happen now do you?" "..." "Anyways, I''m sorry for what I said, I just had to get a genuine reaction from you or else it wouldn''t have looked convincing, and from the principal''s story, you now know why running away was never an option¡­ They knew that we fought and exactly where we did it¡­ And all of this is your fault! If you weren''t stupid enough all for a chance to fight me, none of this would have happened! And even despite your efforts, you were left on your back feet against me in that final exchange!" Regrit felt a stinging pain in his heart, like thorns, were growing on it from the inside. He bit his lower lip and tightly clenched his fists knowing that every word Moby spoke now was the truth, he had absolutely no rebuttal to anything. It was all true, if it weren''t for him¡­ If it weren''t for him, he wouldn''t be where he was right now. "Okay¡­ Fine¡­ I get it¡­ I was kinda selfish¡­ It''s all my fault and... you did beat me¡­" Regrit''s eyes felt watery as he looked down in depression¡­ However, that was when he remembered what he was truly fighting for and the purpose for his struggle. BUT! I''m sure you won''t be saying that again the next time we fight! I''ll train one thousand times harder and I''ll put you in your ce properly! BUT! Most importantly I will climb my way up and prove myself as the strongest and most capable in the entire school by any means necessary!! JUST YOU WAIT!!" Regrit''s expression immediately shifted, there were still remnants of water on his eyes as he smiled brightly and pointed at Moby''s back who was still walking away. "We''ll see about that¡­ Anyways, let''s get back to school before it''s toote just like principal Davis said." "Hey! By the way! What happened to all of the points? Did you justpletely lose everything?" Regrit ran to Moby''s side, and Hikari decided to follow suit. "I managed to salvage some here and there¡­ Don''t worry, I''ll give you your cut when I get things sorted out." "Huh? How? Is this another one of your secrets?" "Maybe¡­" "Okay! But you can keep your dirty money! I don''t need your charity!" "So you don''t want free points? What happened to getting to the top by any means necessary?" "Fine! Give me the points! It''s the least you could do after you wasted so much of my time!" "But you were the one who fucked it all up and tried to waste all of my points¡­" "Sh-shut up!" ''So¡­ Is this what it''s like to be part of a friend group?'' Hikari who was standing back could not help but chuckle. She had not felt this warm on the inside in such a long time. She was happy to see that Moby and Regrit were no longer fighting and seemed to be getting along with each other much better than when they first arrived. Chapter 353 - Back to School

Chapter 353: Back to School

As the gang entered back into the teleporters and walked back through the front gates of the school, they noticed various ring things that popped out like a sore thumb, it was by no means subtle, even to those previously unaware of the situation. There were many groups huddled around discussing things more than usual, the faces they bore fluctuating from extreme worry to mockingughter and glee. Although Moby doubted that Regrit and Hikari could pick up on the voices of the people in the distance, they were as clear as day as many things trickled into his ears. "The mammon''s den? I''ve never heard of that ce¡­" "Most haven''t, it''s a ce that has existed for several years and well known by several people," "Well, now I''m d I didn''t know about it or else I think I might have actually gone¡­" "Is it true that like a hundred students were caught by the principal? How did she even find them if no other principal before her did!?" "Who knows, but I''ve always known that woman is crazy. It''s not a big surprise¡­" "Did anyone manage to escape though? I think my friend said something about going outte into the city today¡­" "I''m not sure, but I doubt many got away, your friend is probably fucked. I''m even inclined to think that some of them will be expelled¡­ But, what I''ve heard for certain is that Joker escaped and the hunt for the mammon is still on." "Joker?" "Wait, have you really not heard of him!? Some doubt he''s even human¡­ Like a shadowy mist that brings rot and destruction where ever he goes¡­ He went into that den and sucked it dry from everything it had, he walked into every single table and won every game, even the ones all reliant on luck and needed no skill. They investigated him many times with lie detectors and found him to be clear. This is some urban legend-type shit, but from what I''ve heard, this is all true¡­" "Damn¡­ No wonder he managed to escape... So he''s a student in this school?" "I''m not sure¡­ But he did have a student ID to enter the building. From what I''ve heard, he is a tall man with long blue hair and a gaze that could make a grown man cry. Only slight hints of his jawline were showing and his smile was a signal of doom. There are a few that match the physical description but I doubt any of them are actually joker¡­" "Wow¡­" Moby was fully expecting there to be people discussing what had happened in the mammon''s den, he was more than aware of how fast the news spread around the school. But, he would be lying if he said that he expected the other¡­ It seemed like his persona, Joker, became some sort of legend around the school. But, now that he thought about it, he should have fully expected it from the way the crowds in the mammon''s den reacted to him. Nevertheless, it was not a massive problem in the grand scheme of things. "You guys can go back to your dorms and I''ll go back to my own. Today was very hectic? but also very fun!" Moby heard Hikari speak from his side. "You don''t need me to walk you?" Moby raised an eyebrow, especially due to the abnormally sized crowds that were there currently. "Nope! I''m fine! You two have fun then! Bye!" She waved them off and ran towards the girl''s dorm, leaving Moby and Regrit alone. "I''m going back in to train, don''t you dare walk in on me!" Regrit stared daggers at Moby for a split second before he ran off towards the men''s dorm. "Okay, suit yourself¡­" Moby smiled as he simply casually walked. He was in no rush and had plenty on his mind, and the first of which was to contact his new servant. ''Hey! ve! Can you hear me?'' ''O-oh! Yes lord Joker! Loud and clear!'' ''Good! How was the escape?'' ''It was very good! I turned into one of the soldiers and managed to distract them enough for you to leave. Hope you noticed the difference!" "Indeed, you did very well,'' Moby nodded. ''Anyways, where are you now and what exactly are you doing?'' ''I''ve joined up with some of my henchmen and we''re now in a warehouse¡­ I''m working on a project that I''m almost certain will interest you¡­'' The mammon sounded genuinely excited, and that feeling slightly rubbed off on Moby, he wanted to see what a crime lord of his calibre would do with his new powers¡ª the powers that Moby felt like were a waste at first considering his ability but then grew to ept as perhaps the best option despite that. ''We didn''t have much time to talk before due to the rush, but I wanted to ask you about what happened to all of the points.'' ''Oh, worry not my lord! They are all secured with me! The coins that I provided at the mammon''s den were nothing more than fakes. As long as they were not cashed in, the money would be a waste. And, since the party was interrupted and no one managed to cash in their winnings in the end, I now have all of them!'' Moby could not help but grow arge smile from ear to ear hearing that. It was almost too good to be true. ''With all of those points, is there a way to buy things with them without being suspicious? And, how long would it take to do that by your standards?'' ''Of course! You could even exchange points in several underground areas in the city to buy some illegal items. After all, it''s the most valuable currency on this! He who controls the points and the school controls the city! It''s as simple as that! All you need is a little maniption and it''s more than possible¡­ And, with the new power you have bestowed me, it is even easier than before! Give me a week or two and all shall be yours and all shall be prepared! I can assure you that!'' ''I see¡­'' Moby nodded once again, there seemed to be much about this city he had yet to understand. ''Lord Joker! Don''t get me wrong! I am certain you would be able to do this all on your own, but I am simply trying to prove my use to you!'' ''Hmph, fear not! I felt no insult from your words!'' ''Thank you! I am truly grateful!'' ''Very well, contact me once you have finished arranging this project of yours,'' ''Of course! Thank you so much for your trust in me! I shall not let you down!'' Moby closed the mind-link, and he was already at the foot of his apartment''s elevator. The mammon seemed to hold him at truly high regards. He must have been a smart man, but one that was equally proud. When he was put on his back foot for the first time in his life, the only exnation to that must have been that the man that took him down master minded all of it and was an even greater genius than even he. Furthermore, after seeing Moby perform various miracles, he was fully convinced that he was some sort of all mighty being. His world crumbled but he did not give up on it and go crazy like many others in his position, he more than epted his defeat and decided to live a new life for an even greater purpose. This was all good to keep him on a leash, but it was also equally stressful¡­ If he ever found out that Moby was nothing but an above-average guy with demon powers and not some all-mighty being that could do no wrong, things may begin to show problems¡­ He sighed once more taking everything in. It was not time to worry, if he wanted to be demon lord, putting up an almighty facade would be part of the job. But, no matter how much he tried to breathe away his fears, there was one thing that bugged him to no end¡­ ''Avilia, if you ever feel like my demon nature is kicking in with that damn mammon please let me know! I know I could not care less about him other than as a pawn.'' ''Sure thing, I guess it will be good practice for you to tame that side of yourself...'' She inwardly nodded in his head. ''But, it might be too hard for me to convince you if ites down to it¡­ Remember what happened when I said you should kill Abby?'' ''That''spletely different!!'' ''Is it really that different though?'' Moby was confident from before, but Avilia''s words wereying seeds of doubt in his heart. ''Okay! If you ever feel like I''m being controlled by that side of me, and I don''t listen, use that item I found in my parents'' box!'' ''Are you sure?'' ''YES! I am! But I''m confident in my own ability to make it so it never gets to that point!'' ''Very well, I''m sure it will help, but I''m hoping you won''t regret this decision in the future¡­'' Chapter 354 - The Mammons Project.

Chapter 354: The Mammon''s Project.

Moby sighed and shook his head as he entered back into thefort of his room. He was rather fatigued and wanted to block out all else from his mind. But, that didn''t stop him from hearing the loud grunting leaking out of the training room that toppled all else, it was the loudest he had ever heard Regrit grunt, which was quite the feet. First, he ate dinner from his inventory, and he did not bother checking it with his poison checker like the military strongly advised if not made mandatory. Then, he followed it up by going to the bathroom for a cold shower, of course not before casting a spell on the training room to make the sounding out of it more bearable. Cold showers were not as freezing or impactful as they once were due to his cold resistance, but they still served as a medium to soothe his mind. He had much to think about and a mountain of stress on his mind. He wanted them all to flow down the icy river, but no matter how much he stayed there and stared at the showerhead, his mind was still just as foggy. Today was an extremely sessful day, he had learned and aplished much. But, one of the things he had learned was that it seemed like Regrit knew the house of the blissful demon style. In the moment of his fight, he did not have adequate enough time to properly take it in, but now that he pondered over it, the realization that Regrit was someone who trained with him at the dojo became more than simply a possibility. That must have been the reason for his treatment. The only thing he was unsure of was whether or not he got along with him at the time. After his parent''s death, Moby could barely remember anything but vague memories before that. It was as if his mind broke past that point and only slight shards remained. As he got out of the shower, he immediately went to bed and began to train the skills and magic he currently possessed. Training was a time that he could feel free, but a time where focus was needed, it was the root of his entire being, and he had almost forgotten that. At first, he wanted to train to pass the time until the mammon contacted him, but now it was like sleeping in the clouds. ''My Lord! It''splete! I''ve finished it! I''m deeply sorry for the dy, I just wanted to ensure that all worked well, I do hope you enjoy what me and my team have put together!'' He heard the ted voice of the mammon ring in his head. He had the urge to instinctivelyin, but he instead reserved those thoughts to himself. ''That''s great! The dy is no problem at all my servant! But now, there is one problem¡­ How will you be able to send this project of yours to me? Do you know a method?'' ''Of course! Fear not! I havee prepared, but first, I need to know one thing¡­ My lord, do you possess an encrypted extra email?'' ''Indeed,'' He responded, thinking back to that one email that he and Jayden used for their shady works. ''If you could share that with me, I can send you the video I have just finished recording.'' Emails and messages were able to be sent to other people within the''s bubble, but outside of that would all be restricted. What the mammon suggested seemed to have merit. Moby then ryed his email address to the mammon and not too long after, he received a video file. ''I hope you enjoy it and my thought process behind this video. I shall now be quiet, thank you for your time lord Joker¡­'' Just by looking at the video''s thumbnail, he could already tell it was going to be something wild, and a sense of primal excitement welled up in him. It was dark, shadows consuming the edges while the center was like a spotlight shining below towards a chair where sat what seemed to be a woman, her hands tied behind her back and a paper bag over her head. And, with nothing more to go by, he clicked the video and watched¡­ The atmosphere felt cold, and the silence in the room was evident¡­ Only the victim''s slight grunting and squirming were heard echoing around the empty room. But, that was when footsteps were brought into the mix, and a man walked into frame, it was the mammon himself, the new young version hest saw. "Greetings Luke¡­ I see you have received this message right? Now¡­ You must be wondering¡­ What''s going on? Why were you sent this? And, the answer is¡­ Because you tried to scam the mammon and get away with all of your points right? Don''t act surprised¡­" "We thought we made it more than clear that messing with us is not a good idea¡­ Our power spreads far beyond any mortal reach¡­ You can''t begin to fathom it¡­ And now, you are about to learn the consequences¡­" "Look here¡­" He smiled, and pulled off the mask from the screaming woman on the chair, revealing the face of a blonde, middle-aged woman with short hair that fell down to her shoulders, her mouthpletely covered which did not allow her to speak." "This is your mother? Is she not?" His smile grew from ear to ear, radiating pure demonic ooze. "It would be a shame if anything were to happen to her¡­ Right?" He panned a look over towards the crying and grunting woman and pulled out a knife, hovering it over her neck which suddenly made her go still and silent, the tears in her eyes flowing even faster and her body trembling like a supercharged vibrator. "Listen, all I ask from you is 250 points a month, it''s not much to ask for right? It''s more than doable! But¡­ If you don''t get it done¡­ Then¡­" And with a smile on his face, he brought the knife closer and stabbed a shallow line on the woman''s neck, making her grunting be even louder like she was experiencing her worst nightmare. "And, of course¡­ If I ever receive news you reported this to the military, you know what will happen then don''t you?" He stabbed the knife even deeper, and the woman continued to struggle with her beyond red, open eyes. "We have spies within the very staff of your school, we will know if any operation or investigation is made against us¡­ Your mother is as good as dead if that happens!" *MMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHHHMMMMHHHH* "SHUT UP BITCH!! YOU''RE HURTING MY EARS!! If you wanna talk, talk to that fucking son of yours that put you in this mess! HERE!!" He punched her in the stomach and grabbed her head if an iron grasp before throwing her on the ground in front of the camera, a few teeth clearly seen falling out of her mouth as the cloth that was not allowing her to speak came off along with it. "Lulu!! Please save me!! I don''t wanna die! I don''t wanna die! What have you done! Why is this happening! What did I do to deserve this!! I did not raise you to be like thiissssss!! This hurts so much! Luke¡­" The desperation on her face that was zoomed into by the camera was snot-filled and hideous, the clear markings of absolute fear and desperation in her every movement. "That''s all the talking that you''ll need to do¡­" Masked men from outside of the frame entered, roughly grabbing the woman and tying a cloth around her salivating mouth once more. "I hope I still have your attention Luke! I have sent you a copy of the email you are to send the money to! Your first payment will be due by the end of this month! And! Because of our generosity¡­ If you send us extra money, we promise not to hurt your mother too much¡­ Great deal is it not?" "Anyways, thank you for taking the time to watch this video through, and we hope business is plentiful between us! Goodbye!" He smiled, waving at the camera that shut off not too long after. Moby sat in there in silence staring at the now dark screen of his watch processing what he just saw with a nk face and his hands covering his mouth. It was only a few minutes long, but there was much to unpack. That was when he heard the mammon''s voice echo in his head once more, this time sounding more nervous, like a dog patiently awaiting its master''s approval. "I believe that it is safe to assume that you know exactly what is going on¡­ This is only a beta for what I have nned, so more refining of the process will be needed¡­ So¡­ My lord¡­ What do you think?" Chapter 355 - The Mammons Project (2)

Chapter 355: The Mammon''s Project (2)

"So¡­ You transformed yourself into someone else''s mother and tortured them in return for their son''s money¡­ They won''t even be able to call them to check if it''s true due to themunication block and if the school found out you would "Kill them,". It would also insight fear in them with the power of their enemy since they think they can get past the military''s blocking when no one else could. Unless anyone knew about your powers, it would look way too convincing to be fake. You are truly a good actor! I am very impressed!" Moby''s grin was as thick as honey and as vast as the ocean, he was surprised that he did note up with such a strategy, but, it also made him ponder over all the havoc he and Jayden could have done if she were there with him. "Thank you, my lord!! I am very honoured to receive such praise! Acting is a big part of my identity, with my previous inferior ability, I had to rely on it all of the time! I am happy to hear it is up to your standards!" "Also, when exactly did you learn to clone yourself?" "Oh! As expected of my lord''s keen eye! Indeed! After I began experimenting with my new powers, I learned that one of them was to clone myself. However, those clones were not very strong at all, as such, they could not be used for anything outside of very basic tasks." "That is to be expected," Moby nodded. "But, there are a few questions I would like to pose you¡­ I assume you have ess to some illegal database to find his mother''s pictures along with other personal information, but what I want to find out is how do you know this Luke person''s identity. From how you speak, you know him to be in the mammon''s den at the time of the attack but was one of the few that managed to escape. "Ahhh yes! He was a person that illegally used his ability to gain an upper hand in the games. He was immediately apprehended and had many things conducted on him¡­ Including a scan to find his identity without him even knowing. But, there are also other methods¡­ For example, if someone borrowed and owed me money, we would scan them for their identity just so we identify who does and who doesn''t pay me back. As you know, I ran a less than innocent and honest business." As soon as the mammon finished his exnation, Moby''s face grew stunned as he came to a sudden realization. By asking Regrit and Hikari to go borrow money, he effectively exposed their identities to the mammon. Luckily, he managed to find out now so tragedy could be averted. If the mammon were to turn into Regrit''s mother and do what he just did, he could not even imagine what kind of rampage he would go on or what kind of rage would consume him. "I see, very good¡­ But, there is a list of students I want you to whitelist, everyone else is fair game. I assume you will start with those who went into the mammon''s den but then expand to the broader student-base in order to control and make the entire school into my own personal points farm." "Indeed! I want the entire school to be trembling under your shadowy grasp! But, the people that you mention in your whitelist shall be spared," "Excellent! Begin the operation as soon as possible!" "U-understood!" The mammon stuttered, brimming with excitement. "All shall be prepared within the weak! If you ever need to make any purchase with points, please let me know and I shall provide!" "Very well¡­ excellent work today, I am very pleased¡­ I will contact you if I am in need of anything. In the mean-time, you are dismissed." "As youmand, Lord Joker!" The mind-link was severed, and Moby was left on his back staring at the ceiling taking in all that happened with a smile on his face, imagining anding up with ns for the future. This was only the beginning, there was much he could aplish from this point forward. But, before he even knew it, the sound of the creaking doors entered his ears, and there he saw a tired and rigid Regrit walking towards his bed and going to sleep, looking the other way. At first, Moby simply ignored him, but after a few minutes of him lying down, he heard absolutely no snoring, so he knew that there was something awry. "Hey, Regrit, I know you''re still awake. Tell me, what exactly is bothering you?" "Huh? It''s 3:00 am! How aren''t you asleep?" "Why aren''t YOU asleep? You never really train for that long. So, answer me this, what''s making you act like this now?" "..." "Fine¡­ That stuff you said about my mother, how the hell did you know about it?" Moby smiled slightly as he looked at Regrit''s back that was still turned from him. "If you tell me how you know my family''s martial arts, I''d be more than happy to tell you¡­ The air went silent once more as Regrit began to ponder, but then the silence was broken with a deep breath that was proceeded with heavy words. "Do you really not remember?" "Well, I don''t remember anything before my parent''s death¡­ Everything before then is just a massive nk¡­" "I see¡­ I guess I can''t really me you... They were good people, at least from what I can remember from them¡­ Sad that they had to go¡­" "You talk like you know them. I had a feeling that you must be someone that used to be part of the dojo back then." "Well¡­ Yes, we were part of the same dojo, we trained together and practiced demon energy too. Unlike a lot of other families, my parents really focused a lot on martial arts. They scoured the entire world for a dojo that met their standards, but in the end that never happened. That was when one day, my father was going through some of the more run-down parts of country Z and he noticed the way of the blissful demon dojo. He didn''t think much of it but he decided to try it out, despite the fact that the owners did not have any ability. We all had very low expectations, at that point we had even gotten bored of travelling all around the world visiting high-ss, expensive dojos only to be let down over, and over, and over again. Me and my ''brother,'' went along with my father to check out the ce, and he was happy to see that the owners had a son of their own that was around our same age... and that was when we first met¡­ Your parents were the only people in the entire world to be able to beat my father in an abilityless duel of both hand to hand and swordbat. And as such, we began training there every single day¡­ And the rest is history¡­ Now, it''s your turn to answer my question¡­ How do you know about my mother?" Moby smiled as he heard Regrit''s exnation that confirmed many of his thoughts and even further added on them. His parents were even greater than he thought, although it really should not have been such a surprise to him. "Well, your brother said everything, you can thank him for me knowing," Moby responded, technically telling the truth. "I see¡­ I should have expected it to be that son of a bitch! What else did he tell you!?" "Tell me more about my dojo and I''d be d to tell you¡­" "Nah! Fuck that! I know you''re probably trying to scam me! I don''t even know why I''m talking to you like this! GOOD NIGHT! ¡­ ¡­. But thanks¡­ You really saved my gut today even after I tried to fuck you over¡­ You''re not as bad of a guy as I initially expected..." "This sappy talk doesn''t suit you! Just shut up and go to sleep!" "I''ll dly oblige!" Regrit spoke his final words before the snoring immediately ensued, making Moby cast a spell to silence him like usual. ''Wow, I didn''t know a genuine ''thank you,'' could even be uttered from that man''s mouth,'' Chapter 356 - Dire Consequences

Chapter 356: Dire Consequences

The morning that day was unusually bright, and Moby slept like an infant all the way through. It was to the point that he had not woken up early to fully take advantage of his time in the training room. Yet, as he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, he felt absolutely no regret, in fact, he had not felt so refreshed all year. The time was 8:00, but he decided to do as he always did, doing his daily routine and preparing himself to leave while Regrit was still fast asleep. But, as soon as he was ready to depart, he received a notification on his watch. [ Attention all students! You are to report to the auditorium before ss for a very important assembly, this is not optional. Absence will be severely punished. ] He would be lying if he said he was surprised to see it or that he didn''t know what this was all about, but, what he did not know was what the fate of those people caught was¡­ Before he left the room, he decided to wake Regrit up, leaving before he got the chance toin or even speak a word. On the outside, the chatter amongst the students were clear, it was far more than usual considering the previous well-reserved nature of these rich noble kids. As they all entered the school, they were immediately redirected by staff and further informed on what to do. Moby followed the crowd and was not too long after presented a glimpse of the vast auditorium that caved in towards the bottom. The ceiling felt dwarfing, and the ckened walls fit in perfectly with the dark room that seemed to possess scarce light sources. The red, couched seats were ced in many semi-circles getting more in radius as they went back. As he entered, he found it to be deafly silent, an atmosphere of frightful anxiety filling the air unlike any other Moby has sensed in a very long time. With his enhanced hearing, the heavy breaths of the students were more than clear, and he could even feel the throbs of some of their heartbeats. Following the crowds, Moby went down the stairs towards the bottom. It did not take him too long to spot his ss, the confident yet irritated figure of professor Zave tapping his foot stood out even amongst some of the other teachers. "Nice to have you with us Kane, is Oswalding?" "Yes, he should be here very shortly," Moby whispered back and bowed to show proper respect. "Good to hear, your seat is right over there, please be silent and wait for the assembly tomence," "Yes, sir, thank you very much," He lifted his head and directed it over towards the seat at the end of the row. It seemed like most of his ss was present, even Hikari was there, although her seat was one over from his, with their ssmate Kalvin separating them. He spoke no words to her, only a slight look of acknowledgement before he took his seat. There was chatter from behind the curtains of the auditorium, but other than that, everything stood still, people had stoppeding in long ago. However, before the door closed, that silence was broken by the sound of loud footsteps that Moby identified from a mile away. "I''m, I''m sorry professor, I overslept¡­ I won''t do it again!" *Sigh* "Never mind that, just go take your seat and wait. Just don''t let it happen next time okay?" Professor Zave looked like he wanted to lecture him, but in the end he decided to wave him off like nothing happened. "Will do¡­" He lowered his voice, looking around to see all eyes on him before their vision was suddenly snatched away by creaking soundsing from the stage ahead, and the realization that the curtains had finally begun to move after so long. So, Regrit rushed to his seat and found it to be right next to Moby''s. "Did I miss something?" "No, it''s about to start, just shut up and watch¡­" As the curtains fully revealed themselves, it was odd to see the stage was stillpletely dark. It made the students wonder more, and their stress intensified even further. But, one person who did not have to guess was Moby, and his eyes shot wide and awake as soon as heyed eyes on the stage. "Greetings students! I am your principal! Rayna Davis! I didn''t think I would have toe up here and do this today, but here I am! I have never seen anything like this in all my years¡­ I feel embarrassed that all of this happened under my nose... I''m certain most of you know why you were called here today¡­ If not, then allow me to exin to you¡­" Her cold, sombre voice came from the darkness, and rang in not only the auditorium but the heart as well. That was when a blinding sh of light engulfed their vision, and after they readjusted their blurry gaze, they too bore witness to what was up ahead. Lined up in one single row were students, standing frozen, nervously sweating with the principal a few steps ahead with her sword hitting the metal underneath, her face stone cold unlike the yful introduction of the first day of school. "These low lives behind me are your fellow students. They were part of a gambling ring in the city just yesterday¡­ Apparently, this has been going on for many years now¡­ It went under the notice of every single principal to me prior, but, it will alle to an end with me! As you all know, obtaining points by any means other than from an instructor or a duel ispletely prohibited. We here reward the brightest soldiers of the next generation! Not the best and luckiest gamblers and business men!! The school rules has been embedded in your mind! There is a reason we exin it to you more than once! There is no excuse you can possibly give to justify it! You are making illegal organizations that are public enemy number 1 to the city and the school funding! All of this just for you to test your might in gambling?! UNACCEPTABLE!! WHAT KIND OF SOLDIERS IS THAT!?" She mmed her sword on the floor below, sending shockwaves throughout the entire room, making the previously nervous faces behind her turn pale, as if their souls were sucked out of their now ghost-like corpses. "I will take an absolutely zero-tolerance stance on this! You are now soldiers! Act like one! No amount of family power will save you from me! All of these students lined up behind me¡­ Sorry, FORMER STUDENTS! Shall be stripped of their position quite literally, and be sent off in shame!" A small glint was seen in her dangerous eyes, and she lifted her right hand that was previously grasping the hilt of her sword. Time felt frozen as the crowd watched the principal move, unsure of what to expect of their fellow students. And, with one snapping motion, all of the people standing on the stage were stripped naked down to their underwear, their student uniform ripping off of their body and turning to shreds, that along with their watches. The fear and panic was more than clear in their eyes, but they dared not say a word. Some even fainted and pissed their underwear as everyone watched when the realization of what had just urred fully sunk in. "These uniforms are not fit to be worn by such filth! You were ced here through power alone, but your character is just as important for those who want to proceed! Soldiers, take them away from here! Send them back on the next trip home, and ensure everyone knows of what has happened! I want this to haunt them for the rest of their lives!" "I wish I can do more to these scum! But, byw, I am pushing the boundaries of my authority already... I am here to send a message! Don''t think your smart trying to take advantage of the system! I can guarantee you it will not be worth it! New measures will be put in ce to ensure that! I could just conduct a lie detector test right now to every single student here to get the runaway students¡­ But, they know who they are¡­ Out of everyone here, I hope they feel the relief and take this as a lesson to change¡­ I might seem nice and fluffy on the outside, but I can guarantee you I can be really scary when ites to it! Don''t even test me! I will find you¡­ And I will end you¡­" The entire auditorium was shivering uncontrobly, their pupils dted to the size of pees as the haunting aura of the all-mighty principle consumed them, it was unlike anything they have ever sensed in their entire lives. Even Regrit was left sweating, taking several gulps of saliva thanking god that he was spared from such a fate. But, hidden under the darkness of the room was one smirking man. He sat there confidently seemingly unaffected by her words and presence. "End me you say? We''ll see about that¡­" Chapter 357 - Exam Week

Chapter 357: Exam Week

Approximately a week has passed since the mammon''s den incident, and the school did rather well to recover. The fear of the principal''s wrath was instilled deep down in the hearts of every student, and no one dared to deviate much from thew despite the obvious benefits, the risk was no longer worth it. It had almost been a month of school now, and teachers were preparing to send off their soldiers in the making to their first formal exam. This would be their first taste of what soldiers did¡ª they would be entrusted toplete their own week-long mission. Students would form teams and be given missions on variouss around the gxy with a specific task in mind. Of course, since they were still young students in training, they would be apanied by several instructors that would both keep them safe, grade their performance from afar and provide hints and advice when needed. It was all assigned rather abruptly in order to simte how a mission could happen at any time, so students were not given much time to prepare in advance. Moby''s and the mammon''s ns of controlling the student body seemed to have been put at a temporary halt until these exams were over. Still, he did not seem to mind considering it would allow the mammon to even further prepare and implement his n on a muchrger scale when the time came. Currently, it was the morning of that very same exam, and students were on their way to ss, eager to find out who they would be teamed up with. Many of them were rather excited to prove their might in front of the instructors while others were far more apprehensive. However, there were still some wishing for chances to be more devious and selfish, it was almost as if the principal''s warnings meant nothing to them or they did not even hear her at all, such was the case for this man marching through the hallway with far too much going on under his frowning and smirking expression. Moby had gotten to ss fairly early that day, and he simply waited in his desk patiently watching as his fellow students slowly trickled in through the door. However, there were others that were already present before he even entered, in fact, the first thing he saw as he came in was a certain blonde and orange-haired man talking to his tired-looking teacher, and Moby would have been lying if he said that he was not surprised to see him. It was a man that was not even supposed to be a part of hisbat ss and a man he had not seen in a very long time¡­ Regrit''s brother, Kai. It seemed like he was let out of his prison either today or during the weekend. The school had managed to keep the fact of his defeat and mana illness a secret by telling people he was undergoing secret training, so it made people look up to him even more. He had almost forgotten all about him, thest time he even had him on his mind was around a week ago when he attempted to visit him out of goodwill, only to be told off by the nurse who adamantly pushed the fact that he was in no mood for any visitors. As he entered, they exchanged initial nces as Moby went to his seat and said his greetings to his superior. It only took a few minutes for the rest of the ss to arrive, and all of them stared up at the new face standing at the front of their ss. But, out of everyone that entered, there seemed to be one crucial man missing, he was fashionablyte as usual, but it was not too long after did he set foot into the room. The look of shock on his face was more than evident, it almost felt exaggerated with his eyes wide open and his jaw slightly dropped. "Professor, excuse me if I''m interrupting, but what is he doing here?" He smiled clumsily towards the professor, a visible vein popping out of his head, his fists tightly clenched and his gaze growing keener. "Oh, I''m d you''re here boy, I thought you would be d to see your brother here after his long days of independent training," "NO! I''m not! I was happy to know that at least I was spared from seeing his face duringbat ss. Please exin to me why he is here¡­" "Come on¡­ Why can''t we get along brother?" "Silence! You''re no brother of mine¡­ Don''t you dare im so in front of anyone¡­" "Well, This is exactly why he''s here today. Due to that very problem! Your parents specifically asked that you two be put on the same team for exams so you can get along better. This was also because you are both likely to work together in the future when you join your family''s guild. We usually don''t entertain any favours, but your family has done us many favours in the past, and such a small thing would be no problem." Regrit''s once keen eyes grew open as soon as the teacher uttered those words, and the realization of what was truly happening fully dawned on him as he looked over at his smiling sibling. "I would like to voice my disapproval, I wish not to be paired with him. But... Very well¡­ I''ll respect the decision of the school¡­ But, I can assure you that my rtionship with him will be no better than it is now¡­ So, if you will excuse me, I will go back to my seat and wait for my team to be announced¡­" As he walked away, Regrit seemed calm on the outside, yet the signs of a volcano ready to explode were clear to those that knew him. Moby could not believe how reasonably he took that interaction while still voicing his gripes, not even a single swear word. In fact, Moby didn''t even know that Regrit had the ability to speak like that, especially under pressure. It seemed like he was holding himself back from saying something that would get him in trouble or even expelled. It was clearly not worth the outburst for him in order toplete his goals. "I understand Oswald, even still, I wish you the best of luck with your brother. A brotherly bond is very strong and can help ovee much in this world¡­" Professor Zave smiled toward''s Regrit''s back as he sat down, and not too long after did the announcements go on, along with the international anthem. "Well! It appears as though everyone is present, so no need for attendance!" Professor Zave pped his hands and seemed even more excited than before as he brought out a bright red, metallic box that had a hole gaping from the top. "As you know, with this exam we are simting the fact that you will be paired with different people at random when ites to certain missions, even if you absolutely despise them! For the sake of the mission, you will be required to work together despite your grievances!" He panned a look towards a seemingly calm Regrit that began to show slight cracks through his mask. "However! This year we will arrange one aspect slightly differently! Artorias, can you pleasee to the front of the ss for me?" He lifted his hands and softly pointed at his direction, and following his fingers the ss''s gaze was also led towards him too and his sitting, cross-armed figure. "Very well professor, I shall do what youmand," He confidently stood out of his seat, and with an air of high and mighty elegance marched up to the ss and bowed awaiting further orders. "Artorias, you will be given an option to choose your very own team and not be part of this lottery. In a real-life situation, there will always be teams of elites reserved to be deployed in very specific instances. You, as the clear strongest person in the ss, will be responsible to pick out your own team out of your fellow ssmates in a way simr to how it works in real life. But, be warned that if you do go down this path, the mission you will be given will reciprocate your decision. So, what will it be? Who will be your team of 6?" Chapter 358 - Elite Among The Elite

Chapter 358: Elite Among The Elite

"Professor, it would be indeed an honour and a privilege to be chosen to represent this ss. As such, I shall uphold the status given to me and partake in your proposal," Artorias lowered his head graciously as though he were a knight, leading to the teacher''s earlier dull face to nod in approval. "Wonderful! Now, choose five other people to join you on your mission, be sure to pick wisely." "I shall indeed," Artorias lifted his lowered head and panned a look at the eager ss that stared at him like drooling dogs. It was safe to assume that they all wanted to be on his team. Indeed, who wouldn''t want to be recognized and distinguished amongst their peers? Many of them were certainly strong contenders, but sadly, Artorias had long made his decisions. "My first pick shall be Moby Kane. His quick wit, versatile moveset and incredible skill will make an excellent first member to my roster," He smiled and pointed in the direction of the confident, quiet ck and red-haired man sitting in the back. As soon as Moby heard his name, he bore no reaction. He simply strolled out of his seat ignoring the envious daggers from his fellow students and stood beside his new team leader, after all, this was to be expected. "Thank you for your kind words, I''ll be sure to not let you down." As he spoke, Moby took a nce up at the previously smiling man only to be faced with a cold, deadly re that made him quiver down to his very core, like a primal instinct telling him to flee. However, when he blinked, that gaze and aura were no more. He was more than certain it was no figment of his imagination. it was almost like that time when they fought on the roof, only this time his stare was far softer. Moby had yet to forget about the man that sat in front of him every day in ss, but this was an even further reminder to be wary. "My next choice is Elizabeth Elianora, a mage that excels in both healing and buffing spells is an essential part of any team, and I believe she does it best out of everyone in the ss," He motioned towards a pink-haired girl sitting in the front, and with stars in her eyes, she shot up straight as an arrow and walked up to her new teammates. Her long pink hair was tied in pigtails and her bright green eyes were poised. Her bone structure was particrly defined, and the stand-out feature on her face was herrge luscious lips that seemed to bear little to no makeup. Her movements felt rather exaggerated, like she was asserting her presence over the ss or maybe to show off her rather average-looking figure that paledpared to her far more attractive face. "I-I am so thankful for this opportunity, but in the end, it was only the most natural that I would be chosen," She lowered her head and spoke, something that Moby did not expect from someone he always saw as a pretentious high and mighty noble. She was the first daughter of the esteemed Elianora household who were innovators in the field of potion-making with the use of mana, although most were still in a testing phase. They were extremely important projects and as such, her family was well respected and revered even amongst the highest of nobles. "Mhm, you''re indeed correct. I chose you based on your skill, nevertheless, I''ll trust you will work well with the rest of the team," "Yes! Of course!" She lifted herself up and stood beside the unreacting Moby, taking subtle nces at him that led to no reaction. "The following person I select is Regrit Oswald. However, I assume that will make it so his brotheres along with him, making it not one but two selections, correct?" "That''s right, Kai Fatebringer is to be apanied with you if you are to pick him," Professor Zave nodded, leading to a slight sigh from Artorias. "Very well, I shall take both," He seemed inconvenience by his decision, and Moby could not help but inwardly chuckle as he witnessed the ss''s reaction, and especially that of Kai who was seen as nothing but an inferior bonus nobody wanted or asked for. Seeing the strongest person in the ss view him so lowly after the rumours of his secret training sprung much chatter, but they were all silenced by Kai who abruptly marched up to the front, not shying away from voicing his disapproval and authority. "I''m thankful to be part of this team, but it seems like you don''t know what you''re talking about, which is understandable considering we have not seen each other fight before. But, you''ll soon¡ª" "You, please silence yourself and stop thinking so highly of your abilities, I know what I am talking about. Now, go line up and focus on not being a hindrance to this team. Change your mindset. Thank you," Kai was left baffled, it was as though in all his life he had never been talked to in such a manner, as if he was some insect not worth anyone''s time. It was clear that he had much to say and let loose from his mind but he seemed to have found the energy in himself to remain calm. "Hindrance to the team? We''ll see about that¡­" Moby heard him softly mumble under his breath, and a slight smile was seen on his face. He did not expect to be enjoying things as much as now. As Regrit watched from afar, he could not help but crack a chuckled himself. He had not spoken much to Artorias in the past but his first impression was rather positive, and even more so now. "Hey, thanks for choosing me, I''ll be sure to carry Kai''s load," He chuckled looking directly at Artorias before walking beside Kai. "You as well, do not get too overconfident, you''re not that much better. you are simply better than everyone else in this ss for this mission. Although, something about you is rather odd¡­" Regrit''s mood fell from the highest ecstasy to the deepest abyss. He rarely acted this nicely to anyone and he was now reminded why that was the case. "Odd, what do you mean by that?" "I don''t know¡­ Just¡­ Odd¡­ It is good to have you on the team nevertheless, please join the rest as I decide on the final member¡­" "Sure thing leader¡­" Regrit looked down at the ground before looking back up with a serious, almost annoyed gaze thatpletely contrasted the upbeat attitude he approached with. "Now, as for the concluding, sixth member of the team, I feel it to be an obvious choice. Miss HikariYami, would you please join us? Your light and dark abilities are truly unique. I have yet to see a living soul hold two abilities such as thee. You keep yourself reserved, but your power is more than evident in my eyes." Artorias''s refined speech made the reserved Hikari to tense up and for her cheeks to turn slightly rosy, she did not expect suchplements or even to be picked for that matter. Her eyes were locked onto Artorias''s tender smile and remained there for what felt like an eternity until she noticed all the stares in her direction, making her look down in embarrassment to hide her face and waddle over to the front of the ss. "Thank you so much for all of this mister, I hope we can get along well and get our mission done!" "Why certainly, I hope so too," Chapter 359 - Elite Among The Elite (2)

Chapter 359: Elite Among The Elite (2)

''What''s up with this guy? Why is he acting so nice to Hikari all of a sudden and talking to everyone else like they were nothing but insignificant insects? Does he think she''s a child and has a weakness to children? Does he have some sort of crush on her? Or is there something more about her that I don''t know¡­'' Moby tried to rack his head for a reason on why this all too eloquently spoken white-haired man would be acting in such a way. He came up with various exnations, but a definite reason was still unknown. "Is this the final team you have chosen?" "Yes," Artorias nodded to the smiling professor Zave that seemed to have no objections to the people he chose. "Very well, head down to the main Arena where you will be directed on what to do next. I will trust you to do that independently." "Certainly sir. My team follow my lead," Artorias turned around and marched through the open doors, and everyone else followed behind him, admittedly a few steps away. "Right then let''s get the teams for the rest of the ss. first I''ll pull out th¡­" As they advanced farther into the hallway, their professor''s voice began to fade away, now reced with a still silence and the sound of footsteps. The atmosphere was tenser than it should have been. However, they all had the same thought in their minds. For all they knew, the exam had already started and they were being watched to see how well they worked with each other. They could not allow themselves to slip up. As they walked further, the team had split up into their very own groups. Kai and Elizabeth were walking side-by-side a few steps behind Artorias while Moby, Hikari and Regritgged farther back as though it was a natural process. It took a while for Moby to even notice that has he was too focused on the backs of the people ahead. When he peered over towards Regrit, he could clearly tell that he had much on his mind. The same could be said about Hikari who appeared both happier and more nervous than usual. When he had the chance, he promised himself to tell her not to trust Artorias, but that could be saved for another time. As the group reached the now all too familiar Arena, they noticed that several other groups had already arrived, all of them most likely being the best teams from each and every one of the sses. Each team was stood on a circr,rge, white metal te engraved in gold,belled with the name of their ss, the only one empty was the one marked for their own, so they headed in that direction. As soon as they walked in, their silent gazes fell upon them, as if they wereparing and sizing them up. Everyone in the group could not help but slightly shudder, even Moby, although it was only for a split second. There were several notable faces that any person would know. The short yet all too confident Tristan Gael of country F, his family was very well known for their manufacturing of AI and data centers that worked much of the modern world today, that and their exponential and varied tech-rted abilities that were all exclusive to their household. Nancy Herman, a purple-haired girl with an uncanny gloomy air to her very being. not much was known about her family other than they specialized in illusions. It was one of the more obscure families in country O, but their influence and power instilled fear in the hearts of all who knew them. And, Calvin Vraine and his family''s gravity powers that were responsible for many of earth''s defensive mechanisms that required his family''s aid and input for them to even function, an essential and famous military household. Those were but a few of these people, it was a gathering of all the most powerful students in the entire school full of elites, they were the elites amongst the elites. Every single person in the room had their own reputation that set them apart along with their own reasons and motivation for sess. It was the first time that Moby felt like he was not the center of attention when entering the room, although that would rarely be his intention. No, this time, all eyes were on Artorias and his all too casual demeanour. His eyes were closed and he had yet to even inspect everyone around him like they were not worth his time. The stares towards him were cold and zealous. However, as soon as he opened his eyes, they instinctively backed off as though they were pushed back by a mighty gust of cold air that set them back to their senses. It was all subtle in the grand scheme of things, but to Moby, it was clear as day. He knew nearly everyone in this room and their reputation, but this one seemingly unknown man-made them avert their gaze¡­ But, it did not take too long for their gaze to find a new target as it was stolen by the imposing yet rtively upbeat voice of the principal herself. Though, when they looked in that direction, they found her to be nothing but a projection. "Morning to you all! It seems like every student is now present! All I would like to say is good luck to you all and I wish for your sess. I would have liked to be there to see you off in person but I am far too busy with numerous other affairs, hope you guys could forgive me. Now, you will be soon met directly with your examiners who will exin your mission to you. Anyways, that''s all I really wanted to say. Your first formal exam begins NOW!" As she finished her final words, the metallic tes underneath each team lit up with a brilliant white shimmer that all but blinded them, their senses were fully consumed by the light, and they were whisked away from where they once stood, leaving no trace behind. Chapter 360 - Mission Assigned

Chapter 360: Mission Assigned

As Moby opened his eyes, he was met with a blurry mess that quickly grew clearer yet equally unknown, obscure as before as realitypletely set in and halted its aggressive spin. He was currently stood in a room, metallic white engraved with lined patterns was the first thing he witnessed. It was of a circr design and very simple in nature, yet the quality and feel of the room was nothing short of exquisite. The room felt empty yet cramped at the same time. There was much space to move around, yet, the wall was not fully nk, housing numerous machinery of unknown origin that Moby had yet to see in all his life, glowing lights filled his vision from every corner like Christmas lights, but there was one light that eclipsed all of them despiteing out of the corner of his eyes. When he forced his still hurting head to meet the source, his previously half-asleep state was no more. In front of him was ckness moving with tiny dots of light flickering by. That endless void in front of him was something he had never seen so close, but something he instantly recognized. He was in the deep expanses of space flying at breakneck speed. If it were not for the school logo emzoned on the wall, he would have thought he was abducted. When he finally fully turned around, he found his team just as he remembered them, although most of them were still unconscious with their hands heavily grasping their heads. It seemed like the teleportation had done a bigger toll on them than he initially thought, but, when he thought of it more it should have been expected. The only man seemingly unaffected was Artorias himself, in fact, he was walking around exploring the room before Moby had even woken, only he was entirely focused on the other side of the room. "Hmmmm? I know you are there¡­ Instructors¡­" Artorias was the first man to speak, and he did so with authority as he pointed at a seemingly random, empty corner of the room. "Impressive¡­ I didn''t expect you''d find us¡­" A fully masked man smiling under his disguise emerged out of thin air, he and 2 others of simr height dressed in near-identical outfits. They all wore loose ck and red robes with a clear energy signature, the insignia of the school tightly woven over their hearts, one of a sword, staff, and hammer, representing all three divisions present. The middle man was the only one dressed slightly differently with gold linings over his hidden, protective clothing which most likely meant he was their leader. There were slight holes that poked out the eyes of their mask, it did not show much yet what was clear by their expressions was that they were both serious and amused at the same time in the future. If Moby had to guess, their attire was a safety measure in the case they were to give a bad grade, it would minimize if not remove the risk of hitmen going after them for revenge sometime in the near future. After all, they were responsible to grade the most spoiled, powerful students in the entire world. "Think not much of it, my dear instructors, I saw you not. I simply sensed your presence," Artorias promptly responded. "Indeed, truly impressive, most would not even be awake right now, let alone able to somehow notice us," The other instructor nodded from his side, pulling out a pen tablet from his storage ring as he began writing. "You''re name is Artorias Kmeet correct? If so, are you the leader?" The other masked man spoke, his voice both raspy and distorted just like his peers. "Indeed," Artorias nodded. "How is your team doing?" "Ah, it should not be too long, Kane had long been awake looking at us from the back," Artorias smiled and waved in his direction, slightly startling him before he walked to his side. "Hmm, Kane?" They all instinctively raised their eyebrows and took nces at one another. "You''ve heard of me?" Moby could not help but ask. "We''ve heard both the rumours and the facts. Nevertheless, it shall not affect our judgement of you in any way, so fear not," The leader of the instructors confidently spoke, yet, Moby could sense something else brewing from underneath. However, before he had the chance to speak once more, the sound of grunting and moaning that had been slowly trickling into his ears exemplified as the rest of the team finally came to. "Where¡­ Where are we¡­" Kai mumbled, gently rubbing his sights. "Space¡­ Is that space?" Elizabeth took a knee looking at the ss window gazing out towards the outside with her half-dead eyes. "I can''t be the only one that feels sick right..." Regrit tightly held his stomach as Hikari could not help but chuckle at his expense. "Excellent! All of you are now awake! Apologies for the teleportation inconvenience, it is always like this when teleporting onto a moving object such as this ship, but I''m certain you will get ustomed to it soon enough." It was only now that they noticed what had truly happened. As if they were all pped in the face, they stopped talking and marched stiffly towards Moby and Artorias, of course not before bowing deeply to show their respect, droplets of sweat running down many of their faces. "Well mannered¡­" The middle instructor nodded before he continued what he had to say. "Seeing that you are all awake, allow us to introduce ourselves. I am known as Omega, the men to my sides you can simply call "examiner". You need not know our real names, our face, nor our voice. In fact, most of the time you would not even see us¡­ We will only aid you when absolutely necessary and we will keep you safe at all costs, we are all well-renowned soldiers in our own right. Our only job is to oversee you. And that we will do carefully, we will grade you fairly, no family influence will save you here. Is that all understood?" "YES SIR!" "Good! Now that that''s been taken care of I''ll begin by exining your mission. Currently, we are on a ship headed towards Koban. It will take us around 3 days to get there, even with our best warping tech it is too far. It is a that is close to the border between us and the shalkers. It is a home to an abilityless race of humanoid aliens known as the "Kobans". We have gone onto that not too long ago, so we know it''s rtively safe. Its inhabitants thest time were rather aggressive, but very, very weak so we were able to survive off our power alone. But, don''t be afraid, they won''t hurt you nor I. "Seeing this is fairly unknown and exists on the border, your team''s objective will be to both survey the area and report any changes from previous reports, and install a teleportation center to allow easy ess to the instead of flying 3 days to it every time. This will serve as an excellent base or hideout for the uing war that will inevitably go down. There is no room for failure, this might be a test but think of it as your first true mission, it''s that important. And, as such, we three will make it our duty to ensure sess even at the cost of your grades, because once again, there is absolutely no room for failure! UNDERSTOOD!?" Chapter 361 - Team Drama

Chapter 361: Team Drama

"YES SIR!" They spoke as one, their voice firm and their gaze determined as though they were prepared to plunge head-first into hell itself. "Excellent, now, do you have any questions about what your mission is? Now will be your only chance to ask¡­" "¡­ ¡­ " "Nothing?" He raised his forehead, a hint of confusion sprung upon his masked visage before it turned into a smirk. "Very well then¡­ This ship has all your essential needs to survive, we trust that you can manage yourself. There shall be no hand-holding from now on, you will be on your own. But! Remember well young recruits, we are always watching¡­" As he spoke, his distorted voice turned ghastly and sombre, and just as they arrived, they vanished in thin air, their bodies slowly turning transparent until they were no more. "WHA! Where did they go? How did they just disappear?" Regrit rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not imagining things. "They obviously have some advanced secret military item that allows them to do that. I thought it''d be pretty obvious, the only other exnation is that they all have the same ability, and god knows no way that''s real," Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. "You calling me an idiot or something!?" "Perhaps¡­" "I''ve always been taught to respect women, but maybe you''re the exception my mother always talked about¡­" "Do you think it''s really a good idea to start trouble with your healer? What would happen if you were to be injured, and, I don''t know I just couldn''t be bothered to heal you?" "Wh- you bitch! It''s not like I needed your help-" "Both of you calm yourselves! Had you not heard the examiners? Now is no time for fighting! Our exam had just started! Why are you two starting trouble already!?" Artorias''s annoyed voice echoed in their ears, startling them both. "Oh, leader Artorias, it was all yful banter, I would never really not heal him¡­" Elizabeth lightly chuckled. "Those words should have never even been uttered out of your mouth! There is no ce for such jokes. Learn the proper etiquette and respect needed to be a soldier! Now, you two apologize to one another and start anew, good teamwork is imperative for sess." As Moby watched the rather childish disy of arrogance and idiocy ahead, he could not help but sigh and turn his back. He could not be bothered to listen to their drivel, especially due to his growing headache. There seemed to be several couches scattered along the room''s edges, and Moby decided to reserve one to himself to rx. But, rxing was something he could not do, especially with two instructors to his side, stood near the edges of the couch. One of them was leaning on the wall, simply on his phone, scrolling with a wide, almost devious smile on his unmasked face, while the other one was diligently taking notes with his mask still worn. It was almost as though they were taking turns on who was watching, which did make sense considering humans required both sleep and rest. As for the leader, he was sat on another couch towards the corner of the room, his hands on his chin, his neck and back leaned forward as he watched like a hawk. For some reason, ever sinceing onto the ship, Moby had always been able to see the examiners as if they were always there, he had to keep an eye on his teammates to even know they were invisible and when to start pretending that he could no longer see them. He was not quite sure of the exnation nor did he know if he liked the fact he could do so. Being able to see them was rather awkward, they were all acting differently from how they presented themselves, the contrast in professionalism was striking. The fact that Moby could see all of this made them look far less intimidating. His headache was even further multiplied by looking over the mess ahead and Kai''s expression in the distance, so he stood up and walked away. "Big br- Moby... where are you going?" He heard Hikari speak from his side. "I''m gonna go exploring the area a bit," "Can-can I join you?" "Sure," "R-really?" "Well, yeah why not?" He casually turned around only to see her bright, nearly blinding face of light. "Yay!" She followed him as they left through the back door. There, they were met by a standard kitchen, it was of a rather modest size but no ingredients. Instead, there was a single ring on the metallic table, and when Moby looked inside he found there to be a wide array of food, not that he needed any since he always kept his own supply. Beyond the kitchen was a single room, entirely white, vast, and notably empty. He looked around to see if there were buttons to activate anything yet, despite his best efforts there seemed to be nothing there. The room must have been used for training of some sort. There were no rooms beyond this point, meaning there would be no bedrooms for sleep. "Hey, big brother¡­ Is¡­ Is there something bothering you?" "Hmm?" Moby was slightly taken aback by such an unexpected question. "No, why do you ask?" "Well¡­ Your¡­ Your face seems a bit distressed¡­ I don''t know¡­" "Oh, really?" Moby had always kept a tight grasp over his expression, had he been showing that face the entire time or had she seen through the cracks? "Yeah¡­ I just had a feeling¡­" "Well, if that''s the case then you might be right. Listen carefully to what I have to say." He looked around him slightly before refocusing his gaze on the confused girl below. "Artorias is not to be trusted. Don''t let your guard down around Artorias," "Really? Are you sure? But he seems so nice¡­ I thought you two got along pretty well¡­" "He seems like a fair, nice, yet strict ruler but I''m sure he''s hiding something. I think he has his eye on you in some way so try to stay natural. I am not here to give you orders or to force you to think a certain way, I just want to give you advice, it is up to you whether or not you will take it¡­" Moby shook his head and walked back towards the door, leaving the still-thinking Hikari behind. "Don''t worry big brother! You''ve never once let me down! I''ll trust you!" She followed him, making him smile as he exited the door and headed back towards where he began. When he entered the room, he witnessed a deadly silent sight he did not expect. The examiners were still exactly the same, Artorias was isted, his hands behind his back as he stared out into the deep expanses of space, Regrit was in the corner with a clearly bothered expression he failed to suppress while Kai seemed to be discussing with Elizabeth, whispering in a voice that even Moby could not hear. It seemed like he had missed something important, but he let his imagination fill in the nks fairly urately if he had to assume. There were two days until they were scheduled to reach their destination, quite a long time to burn, so he decided to head to the couch to train and meditate, Hikari following him to do the same. But, before he even had the chance to close his eyes, he heard a voice that kept him in reality. "Hey, Kane¡­ Can you believe this bitch?" Regrit whispered and leaned his hands on the wall aggressively. "Pf¡­" Moby almost cracked upughing. "Huh? What is it?" "Oh nothing¡­ So, did you two apologize?" Moby calmed his nerves as he witnessed the examiner that was once there swerve Regrit''s hand and walk to the other side of the room with pure relief on his face. "Well, yes, we did, but I can tell it wasn''t genuine from either side. Anyways, that Elizabeth chick is getting on my nerves, she''s even flirting with Kai or something. I''m just doing this to get good grades. This team is a lot worse than I thought, it''s hard to believe, but you two might actually be the best people here." "That is all your opinion, I am in favour of everyone here. Liking one another is essential for teamwork," "You''re sounding too much like Artorias... You can''t be serious right?" "Nope, I''mpletely serious, you should try to do the same." "Well, fuck that! If you''re such an open and progressive guy, why don''t you go make-up with Kai right now? I heard that you two had some pretty major beef right?" "Sure! Why not! I''ll take you up on that offer!" Moby boldly smiled and strode over towards Kai and Elizabeth with a single thought on his mind. He felt his annoyance well up inside him like a volcano, only for it to be subsided with a few deep breaths. ''Whispering will do no good! What part of we''re being watched and assessed at all times does this man not understand!?'' Chapter 362 - Team Drama (2)

Chapter 362: Team Drama (2)

"Hey guys, everything went so fast that I didn''t have any time to say hello. Hope everything is going well," Moby waved and smiled brightly at the two talking figures ahead, making them turn around to face him. "Oh hey! I was just gonna go and say hi too! But, then HE came to talk to you and I suddenly lost the urge to do so when I saw who approached you¡­" Elizabeth was the one to speak, smiling brightly before her expression turned intoplete disgust. It was quite odd for Moby, he did not expect to be treated in such a way. Itpletely shattered any previous expectations. "Oh, that''s nice of you to do. But, I thought you two had made up and apologized." "Well, yeah¡­ I mean, it was only words but I''ll try to put up with him for the sake of the mission¡­" "I see¡­ That''s good to hear. So¡­ I''ve seen you two talking pretty often ever since we were paired up. Why is that?" "Oh yeah, you''re an orphan so I guess you don''t understand," She lightly chuckled, leading to a slight change of expression from Moby. "Oh no! It''s not like that! That came out wrong!" She panicked, slightly flustered. "We''re old family friends, that''s how most prestigious people meet nowadays¡­ But, in all my times visiting the Fatebringer estate, I''ve never once heard of, seen, or met Regrit Oswald¡­ I''m not sure how Kai could put up with such a brother every day¡­" "Oh, he''s not that bad once you get to know him. I think he has a lot bottled up and is pretty misunderstood," "I agree with Kane here¡­ Don''t think bad of him yet, he''s a very capable person when ites down to it¡­" Kai finally spoke, agreeing to Moby''s words. "I Well, I''ll take note of that¡­" Elizabeth inwardly nodded, deep in thought. "Well, if you don''t mind, now it''s my turn to ask questions. "Kane, I know you don''t truly try in ss. I''ve heard that you were able to stand up to a shalkermander! Even the most powerful soldiers could only dream of such a thing! Is that really true?" "Well, yeah. But, it was all due to my inner spirit granting me extra power." "Ahhh, I see! So, how strong are you now?" "Weaker, but still pretty strong. I''m a fair amount stronger than Kai over there. We fought on the first few days of school and I pretty easily beat him¡­" Moby smiled and panned a look over at Kai. "Wait, Kai, is that true?" Elizabeth jumped onto Moby''s words and left Kai sweating and struggling for something to say. "Ummm¡­ Well, yes¡­ He did beat me¡­ BUT! That was before my secret training! It should be a much different story now!" He seemed genuinely annoyed, but he still managed to find a way to gloat. "Ooo! Such ims! But, if I could bet money I''d bet on Kane to win! I would love to see you two settle your differences. But, there is no such time for quarrel during this exam." "Yeah, hope there''s no hard feelings between us Kai," Moby smiled and went for a handshake, which Kai epted not too long after. "After we''re done with this, I don''t mind a rematch¡­" He smiled, tightly gripping Moby''s hands. "Challenge epted!" Moby''s smirk grew wider, that along with his iron grip that caught Kai off guard. "Anyways, I''m gonna go meditate in the corner once again. Hope I didn''t interrupt too much of your time," He casually let go of Kai''s beating red hands and waved them off. "Goodbye Kane! It''s been really nice talking to you!" Elizabeth waved him off as well, her face was unusually bright and cheery, but Moby''s gaze focused not on her, but at the nk-faced man behind her. He was d he went there to talk. Of course, it waspletely possible that the girl was putting on an act to deceive the examiners, the same could be said about Kai. However, Moby was confident in his ability to draw out their true selves, and he felt like he had done so very effectively. His grin grew even wider as he walked towards another couch to train, that along with a subtle chuckle. With his eyes closed, he sat down and began to meditate, detaching his focus from the reality that surrounded him as he concentrated on his energy within. But, that feeling was not very longsted as he was suddenly jolted and snapped back to reality by an aggressive shake on his shoulder. "So, how did it go? Did you make up with him?" He opened his eyes only to be met by a curious-faced Regrit. "Yeah, it went fairly well," "So, you guys friends now or something?" "Not exactly¡­" "So, what are you then?" "Can you please just leave me alone for a bit? Can''t you see that I''m in the middle of training?" "Fine! Be that way!" ************************************************************* "Kane¡­" "Kane¡­ Kane¡­." "Kane¡­ Kane¡­ Kane¡­" Moby suddenly heard a voice creep up in his subconscious, getting ever so clearer like a spider slowly creeping up to his face until it suddenly bit down directly in front of his eyes. "KANE!!" "Wow, yeah yeah! I''m awake! What is it!?" He suddenly opened his eyes only to witness his fully armoured teammates who bore weapons in hand, that along with a mixture of seriousness and distress. "Hey¡­ What''s going on¡­" Moby slowly stretched his body and rubbed his eyes. "We''re here! You''ve been asleep for nearly three days¡­" He heard a female voice from a source unknown. "Huh¡­ wait¡­ REALLY!?" Moby''s previously dull eyes expanded as he shot out of his seat. "It is indeed as miss Elizabeth spoke, we''re approximately going tond in a few minutes, you have yet to consume a single thing for days. I suggest you take this time to feed yourself¡­ I hope your training was fruitful, we will certainly be needing you at your best during this mission." Artorias spoke softly as though he wasforting a sleeping child. Moby indeed had not eaten in a very long time, yet he felt no hunger due to his demonic body. However, in order to appear human, eating was something he had to do, but it was something he did very quickly as he rushed over towards the kitchen and came out fully armoured and prepared not too long after, his katana hung around his waist. "Alright, now I''m ready¡­ Artorias? Are you there?" Moby looked at his nk visage with a hint of confusion. "Huh, oh! Oh yes! I''m happy to hear! We had justnded a few seconds ago," He finally spoke. ''Wait really!?'' Moby inwardly thought to himself. He did not feel anything, it was exactly as if he were on solid ground the entire time. He had never once been on a spaceship before, but never did he imagine thatnding would be so smooth and unnoticeable. It was to the point where Moby was prepared to call his bluff, but when he peered over towards the ss panel that once showed a view of the deep expanses of space, it was now revealing a contrasting colour of pure white, swirling and dancing in the air as though it was fog, a glimpse of what there was toe. That was when suddenly, a robotic, female voice filled their ears,ing out of every wall of the room omnidirectionally. [ Landing sessful. Wee to Koban, your mission will nowmence. Near the exit of the ship, you will find two items. One will be an item for each of you to wear, it is a trantor you will strap around your waist to interpret the Koban Language. The second will be a storage ring that houses all of the equipment needed to set up a teleportation te to earth along with detailed instructions on how to do so. We hope you have had a safe journey thus far and we wish for your sess and safe return. ] Abruptly the voice arrived, and such did it disappear. The group did not hesitate to do as they were instructed. All of the items they required were subsequently revealed through an expanding wall adjacent to the door, and everyone grabbed what they needed, Artorias grabbing the ring that housed all of the teleporter instructions before he shifted his head towards therge, visible red button to open the door. And, as head of the group, he took the lead, not before looking back towards his eager teammates as he pressed the button and revealed the location of their new home for the foreseeable future, and where their mission will lie. Chapter 363 - Frozen World

Chapter 363: Frozen World

Suddenly, a metallic fragment from the ship''s walls split open from the uniform structure it once was, revealing white smoke particles from the slight cracks it now had. And, like a closed castle bridge descending upon a flowing moat, the separated chunk of the wall expanded out and dropped towards the ground with an audible thud, unveiling what lied ahead with a furious wind that aggressively struck their visage. Yet, instead of covering their faces, they took their first steps forward, moving from the hard metal of the ship toward the pale, fluffy ground of the outside world, particles of white softly striking their face showering them gently from up above. The sky was a colour so familiar yet foreign to their eyes, a bright, icy blue that possessed a certain charm to its fuzzy, cloudy nature. The ground itself was covered in a nket of white coating a mountainous and rocky terrain. The trees were all dead bar a few exceptions, they looked simr to those found on earth, but their swirly nature and light blue tree bark set them apart. Past the rugged terrain, raging wind and the thick fog aheadid a frozen waterfall overlooking a downwards slope, one that held a thick,rge glowing sign that made itself known within the storm, like a beacon drawing travellers near. They were all speechless, mesmerized by the allure of something that they should have found mundane. What was in front of them seemed like something they would find on earth. It was a mountainous snowstorm. However, it was unlike anything they could find at home. No, it was far too mystical, almost as though magic was thick and fresh in the air. "Wow¡­ This ce is¡­ Damn¡­ If only it wasn''t so foggy¡­" Regrit was the first to open his mouth as he marvelled at the new world ahead. "Or cold¡­" Hikari softly whispered from the side. Her armour did seem a fair amount lighter than that of her peers. "Ah! Oh¡­ Ummm¡­ Is that better Hikari?" Regrit raised his hands, slight flickers and sparks escaping his fingertips before it turned into a small me that he brought closer to her shivering body. "Y-yes¡­ Thank you very much¡­" She beamed radiantly in his direction. "N-no problem¡­" "Don''t worry young Hikari, we shall find a ce to stay out of this snowstorm. A home where we can sleep and rest on this journey will be our first priority. I do not believe that our ship has more fuel, and if our journey leads us far from our destination, there will be no room for us to backtrack here for regr rest." Artorias looked back and smiled brightly towards the shivering Hikari, making her smile back at his kindness only to go nk and shake her head a split secondter. "Anyways, where exactly are we supposed to go? Can we just set up the teleporter here and get things over with?" Elizabeth abruptlymented. "Sadly not, it is not so easy mistress Eleonora. The where we reside is on the very edge of our teleporting capabilities. In order to properly set up a hub of teleportation, we must first reach the absolute highest peak of this." "Huh? And where exactly is that? This is probably huge! Are we really gonna scour this entire block of ice looking for the highest peak?" Kai interjected. "Well, knowing the school systems, we must not be too far away from the highest peak analyzed through the ship''s sensors. How close exactly I too have no idea." Artorias responded. "Let''s just go to the glowing sign over there, that''s the only clue we have. The sign will probably lead to some sort of civilization. The instructors told us that the locals aren''t hostile, so, with these trantion devices, we could probably just ask them where the highest peak of the is. Plus, it would be good if we could set up a base of operations there for Hikari to rest." Moby finally spoke, his hands ced firmly on his lips. "Precisely what I was thinking! Excellent analysis Kane! Let us move forward!" Artorias nodded and pointed his de towards the glowing sign ahead. He led the way through the unforgiving tundra, going at a respectable pace in order to survive the less than pleasant terrain. However, they were not even a quarter of the way to the sign when a sudden rumbling was heard from the ground underneath them¡­ "Hey¡­ What''s that sound?" Regrit asked. "Not sure, but get out quick!!" Moby yelled, the rumbling getting ever louder until the very ground beneath their feet began to crumble. They all panicked and instinctively jumped to safety. "Hahaha! Not bad!" It was fairly, easy, theyfortably dodged certain doom. But, their happy nature turnedpletely dire when they looked back towards where they once were, only to be met by a massive abyss that seemed to have no bottom, that along with a certain figure missing in the distance. "Well¡­ There goes our ship¡­ That avnche just dumped it in the hole... No looking back now¡­ And it''s all because this gentleman right here and his little princess thought it would be a good idea to bring so much sudden heat to a clearly unstable, unknown environment¡­" Elizabeth almost felt like crying, she bore no anger, but instead an unparalleled disappointment and a feeling of forlorn. "Hey stop being so pissy! There was no fuel on that ship anyways, it was pretty much useless! And besides, It might not have been my fault! If you knew it was so bad why didn''t you speak out about it!?" "I know it''s your fault because it was clear as day! And, it was only the examiners that told us that the fuel was empty, for all we know they had some extra! Now, our only way out of here is toplete our mission! And I didn''t speak out about it because I was told that you weren''t that bad and that I should put at least some trust in you! God!" "SILENCE! BOTH OF YOU!!" Artorias''s roar pierced deeply into their hearts, leaving them with no words. "Had I not warned you to not quarrel amongst yourselves like children! We are on a mission! We know not of what truly transpired, even if it were Regrit''s fault, he was doing it all to help a fellow team member! For all we knew, this was all a nned event by the examiners so they could pit us against each other and evaluate us as a team! If that were the case, from how it appears, we had failed that initial test! Take this as a final warning! We have no room for such petty drama, focus on the mission at hand! I have a bad feeling about what lies ahead¡­ It is the unknown¡­ There is a certain feeling in the air¡­ Like death lies around every corner¡­ Any slip-up could be the difference between sess and certain failure¡­ Remember that very well..." Chapter 364 - Frozen World (2)

Chapter 364: Frozen World (2)

The group moved forward, yet the air that hovered above their faces was no longer as it was before. It was a mixture of odd emotions. Their pace slowed down significantly and they made sure to examine every direction. Artorias''s words had truly resonated with them. He seemed like a wise man. The more they pondered over his words the more that the realization and possibility dawned on them. What he spoke could have very well been the truth, after all, many things pointed towards it. Regrit had stopped heating Hikari due to the chances of another problem, which left her shivering and struggling to keep up with the rtively slow pace of the group. Regrit had even given her a nket from his storage ring, but that seemed to make little to no difference other than to limit her movements. Still, it did not take them too long to reach the glowing sign that began to lose its light when they drew near.? It was one taller and thicker than they expected, made out of that same blue wood seen all around them. The sign itself was in the shape of an arrow, the tip pointing towards the downwards slope ahead. Despite the tattered state of the material, the words etched onto it were more than readable, in some ways it could be argued that it was well maintained. When they reached it, Artorias wasted no time tranting the unknown words. "The city of Vestora," was what it read. Indeed, as expected, it was pointing to civilization, one that lied beneath that downwards slope and thick, raging fog. It was the only way conceivable for them to head, and Artorias wasted no time taking the lead as he walked onto the now slippery terrain. They were even more cautious than before walking on this unstable ground. The wind was picking up and any wrong move would send them hurtling down the mountain. The journey felt like it was taking forever, the sign from above had long disappeared in the fog and Hikari was on the verge of freezing. Even still, despite her anguish, she refused Regrit''s offers for help as to not be a possible hindrance to the team. However, eventually, she could endure no longer¡­ Her knees felt like they were frozen ready to crack, and in a sudden wave of pain, her legs gave out, and her barely conscious body slid down the mountain as her teammates shuddered and watched in shock. "HIKARI! Shit!! I knew she wasn''t okay!" Regrit roared, and without a moment of hesitation, he jumped and gave up his footing in order to slide down behind her. "You idiot! Don''t be so reckless!" Moby''s voice followed suit as he as well took the plunge, a hint of concern on his face. Their teammates were still lost for words. They were not as enthusiastic jumping down an unknown mountain of fog, all they could do was watch unmovingly. But, that was when Artorias smiled and spoke. "Onwards! Let us follow suit!" Artorias announced, using his de to surf down the mountain like a snowboard. "I''ming too!" "WHA-" This gave Elizabeth the motivation to do the same, leaving a still hesitant Kai behind who eventually dived down as to not be the only one left. Other than the thick, howling wind blowing on their faces, there was not much danger down the much quicker slippery path. Had it not been for the state of their teammates, they may have even considered it fun. The further they went down, the more the fog began to subside until at one point, small triangles were seen in the distance getting ever sorger until the shadow of an entire city came into view. However, none would have enough time to fully inspect the rapidly elerating figure until suddenly... *CRASH* "Ow¡­ Hikari¡­ Hikari where are you!?" Regrit was the first one to speak, his head and vision shaken up from his head first impact to the point that everyone in front of him was but a blur. << Isveeli Arvin! Isveeli poulpa nier! >> A high-pitched, female-sounding voice suddenly entered his ears. "Hikari¡­" *BEEP* << Pass me the ball Arvin! Come I''ll definitely catch it! >> "Huh¡­" Regrit mumbled, the iprehensible voices he once heard now in a tongue he understood yet sounding the exact same. He rubbed his blurry eyes that only saw a mess of white and blue, until that mess began to slowly take shape into reality. << I caught it! I caught it! Yipee!!" >> "Wha¡­" His previously dull-looking eyes grew wide, and his vision immediately shifted towards where he heard that voice. There, he witnessed a small little humanoid girl, her skin whiter than the purest snow. Her wavy hair was ashen blue and fell down towards the center of her back, curling slightly at its ends. Her aqua dress was thin as paper and appeared more like tattered rags, she did not even wear any shoes as her feet were exposed to the harsh, freezing fluffy snow. Yet, despite that, when she turned around, his perspectivepletely changed. Despite her attire, her eyes shined like the brightest of stars, the light blue sclera encircling her yellow pupils appearing more like an entrancing sea surrounding an ind of gold, and her smile could cheer up even the most depressed of men as she jumped around and celebrated, holding a white ball in her hands and jumping up and down. << Way to go! That was awesome! >> << Yes yes! Really awesome! Throw at me next! Me next! >> Around her were many other children that bore her exact same golden-eyed pale-skinned appearance ying with her. But, his vision did notst on her for too long, instead, it shifted towards the city. It was one that was ratherrge, yet it bore absolutely no outer wall. Most of the locals wore clothing not too different from the children. They did what he would expect of normal vigers, conversing with one another, some working the fields, cleaning, setting up shop. However, what was something that took himpletely off guard was how every single person in the city with no exceptions bore a smile not too dissimr from that of the innocent children. It was unlike anything he had ever seen in his entire life, it almost did not feel real, like a utopia that only existed in dreams. << Oh! Mama! Papa! We have visitors! We have visitors! >> Despite everything in front of him, Regrit stood motionless, that was until another crashing sound struck his ears, snapping him out of his daze. "Hey! Regrit! What the hell are you doing? Where is Hikari!?" Moby spoke, gazing around at his new environment with a look of bewilderment. "Hikari¡­ Hikari¡­ ¡­ HIKARI!? HIKARI YOU HEAR ME?" He panicked, scouring around the hills of snow until he felt something hard hit his hands from underneath a pile of snow, pulling it out only to be met with a ghostly Hikari, her skin pale as ice. Yet, she still breathed and was fully conscious. "Hikari!" Regrit did not hesitate to light a me in his right hand as he held her up with his left, heating her up all he could. It did not take too long for her to finally open her eyes and speak with a nk-faced expression. "Re-Regrit¡­ Is¡­ Is that you?" "Right! it''s me! Regrit! Are you okay?" "Yes¡­ *cough* *cough* I''m okay¡­ Can you please let me down¡­" "No! I can''t do that!" "I SAID LET ME DOWN, YOU IDIOT! I''M FINE NOW!" She suddenly screamed, and only then did he notice her pitch-ck hair that flowed down her back, making him panic and set the annoyed Yami down. "Hey! *Fefefefefe* Who told you to turn your fire off! Keep that up!" "Yes ma''am!" Yami shivered and neared Regrit, and only near his mes did she finally feel somewhatfortable. "I see all is going well down here¡­" Artorias finally arrived surfing elegantly down the hill, Elizabeth right behind him, Kai appearing not too far afterwards. "Yeah, all is well¡­ But, what''s up with those guys¡­" Moby took a look over towards the gathered vigers all vividly beaming towards them. "That¡­ That¡­" Artorias was almost lost for words looking at them, which greatly confused Moby. It was indeed an odd sightseeing so many positive faces, especiallypared to what would be found on earth, but he did not find that it would warrant such a reaction. Chapter 365 - Jolly Town

Chapter 365: Jolly Town

Out of the conversing crowd of mysterious, humanoid men, women and children appeared a single man, the age certainly showing upon his face. As soon as he made his presence known, they all turned silent, yet the smiles on their faces persisted nheless. His pale face was riddled with wrinkles, his hair was non-existent, but he harboured no animosity as he walked towards them with a stick in hand to keep his bnce. << Ho ho! Visitors! We had not had visitors in many years. I am Lowrid, the elder of this city of Vestora. What brings you young travellers to thisnd? >> He smiled and nodded his head, a gesture of kindness they did not expect from a man of such a high status, all towards strange, foreign entities. But, despite the elder''s gentle tone, Artorias did not react, still unmoving with his mouth slightly open trying to process something unknown. Thus, it was up to Moby to take the mantle of leadership and address the elder in his stead. "Greeting elder Lowrid, we havee to do no harm; we hope for peace. My fellowpanions and I are on a mission you see. We are not from thisnd¡­ We are humans from the "Earth,". If it is not too much trouble, would it be possible if we ask for your aid on this mission? If payment is required you need not worry." << Oh! Such a well-spoken young man! It would be a great pleasure working with you! Fear not, we need no payment, >> His tender, shaky smile expanded. "You have my gratitude elder, same for you vigers," Moby bowed his head, and his teammates from behind did the same, all but Artorias. However, when Yami tried to do the same, she once again crumbled on the ground out of weakness, even despite Regrit''s heating mes. "Umm¡­ Elder¡­ If its is not too much to ask, would it be possible for a ce to stay? Myrade is not used to the climate of this," Moby bowed his head lower as he asked for a favour he did not expect to be epted. << Of course! Meryl would love to have new visitors! You can visit my own home! You can be my special guest! We can discuss there all you like about this mission of yours! How does that sound? >> "That¡­ That would be truly an honour¡­ Thank you so much for all of this!" << Very well! Then follow me! Be sure to give them a proper greeting everyone! >> << Yes Elder! >> The children cheered, jumping up and down. The elder turned his back and slowly walked into the city streets, and the smiling citizens seemed to have mostly gone back to their normal lives. Moby took the first step into following the old alien, but he then noticed that Artorias was still unmoving, almost like he was in a trance. Moby himself was still taking many things in, especially the words of that man. He could not believe his ears, it was too odd of an urrence to even be possible. It was to the point that he doubted the true kindness of this man. It had to be a trap of some sort¡­ It had to be¡­ Was that why Artorias was acting in such a way? "Artorias¡­ Artorias¡­ Artorias we are going to take shelter¡­ Hey, are you there? Artorias?" "HUH! huh... Oh¡­ Yes¡­ yes yes yes yes¡­ I''m quite alright¡­ no need to worry¡­ I''m here..." His face was sweating, as though he had seen some sort of ghost, in all his time at school, Moby had never seen Artorias act even close to such a way. "Are you okay?" "I said yes, I''m quite alright! Let us move onwards, don''t bother yourself with my ordeals¡­" He shook his head and tried to regain hisposure as he stared at the back of the elder in the distance, finally taking his first steps to follow him through the city. As they walked, they noticed many things, some things simply made clearer. It was and that was certainly not very advanced, primitive and rather medieval in nature. Most of the houses were made of wood and very few were constructed of stone. The fog existed, yet not to the degree of the mountains they were once traversing, the streets were clear, that along with the daily lives of the happy, smiling citizens. But, they could not inspect the city for too long, their attention was taken away by something else¡­ A horde of children surrounding them. << Miss¡­ Why are you sad? No need to be sad! Smile! Smile! >> << Yes yes! Smile! >> "Okay yes¡­ I''ll try that¡­" Elizabeth chuckled and beamed, making the children cheer. << Miss, are you cold? >> "I''m okay! I''m not like you! Stop treating me like a little *ACHEW*" << WOW!! This little grumpy girl sneezed on me! >> << Alien sneezing! How does it taste? How does it feel? >> << Little miss! Can you do me next? I want to try it! >> "No! Of course not!" << A¡­ But that''s okay! Just learn to smile more too okay? It''s unhealthy being so gloomy! >> "I can do whatever I want kid¡­" << Do you want this ring? Will this make you happy? My mother gave it to me for Lorondellst month. It''s made out of really pretty gems! >> "I mean, it looks nice, but I''m not really into taking things away from children." << OOO OOO! Then how about this dagger! I made it myself! It''s very very sharp! Want me to show you? >> "No no, that''s totally fine," "Okie dokie!" << Hello, are you the leader? Your armour is cool! Can I y with your sword? >> A little boy talked to Artorias, making him look down at him with a gaping stare that would have torn apart the hearts of the weak like a pack of hyenas preying upon an unsuspecting victim. It was subtle yet not so subtle,pletely directed at the single boy, yet it was something that Moby could just barely sense amidst the horde of children surrounding him as well. "Get out of my sights boy¡­ I have no time for such games¡­" << Oh¡­ So no? alright! I''ll ask this other man here! >> He looked over at Kai, his smilepletely unwavering. Although the walk through the city was only a few minutes long, to them, it felt more like hours of listening to the children''s drivel on and on and on. That was when they reached the foot of a massive cathedral made of stone, that along with a subtle yet revolting smell emanating from that direction. It stood tall and proud, by far the grandest structure in the entire city. The ss panels possessed several pictures and markings engraved on them, yet it was all unclear due to the uncleaned frost. In front of therge wooden doors of that building was a single, rather peculiar statue of a man. Like the pannels, his features were unclear, and the structure began to show its age. Nothing was particrly good about the statue, yet still, it stood out even amidst all of the vigers surrounding it that subsequently turned and waved as they walked past them. << Okay children, you have to go now. I have important business with these strangers! Go out and y, >> The elder turned around and waved off the enthusiastic kids, making them nod in understanding. << Okay elder! Bye bye! Bye bye to you too strangers! I hope you cane out and y with us soon! >> Before they even knew it, they had finally reached the home of the elder. It was not as big as they expected, yet it was better than most houses they saw on the streets. It was made of stone, and it would be considered a fairly modest townhouse if it were to be rebuilt on earth. He did not hesitate to open the door, no key was needed. And, as it slowly revealed whatid within, a sudden, high-pitched voice escaped the door. << Grandpa''s here! Grandpa''s here! Mommy! Grandpa''s here! >> << Oh my dear Meryl, how I''ve missed you! >> A little girl jumped into the elder''s arms as he passionately embraced her. << Oh, father, you''re here already? Pleasee in! I''ve made dinner! >> A voice came from further within. << Yes yes sweetie! I''ming! >> << Who are those behind you grandpa? >> << Oh, these are visitors from another world! Why don''t you go meet them? >> << Okay! Thank you so much, grandpa! You''re the best! >> She jumped and celebrated before the elder turned around to look at the group of strangers. << Don''t be scared, pleasee in! My daughter''s cooking is delicious! I''m certain it will be to your liking, then we can discuss at our own pace... >> Chapter 366 - Innocent Fun

Chapter 366: Innocent Fun

<< So, what do you kids need from me? Ask me anything you like? >> The elder smiled and sat down at the crowded dinner table where all of team Artorias rested, all but one short girl who was sitting firmly at the firece heating herself up, she and a peculiar, beaming ashen-purple haired child. They had long eaten dinner already, and it was finally time to discuss. Raveena, the rather gorgeous daughter of the elder had long left them in private, after they were done dining together of course. They were all hesitant about eating the food, it was not that it looked like an inedible sludge, in fact, it looked very delectable. However, what worried them was the possibility of poison. But, after checking it over with the poison detector the school had given them, they found it to be more than edible. Indeed, the food was in fact delicious. Unlike the outside world, the house itself was rather warm. The construction did not look very insting, which was a surprise yet not somethingpletely unbelievable. "Elder, I would like to thank you once again for your hospitality." Artorias lowered his head to the smiling elder. << Fear not my child, there is no need to thank me. I''m more than happy to help, just ask me anything you need and I will answer to the best of my abilities¡­ >> His gaze looked over towards the candle in the middle of the table before it shifted towards the flickering firece where his granddaughter and the freezing Hikari were ying. << Hey! Alien! Want to y rock paper scissors? >> "Oh how fun! I''d be happy to y with you cutie!" Moby could also not help but chuckle, he had not seen Hikari have such genuine fun in a very long time. Her innocence was mirrored very well in that child. "Elder, we would like to ask you¡­ Are you aware of where lies the highest peak on this?" << The Highest peak you say¡­ Well, that is a question that is quite simple to answer! Without a doubt, the highest peak on this lies at lord''s peak, not too far away from here where Vordran castle resides¡­ >> "Vordran castle?" << Yes, it is the home where the almighty lord of thisnd resides. He hade here very long ago. There are many different cities and tribes that reside all around this, before his arrival, we were nothing but depressed, waringnds who knew nothing of joy. But, after he came, he enlightened us all! We had never been happier! For eons, we had been under his rule, and not once were we ungrateful! >> "Wait¡­ Is that the reason for that massive cathedral? Was that lord of yours the man in the statue?" << Indeed, that statue was built many, many moons ago and has stuck with us for many more, ever since his highness blessed ournds. Right now it is not the same as it was before. But, reconstruction is not something we are willing to do, for that would be a sin against his majesty the king. >> "You keep referring to this king of yours as "king," or "his majesty," does he not have a name?" << He has a name, yet it is a name that he had never uttered to us. Legend say that he is an alien as well, not native to this frozen of ours. Not once has he ever left his castle, and only the very privileged few would be permitted to enter his domain. >> There was a moment of pause as Artorias took time to ponder over the elder''s words, but that was when the little granddaughter of his approached him jumping up and down almost as though she was over-dosing on sugar. << Grandpa Grandpa! Can I go out to y! Pretty please? >> << Ho ho! Of course, you can my little dear! When have I ever said no? >> << You never said no! That''s why grandpa is the best! >> << Aww¡­ That warms my heart! >> << Okay grandpa! I''m leaving then! Bye bye! Miss Hikari! Do you want to join me? >> "I''m really sorry little one, but I need to stay here with the rest of my team¡­" << Okay! Don''t worry! Bye bye to you too! >> "Bye Meryl! Have fun honey bun!" Hikari waved her off as she saw her run out the door, closing it as she left. "Elder, where is she going to y?" Hikari turned around and asked her first question ever since they arrived. << Oh! I''m not sure! But, if I had to guess, I think she''s going to y with her friends at the cathedral! There is a very big slide in the garden that the kids always like to y on. It''s still not finished rising¡­ One day it will grow far beyond its current state! >> "Oh! That sounds really fun! I hope she enjoys herself!" << Oh, don''t worry, she always enjoys herself¡­ Every moment of the day¡­ >> "Elder," Artorias once again spoke, not after taking a heavy breath, almost like it was out of frustration. "You im that only the chosen few can be granted audience of this nameless king. Our mission requires us to get to the top of this. Is there a way we could be granted an audience?" <> "Huh? How can you be so sure? He''s the almighty lord! How would we be so easily epted by simply knocking on his door and asking nicely? This isn''t some children''s fairytale. If that''s the case then why don''t all of you just go visit the king whenever you want?" << We have too much reverence for our king to visit him with no summons. I am 100% certain he will be interested in your mission and hear your plea! Please have faith in me, young adventurers! >> "DO YOU THINK WE ARE JUST A BUNCH OF FOOLS!?" Artorias snapped, mming his hands on the table in a fit of rage, splitting it all in two. << Oh, I apologize for the mess, I''ll call over Raveena to clean it up! >> His smile grew even brighter. "WHY DO YOU KEEP SMILING! IS IT WHAT I THINK IT IS!! THIS IS HERESY! HOW DID THE HEATHENS EVEN DO THIS!?!?" "Artorias calm down! What''s gotten into you?" Elizabeth tried to suppress Artorias''s sudden rage, however, it was all to no avail. "Let go of me now!!" << What''s the matter, young traveller? Had I said something wrong? Please be positive! Smile! There is no need for sadness! Please! What can I do for you? What would make you happy? Please let me know and I''ll definitely do it! >> "Act like a normal person! Or is this truly the work of heretics? Are you doing this willingly or are you under influence? Shall you need to be condemned or freed!?" << Act normal¡­ Controlled? I am acting normal you see! Does your have people frowning all the time? Depressed and negative? Is that the norm for you people? If that will make you happy! I shall try my best to emte that for you! ¡­ ¡­ How does this look? >> He put on the worst fake frown conceivable, one twitchy and very unstable. That was when suddenly, the front door to the house was sprung wide open, allowing the howling wind to enter. And, from the door entered Meryl, one of her hands leaning back as though she was dragging something, something with a clear, distinct, foul stench. << I''m back grandpa! >> She spoke in an upbeat tone, unknown stains of blue on her mouth. << Oh! My little sweetie! You''re back already? How was it? >> << Fun! Very fun! >> She nodded vigorously. << But, why are you frowning grandpa? What is making you so sad? >> << Oh! Fear not my dear Meryl! I am simply pretending to do so for our cherished guests! >> << Oooohhh!! Okay! Fun! >> She chuckled at her grandpa''s goofy face. << Anyways my little dear, what is that you are dragging behind you? >> << Oh¡­ This? I came back to ask you about this¡­ >> Her smile grewrger as she looked back at what she had in hand, as she slowly dragged it in front of her bare, blue-stained feet. And, as soon as what she had came into full view, their dull eyes grew wide, and their pupils dted to the size of pees, especially Hikari who could not help but watch in horror. In her hand was something deformed, a monstrosity fleeting on the precipice of beyond recognition. It was a corpse¡­ One of a child, dyed in blue from head to toe, blood dripping out of every pore. The body itself had various members missing¡­ Missing with clear bite marks left on each missing limb, almost as if entire chunks were bitten off, leaving a mangled mess that showed visible bone. The face itself was not left out either¡­ Itcked no eyes, ears, mouth, and barely any skin. It was almost as if that was the main course. Yet, despite the clear, repugnant disfigurement, part of them knew exactly who it was, yet did not want to believe it¡­ However, their suspicions were soon after confirmed by the small little girl herself. << This is Beavle! He had alien slimy stuff on him! Me and my friends really wanted a taste so he was d to let us have it! But, now the fun is over, what should I do with the rest of him? >> << Ho ho! My little granddaughter! You really did have some fun, didn''t you? How did it taste? >> << Delicious! >> She licked the lingering blood from her mouth. << I''m happy to hear! You can put his remains on top of the slide to make it even taller! I''m certain he would love to have his dead body serve even more fun to all of you! One day, the slide will be so tall that you will be able to see the king''s castle past the clouds! >> Chapter 367 - Experiments

Chapter 367: Experiments

"Hey! Artorias! Wait up! What''s with the rush!" Kai tried to follow his leader as he suddenly stormed out of the room in a clear fit of rage. "Stay out of my way! I know what must be done!" His hands were sped firmly into a fist to the point that his hands began bleeding and his keen, glowing eyes were fixated solely on the path ahead where it was said that this mountain ¡ª Lord''s Peak ¡ª lied. The rest of the team were still lost for words, but suddenly snapped to reality and followed. Hikari had been given extrayers of clothing from the elder so the cold was not as much of a hindrance, but what did hinder her was the voice of the little girl calling her from behind as she walked by her and the half-eaten dead corpse she was dragging. << Hey! Little alien girl! Want toe and y with us on the slide? It''s really really really fun! >> They all had different emotions, but shock and surprise was something they all had inmon. In the end, Moby was the only man left standing in the house, seemingly more perplexed than all of them as he came to many realizations, but no evidence to prove them. He now had other priorities as he too left the room in haste, not batting an eye. << Ho ho! Young travellers! I hope you good luck on your journey! >> Moby mmed the door behind him as he entered back into the frozen world, looking all around him with an odd sense of nostalgia brewing in his guts, walking around and observing the locals. << Can I please buy 2 bs of meat? >> << Why certainly! That will be 5 Flora, >> << I don''t have enough money, can I have it for free? >> << Of course! Of course! Here! >> He looked around and saw an exchange between the vigers, turning around only to see something not too dissimr, but now it was a group of children instead. << Oo! You ran into me! Can I hit you back? Mommy always told me! An eye for an eye! >> << Okay! >> << Oo! Now you hit me! So do I hit you back? Can I take your eye like your mommy said? >> << Mhm! I think so! Go ahead! >> The more he looked around, the more his suspicions were being cleared¡­ And as he walked, he eventually reached that same cathedral he witnessed when first arriving, and moving further in the back the garden was seen, that along with the source of that revolting smell. There he witnessed a mountain unlike any other, piles and piles of dead corpses, limbs, and skeletons stacked on top of each other, adults and children alike, the smell of decay hovering over it like a gue. The contrast between the top and the bottom was more than evident, the bottom was were lied all of the decay, while as one went up the fresh corpses began to appear. Still, what was truly odd and disturbing was that with every visible face that had not decayed possessed a visible smile, one bright filled with no regret. Indeed, the elder''s words were correct¡­ Of course, they were¡­ It was a mountain of corpses... However, in the eyes of these children ying on top of it, it was nothing but a simple slide that they enjoyed, cheered, andughed all over. This had all but confirmed what Moby was thinking, he had not much time to further analyze. Thus, to quickly put his theory to the test, he walked up to one of the locals with a beaming smile. "Hello there! How has your day been going?" << Oh! Very well! I like to enjoy my day sitting here looking at all the children having fun! I sometimes go to y with them too¡­ They never say no¡­ They always let me in¡­ >> "Oh! I''m d to see you''re having fun! What''s your name?" << Oh! My name is Ingvar! How about you? >> "I''m Moby, it''s nice to meet you! But, your name is not Ingvar¡­ It''s actually BallsDeep69!" << Oh! Oh really! I must have forgotten! Thank you for telling me my real name is BallsDeep69 kind alien stranger! >> "Hey, how much money you got?" << I currently have 100 flora in my pockets! >> He smiled. "Okay, give them all to me. I need to go buy food," << Why certainly! >> His smile grewrger as he emptied his pockets and dumped them all in Moby''s open hands. "Good! Now drop on the ground!" Moby ordered, still smiling, and the man did as he was told. << Will do! >> "Roll over!" << Mhm! >> "Lick my boots!" << Like this? >> "Yes! That''s it!" Mobyughed at the sorry disy before lifting his leg and kicking the man once known as Ingvar in the nose, making him skit on the cold hard ground, dying parts of it blue with his own blood. << Oh! Nice kick! Can I have my turn now? >> He slowly lifted his head and continued his same beaming expression. "Sure¡­ Sure you can¡­ You can have your turn by punching yourself in the face as hard as you can¡­" Moby gestured him to try with an open hand. << Sounds great! >> He nodded and stretched his arm out wide, as though charging his attack before all at once, with no hesitation, punching himself straight in the jaw, knocking himself out cold. And with that, concluded Moby''s experiment, and he now knew more than enough to deduce his final answer¡­ One that was rather frightening to think about¡­ These people were not simply cannibals as he and most likely his team first assumed. No, they were arguably much worse¡­ Smiling was all they knew¡­ The notion of evil or ill intent was not even something that would register in their minds¡­ Even if the thing they perceived as good was in fact evil... They were beings of pure positivity¡­ Yet, even still, he could not be 100% certain of his own deduction, it could have very well been something else or what he had in mind was not even possible. So, he first tried to confirm it with the only person he could trust, the all mightly demon lord residing in his mind. ''Hey¡­ Avilia¡­ This is really important¡­ Can you answer me?'' ''...'' ''Avilia? You there? ¡­ ¡­ Do you think someone is behind all of this? If so do you think I''m right?'' ''...'' Avilia? Avilia Answer me! ¡­ Avilia?'' ''AVILIAAAAA!!!'' His eyes suddenly grew wide, and the beating of his lurched heart immediately elerated. No matter how much he called, she would not answer. If he thought about it now, she had not made contact with him ever since he had gotten on this¡­ For as long as he could remember, she had always been there to watch him. It was his first-ever time that he could remember ever truly being alone¡­ Chapter 368 - The Forlorn and The Warrior of Light

Chapter 368: The Forlorn and The Warrior of Light

"Stay out of my way before I make you!" Artorias Roared and shrugged off any attempt to halt his advances. "Either you join me silently or you leave it all up to me!" "What''s gone into you? What happened to keeping a level head because of the mission!? This is apletely different from ours! There''s nothing that says that the locals should act the same way we do and have the same customs! Maybe cannibalism and smiling all the time is normal for them!" Kai spoke with a shaky voice, trying his best to be for once, the voice of reason in the group. "Shut your mouth! This is the work of heretics! It''s none of your concern maggot!" "H-Heretics?" Kai raised an eyebrow and pulled back from his marching leader. "You know¡­ Kai might actually be right¡­ I''m not sure why you''re doing all of this. We should do some scouting first or something! We can''t get this mad over a bunch of random aliens. We''re soldiers, we should be ready for anything, especially such atrocities," Even Regrit agreed with Kai who he hated more than any other. "What do you think?" He nced over towards the pale, nk-faced Elizabeth. "Did¡­ did I eat the flesh of a child¡­" She was walking as though she was a zombie, and only hearing Regrit''s words did her soul reenter her body. "Oh wa¡­ Yeah¡­ Yeah sure¡­" She shook herself several times, taking many deep breaths. "Hey, Hikari, you cold?" He sighed before asking. "Oh-oh, don''t worry¡­ These new clothes are really warm, I''ll be fine!" She brimmed with her usual air of happiness, but beneath her initial look lied a hint of sadness. They were now almost halfway up the mountain, the fog and coldness of their surroundings seemed to get more severe with every step. It appeared that there was nothing that he could do about it. Regrit felt a massive headache creeping up in his subconscious. Artorias seemed to be no longer trusted as he was consumed by something else. If anything, he was surprised that he did not rush ahead of them and leave them in the dust, might that mean that even he was not confident in facing whatever lied ahead all by himself? For once, he wished that Moby was there with him to help clean up this mess. And, luckily for him, his pleas were answered with a voice from behind, but, unlucky so, it was not bearing the calm, good news he was expecting¡­ "Runaway!! Get the hell out of there!! NOW!" "Huh?" He turned around to see a frantically running Moby, and before he even had enough time to process his words, he heard a crashing sound followed up by a high-pitched shriek. His world was suddenly consumed in a thickyer of foggy snow, and in the midst of the panic, he tried to burn it all away with a st of fire, only for his mes to be consumed in the icy storms. "WHATTT!?" He whaled unable to believe his eyes. nking sounds were heard from all around him, a battle had begun, and amidst the chaos, he heard a voice whisper in his ears, one that at first sounded like nothingness until his trantor picked up on it. << A warrior of light and, a treacherous kin of forlorn in the samepany¡­ People such as thee have no ce on this. Thou art brave, tenacious ones indeed¡­ However, thou should have heeded the warnings and returned from whence thou cam''st¡­ Now thou shall pay the ultimate price and suffer for thy transgressions against our almighty lord¡­ >> It was a voice cold and almost otherworldly, chilling down to the very core. And as those words came to an end, another voice overpowered it¡­ A? female-sounding screech that almost deafened the ears. And not too long after did Regrit notice red slowly flow by his feet¡­ Fresh blood, and when he traversed the storm to see what had happened, he witnessed the corpse of his own sibling, cleaved clean into, his eyes white, turned to the back of his skull with a beyond disturbing face that spoke one thousand words. His guts were leaking out of his flesh, his intestines t on the ground gushing blood like a sprinkler right in front of him. He couldn''t believe it, it almost did not feel real¡­ He did not once imagine he would witness Kai''s life end in such a way, it was rather peaceful and anti-climactic from what he had envisioned in his head¡­ Part of him was sad that it was not he that put him in his coffin, but there was another part of him celebrating over the sea of blood engulfing his sabatons. He wanted tough at his miserable state, especially after all he had done for him. But, he could not allow himself to do so¡­ No, he would not be consumed by personal greed. Not at a time like this when both his teammates and his chances for a sessful mission were in jeopardy. If anything, now was finally his time to distinguish himself in battle. He smiled in the face of danger, brimming with adrenaline as he activated his fox-like spirit mode, engulfing his body in a fire that incinerated the snowstorm circling him. However, as he prepared himself for battle, a sudden grasp wrapped itself around his waist, and before he knew it, he found himself high up in the air, close to the chest of an unknown man. Out of instinct, he tried to escape, but once his face became clear, his tenacity was reced with confusion. "Instructor?! What are you doing?!? Let me go! I can help!" "YOU FOOL!! YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR THEM!! THOSE TWO ARE MONSTERS!!" There was fear in that man''s eyes, fear unlike anything Regrit thought to be possible of a hardened elite of the military, it more than caught him off guard to the point that he was lost for words peering into his eyes. "Boss! They''reing! Kevin won''t hold out for much longer!" "I know that! We need to hurry! Did you get all of them?" The lead examiner spoke in a panicked voice as he set down Regrit. "No, there were two of them I couldn''t reach! One is confirmed dead while the other one I can''t seem to find!" "Doesn''t matter now! Okay! We don''t have much time! Listen up kids! Those guys are way too strong for you! We will now be sending you away and fight these guys off to let them off your tail! Whatever you do! DON''T DO ANYTHING!! We contacted the school and they should be here as soon as possible! STAY PUT AND WAIT FOR THEM TO ARRIVE!! DON''T BE A BUNCH OF IDIOTIC HEROES!!" The storm was so heavy that Regrit could not even see who was standing to his side, all he saw was a certain glowe from up ahead where the voice of his instructor was, and all he heard was the sound of nking battle. The glow ahead eventually expanded and drove back the thick storm, and as it engulfed him and the people around him, he managed to witness the face of those who attacked them¡­ Their skin was pure white, their eyes were blood-red, and distinct lines bearing a crimson glow flowed down their right eyes all the way down to their ckened garbs, a single horn protruding high from their head¡­ It was only a split second, and he could instantly identify who it was¡­ But before he could utter a word, he found that he could no longer speak as the power of the lightpletely consumed him and all he saw now was white... Chapter 369 - Sacrifices of The Past

Chapter 369: Sacrifices of The Past

"We meet again young kindred spirit¡­ You have once againe to a crossroad on your path to kinghood¡­ The abyssal egg of chaos is on the precipice of release, whether you pass or fail shall all depend on you¡­ Wee, to the road of sacrifice..." Everything was ck¡­ Like an endless abyss with no bottom¡­ As soon as that voice arrived, it disappeared¡­ It left him wondering of who it was addressing and what did it mean. But, wondering was limited, a luxury he did not have as he was thrust into a world and experience unknown yet so familiar at the same time... "..." "..." "Huh¡­" He opened hiszy eyes and blinked several times as droplets of water fell on his forehead. His memories were hazy along with his vision, he could barely remember anything other than the basis of what he was¡­ No matter how hard he had squeezed his mind, nothing but tiny fragments would reveal themselves. *Crash* That was when lightning struck, and vitality was restored to his senses, and an unknown crying sound engulfed his ears¡­ When he tried to look around, he was unable to do so¡­ When he tried to even move, he was also unable to do so¡­ It was almost as if his body was numb. However, what was odd was that although he thought that was the case, the feeling of the hard, rocky ground stabbing at his fragile back and head were vivid, the pain was all too real. As such, he simply stayed put, staring nkly at the gray, dark, raining sky and the two blocks shrowding his vision. It was a view he had not seen in a very long time¡­ Such darkness was never a problem but now was something that stuck out like a sore thumb. The only sounds he could hear was the roaring thunder and rain of the sky and, the crashing footsteps from up ahead. There was a hideous smell enshrouding everything he did, the feeling of horrid unease followed his unmoving body that was still uncertain of what to do¡­ He simply peered up at this strange reality and waited patiently for something to happen with an uneasy heart¡­ He had no idea how long he waited, but when his nightmare ended, it was as though two angels had swooped down from heaven to save him¡­ But, that was soon instead reced with another vision as their shadowy faces drew near... Indeed¡­ Their faces were too attractive and sly to be angels, more like mischievous foxes. Thus, the unknown crying exemplified, yet the two figures seemed unhindered as they drew near, reaching their hands out towards him. And, without even attempting to move an inch, his body toppled to the side and was about to hit a puddle, almost as though it moved on its own. But, before that could happen, he was snatched away quickly. "There, there child¡­" Their movements were swift and elegant, despite its speed, he suffered no injuries¡­ Before he even knew it, he found himself tightly ced in the hands of one of those shadowy beings, close to her chest. Her face was blocking the cold, unforgiving rain from hitting his face, and her warm skin wrapped around his freezing flesh like a tender firece, warming his mind, body and soul... As he looked up towards her brilliant visage, the unknown crying stopped, now reced by an awe and dead silence. He bore no concrete memories of what a "woman" would look like, but he could immediately recognize this giant carrying him as one of the most beautiful girls he had everid eyes on. Her hair was pitch ck, bearing the brilliance of a hypnotizing abyss, the strands that fell down on his flesh smooth as silk. Her eyes shined bright like green emeralds, and her smile was supple, as though telling him that all will be fine without uttering even a single word. Fear no longer existed in his world, almost as though it was whisked away by a river of bliss, even when lightning and thunder roared, it meant nothing to him. He felt like no ce was safer than in this woman''s embrace. "There, their child¡­" Her soft, gentle voice entered his ears once more, her hands rubbing his head slowly. "Horace, what do you think? Should we keep him?" She smiled, looking over towards the man to her side. He was a man tall as he was proud. He was indeed handsome, just like the feeling he received from the shadows initially approaching him. His thick ck beard covered most of his face, and his eyes were a simr shade of emerald to that of the woman holding him. His square-faced face was structured, and his eyes were like that of a lion. Had they not acted in such a way in his presence, he would have thought them to be siblings. "Serena, why do you speak in such a way? Keep this within the links of our minds¡­" "Oh¡­ Don''t worry¡­ I want this child to hear us too¡­" "Hmm? Fair, I''ll respect your decision dear. But, what use have we raising a human?" "I-I''m not sure¡­ But, something about this child draws me near¡­ I have a feeling that this one is quite special indeed¡­" "Special? Special H-" Horace scoffed before suddenly, he stopped motionless almost as though he had seen a ghost. "Th-that¡­What, what''s going on! What is that thing!?" There, a sudden unknown aura of ck engulfed the boy''s vision. And once again, without even moving his body, his head began to turn, and a frown was put on his face along with hints of tears as he noticed the woman holding him was in great pain, but despite the pain, her smile did not disappear as she looked down towards him. "Serena! Let go of that child! What kind of being is that? No wonder it''s abandoned! Kill it! Kill it now! That thing is an unclean abomination!!" "No Horace! I will not abandon this child! NOT AGAIN! Help me contain him! Now Horace! Pop a bubble around us!" "Okay!I really hope you know what you''re doing!" Chapter 370 - The Ultimate Sacrifice

Chapter 370: The Ultimate Sacrifice

"Serena! I don''t think I can hold out much longer!!" "Horace! Keep the time bubble active! We must not let this escape into the mortal realm!" "Arrrgghhhh!! Just kill it already! It''s not worth it!" "NO! I refuse! The bubble will soon pop! Come here and help me out then! AHHHHHH!!" As the being still firmly held in the woman''s arms looked up, his vision was continuously swathed in a dark aura of unknown origin, his ears were filled with static and the rumbling of the ground, almost as though he was at the foot of an erupting volcano. The face of the woman holding him was slowly fading away, and fear once again overtook his senses, the sound of crying exemplifying from that same origin unknown. "There there child¡­" Those same tender words entered his ears once more, like a wave of love andpassion fighting against the fear and darkness within. "There¡­ *Cough*... There child¡­" Her voice was growing weaker, and the pain was clear in her still soft-spoken voice. He had no idea what was happening, so he held onto the woman even tighter. That was when he felt the rainfall on his head once more¡­ No¡­ It was not rain¡­ Rain was not red nor did it trickle down at such a slow rate¡­ It was blood¡­ Fresh¡­ Warm¡­ Blood... "*cough* *cough* There¡­ *cough* There¡­ Child¡­ Please¡­ Do not cry¡­ *cough* All will be alright¡­" Though it was quiet, her voice persisted through the ever-thickening static, grunting, and shaking of the ground. Despite her pain, she continued to utter those words, over, and over, and over again, the blood trickling down from the shadow above growing evermore until it truly did seem like a heavy rain of red¡­ But¡­ All of a sudden¡­ There was no warning nor sign of end¡­ It just¡­ stopped¡­ The sound of static and trembling ground was no more, now reced by the heavy rain and thunder of before. The dark was removed, and the gray sky returned into his vision before shifting towards the smiling woman who held onto him with shaky hands. Her face was bloody and dishevelled, yet her beauty shined through like the morning sun, the smile offort still on it. "Did I not tell you, child¡­ All will be okay¡­ There will be no need for crying¡­" Her breath was heavy, and her arms were shaky, yet he could not help but look up in awe. "Serena¡­ I¡­ I can''t¡­ Did we just¡­" "Yes, Horace¡­ Our powers are gone¡­ They are no more¡­" "Did¡­ Did we have to sacrifice everything¡­ All of our powers¡­ Just to seal away whatever was in that thing! Whatever was haunting that child¡­ It''s all gone!!" "Oh Horace! Stop being such a downer, it we seal whatever that thing was, if we killed the child that beast might have been set free¡­" "Arrrggghhh! I guess¡­" Horace scratched his head, depression still lingering on his face. "So¡­ What¡­ What exactly was it?" "I''ve no clue, but it was sinister indeed¡­ But, sealing It was all worth it¡­ I knew there was something particrly special about this child¡­? Just look at his cute face¡­" Her smile grew brighter as she yfully pinched his cheeks. "Cute? Ah¡­ I guess¡­ Huh¡­ Wait, from when was his hair ck? I could have sworn it used to be the brightest of red, and his ck eyes are now green¡­" "Oh!" Serena chuckled. "As we were sealing that thing away, I took the liberty of altering that! It would be odd if your parents have ck hair and green eyes and you have red hair and ck eyes, isn''t it?" "Wait¡­ Serena¡­ You can''t mean¡­" "Yes, Horace, and you can''t change my mind! We''re adopting this child!" Horace''s face was worth one thousand words, staring nk-faced for several seconds before he finally sighed and spoke. "I guess we did just sacrifice all our powers for him¡­ Wait¡­ We just sacrificed all our powers! Do you know what this means? How will we escape them now!? We can''t stay on this infested! We can''t go-hopping in our condition! We need to get our powers back! How else are we gonnaplete our mission!?" "Oh, Horace¡­ Don''t you think we''ve been on the run for long enough? We don''t need to hunt for a way to return our strength or look for a way toplete our mission¡­ Why¡­ Why don''t we settle down on this? They won''t be able to track our energy signatures anymore¡­ We should be safe¡­ Like I said before, I feel like this child is special¡­ You saw what he was able to do? Why don''t we raise him and entrust our hopes and dreams to him? I''m more than certain he will grow up to be a handsome young man and be able toplete great things¡­" "Wait¡­ Serena¡­ You can''t mean¡­ You''re really gonna¡­" "Yes Horace, when he is big enough, I''ll entrust him with the ne of great demon lord Avilia Graymore¡­" "Hey, Serena, Have I ever told you you''re crazy?" "Everyday dear¡­" She chuckled. "Hphm¡­ Right¡­ Well, when ites down to things like this, you''re almost always right¡­ So, I''ll trust you and this child of yours¡­" "Hey! It''s OUR child!" "Right¡­" He closed his eyes and scratched his head again before hearing Serena speak into his ears once more. "Hey, why don''t youe give him a name?" "Huh? Why me? Why don''t you choose one?" "Horace¡­" She gave him a certain look, one he could not simply refuse, so he sighed and did as he was told, walking over towards her and the child in her hand, peering upwards and looking into his now emerald eyes. "Ummmm¡­ Let me think¡­ How about¡­ Moby¡­ Like Moby Dick, the mighty whale of the sea¡­ The boy''s aura of ck was like an ocean of dark, and he was the catalyst that dwelled within that ocean and brought upon the destruction¡­" "Hmmmm¡­ Moby¡­ I like it¡­ Then it''s settled! You hear that my dear child? From today onwards, you will be our little Moby Kane¡­" Chapter 371 - Awoken

Chapter 371: Awoken

The boy still tightly grasped in the smiling woman''s hands now fully understood everything¡­ Who he was, and what was happening. He was Moby Kane, son of Serena and Horace Kane¡ª Although not by blood but by love andpassion. This was but a vision of the past¡­ And he was but a spectator within his old self¡­ That was why he had no control over his body, that was where the unknown crying came from, and that was where this nowughing came from as well¡­ He wanted this moment tost forever, seeing the faces of his parents alive and smiling down at him so lovingly was a reality he so desperately wished to return to¡­ And as to grasp onto this happiness and never let go, he lifted his fragile infant hands in the air to reach it¡­ But, as he did, the world was once again consumed¡­ Consumed by a bright, purple light until their faces faded away into nothingness¡­ "No¡­ Don''t go! Don''t leave me! Please! Not again!" "NOOOO!!" ?????? "Wow! Kane! You''re finally awake!" "Huh¡­" He heard a distorted voice enter his ears, that along with the crackling of fire. "Kane! You there? You were twitching around quite a lot there! You good?" "Big brother! I''m so happy you''re okay! You had no pulse! We thought you were dead!" When Moby finally opened his eyes, he was met with several familiar faces, an orange-haired boy looking over him with a look of concern and a small, white-haired girl tightly hugging him like her life depended on it. "Yeah¡­ I''m¡­ I''m okay¡­" He slowly mumbled, trying his best to take in his surroundings. "Hey¡­ Why are you crying?" Regrit asked, looking down at him at eye level. "Crying? Crying? I''m crying?" He lifted his hands and wiped his leaking eyes. "Yes, you are! Now, are you okay?" "Yeah¡­ Yeah-yeah I''m fine¡­ ¡­ Hikari, I really am okay, you can let go of me now¡­" He smiled at her and patted her head, which made her nod and do as she was told. "Yes big brother¡­ It''s just that you also look different¡­ I feel like your hair is even redder than before¡­" "Is it now, he ruffled his head slightly, his mind returning to his parent''s faces of hurt as they tried to seal whatever was inside him away. "Anyways, what the hell happened, where are we?" He wiped the seemingly never-ending waterworks from his eyes, yet the pain in his heart lingered. Still, he needed to suppress them for now until he once again wasfortable and had time to himself. The area around him was blue and rocky, spikes protruding out of the ceiling like icicles and a hole leading out towards the frozen tundra of the outside world. It was a cave of modest size, more than enough space for all of them to fit. "I''m not sure where we are exactly either. We''ve been here for a few hours now. It''s a cave that our instructors sent us to when we got attacked. Remember that?" And like a jolt in Moby''s mind, memories of that time returned, that along with the faces of their attackers. "Attacked by those shalkers right?" "Oh! So you saw them too?" "Yeah," He slowly nodded. "I knew this mission would be dangerous, but this is just crazy! The shalkers must have anticipated us setting up a base here and infiltrated before us!" Regrit cursed, once again taking a seat on the rocky ground. "Wrong¡­ I highly doubt that''s the case. I''m a strong believer that this has to do with my presence and that of Artorias. These shalkers have always been lurking on this and that king might be a presence even above theirs and only felt threatened by our arrival." "What!? What does this have to do with any of you!?" "''A warrior of light and, a treacherous kin of forlorn in the samepany¡­'' Those were the only words I needed to know to find the truth¡­ I am the treacherous kin of forlorn and Artorias is the warrior of light. Speaking of Artorias, where is he exactly?" "He''s¡­ He''s not here¡­ The examiners were not strong enough to get to him¡­ I''m afraid he might be dead¡­" "Dead? No!" Moby chuckled. "He''s far more than you could ever imagine. He''s not dead, but knowing him he will soon find his reckless rage leading him to death''s doors. Anyways, where''s the rest? I don''t see Kai anywhere, nor do I see miss Elianora." "Oh, Kai''s dead, I saw him cleaved in half with my own two eyes. As for Elianora, she''s right there." Regrit pointed towards the corner of the cave, and there he saw that same pink-haired girl, yet she did not look nearly the same as he remembered. Her hair was dishevelled and had the consistency of hay, she was curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth. There was slight whimperinging from her direction, she was clearly crying. She was no longer that confident girl from before, but simply a broken mess of who she once was. "What''s gotten into her?" "I''m not sure," Regrit shook his head. "She wouldn''t speak to us at all. But, she must have seen some shit in that snowstorm to make her act like that," "Leave her be," Moby sighed. "She seems to be nothing but a hindrance. Either she will join us or she will be thrown to the way-side." "Join us? Join us where?" "Where?" Moby raised an eyebrow. "Where else, we''re going to the man in the castle, that''s where Artorias is and that''s where I''ll find answers¡­ I need to get in there no matter what..." "Huh¡­ HUH?! Are you crazy!? Are you just gonna disobey orders like that?!" "I thought you were a brave man Oswald, one that would take any risk to prove themselves as the best." "Yes! But I''m no idiot! Those things were monsters! Our instructors are probably dead! If they can''t stand up to them how could we!? And seeing those are just grunts the king in all likely hood is even stronger! Besides, we will get penalized for not following orders! We should stay here and wait for the next few days until a ship witn reinforcements arrive!" "Tsk," Moby scoffed. "We don''t have that much time! They most likely have energy detection skills, it won''t be long until they find us, it''s best if we go on the offensive with the element of surprise. Also, if it''s who I think it is in that castle, then no simple shipment from earth would be able to stand up to them," "Okay sure! But that won''t solve anything! We''re too weak! You even said it yourself that even a group of soldiers might not be able to beat them! So how could we?! We''re just simple recruits and soldiers in traning!!" "Right you are! In our current state we can''t! We''d be blown out like a candle" Moby chuckled. "Then what the hell are you on about!?" Regrit''s confusion was reaching its climax as he stared at Moby''s smirk, but Hikari to his side seemed to know exactly what was going on. "Let me tell you a little secret. We''re in a life or death situation so I have no choice but to tell you. I''ll be able to grant you powers from a ne above our own. Powers you did not know even existed¡­ And with that power we''ll stand far more of a chance. This is our only way out¡­ So, how does that sound?" "Big brother¡­ You¡­ You can''t mean¡­" "Yes Hikari, I do¡­ How would you two like to be turned into demons?" Chapter 372 - Plunge of Insanity

Chapter 372: Plunge of Insanity

"Huh?! Say that again? You can''t be serious right? D-" Regrit spoke before suddenly being cut off by the sound of an angered voice to his side. "Kane! I told you this before and I''ll say it again! I thought we had a deal! Under no circumstance will I turn into your demon ve! You got that!" Regrit looked over and saw a heated ck-haired Yami marching with confidence, as though she was trying to prove a point. At first, he assumed it all to be some sort of joke. But now, seeing how serious she was, he began to reconsider¡­ "Yes, I remember," Moby nodded. "but do we really have a choice now? You said that it''s been a few hours since we came here, there might not be much time left," he continued. "I''ll survive on my own! Thank you very much!" She replied. "Suit yourself, see how you survive against those monsters. You clearly have two options here, either you selfishly get both you and your sister killed or you follow what I suggest. I''m not sure why you''re so against trusting me¡­" Moby sighed and shrugged. "Yami! I''m confident! I trust big brother! Let''s do it!" Hikari turned back into her normal self and spoke. "You idiot! You understand the implications of this don''t you!? It''s not just simply pledging your allegiance to someone! He will haveplete control over you! You''ll be his ve! This is exactly what he wants! He''ll use you as his ve and throw you away when you''re no longer of use! Just like what happened before! Need I remind you!?" "I don''t care!" Hikari switched back and screamed, only for an even more enraged Yami to return. "Why don''t you listen to me sister!? Don''t you remember what happened with Amelia?! I warned you about her but you wouldn''t listen! This is arguably much, much worse! Don''t be a fool!" "Y-yami¡­" Hikari broke down on her knees, tears flowing down from her face conflicted on the two halves ying tug of war in her heart. "Don''t be scared Hikari, I won''t hurt you, use you, or make you do anything you don''t want to. When have I ever done that? Nevertheless, it''s all up to you whether or not you should trust me¡­" Moby looked her in the eyes, there was no malice in his expression or voice. Quite the opposite, he was rather soft-spoken. Regrit watched from the sidelines at the confrontation ahead with much brewing in his mind. What he considered to be some sick joke at first was clearly need for thinking and concern. The more he thought about Moby being inhuman, the more it made sense to him¡­ "Wait¡­ Demons¡­ They''re real I guess¡­ And you''re meant to be a demon right? You can share your powers with others but that also interns turns them into your eternal servants¡­ That''s pretty much what I got from that correct?" "Well, I''m not just a demon, I''m actually the rightful air to the demon throne. You''ve seen my powers in action, how else do you think I won every match at the mammon''s den? How else do you think I managed to straight-up lie to the principal herself? How else do you think I went from abilityless trash to a top elite in a single year? You know the information¡­ Now make your choice¡­" Moby smiled, closing his eyes as he leant back on the cave''s walls. "So¡­ If I choose yes¡­ Will I get all those weird mind powers and stuff¡­" "Oh! That''s just the tip of the iceberg! I promise you would be able to do far far more¡­ For example," Moby snapped his fingers, and a small me sparked onto his fingertips. "WHAT!?" Regrit''s eyes shot out wide, and his mouth nearly dropped to the floor. "I can also teleport, control ice rather well, cast various different spells. I can show you if you really want, I don''t mind." "No¡­ No need¡­ I fully believe you¡­ Huh¡­ Who knew that the infamous "hero of justice" Moby Kane was actually a Demon all along..." Regrit chuckled. "Never would have guessed that you''re literally nerfing yourself at all times just to hide your powers¡­ But, will this have any major affect on my mind? Is it really so simple to just turn me into a demon?" Regrit wondered. "There will be no major changes to your mental state. And, the only change to your body will be that you''ll be more handsome if that bothers you. Still, that doesn''t answer my question, is it a yes or no?" "You know¡­ I''ve always joked around with my mother¡­ How I promised to do anything for her sake¡­ I''ve even said that I''d sell my soul to the devil if it came down to it¡­ I never really thought that would actually happen one day but here we are!" Regrit''sughter increased as he looked up at the cave''s ceiling. "Yes! I agree to be your servant in return for power! But don''t think of this as anything more! I''m no ve of yours you got that!! I just want to survive! I must survive and get to the top no matter what!" Regrit''s words bore passion unlike anything Moby had heard in a very long time. In fact, it was such a long time that it gave him memories of Abby Reid before her plunge to insanity. "You have my word that as long as our interests don''t sh, you will be a free man," Moby''s smile grew even wider hearing Regrit''s answer. "Fine by me! I''m going with my gut! I''m trusting you like we once trusted each other long ago! So, how do we get started?" He looked Moby dead in the eyes like a tiger, and Moby lifted his leaning body from the wall and spoke. "This process will usually be painful, more painful than anything you''ve ever experienced in your entire life to be exact. There''s a real chance of you dying if you''re not strong enough to endure the pain and trauma. BUT! Good news! If I knock you out, it''ll mitigate all the torture, so no need to worry." Moby reassured, confidently grinning from ear to ear. "Will it change the oue of the transformation whether I''m awake or not?" "Not at all," Moby shook his head. "Okay, then no need to knock me out! Just turn me into a demon the normal way," Regrit casually waved off Moby''s answer almost as though it was an insult. "WHAT!?" Moby''s casual demeanour immediately shifted. "Didn''t you hear me correctly?! What part of "The most painful thing you''ve ever experienced," Do you not understand! Are you some sort of insane masochist!?" "Of course not!" Regrit promptly retorted. "You''re looking down at me too much! I''ve experienced much pain in my life! I''m no twink! I bet you went through that pain too right?! If you can do it so can I! I won''t be outdone! If I can''t survive this much than I know failure is the only thing that lies ahead!" Regrit''s exnation was one that Moby never expected, but it was one that made perfect sense considering who it was he was adressing. Regrit''s face was rigid, there seemed to be no changing his mind, that was for certain. It gave Moby an even bigger headache than before. It was not that he thought he would fail, knowing how headstrong and stubborn Regrit was he was certain he would pass. However, he was uncertain of what he would experience and how it would affect himter on. "Fine, so be it. I''ve warned you but that''s all I can do. "Moby sighed and finally responded. "Now, go on one knee and let me begin, I''ll start by sending waves of demon energy into your body, and the rest is up to you." "Alright, If I must," Regrit immediately did as he was told, despite the clear humiliation of kneeling before a man such as Moby. Moby took a deep breath looking down at the top of Regrit''s orange hair before cing his hands tightly around his skull. "You''ve now passed the point of no return, all I can wish you now is luck¡­" "Luck?" Regrit scoffed, a wide smirk sprouting on his face. "I don''t need Luck! For all my life, luck has never once been on my side! I''ve always relied on myself! I don''t think luck will help me and I certainly don''t need it now!" ''Why¡­ Why can''t I do the same¡­ Why is he so much stronger¡­'' Hikari who was still a broken mess on her knees could not help but peer up in awe at the disy ahead, like something was drawing her near. The tears flowing down her eyes had momentarily halted. She could not believe what she gazed upon. ''So¡­ This is the kind of man Regrit Oswald is¡­" She deeply pondered to herself. He had a dream and aspiration, and with nothing more than gut and instinct, he took the plunge that she was so torn upon so adamantly all in order to survive and pursue that dream and promise to his mother. There was pure bliss in his expression, yet that bliss did notst for long, as it was soon reced by pure agony. Moby''s hands left Regrit''s head and his body dropped on the ground, squirming and writhing in pain. Yet, despite the pain, Regrit''s resolve and resistance was more than visible¡­ She was unsure whether she was imagining it or not, but it was almost as though she could make out a slight smirk on his face... Chapter 373 - Sisterly Bond

Chapter 373: Sisterly Bond

"I''m sorry Yami¡­ But in order to survive! For both mine and your sake! We must do this! This must be a sign! I''ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life! I have faith!" Hikari broke her silence, not in a whisper but in an adamant scream. "HIKARI! WHY DON''T YOU LISTEN TO ME!!?" Yami roared. "We need to survive too! Being a ve is much better than dying! This isn''t like what happened with Amelia! No! Sister! Don''t you get it! I just want to protect you! I don''t want to see you die!" Hikari''s voice was just as intense as before, and for the first time, it seemed like Yami hesitated to return. "That would all depend on if he''s even telling you the truth! He could be bullshitting you about them being able to find us just so he can get you as his ve! I''m sure if we just wait here a few days for reinforcements toe, it would be more than fine!" "OH SHUT UP YAMI! YOU''RE JUST LYING TO YOURSELF AT THIS POINT! YOU SAW THEIR POWERS WITH YOUR OWN EYES!! WE''RE NOTHING BUT SITTING DUCKS IN THIS SHIT HOLE!! YOU KNOW, THIS MADE ME REALIZE THAT YOU''VE NEVER ONCE SUPPORTED ME!! THAT''S THE ONLY REASON YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT AMELIA! IT''S BECAUSE YOU DOUBT EVERYTHING I EVER DO!! I''M NOT THAT SAME STUPID LITTLE CHILD AS BEFORE, YAMI!" Moby''s mouth nearly dropped on the ground. If he had not been there in person now and someone had told him that those words were uttered from the pure, innocent Hikari''s mouth, he would have not believed them in a million years. She was like apletely different person, a total opposite to her usual shy yet cheerful bubbly self. Even Yami who had yet to appear and retort seemed to share the same thought. Now, what was left was a still atmosphere of silence with nothing but Regrit''s grunts of pain heard entering their ears. That was when Hikari once again spoke to break the ice, her voice now in a much gentler tone. "Yami¡­ I-I I''m sorry¡­ I know you just want to help me¡­ You''ve always looked out for me and wanted the best for me¡­ You''re like the best sister I could have ever asked for¡­ S-sorry for screaming at you like that¡­ But, for once, let me be the one to help you! Like I said before, I''ve never been so sure of something in my life! It''s not the same feeling as I had with Amelia! Not at all! So¡­ Please¡­ Just this once¡­ Let me take fate into my own hands¡­ I''m¡­ I''m not a child anymore okay!" Once again, Hikari stopped her words, yet Yami did not show up. Hikari began to grow concerned thinking if she had gone too far. Yet, no matter how much she thought, that idea was absolutely ludicrous. For all her life, she had never seen Yami sad or hurt. She was like an imprable wall of steel that did not break nor falter. But that was when her hair slowly turned from white to ck, and her sister finally made her return. "You know what¡­ You''re right¡­ I''ve been a really bad sister¡­ I thought my judgement is always better than yours¡­ I made my sole purpose to exist just to help you¡­ But, it seems like I''ve been doing it the wrong way¡­ I''m just trying to turn you into my image of what would be a better person¡­ Of what would a person who does not shy away from conversations and such, all to help you break free of your anxiety¡­ I see now that I''ve just been turning you into me¡­ From before you were a sheltered baby who knew nothing of the outside world¡­ I just have to realize that it''s no longer the case¡­ Please forgive me sister¡­ For once and from today onwards, I''ll have faith in you just like you always trusted and had faith in me¡­" "Y-Yami¡­ Are-are you crying?" Hikari suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart, as though it was slowly being stabbed by one thousand needles. In that moment, seeing the state she put her sister into, she felt like the most absolute despicable person in the entire universe. "Me!? Crying!? PFFFFFFFFF!! Don''t be silly!" Sheughed heartily, and vigour was once again restored in the now smiling Hikariying dormant on the inside¡ª there was clearly nothing to worry about. "I''m d to hear! Once again, thank you for having faith in me!" Hikari returned, only for her sister to once again take center stage, starting off with a deep, sombre sigh. "Yes¡­ But sadly, fate will be in your instinct, not in any of our hands¡­ Fate will be in the hands of that man¡­ Whether he uses us or not¡­ Kane¡­ Just so you know! No matter how strong your demon powers are! My mind is stronger! No! Our bond is stronger! I''ll resist your powers with all I have! And just be wary that if you ever try anything on my sister¡­ I will be certain to end you¡­ Got that!" She pointed straight at Moby''s face with a cold, distant gaze that no doubt held more than enough killing intent to kill even the strongest of men, her aura of ck tentacles crawlings all around her like an abyssal beast inching ever closer towards the unmoving Moby who seemed to pay it no mind, almost as though he had not noticed it. "I''ve already promised you several times that I won''t harm you or her or make you do anything you''re not willing to. Unless it shes with my own interests of course." Moby casually leant back and spoke. "Yami! Stop threatening him! He''s already promised more than once!" "Sorry sister, just wanted to get it through his thick skull so he never forgets! Now knock us out and let''s get this over with!" "Why certainly," Moby nodded and pulled his hands into his inventory void, pulling out a small white pill the size of a grain of rice. "Eat this, it should leave you unconscious in no time. When you wake up, you will be of the demonkind¡­" Chapter 374 - The Abyss

Chapter 374: The Abyss

Moby took one of the deepest breaths he had ever taken in his entire life and wiped the slight hints of sweat off his forehead. He knew it would be difficult for him to convince them both, especially Yami but he had no idea it would be so intense. In reality, he was technically not lying to them, although some aspects had to be stretched in his favour. He certainly felt like in their current state, they stood no chance and that they would be soon hunted down and killed. What truly surprised him was the amount of trust Hikari had in him, it was more than he could ever imagine. He had always been there for her in her times of need, but that was simply to win her favour and not out of any sense of friendship. Although, he would be lying if he said that was the only reason... ''I guess that''s what happens when someone grows over dependant on someone¡­'' He thought to himself as he peered over behind him. There, Hikariid after eating the pill and letting him inject her with demon energy, sleeping sound as a baby, aplete contrast to the man to her side grunting and writhing in pain. A huge weight was lifted from Moby''s shoulders, yet there was still much weighing him down and clouding his mind, from both the past and present. The biggest hurdles had yet to be ovee. Now was no time to rx. Other than the soundsing from behind, Moby''s demon ears could pick up on that same of a feint breath oozing from the walls... ''And then there was one¡­'' Moby smirked and looked over at Elizabeth in the corner, curled up into a ball. And with a wide grin from ear to ear, he slowly strode in her direction and peered over her from above. "Miss Elianora, are you there? If so then speak!" "Y-yes¡­ I-I''m here¡­" She slowly muttered, not even taking the time to look up to see the face of the man addressing her. "So, I take it that you''ve overheard what was talked about earlier? Correct?" "Y-yes! Some of it! Y-you, you''re not human! P-please don''t hurt me! Have m-mercy..." She was a rather pathetic sight indeed. She seemed like quite the cunning girl from before, but she seemed to be nothing more than those well-trained, powerful yet sheltered nobles that had no backbone when it came to any true danger. "Don''t worry, I won''t do such a thing, that is if you cooperate of course!" Moby nodded. "You overheard everything, so that means I can''t in good mind keep you as is! So, I''ll be generous and give you two choices, either you join me now or you die he-" *CLANK* Suddenly, his speech was interrupted by what almost sounded like metal striking metal. Yet, he was certain that was not the case. He felt an abrupt tingle on his throat, and when he looked down, he saw a metallic de, a dagger twitching and struggling to break past his flesh, yet only managing to draw slight hints of blood. And the wielder of that dagger was non-other than the grinning Elizabeth Elianora, both arms on the hilt trying to jam that dagger as hard as she could. Yet, that smile did notst for long, reced with panic and dread as soon as she noticed her attempts were futile. "Are you finished?" Moby smirked. He was like a calm and collected monarch, if anything, he seemed amused, she could not believe her eyes, any man in his position would have been furious. "How! HOW! I''ve seen your powers in ss! You''re n¡ª" "Silence!" He casually pped her in the face, sending her flying into a wall, tumbling down on her knees coughing blood from the impact. "That was some really good acting you know! It was quite the surprise! But, good to know you''re not some spoiled broken mess like I thought you were. Now, tell me exactly why you did that? What was your purpose?" He watched as she slowly struggled to lift herself up. "Isn''t it simple! You said that those people hunting us are after you! So, if I captured you for them then they''d spare my life!" "Not a bad n, would have worked if I was a stupid weakling. But sadly, I don''t think our enemies are so kind to just leave you be like that¡­" Moby mused. "Still! You''re an ursed demon! The enemy of mankind in the ancient tomes! You''re maybe even a shalker! Killing or capturing you for the sake of humanity is something more than worth it for me! And now was a perfect time considering those idiot ves of yours are not here now!" "Ancient tomes?" Moby''s voice became far more sombre, and his eyes turned a glowing purple, almost as though he was consuming her whole. "Exin yourself¡­" "No! I''d rather die than turn into your ything! I knew there was something off about you from the first day of ss! It seems like I was gonna die anyways on this god-forsaken, I might as well have taken my chance!" She chuckled at herself, a stream of blood dripping down her blood-stained teeth. "What a shame, I guess I''ll just have to do it the hard way¡­" Moby took a prolonged sigh and shook his head, his hands on his head. "Ha¡­ Ha ha¡­." "What''s so funny?" He raised an eyebrow at the nearly crippled woman underneath. "Are¡­ Are you feeling it now huh¡­ A headache right¡­ It shouldn''t be long now! That dagger I stabbed you with was infused with poison! But not just any poison! My family specializes in healing and buffing, and with our engineering, we managed to create the most lethal toxins in the world! There is no known antidote! I doubt that you can even hear me by now! By this point, all of our test subjects were alre¡ª" *Tsk* Moby had enough of her useless ramblings, so he decided to put a stop to it with a single p that put her to sleep. Of course, he had enough restraint to keep her breathing, but just barely. Although he hated to admit it, he most likely needed her assistance in theing battle, so turning her into a demon was a must. It all ended much better than he expected, she was not depressed enough to take her own life like he had initially feared. Once again, he shook his head to help clear his mind before picking up Elizabeth''s numb, bleeding head to begin the demonification process. There was much brewing in his mind, and front and center of that was how he was able to survive that attack with the dagger. It was truly something that he did not expect, and something he was mad at himself for. It took much of his prowess to maintain his casual, high and mighty poker face. ''That dagger seemed to be infused with her ability, and since she was an elite school student she was supposed to be above an X rank in power. And still, it was barely strong enough to pierce my flesh¡­ Why is that¡­'' Moby thought to himself, trying to wrap his head around what happened. And almost as though the answer was waiting to hit him in the face, he heard a sound he would never forget in a million years, the sound of a system notification¡­ And it was apanied by an even more memorable voice that filled his heart with unknown emotions he was unsure he even had until that moment. ''Sorry for the dy, hope you didn''t miss me too much!'' [ Congrattions! Due to that egg thingy in your soul reaching its first stage, You''ve ''Evolved?'' into an Abyssal Draconic Demon of Sin!] [ Level Up! ] [ Congrattions! You have finally reached level 100! ] Chapter 375 - The Abyss (2)

Chapter 375: The Abyss (2)

"W-w-w-what¡­" Moby blurted out loud, overwhelmed by what was happening in front of him. "Where did all of thise from¡­ Evolution¡­ with a question mark?? Avilia, is that you!? Where were you!?" ''Wow wow! Calm down, one question at a time,'' Avilia replied before continuing. ''I''ve been awake ever since you woke up after whatever that dream was, I just didn''t wanna butt-in when you were in the middle of everything else. So, I also withheld the notifications until now just so it didn''t distract you or something,'' ''I-I see¡­ What about everything else? Why were you gone? What is this ''Evolution,'''' Moby mumbled back, feeling a heartbeating from his brain. ''I was gone trying to contain that unstable egg, without it I''m not sure that evolution of yours would have been so painless¡­'' Avilia''s speech was unusually rigid like she was trying to hide some sort of pain that Moby did not seem to initially notice. ''Really!? Well, thanks for that¡­'' Moby didn''t bother to confirm Avilia''s words and simply took them as facts. ''Before I start on this evolution thing, let me get this straight¡­ Your parents are demons, most likely dragons I''d assume who were in possession of my ne and were-hopping in order to escape something which I''d assume to be the angels. They found you due to your mysterious aura and took you in, but your energy was obscure and out of control, so they sacrificed their own powers to seal whatever that was inside you away¡­ That seal must be that orb or egg thing in your core¡­ And the reason why your hair is slowly turning red¡­ As you grow stronger¡­ The seal is slowly being undone¡­ You, you''re no human, and you never were a human¡­ But, I''m not surprised that my powers detected you as human since that seal that your parents put was worth all of their powers¡­ Oh, and let''s not forget that you are adopted,'' ''Wait, so you were able to see all of that with me?'' Moby''s eyes grew wide at the realization. ''Kinda,'' ''Were you able to see my parent''s faces?! If so then do you recognize them?'' ''Well, assuming they are dragons, it''s rare to actually see their humanoid forms so I don''t really know¡­ And Kane is not a family name I can remember off the top of my head¡­ But, I''m sure whoever they are, they are great people. Whatever the reason was that they were in possession of my ne, I''m certain it was for a good cause¡­ It seemed like they nned for me to be with you¡­'' ''Yeah¡­ I''m sure they were¡­'' Moby pondered, thinking of his parent''s loving smiles once again before shaking his head remembering now was not the time for sentiment. ''A-anyways! Back to this evolution, what is ''Abyssal?''. ''I''m not sure really¡­'' She inwardly shrugged. ''Wait, aren''t you the one who named it and sent the notification?'' ''Yeah, but that name just suddenly popped up in my head¡­ I''m not sure how¡­'' ''Was it that unknown voice in my head who did that?'' Moby inwardly thought deep down in his consciousness far away from his surface thoughts were Avilia could reach.'' ''As for the evolution, it''s a stage I''ve never before seen in my life, that''s why I doubted that it was even an evolution in the first ce. I don''t know what new powers you got, I don''t know what kind of race this ''Abyss,'' even is. A new type of demon from an age after my departure? An angel? Or something else, I don''t know and I hate it!'' ''So, what exactly did this change then?'' Moby wondered. ''You''ll have to test it out for yourself.? But, there is a pretty obvious difference in one department¡­ Check your stats,'' ''Huh?'' ************************** Name: Moby Kane Race: Abyssal Draconic Demon Of Sin Ability: Level 10 void/ice Level: 100 XP to next level 0/400,000 Dragon skill tree level: 3 Dragon skill tree XP to next level: 0/1000 Power Level: 135,340 Hp: 250/250 Demon Energy: 3486/3486 Mana: 3486/3486 Demon Energy/Mana regeneration: 40.1 Energy/ minute Strength: 3395 Agility: 3541 Endurance: 3112 Intelligence: 3486 Mind: 1000 Avable Points to distribute: 0 ************************** ''WWUUUUUUUUUHHH!! All my stats just straight up doubled!! No wonder I survived that dagger attack!'' ''Yeah, I was surprised too. There must be a lot of hidden, sealed powers you got. I wonder if that''s what it was that day¡­ That odd feeling¡­'' ''What odd feeling,'' Moby asked. ''Oh, sorry, I was speaking out loud, it''s really nothing¡­ Anyways, I know you also wanted to ask me if the guy in the castle is a demon or not and what''s up with those idiots at the bottom of the mountain.'' ''Yeah, you read my mind alright, so what is it?'' Moby''s anticipation was reaching its climax, and he waited with bated breath for an answer. ''I''d say your hunch has merit. But, it''s not a guarantee. As for the vigers, I''d say that their negative energies are being siphoned and converted into demon energy just like I did with you, only what they are doing is far less efficient than my refined method. It''s not at all something we demons usually employ since we usually just kill everything that moves for more XP. I''d call it amateur work at best. Sure, that might be demon magic in use, but like we found out before, demon magic can be harnessed from the air, and shalkers seem to know how to do it. I''d¡ª'' [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a New Demon! ] [ You Have Created a Demon Pdin! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] ''Pdin I see¡­'' Moby smirked and inwardly nodded. ''Sorry Avilia, we can continue our conversationter. This might really be the strongest foe I''ve ever met and the first demon I see outside of whom I''ve created with my own two hands. I know you must be hurt, you don''t have to tell me. Something really bad must have happened to theher realm considering what I saw in my memories. But don''t worry! I''m sure we''ll soon find answers! I didn''t have time to tell you this until now, but when you were gone, I truly felt like part of me was missing... I''m d to see you''re okay,'' ''W-wha! Whatever do you mean! Of course I''m fine! Just go see that new ve of yours and don''t forget to check that level 100 book when you have the chance!'' Chapter 376 - Abomination

Chapter 376: Abomination

''Yeah, don''t worry, I won''t forget,'' Moby replied, looking ahead towards Regrit who was slowly getting up on his feet. From an outside perspective, he looked almost the same, yet upon further inspection is was much more refined. His orange hair was slightly spikier and his shoulders were lean yet broad and defined. As he lifted his face up from the ground, Moby noticed a slight, yet notable difference. He was definitely more handsome than before, yet it was not enough for anyone to bother him about it. ''So, how do you feel?'' Moby approached and asked the clearly dazed man below him as he struggled to stand. "Huh? W-what? Huh¡­ What happened? Why is everything so bright? How are you talking!? Did your mouth even move!?" ''Why is that always the first thing people ask about?'' He inwardly shook his head. ''You don''t remember? I turned you into a demon. How do you feel? Was it painful?'' "Nah, it was all good, you were over-exaggerating the pain for real¡­ Shit¡­ All of that really just happened¡­ Still, how are you talking to me without even moving your mouth?" Regrit seemedpletely overwhelmed, Moby could not help but notice that his speech was all over the ce,pletely unorganized. ''It''s called mind-link, I''ll exin in more detail when the rest are up¡­'' "The rest? You managed to convince the others too?" He blurted before looking over to his side seeing an unconscious Hikari, her skin like putty and the sound of her slightly protruding bones crackling. And in the distance was where Elizabethid, in a state not too dissimr. "Is¡­ Is this what happened to me¡­" "Mhm," Moby nodded.'' It is, the only difference is that they were smart enough to choose the painless route. You might not feel like it, but you''re no longer human, and you no longer have the same body you once had¡­'' Regrit''s eyes grew wider hearing Moby''s words, observing his limbs in awe. Indeed, he wasn''t lying, it was all so familiar yet refreshing and brand-new at the same time, he never felt more alive. "I still feel like me and think like me¡­ I''m me but not me¡­ But me at the same time¡­" ''Well, I told you you''d still be the same Regrit as before! But, getting a new body isn''t really the main purpose of it all, do you feel any stronger? Do you feel like you got any new powers?'' Moby asked. "Yeah...Now that you mention it I do¡­" He stretched his body once more before looking down at his watch. "MY POWER LEVEL IS OVER 110,000?! And I''m not even in spirit mode!! It went up by 20 grand!! No wonder you''re so strong just saving all this power for yourself! What kind of demon am I? What kind of demon are you?" Regrit sounded like a little child receiving a present on Christmas. ''His power level from before was over ny-thousand!? He''s almost as strong as me now, and my power-level just doubled¡­'' Moby could not help but notice. Like every being turned demon Regrit must have had a corruption factor, and if he had to guess, it might be his drive for more power, which could be a problemter on if true. ''I''m a demon of sin, while you''re a demon pdin,'' "Pdin?" Regrit looked confusedly in Moby''s direction. "Aren''t those usually people who practice holy magic? Like righteous knights or something?" "Yes," Moby nodded. "But demon pdins are different. There are several different types with their own methods ofbat, you''ll just have to find out which type you are for yourself¡­ Trust me, your power level is not an indicator of how much stronger you''ve be, there is much more that you could do now that you''re a demon." Moby spoke the words told to him by Avilia directly word for word. And before Regrit could even respond, he heard a loud sound from his side and a ck ooze that followed, catching them both by surprise. [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a New Demon! ] [ You Have Created a Demon Cleric! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] [ System Alert! ] [ You Have Created a New Demon! ] [ You Have Created a Fallen Angel of Chaos! ] [ A New Demon Has Joined Your Household (House of The Blissful Demon) ] Moby''s field of view was abruptly sted with a barrage of notifications. And with bated breath, he imminently read them, curious to find out what new demons were added to his team. The first one was fairly standard, a cleric demon for who he assumed to be Elizabeth, a good blend of offence, support, and defence, but his attention did notst there for long as it quickly moved onto the next notification¡­ A notification that nearly left his eyeballs rolling on the ground and his heart leaping out of his chest. ''Fallen Angel? Chaos? What the hell is this?! Is that HikariYami!? Avilia, you there? Avilia? Don''t you dare ghost me now of all times!'' ''I-I don''t know¡­'' She slowly mumbled, unlike Moby she was not in a state of frantic shock, but instead in what seemed like a calm bewilderment and confusion. ''Fallen angel huh... I haven''t seen one of those in thousands of years¡­ Last time something like that happened was when a demon in my army fell in love with an angel and had an illegal child¡­ They were then captured and tortured for their grave sin and the baby was immediately put to death as an abomination¡­'' ''Wait wait wait! Does that mean that Hikari was an angel all along?! Was that why Artorias took such an interest in her?!'' ''I don''t know¡­ I really don''t. I sensed no angel or holy energying from her! That Artorias kid had a magic blocking ring, so it was a toss-up if he was one or not since such strong artifacts could be family relics, but now I''m almost certain he''s an angel, a really weak one luckily for you. This girl on the other hand is a different story¡­ There was absolutely no trace I sensed of her being an angel¡­ But, at the same time I didn''t sense that you weren''t human at first. Damn! My powers have really gone down the shitter!! What have I degraded into? I''m a shell of my former self, yet I evenck the shell... What kind of sorry excuse of a demon lord am I! I''m useless! I can''t do anything right anymore!!'' Avilia''s words slowly delved into madness, like all at once, she released all the pain she had bottled up in her heart and kept away from him all this time. Moby did not know why, but seeing her in pain made him feel a pain he had not felt in a very long time, and his first instinct was tofort her and wipe the metaphorical tears from her eyes that he was unsure were even there. ''Calm down Avilia¡­ You''re not useless! You''re the most knowledgeable person I know! Without you I''d be lost! And you just mitigated all that pain I would have received from my evolution! You''re far from useless!'' He took a small pause, feeling out Avilia''s state within him before he continued what he had to say once he felt like he got her full attention. ''Hey! It''s okay! You''re not to me, don''t worry,'' Moby tried tofort. ''Besides, you might not have been wrong, maybe she wasn''t an angel. The world has changed a lot since you werest alive, maybe there are other circumstances for this to happen. Besides, I doubt that she was an angel. Even if you could argue that all she did in front of me was an act to gain my favour, but then it wouldn''t have made sense for them to let me turn them into a demon right?'' ''I suppose so¡­'' Avilia mumbled, replying to Moby despite her hurting mind. ''Don''t worry about me, I''m fine, I''m sorry for that pathetic, sorry sight¡­ A lot has been on my mind and ju¡ª" Moby had seen such a sight from Avilia before, it was not at allmon. It was all a reminder¡­ She might have been the almighty demon lord, a person who would kill thousands of innocents with no remorse to advance her goals, yet deep down she was still like everyone else. A living being with emotions and problems. But despite her problems, in Moby''s eyes she was not any less fearsome or strong, it was quite the opposite. She had gone more than almost anyone he could even conceive. If anything, Avilia was the strongest person he knew... ''Just rest for now, Please¡­ There''s much we need to uncover after all of this is over. You''ve been there for me so many times when I was down and I can''t count how many times you''ve saved me. But currently, there is much to be done¡­ I doubt we have much time before they find where we are¡­'' ''Yeah, I guess you''re right¡­ But now it''s no time to rx! I need to find the truth for myself and ensure you keep your promises! I''ll stay behind you all the way future demon lord and future sessor!'' Moby couldn''t imagine how fast Avilia turned from depressed and loathsome to upbeat and indifferent to what had just happened. Almost like nothing urred. ''Got it,'' He inwardly smirked before opening his eyes back into the reality to face the two awaking, newly created demons. Chapter 377 - Lords Peak

Chapter 377: Lord''s Peak

"Are they both done now too?" Regrit asked, looking down towards Hikari slowly rising up to his side and at Elizabeth in the distance. ''Yes, they''re finished. But I don''t have time to exin everything, so I have something else in mind¡­'' Moby replied. ''Let''s see what 1000 mind can do,'' Moby inwardly thought to himself, and with considerable effort, he attempted to send information to all three of them about the situation, there was no time for heavy talking. "B-big brother Moby¡­ Your voice is in my head¡­ I-I think I understand everything¡­" "So that is your n¡­ That''s how you can talk in our heads and that''s how you can just straight up send information into our mind¡­" Regrit slowly mumbled. Elizabeth in the corner gradually strode towards all of them. Her face was fairly attractive from before, but now she looked akin to a supermodel. Yet, her change in appearance resulted in no reaction from her team, after all, the same thing happened to them as well. "Elizabeth, are you good now?" Hikari asked with a hint of concern. "Yes, yes, I''m fine, those shalkers just really shook me up¡­ But never mind that! I''m good! I want to be the best support that I can be! I feel renewed!" Her face was earnest, and her resolve was clear. It came as a great shock to them regarding her previous state, yet they all could not help but be relieved that they have her support. "Well, now that''s all settled, let''s move, I can guarantee you those two wille to hunt us down soon enough. If you need anything you canmunicate through mind-link. Keep everything ryed to you fresh in mind. Understood?" Moby''s face waspletely serious as he ryed his final orders as the new team leader, and before his team could even say a word, he already knew their response. ?? ?? ?? One by one, they exited the cave and went their own ways yet not too far away from each other. It was an organized formation to both scout and so they would not be as easily spotted as one big group. The fog was thick in the icy tundra of the outside, yet they noticed it to be not as bad as before considering their new demon eyes. From their position, they noticed they were towards the top of a mountain. Yet, it was not the same mountain where the castle at the highest peak resided, no, it was far too low. But luckily for them, they were not lost, and the shadow of their destination was not too far from where they stood. In fact, it was directly ahead of them, far off in the distance and above the clouds. They seemed to be on an adjacent mountain nowhere near as tall. Aftermunicating once more through mind-link, they shifted their gaze towards Lord''s Peak. The terrain and footing was just as unforgiving as before, yet there was no time to slow down. However, what was cause for rm was something else, outside of the nature and terrain. ''Dogs! I see dogs!'' Regrit ryed to the rest of the group. ''They''re not normal¡­ They''re made out of blue see-through mana or something, and they are roaming around in groups looking around at every nook and cranny¡­ What the hell! Do these shalkers have abilities too!?'' '' That sure seems to be the case... Those are summoned! Someone must be controlling them! It''s definitely the enemy scouting us out! I''m not sure how they''re doing it, but it''s bad news¡­'' ''They''re damn quick! They might not have noses, but they might be able to sniff us out.'' ''They''re not mindless idiots, keep an eye out and stay low!'' As they moved on, they made sure to keep an eye out for any enemy scout, there seemed to be no end in sight for them. The closer they got to their destination the more that they found. The power of whatever summoner controlling them must have been great, even though he doubted they were much use outside of scouting considering their numbers. But if the same rules applied to those summons as it was to necromancy, the summoner must have not been too far behind. ?? ?? ?? Above the clouds at the gates of the massive, stone-built castle at the top of the highest peak, a single man stood with a spikey ck halberd in hand. His skin was pale as snow, and a single horn protruded out of the right side of his head. His face was stern-looking at the snowstorm, and his predator like-eyes were like slits, two crimson lines descending from his right eye to his neck. And in that distance, several figures emerged from there like shadows, and he could not help but smirk. "Ahhh¡­ Finallye has thee...My little puppies did not find you, but luckily it is you who havee to me¡­ Smart, but either way, your examiners sacrificed themselves all for naught..." However, as they came closer, he could not help but notice that there was something different about all of them, a new aura to them. "There''s three of you, where is your fourth? The leader? The traitorous man¡­ " "That''s none of your business! We''re not the same as before you damn shalker!" Regrit roared. "Damned shalker you say? You and I are not too dissimr now actually¡­ You''ve definitely gotten stronger, but either way, you stand no chance," "What have you done with Artorias!? Where are our examiners?" Hikari stepped up and asked. "Oh, so you really wanna know¡­" His smile grew even wider, and with a snap of his fingers, the grand, silver door to the castle opened, and out of that door emerged three figures¡­ Their backs were slouched and their faces bore cracked, filthy masks. The slight areas where skin was seen showed an infested, disgusting green, and the smell of rot taht exuded from them was made even more prominent due to their demon noses. Without a doubt, those were their examiners. But to them, no matter how hard it was to believe¡­ They seemed to be undead zombies moaning and groaning like little puppets. "Mhm! Now the numbers seem more even! Are you not happy to see your dear friends again?? Hmmmm? Oh wait, It seems like your missing friend has been found sneaking into the castle! As for you all, prepare yourself!" His grin grew even wider as he lifted his halberd up in the air, and an army of magically summoned soldiers emerged out of thin air and surrounded the distressed crowd. Chapter 378 - To The Throne Room Doors

Chapter 378: To The Throne Room Doors

Moby had sessfully infiltrated the castle and was making his way directly towards the throne room. The vast hallways of the castle were rocky and faded gray, cracks littering both the ground and the walls like an infestation to the point that part of him thought that the high ceilings were going to copse onto him at any second. The only semnce of colour other than the slight piles of snow were red banners that were hung on the wall, yet they were all, without exception unrecognizable, ripped and tattered, like the remnant of an old age that once was. Prior to his infiltration, Moby identified only four auras epassing the entire castle, the first was the shalker guarding the entrance, the three others were further within. If Moby had to assume, one of them was the high lord, the other was most likely Artorias, and thest one standing outside of that area was the final shalker. Moby had purposefully split his team, part of him felt like he would be held back in a group with his new powers. He would rather fight all alone and leave the shalker at the gate to them. Without a doubt, those shalkers were powerful¡­ Moby feared that they may not win in the worst case and in the best case there might be a casualty. It was a sacrifice that he had to take yet one that he was unsure his corrupted heart could withstand. Right now he needed to focus, fearing for his allies would be nothing but a distraction and a hindrance when he was in a race against time to save Artorias and see who this high lord was that had corrupted the people of thend. And in the pursuit of that, there was only one thing he could do, an item that his parents had gifted him and that he had been hanging onto for so long¡­ As he was speeding through the hallway, he pulled out a small, glowing golden orb etched with mysterious text out of his inventory. Without him using any of his powers it floated on the tips of his fingers, and its aura made him feel a tingle spread throughout his entire system. ''Hey¡­ You sure you wanna use that? Weren''t you so conflicted in the past about it?'' He heard a voice in his head. ''Yeah, but I promised myself I''d do it eventually so now is as good a time as any other. If one of my teammates dies I don''t want to feel any fake emotions about their deaths that will hinder my future ns. I want to start off on the right foot with everyone here.'' ''But you know this will also affect your perception of everyone else waiting for you at home,'' Avilia replied. ''Yeah, but that''s a risk I''m willing to take¡­'' Suddenly, he sped his right hand, crushing the mystical orb that once floated there into magical golden dust fragments that were soon blown in the wind and faded away. A sudden rush of gold invaded his body which was followed up by a zap of invigoration he had not felt ever since assigning his first stat points. It was a process more calming and blissful than he would have ever expected. Avilia had already told him that the process was not going to slow him down nor hinder him in any major way, yet part of him expected to be hit with a wave of pain akin to that of his evolution, yet no such thing came¡­ The orb he had just crushed was a gift from his parents that wouldpletely remove his demon corruption, and it was something he hesitated to use until this very moment. ''So, how do you feel?'' Avilia asked with a hint of curiosity, despite how knowledgeable she appeared, the process that had just urred was something she had never seen in her many years of living, it was all through word of mouth and analyzing the orb did she deduce her current knowledge. ''I feel¡­ The same¡­ I don''t feel really different¡­'' Moby replied, slightly confused if it had even worked, only for Avilia to reassure him. ''Don''t worry, it definitely worked. It''s just subtle, you can''t force the differences out, and even if you could, those things would no longer be differences¡­ It would just be natural. Not to mention, right now your mind is fairly busy and you''re consumed by adrenaline. To be honest, I''m just as in the dark as you, I''m looking forward to see the results of this.'' ''I am too¡­'' Moby nodded in agreement. ''But first, I have many things to attend to¡­'' Moby had now nearly reached the throne room through the monotonous maze-like hallways of the castle. His energy sense range had greatly increased due to his higher mind, and without it he would have beenpletely in the dark. Ahead was the final corner before the throne room, and seeing how close he was now, his gaze hardened and his resolve was steeled more than ever before. Out of his inventory, he released the god yer his parents had bestowed upon him and hung it around his waist, hanging onto the hilt with his sweaty palms. There, as he turned the corner he was met by a solid gaze from two crimson pupils that even matched his own. Like daggers, they stared at him through the long stretch lined with broken statues, a grand door of gold behind them. The figure was sat down on the ground with his knees pointed to the sky, a crimson straight sword that seemed to have taken much punishment in the past resting upon his chest in between his legs. His single horn stood tall, and there were two red lines leaking down from his right eye towards his chest that was covered in a faded armour of ck. He had an aura of intimidation he had not sensed ever since he had fought that shalker many moons ago, yet the figure had yet to stand on his two feet. It was almost as though he had entered a wall of fog to a different in from where he previously stood, and it was all due to the enemy that blocked his path to the bonfire ahead. "I had been waiting for thee¡­ Ever since thou hast entered this domain, I had sensed thee and had been patiently awaiting thy arrival¡­ I''ve seen your kind, time and time again. Your curiosity had gotten the better of you, and you had not fled when the signs had shown themselves.? You havee seeking my master and your filthy friend ahead, yet all you seek is trouble¡­ Truly foolish indeed¡­ You forsaken, traitorous kin of forlorn¡­ Your path ends here, for it is my solemn eternal duty to be my lord''s de and do what must be done¡­" He spoke in a strong, sombre voice that tugged deep within, and he slowly stood up on his two feet, sword gripped in hand. And, with one swipe of his sword in mid-air, an amalgamation of ck overcame and enshrouded it, a vigorously burning ck me with an ashen highlight, burning violently around his de. ''That''s demon energy¡­ But it''s one I''ve never seen before, it''s odd...'' Avilia mumbled in Moby''s head, and he immediately grew more alert. "These mes are a gracious gift from my master, and with them, I shall prove my loyalty to him once more by bringing you to your knees¡­" He swung his de once more, and there he stood like an iron wall in front of the grand, throne room doors in a fighting stance, like a provocation telling his opponent to start, and Moby was more than d to oblige. All at once, he wasted no time unleashing both of his transformations, his spirit and sin modes all at once. A thick, ck aura engulfed him and two wings sprouted from his back and entered his field of view. And with a single swing of his now unsheathed god yer, he too engulfed his de in a me-like aura, one of deep, purple intent, a flow of pure demon energy. Yet, he was unsure if he could still call it pure as there were hints of ck and red flickering among the sea of purple, something he had not seen before yet something he could not worry about now. He knew not if his current form had a different appearance from his prior form and he knew not what new abilities his new evolution entailed, the only thing he knew was that failure was not an option. "Bring it¡­" Chapter 379 - Against The Odds

Chapter 379: Against The Odds

Regrit, Elizabeth and Hikari were allpletely surrounded by hoards of seemingly endless spanning ethereal summons along with their three instructors further back grinning at them with an undead smile. The circle moved ever closer, enclosing them as the shalker watched them being slowly consumed from afar. "Okay¡­ No more ying around, let''s take care of them¡­ Shall we?" Regrit was the first to make his move. He took a step forward in front of his team, and with a deep breath and an aura of magma gold surrounding him did he go into his now six tailed spirit mode, the ground quaking beneath his boots and an aura of heat that made even the summons hesitate before continuing their advance. And then, out of thin air, he pulled two katanas marked in a crackling fiery gold, burning with the intensity of an orange star. That infernal ze spread throughout his entire spirit-filled body, shrouding him with an aura that made him look like an infernal being straight out of the depths of hell. "Elizabeth! Buff us all now! And Hikari, I''m not sure what your powers exactly are but do your thing!" He called out from behind, and like a natural predator, he focused his gaze and adjusted his stance, making his aura explode as he rushed into battle dual-wielding his katanas, using his mes to meticulously boost and surf through the air like a fiery bird. ''Regrit! Attack the shalker! If you defeat the summoner the beasts will go away! Leave the summons to me! I got this!'' Hikari followed Regrit''s footsteps and transformed into her spirit mode, two feathery wings sprouting out of her back and a veil of light engulfing her. Thick white gauntlets wrapped around her fists with particrly sharp tips, and snow-white metallic dual pistols appeared, now tightly held in both her hands from her storage ring. And also from her storage ring, piles and piles of metal spawned scattered all around her, and with but a flick of her finger did those metallic parts begin to move, rising up into humanoid, armoured figures almost as though they were alive. And with weapons in hand, they charged towards the ethereal beasts as one unified army, and Hikari who seemed to be controlling them stayed far behind with her pistols armed and loaded, shooting bolts of light like pouring rain over the beasts ahead. "Elizabeth, my army won''tst long! It''s not as strong or as numbered as that one! I need your help to buff them quick!" Hikari continued firing as fast as her hands allowed, and she looked over towards the bewildered-looking Elizabeth with a serious gaze that snapped her out of her daze. "Got it!" As Regrit flew up, he heard Hikari''s voice echo within his mind. He could not help but smile, and instead of diving into the ocean of spirits, he redirected his gaze towards the halberd wielding shalker below, diving towards him like a fieryet cleaving through the air and crashing towards the earth. However, before he could even make contact with his opponent, his des were abruptly halted by three straight swords blocking his path like a thin wall erected mere inches from him and the smiling enemy, and when he looked he noticed them to be the very des of his once examiners. "Not a bad attempt! But it won''t be that easy getting to me! I''m a necromancer! You have to get through all my summons first!" The shalker chuckled from the other side of his meat shield, and Regrit was forced back inwardly cursing, readjusting his stance. ''Fuck! How the hell am I gonna beat three top elites staff members of the school!'' "Minions, go get him!" He waved his halberd in the air, and the three zombieszily nodded and rushed towards the readied Regrit with an unconventional stride and a sudden burst of ckened aura surrounding them. Their movements were fast, and their strides were unpredictable to the point it was inhuman. Before he even had time to properly react, three des were plunging down towards his skull. Instinctively, he blocked by raising both Katanas in the air in the shape of a cross, but that only managed to block two of the three attacks. The third attack still managed to make it through, and it was one that Regrit only narrowly managed to dodge, missing his head but instead ripping a shallow line on his chest. Regrit was more ustomed to harsh pain than any other man, yet the pain inflicted by that sword stung and burned him down to his very core. ''What-What the hell¡­'' He inwardly cursed once more staring up at the three zombies slowly approaching him. ''Fuck,'' However, now was no time for moping, the pain had to be ignored. He grit his teeth and tightly held his de. He lifted his katanas up in the aura and sent an intense st of fire towards his three opponents approaching. It was virtually undodgeable, and the three made no effort to challenge that, instead, they walked directly through it as though it were not there. The dark glow surrounding them expanded further ahead of them like a shield, and Regrit''s st seemed to have done virtually no damage so he instead had to rush in with his two katanas in hand, using his blissful demon style to the best of his abilities. Yet, not even that could save him from the onught of attacks he would have to survive from three opponents that nearly matched his powers. And the worst part was that they all had yet to use a single ability. Regrit was pushed back once more with a kick that not only broke through the defences of his fire-enhanced frame but also nearly broke his ribs. The single sh mark previously on his body had now multiplied to tens, and the crawling pain was slowly growing unbearable. Things were looking bleak, he felt like he could barely keep his weining eyes from following his opponent''s inhuman movements, and his legs had nearly given out. And in that moment of grief, he heard slight, tender whispers enter his ears, and a sudden aura of different colours slowly enveloped him with a circle of light expanding beneath his feet. [ Drop of life ] [ All-Mighty Strength] [ Iron Flesh ] [ Limit Breaker ] [ me Supremecy ] That radiance was no mere light-show, he felt power coursing through his veins, he witnessed as the wounds once on his body healed in real-time, and the might of his aura multiplied even further. When he looked back for a split second, he witnessed two armies shing at war, one of spirits and the other of hollows, and further back behind the brawl was a gun-wielding Hikari dressed in white and Elizabeth in the form of a long-eared, beige feline, her hands tightly grasped like she was in prayer and her tall, fluffy ears waving in tandem as a magic circle akin to what he saw underneath his feet glowed beneath her. It seemed like they were holding up quite well against waves and waves of seemingly endless beasts yet here, he was struggling to defeat four. But with this new power and a renewed resolve will he prove himself and destroy all in his path. However, before his dreams and disy of his new powers even started, it abruptly came to a sudden, abrupt end¡­ *Gawk* All of a sudden, he found a fiery golden charcoal spear of crackling magma directly in front of him, stabbed straightthrough his chest which was followed by an unbearable pain, like the sun had been set ze from his stomach where that spear impaled, a pain that no rapid regeneration could heal. As soon as he saw it, he knew what it was, yet he could still not believe it. Indeed¡­ He had seen that spear so many times before that it haunted him in his nightmares¡­ "W-when¡­ When did you get here cunt?" "I just arrived¡­ Brother¡­" *Tsk* Regrit gritted his teeth and forced his body to move on past the pain, and with a zing roar of might and his six tails flinging wildly did the man stabbing him fall back and dodge, leaving Regrit hurting on one knee, heavily gasping for air and coughing, dyeing the previously pristine snow below a repugnant red. He struggled to breathe let alone stand, and it took all of his power to lift his head to see his sibling''s twitchy, distorted smile of rot and decay. ''So¡­ *Cough* they got you too¡­ I thought you would be too weak to be turned he he¡­ *cough*'' He inwardlyughed at himself. "Well well well¡­ Seems like your tale ends here! But don''t worry! You''ll make an excellent addition to my collection as I turn you against your very own team!" Beyond the four smirking zombies, he witnessed the shalkers mouth move in slow motion, up and down, his voice barely making it towards his ears. The world was slowly turning dark, and not once in his life did he feel this useless and disappointed. ''Kane¡­ I''m a demon right? Where the hell are my demon powers¡­ huh?'' He watched as blood slowly trickled from his wound as it slowly burned and disintegrated the snow below into blue grass. "REGRITTTT!!!" He heard a scream of pain from behind him, followed up by the shrieks of many ethereal beasts as they took their final breaths. Hikari was clearly mowing her way through the ocean of monsters behind, just to save him from his own stupidity. ''FUCK! I CAN''T DIE HERE!! WHO THE HELL DOES SHE THINK I AM!?'' He coughed once more with a smile on his face as he forced his slowly regenerating body on the brink of copse to stand. "Hmmm! So you can still endure? Impressive!" The shalker pped in delight. "Damn straight I can! I''d be damned to let you have the finalugh!" He smirked arrogantly beneath his ckened eyes as he bent down to pick up his dual katanas, taking up a fighting stance. The Katana''s bright, ming orange glow once again returned, and his smirk grew alongside them. And as he noticed his opponents step forward, he lifted his swords high almost as though he was preparing a devastating attack. However, instead of a st of roaring mes like they expected, he thrust both of his des deep down into his bloody gaping wound, leaving him bending on the ground, dead kneeling over his own two des... Chapter 380 - Seppuku

Chapter 380: Seppuku

Hikari watched from a distance as she strived to make her way to Regrit, guns zing through the hoard of beasts. "REGRITT!!" However, before she could reach him¡­ She witnessed as he struck his sword into his own wound, and how quickly he fell soon after... "Well, that was unexpected¡­ Perhaps you cast some spell so I don''t turn you against your friends¡­ Quite admirable indeed. Still, after all that talk, you were nothing but a disappointment¡­" The shalker smiled from the distance, it was truly an amusing sight to see after many years of istion. However, that was when suddenly, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine, and a raging killing intent unmatched. His senses were consumed, and his eyes slowly peered over towards the source¡­ A source he could not believe, the tiny girl¡­ And he gazed with wide eyes to see a literal grim reaper of death rage towards him through his summons almost as though they were nothing. Hikari could not believe her eyes as they shrunk in horror. Her hurting, heavily beating heart lurched down to her deepest depths, and she felt an empty pain eating away at her stomach. She felt almost as though she had witnessed a part of herself cruelly severed, and the pain lingered back towards her. She knew not what overcame her nor what kind of anguish was inflicted upon her. All she knew was that she had to make haste and reach him no matter the cost. Her aura of light erupted, and it was now mixed with hints of ever-feint dark that slowly became thicker. Her eyes turned primal, and her vision wasser-focused as though nothing in the world mattered until now. And with but a single shot from her pistol, she shot a light that parted the sea of monsters, incinerating them into dust and turning their ethereal ashes into a clear walkway for her to pass. And with a single step, she dashed all the way towards Regrit and looked down on his clearly dead corpse. Being in front of him, her previous emotions subsided, and she was now overwhelmed with something else. Water fell down from her vision, and an uncontroble blurriness flooded her eyes. Her legs began to lose strength, and her raging aura faded away into the cold wind as she dropped on the icy grounds, her hands gently over Regrit''s armour. The shalker watching the disy of grief ahead of him felt a sense of relief unrivalled by nearly any other. As that girl approached him, he felt certain doom was upon him, and he witnessed his life sh before his eyes. Seeing her stop and break down in front of him was something he was more than grateful for. The demonic amalgamation of death he so feared to face was now nothing but a little girl crying over the corpse of her friend. "You fucking dummy¡­ Why¡­ You liar... I thought you were strong¡­ I thought your determination was peerless and you would do anything to follow your dreams¡­ I was so jealous of your strength¡­ That was the strength Icked... You''re the only reason I was so convinced to turn into a demon¡­ So why¡­ WHY WOULD YOU KILL YOURSELF SO COWARDLY YOU IDIOT!!" "..." "..." She broke down crying on his armour. But¡­ That''s when she noticed steaming from her teardrops, and her eyes grew wide. She was lying on the unforgiving snow she nearly died from prior, yet she oddly felt no cold¡­ The armour that Regrit wore that she presumed to be icy cold from the environment was so warm to the touch and filled her with a gentlefort. The wound from the two swords stabbed through his own chest did not bleed, no not at all when she expected to find a pool of blood beneath her feet. Instead, she witnessed the snow melting around her in a circle. She shook her head and cleared her hazy eyes, and when she did so she witnessed odd particles of red flow enveloping her, dancing before lighting up into sparse flickers. Those red particles'' numbers slowly increased, and their mass became almost solid as they swirled all around her like a beautiful light show. Confusion overcame her, and when she looked down, she noticed that these particles were slowly escaping from Regrit''s corpse. "B-blood?" The armour she slept on slowly began to rumble and shake uncontrobly and a sudden aura of bright rose gradually submerged his body. Only then did he stand up, and Hikari backed off as she witnessed his previously lifeless corpse pulling two katanas out of his chest, taking a casual stance. "R-regrit?" She looked up in awe as though she had witnessed a miracle. Tears stopped flowing down from her eyes, and her saddening disy of anguish was instead reced with bewilderment.? It was too surreal for what had happened right now to be true. It was like a new being rose above her. His spirit mode once again shined, yet it bore a different aura and appearance from before. There The two des in his hands burned with a ferocity she had never seen, droplets of his own blood still on them, burning with it to form a vigorous yet calming bright rose. "Hikari! Who''re you calling idiot! You''re the idiot! Of course, I''m not giving up! Of course, I didn''t kill myself! I would never do that shit! I just figured out what my demon powers are¡­ And I''ve now been reborn in blood¡­ You should have more faith in me and stop being so reckless! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!" He announced proudly, and the new rosy armour of blood and mes shined brightly, and the swirling circles of bloody fire surrounding him spun more vigorously. And with a smile on his face, he shed both his des in the shape of a cross, and a powerful gust of ming air hurled towards his four opponents at speeds they could barely react to, damaging them and scorching their zombie flesh as he peered over at his stiff opponent who could not believe his eyes. "Hikari, stand up. I''m gonna need your help on this¡­ They''re really strong¡­ I may have gotten stronger, but this form won''tst forever and I don''t think I''d be able to finish them in time." "G-got it!" She shook her head and wiped her reddened face, pulling out her two pistols once more, standing up ready for battle. "I''ll support you from behind! Show me this new power of yours then bloody pdin!" "Y-You... No! Both of you¡­ That''s no mere disy of demon energy¡­ Y-you! YOU''RE BOTH FULL-FLEDGED DEMONS!! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!? ONLY THE GREAT DEMON LORD AVILIA GRAYMORE HAD THE ABILITY TO TURN MORTALS INTO DEMONS!!" "That''s because of the person who turned us into demons will be the one to seed her¡­ Or at least that''s what he told me." Regrit chuckled. "Who is it!? Who could it be!? WHO IS THIS PERSON YOU SPEAK OF!?" The shalker roared once more, gripping his ck halberd so tightly to the point it nearly began to form cracks. And as though his question was heard by the heavens, a sudden eruption was abruptly heard from behind them, followed by immense shes that made the very ground beneath them cry in pain. Their attentions were pulled to their backs at the heart of the castle, and towards the residual collisions, sts and nking metaling from up above tearing up the sky. There they witnessed two small winged figures shrouded into two me-like auras. One of deep purple and another ashen ck. The weather turned violent reacting to their fight, and the clouds turned darker. Their thick auras made them hard to see, and their unbelievably quick movements as they whisked through the air made it even harder. It was a true sh of titans of the likes they had never before seen. "That guy..." Chapter 381 - Clash of The Titans

Chapter 381: sh of The Titans

A few minutes prior¡­ Moby and the unknown shalker stood over one hundred meters apart, yet the tension in the air made it seem like they were face to face. Their weapons were drawn, both des imbued with their very own coloured me-like aura. Their gazes were the onlymunication they needed, and as though they read each other''s minds, they both took their first step and exploded off the ground, disappearing from where they once stood as they shed in the middle. They locked eyes in their sh. At first, they seemed to be evenly matched, yet that was soon debunked by a slight smirk appearing upon the shalker''s face as he suddenly applied more power, leaving Moby struggling on his back foot. When he tried to freeze the ground beneath his feet for a chance at escape, it was soon halted by ck mes exploding from his opponent''s sabatons, destroying any attempt at it. The fire ravaged the ground and skimmed Moby''s feet, yet instead of getting burned through his boots, he felt sheer pain instead. ''Shit¡­'' He inwardly cursed. And like a pure intuition overwhelmed him, he opened his mouth, and from it emerged a freezing breathe-like st of air that shot out with little to no dy. The shalker''s de was immediately retracted as he forced his body to move. That was Moby''s opportunity to strike. With his right hand, he waved several signs, and a golden shine sprung forth from his god yer, infusing it with sharpness before bringing it back to the hilt of his sword. He even infused his de with ice crystals that exploded forth from it like flowers multiplying with sharp death. He activated all the skills he possessed, and with one single strike he cleaved down towards his disoriented opponent''s chest, cutting through his armour-like butter and thering his de in blood. "Wha¡ª" However, to his surprise, he found his de stuck within his seemingly rock-hard skin, and his opponent looked him in the eye with pure malice. Yet to his gaze, Moby did not panic as he let loose all the ice infused within his sword towards his opponents'' system, making him cough a hint of blood before he infused his fists in ck mes and struck Moby in the stomach since his de was out of reach for a fatal attack, sending him flying and crashing on the walls many meters away as he fell down into a pile of rubble. "Not bad! You almost had me there! That sword burns! What kind of de is that? I''m certain it will make a fine gift for my master! And who knew you could breathe out your mouth like a dragon! You caught me off guard yet that will not work on me again sadly," The shalker shook his wrists and smiled as he looked over towards the panting yet smirking Moby slowly standing in the distance. ''Fuck¡­ He''s damn strong! If I hadn''t use my phase skill to get my sword free in time I might have been dead¡­ Charging him head-on won''t work. I need a change of ns, I need to know what truly hurt him deep down...'' "You! That''s some disy of demon energy you got there! Where did a shalker like you get them!" "It is my master who has graciously gifted me! And with his generous almighty gift, I shall put you in your ce!" "All mighty gift!?" Moby broke out inughter. "Those ck mes are nothing but a poor imitation of my pure demon energy!" He held his right hand out and disyed a ball of his demonic powers. "A me-like aura that does not burn but deals pure damage! It''s the same! This is no mere coincidence!" "sphemy! These mes are superior to whatever you possess!" The shalker roared. "Your master is nothing but a little bitch who''d bow before me and lick my boots clean!" Moby smirked as he felt energy suddenly flood his body. "If you think those ck mes are superior then prove me wrong!" "I''D GLADLY OBLIGE!!" His aura roared like an exploding star, and his mes spread throughout the entire hallway like a tidal wave as he rushed towards his opponent, his des thrust ahead of him. Moby reacted by sending ice spears in his direction, ones that left from his own two hands, yet they were easily dodged or deflected by the rushing bull ahead of him. "Hmph¡­" Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Moby disappeared from ce as though he was never there, instead appearing directly adjacent to one of his purple ice spears. He could not believe his eyes, the shalker only reacted a split second before he witnessed a purple aura enveloping his field of view. He panicked, at his current velocity there was not much he could do, so with all the energy he could muster, he twisted his torso and delivered a lightning-quick punch, one that he had no time to infuse with his energy. But as his fists made contact with his opponent''s face, they went through it as though hitting air. The rage and surprise on his face exemplified, he knew not what to think other than what was in front of him must have been an illusion, but with one simple word and the purple aura in front of him increasing evermore, his opinions immediately shifted. "Gotcha¡­" Moby sted him with all he could, his beam of pure demon energy growing stronger along with his opponent''s emotions. The shalker yelled a shriek of pain, and Out of instinct, he blocked his face with both hands, yet his attempts were futile as the stpletely consumed him and sent him soaring up in the air like fireworks. Moby''s smile grew evenrger as he felt his power soar along with his opponent, looking up as he witnessed his st breaking through the roof as he rocketed far up in the sky. And with no time wasted, Moby decided to capitalize on the situation as he spread his wings wide and flew up in the air. To his knowledge, his opponent possessed no wings, and up in the air, he was nothing but a sitting duck. However, to his surprise, as he rose up and followed his own st up into the sky, he was met with quite the pleasant surprise. "YOU¡­ I''LL END YOU¡­" Above him, his pure demon energy faded away, and it was instead reced by the face of his angered opponent as he let loose all he had. Wings of ckened mes sprouted out of his back like an abomination, and his entire body was consumed in a thick ck aura that burned as violently as the hatred he kept hidden within. The gray sky bellowed a thunderous cry and turned to ck akin to his mes, and the wind and clouds swirled all around them like an arena of fog. The shalker''s previously calm and collected air was no more. The calmness remained on his face, yet to Moby who was an expert in deception, he knew it to be nothing but a facade. Without a doubt, his opponent was far stronger than before, as though he had entered apletely new realm of power. Yet in his current state, with all these emotions surging through his veins, Moby felt even stronger... Chapter 382 - Clash of The Titans (2)

Chapter 382: sh of The Titans (2)

Moby grinned, and with no hesitation went on the offensive by once again throwing ice spears towards his opponent, this time much faster, almost as though he was throwing machine-gun fire from his bare hands. Yet his opponent seemed unimpressed, not moving a single inch as he felt his annoyance swell from within. "THAT TRICK WON''T WORK ON ME ANYMORE!!" He sent a gust of fire all around him, and the iing purple spears of ice were nullified, yet notpletely destroyed as they were sent flying in every direction like falling hail. However, instead of shocking or even making Moby reconsider, his sneer grew evenrger in size, waving several spells before spreading his wings out wide and boosting towards his opponent above with his demonically infused god yer burning brighter than it ever had since he had first drawn it. [ Self Spell Protection ] [ Thick Fog Of Ice ] [ Reinforce Thick Fog of Ice ] "You''re clearly an amateur given powers you don''t understand nor are worthy to!! Your movements are brute force! That is why you will never win!" Moby announced as they once again stuck their shaking des with an atmospherepletely contrasting that of when they first shed. "Silence you!" The shalker spoke in a deathly voice, kicking Moby away with his boots before rushing him down, firing several fire shots towards him. The fire that expended out of his palms was deep and engulfed all, thus hindering his very own vision. Yet that mattered not when they sought life and homed on their target until hit. But, that was when suddenly, he heard a sound emerge from behind and the homing missiles of ck mes suddenly turned aplete 180 degrees, bolting straight towards him instead. He could not believe it, it was almost as though he was betrayed by his own mes. When he attempted to dodge, he suddenly noticed himself bound by unknown chains of magic that did not take him much effort to destroy, but that slight hesitation was more than enough for the mes to find their target. *Arrrgghhh* He grunted from the pain, yet to his dismay the pain would not end any time soon as he found a sword thrust into his guts, barely missing his heart due to his erratic movements. "YOU!! WHAT THE¡ª " There he saw Moby to his rear, and a hole, as though ripped through time and space behind him. His eyes grew wide in realization, and despite the shock and pain running through his system, he managed to connect the dots on what had just transpired. "HOW MANY POWERS DO YOU HAVE!? WHAT IS THIS!?" The shalker could no longer keep his calm persona, and his frenzy intensified. His ckened mes roared in all directions, and Moby was forced to release his de and escape from that injured, primal beast. "I''LL END YOU!!" He held his de tightly and surrounded Moby in a ring of fire from all directions slowly epassing him. "It''s toote for you now. The battle has been decided long ago¡­" Moby''s viper-like eyes of denomination glistened ominously above his amused visage, and with but a flex of his muscles, his aura of purple destruction expanded even further, and that ring of fire approaching him was nullified by his mere presence alone. "HOW!? HOW ARE YOU STILL GETTING STRONGER!? IMPOSSIBLE!!" They met des once more, and their sh shook the very heavens as they sped like blurs, evenly matched blow for blow. Moby warped throughout the entire battlefield like a shadowy assassin, and his opponent managed to react to every strike as his rage grew along with his mes. Their auras mixed during the sh, and in it was a clear victor. Moby''s pure demon energy, as though it were a hungry beast began to consume the ck mes like pudding, thus the shalker suffered greatly and began to slowly be overwhelmed. He was overwhelmed and punished by a source who did not realize nor wanted acknowledge due to his prejudice. In the end, they stood far apart, panting and readjusting their stance. One party was clearly more injured and exhausted than the other, and he felt like his chance at victory was fleeting. And in order to win, he had to act quickly, and there was one attack in his arsenal that he thought could put an end to it with pure power that could not be countered nor matched. "YOU''RE DEAD NOW TRAITOR!! THERE''S NO WARPING OUT OF THIS ONE!!" The shalker thrust his hands in front of him with a tiny me flickering at its center. The energy around him danced, a dense shield of mes surrounded him in all directions and lightning began to fall from the sky so there was no teleporting around him. That small flicker once in his palm erupted into a ball of dense, peerless power, its strength growing bigger and more potent the more he charged. Yet, as he continued to charge his attack, he felt a vein pop from his forehead as he peered down at his motionless opponent. At first, he assumed that it was due to fear and absolute dread that he was unable to move, but upon closer inspection and a small hint of noise, he realized that he wasughing instead. "What''s so funny!? Why don''t you charge up your attack huh!? Have you gone insane!?" He roared a distorted cry through the rumbling of the sky, yet that only made Moby''sughter increase even more. "Have you not noticed? I have been charging up an attack! I''ve been charging one up all this time from the power you''ve been so gracious to gift me¡­" "HUH?! WHERE!? What the fuck are you talking about!?" "There!" He smirked, pointing up at the air above as the heavy fog began to subside, and thick purple glows appeared in the sky from all directions like stars shining in the sky, yet these stars were close, violent, and armed to destroy with the purest of demonic mes. Chapter 383 - Clash of The Titans (3)

Chapter 383: sh of The Titans (3)

"I-IMPOSSIBLE!!" As the fog waspletely subsided, the source of the light was revealed, and the shalker felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach in real-time. Those tips were not mere stars, there were none other than the ice projectiles he had deflected upon the initiation of their battle. All this time, they had been kept secret from him through a thick veil of icy fog, charging up an attack from each and every one of them. The amount of energy stored in even a single shard of ice was astronomical, his ck mes next to it were like a mere candle next to a chandelier. His heart rate skyrocketed, and his panic incited aplete and utter change of ns. He shut his hands and spread his arms wide. The energy he once nned to use to fully annihte his opponent was now relocatedpletely on defence¡ª every ounce of energy he could spare. And as he charged up his defenses, he kept his shaky gaze below at the still smiling man, and at his middle and ring finger adjacent to each other¡ª for within that gap between his fingers ready to snap rested his very life. "It''s been nice! But now I''m going to have to get past you to see your master next!" *SNAP* At once, the shards of ice surrounding them twinkled, and beams of light shot out from each and every one of them as they struck the barrier where the shalkerid. Upon impact, the barrier of mes immediately began to falter, and not too long after did the barrier fall to ruins. Each and every attack hit their targets, causing a grand spectacle of ck and purple light that exploded in the sky. And as the dust cleared, a figure remained afloat in the mayhem. His armour was in shambles, his horn was cracked and disintegrated, his snow-white skin was charred and inflicted with abhorrent bruises and blood that would revolt even the harshest souls. His vision was hazy, and he barely found the energy within himself to stay afloat as he tightly held onto his right arm that was broken beyond repair and felt as if it were ready to fall off and disconnect from his shoulders. "I''m¡­ I''m alive¡­" He mumbled to himself, panting in disbelief, yet soon after he realized that he should not have spoken so soon. Through the thick dust, a metallic arm emerged and grabbed him within a crushing, iron grasp that barely allowed him to even breathe. And immediately after, his body roughly elerated out of the fog. Metallic gloves were blocking his vision, yet he knew exactly what was happening. The wind howled loudly in his ears, and the air struck his naked body like a wave of ps. He was being grabbed, and now dragged, falling all the way down to earth. "Let''s go see your master together shall we?" And his suspicions were soon verified by that same haunting voice of the traitorous monster. And soon after, he witnessed a light... a purple light through the previous darkness as he was once again greeted by that same superior purple mes, quite literally burning the idea into his mind. *CRASH* The ss ceiling of the throne room stood no chance against the meteorite diving into it, speeding through it as though it were not even there. On the solid ground theynded, and Moby''s hands were still grasping onto the barely conscious shalker between his fingertips as he was showered by ss shards falling through the sky. When Moby looked up from his opponent''s beyond recognizable visage, he was met by a wide, grandiose throne room that would put many castles on earth to shame. It did not bear the same faded appearance of the exterior¡­ No, it looked well maintained as though there was a maid who worked within it every single minute of every single day. The ground that bore an intricate design, other than where he crashed, was spotless. He was able to see his own reflection within it as if it were ss. The pirs holding the roof were etched in gold, and the throne directly ahead of him was unseated and rested above several steps, jewel-encrusted and glistened like a star even amongst the shiny room. Yet, that was not what had gotten both Moby''s and Avilia''s jaws to abruptly drop, unable to believe what they were witnessing. Upon the walls and all across the ground were paintings and statues, all of a single woman. Each one was built with immacte detail, poised for perfection. With every brushstroke, there was passion that was very much clear and elevated the beauty of who was drawn beyond its standard perfection. It was a woman with a smirk of domination and pride as though all in the world were insects before her. Her pupils shined within her sockets like bright amethysts, and her soft-featured face was so beautiful that it could kill. Her hair was a long and soft light purple, smooth as silk and fell down to her bosom, and her attire was like that of an all-mighty monarch that felt no shame in disying her assets and superiority over others. With but one nce it was clear who it was¡­ For only one woman in all the three realms could perfectly match such a description. ''Is¡­ Is that me?'' "Esphand! You here? Was it you who just came in?" A sudden, casual voice emerged, echoing all around the room. "Were you the one causing all that racket outside? It was pretty distracting for me. Eh, doesn''t matter¡­" He sighed before continuing. "Did you bring the demon in? If so then set him to the side and go get me my paint from Arkiak city below! I''ve run out of red! I''d like to be left alone with this demon¡­ It''s been many years since I''ve seen one of my kin, I''m curious to see what he has to say¡­" "..." "Hmmmm? Esphand? You there? Do you hear me?" Chapter 384 - Rupert

Chapter 384: Rupert

Moby followed the voice, and his vision was led towards the corner where it met a man adorned in a long robe of ck sat upon a chair with his back turned. In his hands was what seemed to be a brush, and ahead of him was a massive canvas where that same woman from before was drawn, this time stepping and torturing a white-haired angel as he struggled to breathe beneath her boot. That angel was none other than his old team leader, Artorias that he found sat unconscious ahead of the canvas, tied up firmly in a mixture of ck and ashen mes unable to speak, the same me that was used against him by the man beneath his feet. ''What''s going on? Is¡­ Is that guy drawing Artorias for his new painting¡­ Is that why he''s still alive¡­'' He thought to himself before shaking his head, refocusing himself after all he witnessed. "Ruler of this castle! I''vee to see you! No harm shall be put upon you if you cooperate with me!" Moby announced. << Hmmm? Esphand? What is that sound? Whatnguage is th¡ª >> The robed painter spoke with a hint of confusion as he slowly turned his head, revealing his face¡­ His skin was a dark tone of gray, and his hair was a long, soft colour of ashen. The twin tips of his horn were dipped in an ominous ck and his yellow, glowing eyes resembled that of a cat. Without a shadow of a doubt, that man was a demon¡­ His young features would be considered handsome even by supermodel standards on earth, handsome as a devil. Yet, that handsome, calm and collected demeanour onlysted for a split second as it shifted into an expression of bewilderment in his eyes and entire visage that was absolute, an intensity, unlike anything Moby had ever seen before in his life. His face turned pale, and his clean skin began to sweat profusely. His pupils ergened, and his body became so jittery that even a vibrator paled inparison. His emotions were so strong that his heartbeat shook the very ground like a tremor. However, despite the great disy of emotions, Moby did not feel threatened nor attempted to defend himself for he had the ability to draw power from his opponent''s rage and other negative emotions¡­ And currently, he felt absolutely nothinging from that man¡­ << L-Lord Avilia¡­ I-I-I-I-I-I-I-Is that you¡­ His eyes began to swell, and a stream of steady tears began to pour out of his eyes like a waterfall as he struggled to even get out of his seat and approach the entity ahead. ''RUPERT!? WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE!?'' Avilia shouted into Moby''s head to the point that it shook his very skull. ''Y-you know this guy? Does he have an obsession over you!?'' Moby''s eyes shot open. ''Of course, I know this guy!! He''s a greater demon that lived in my damn castle! I have many die-hard admirers that worshiped the very ground I trodded on but this guy is on another level! I''ll spare you the details for now! Just know you got super lucky that a greater demon like him was allied with me and not a rogue, or else you would have been dead now! Just let me transfer you the information for how you could speak demon to understand him too!'' ''Wait¡­ You can do that?! Why didn''t you do that from before?'' ''Yes, your mind stat is now high enough for me to dump that muchplex info into you when I couldn''t from before, this shouldn''t be too painful or long¡­'' << Rupert¡­ That is your name correct? >> Moby spoke, surprised at how this newnguage rolled off his tongue as if he were a native speaker. << Oh! Your highness! You remembered my true name! I had yet to reveal that name even to my closest subordinate! IT IS YOU!! IT REALLY IS¡­ >> The demon''s tears intensified, and his shaky legs gave out as he broke down on his knees with happiness unparalleled. << Through all these years I had never forgotten about you, my lord! >> << Yes¡­ I can tell from all these statues¡­ >> Moby replied, looking all around the room once again. << Oh! So you have realized! For all these years I have poured my heart and soul into these paintings trying to replicate your image! Yet my memory wains me and I was never satisfied¡­ Not one painting managed to fully capture your power and beauty! What do you think of them? >> << Truly skillful work¡­ >> Moby nodded. << Oh! You''re far too kind! I''m truly honoured! Ah¡ª ahh¡ª This still does not feel real¡­ I am sorry for my state but this is truly the happiest day of my life! Never in a million years did I think this day woulde! >> ''Does he think I''m you or something?'' Moby asked, almost overwhelmed by the disy ahead of him. ''He might be hallucinating my image with your body since we do share a simr aura. I need answers from him¡­ This is also the most pivotal point in my life¡­ You have no idea how long I''ve waited for this¡­ I never thought the day would be so soon¡­ And I never thought I would see the day where I would be ecstatic to see Rupert of all people. Send him a signal for mind transference just like we did with Alucard. With your higher mind and considering he''s a greater demon, there should be no need to meditate like before.'' ''Got it¡­ I''ve also been waiting to hear this to¡­'' Moby nodded, snapping his two fingers and making a hand sign. And the very moment that he did, his world was consumed in ck. All went dark and his consciousness drifted in a flowing river until a sudden light emerged, and he opened his eyes once again to see himself stood in a void of ck where he witnessed two figures. One was of course none-other-than Avilia herself, dressed in her demon-lord garbs and the other was the still robed and kneeling Rupert. << Rupert! Speak your name and pledge your loyalty to me once more! Your actions of sending hitmen after the air to the demon throne could be seen as nothing more than treasonous! They even had the gall to call me the traitor because I was travelling with an angel! They knew not their own lord when they met her presence unlike you! >> Avilia''s words were serious, cold, and distant, more eloquently spoken than when she would ever address him, as though she had flipped a switch. Her presence was drowning, her stance was dominant, and the gaze in her shining eyes was a physical personification of death and power. Truly, the woman who stood in front of him was a ruler amongst rulers, the same woman who''s might and reach unrivalled in all three realms. Even Moby who had known her for so long could not help but sweat profusely and stare in awe in her presence. He had only seen this side of her when they addressed Alucard. For indeed, the entity ahead of him was none other than the great demon lord Avilia Graymore. Upon hearing Avilia''s words, Rupert shuddered as though unable to believe his own ears as he gulped and responded in a beyond shaky voice. << How could that be¡­ My loyalty has never waned and was always with your majesty! Seeing you now, there is not a speck of doubt in my mind! I, Rupert Elvrain shall pledge my eternal loyalty once more!! My soldiers know your face inside and out! They too revere you just as much as I! I am truly sorry for what they have done to you!! I shall have them both executed immediately for high treason! And if you so wish, I could take my own life for such a grave blunder!! >> << No need. I shall exercise forgiveness for now. They did serve for good practice for my prot¨¦g¨¦,>> Avilia waved her hands with assertive elegance. << They did not fail to recognize me, but they failed to recognize my presence with that man to my side. For he is to be my future sessor! >> She announced proudly. << I thought you were right in front of me from before!? You''ve chosen your sessor!? >> Rupert raised his head in shock, looking around before he locked eyes with a confident Moby, standing tall and proud even beside his lord which incited several emotions as he did not bow before her as well. << Indeed, >> Avilia''s stuttery image nodded. << He was the man who stood in front of you prior to your arrival in this space. Unlike those shalkers of yours, you sensed my presence and identified your true lord! I was never there nor could I ever be there... Have you forgotten? I''ve sacrificed myself for the sake of demon-kind against those dreaded angels and I''ve been searching for answers ever since I had awoken from my ne that found its ce upon this man''s neck¡­ Now¡­ Rupert¡­ I need you to exin to me precisely what happened to the world I sacrificed everything to protect¡­ And what circumstances led you toy dormant in this frozen tundra within the mortal realm¡­ >> Chapter 385 - The Living Nightmare

Chapter 385: The Living Nightmare

Avilia made her request, and her gaze narrowed down even further towards the even more jittery, kneeling Rupert. "Why certainly your highness! It would be my greatest honour to exin absolutely everything..." He took an extensive gulp followed by a deep breath before continuing. "After your sacrifice, the war was ended, and both sides were forced to retreat back to where they came. But, as you would assume, the aftermath of the war and your sacrifice caused a far worse,sting effect on our kind than that of the much more organized angels." "Zerker tookmand after your death as he tried to quell the masses'' outrage but it didn''t work out too well, so he was forced to sign a treaty to allow him more time to bring demon kind together. But, that only instilled even more outrage in¡ª" "There is no need to exin that¡­" Avilia waved. "Alucard, the vampire lord under Shadar had already exined all of that to me. How society began to devolve back into its barbaric roots after I''ve left and how Zerker had to take arms against them to keep the people under his thumb. What I need to know is what happened after that¡­ On the day of the attack¡­ And what exactly happened to the book of resurrection and my ne¡­" "U-understood! Apologies my lord!" Rupert shook and nodded vigorously to Avilia''s words as he began to recount what truly mattered in her ears. "On the day of the attack, it seemed like any other day¡­ I woke up and immediately went to do my job in the painting room where I was ordered to draw your majesty for a grand painting for a celebration Zerker had nned to help unite the people. It really was a masterpiece beyond anything I had ever done in my life. And after a decade of work on it, it was finally over¡­" "But that was when the sky shattered, like a massive rumbling that shook the very realm itself¡­ Even I could barely stand in its wake, and the castle began to vigorously shake as if it were hit by 100 earthquakes. The painting that I had worked so hard on had copsed on the floor, and your beauty was absolutely ruined." "At first, I assumed that it was one of those old leaders who attacked the castle in protest and retaliation for the celebration Zerker had nned. However, that was far from the truth." "When the ground stood still again, I left the room in outrage. But that outrage was then reced with concern. Screams¡­ No, they were more like shrieks that echoed throughout the castle hallways, ones that bore a great amount of pain." "A message was immediately sent to everyone within the castle that we were under attack by masked figures of all sizes raiding not only the castle but the entire capital for as far as the eye could see¡­" "The anger in my eyes was immediately reced with panic. The cries across the hallways were slowly approaching me. I''m weak¡­ I''m no fighter, and I knew I would stand no chance as the simple castle painter. So I did what I thought was best¡­ I ran away as far as I could to the other side as to not get in the way." "As I did so, I witnessed brave soldiers and protectors of the castle rush ahead past me with no fear in their eyes. However, the screams of pain that soon followed their advances proved to me that they were no match, and only made me run even faster." "However, I could only do so much running before suddenly, I run out of room to go, and the only way out was to either head into the forbidden ground or to break open through the walls." "And of course, I initially chose thetter." "With all my might, I punched a hole through the tough castle walls, and there I saw a sight that I would never in my life forget, soldered and branded into my mind until my death." "The previous calm, rtively empty streets were run rampant, like an ocean of unknown masked beings flooded the entire city. The sky was shattered like ss, and those very same beings fell down from it like pouring rain." "However, there was retaliation. In the sky were several demons fighting off the menace, many I recognized as Elite guards and even some of the sins such as Lust, Envy, and even Zerker, Wrath himself. But despite their aid, they could not kill faster than these entities who mowed down civilians like nothing." "The energy oozing out from underneath could be only described as a foul abomination that made my very being crawl and gag beyond repair. The faces of the unmasked gremlins were abhorrent. Their skin was of all sizes, a mixture of different pigments, horns growing out of every pore in their bodies like pimples, that along with feathery wings and a golden glow. Some evencked simple functions such as eyes, ears, and mouths, having horns reced by them instead. They seemed like primitive beings, in pain every second they breathed who only had destruction in their minds." "From above I watched in horror. It was doomsday, like the end of theher realm as I knew it. The outside world beyond the castle I had tried to escape to was far more unsafe than the very walls." "So, I attempted to go the only way I could to survive¡­ Into the forbidden ground where both your ne and the book of resurrectionid in top security." "The only problem was, despite everything that was happening, the area was still heavily guarded at that moment. If anything, the number of guards in the area multiplied to protect. I began to lose hope of survival, the rumbling and screaming across the hallway was increasing and I had nowhere left to escape. But, before "I attempted to rush into certain death against the castle guards, two figures hooded in ck dash directly past me as if I were not even there. And the next time I had blinked, I found the five guards guarding the edge of the forbidden ground on the floor, unconscious but certainly not dead." "I couldn''t believe my eyes and didn''t know what the hell happened. All I knew was that it was my opportunity to flee, and so I took it..." Chapter 386 - The Living Nightmare (2)

Chapter 386: The Living Nightmare (2)

"I ran through the sacred ground of the castle I had never before trodded on, and as I did, I found bodies on the floor. The more I sprinted through this unknown, expansivend the more bodies I found, each of them still breathing with not even a single hint of blood dripped upon the ground. It was an odd feeling yet it confirmed some of my suspicions. It was clear that whoever did this was not one of those barbarians, their attacks were far too calcted and skilful to be one of those beasts." "In fact, the only people that I could think of to swiftly eliminate elite guards tasked with such a high order was a sin. Which initially made me fear that two sins had betrayed us. But then as I thought about it in my chaotic mind, I thought that it did not make sense, for why would they spare all of these soldiers?" "The more I ran and the more bodies I found the more frantic I became and the more my mind began to throb. And that was when I reached the end of the hallway¡­" "There, I found a magnificent door of purple and gold beyond a heap of bodies. And for the first time, I heard a struggle." "Beyond that door were those ck shadows I glimpsed from before, I had no doubt in my mind. And as though my body went into autopilot, my legs began to move by themselves, past the bodies and through the open doors¡­" "There, I witnessed a massacre unlike any I have ever, nor will ever witness. There was no blood, no damage, and barely any sound. At the center of the still magnificent room was a pile of corpses that littered the ground, yet they could not even be deemed as corpses as they were not dead nor even visibly injured." "And beyond the mountain were those two figures once again. And I watched as they took out their final targets¡­" "That was when their head turned and looked me in the eyes, and I felt like my life shed before my eyes. My senses were ovee by fear, and I lost my ability to even breathe. Their hooded figures were shrouded in shadows." "They bore absolutely no intent to kill, yet From their gaze alone, my legs turned to jello, and I could no longer stand, their power was like that of a sin. No! In that moment I felt like they might have been even stronger. They were the strongest beings I''ve everid eyes on, behind you of course lord Avilia¡­" "However, that onlysted for a split second before their gaze turned elsewhere, ignoring me as if I were not there or worth their time." "They turned their heads and faced the altar where floated both the book of resurrection and your ne side by side. And with no hesitation, they grabbed them both before opening a portal and disappearing as if they were never even there, leaving nothing but fragments of their portal behind¡­" "Lord Avilia¡­ Thinking back to that day makes me feel like the worst of scum¡­ I deserve to be executed¡­ I watched motionless, damn near pissing my pants as two unknown figures stole your ne and the book meant to resurrect you¡­ I was so damn useless¡­ My loyalty was not enough¡­" He took a pause in his story as he broke down crying, his body shaking even more uncontrobly than before. Yet, Avilia did not entertain his disy. "Continue your story! What happened next!" "Oh-Oh! Y-yes! Apologies! I shall continue¡­" He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath before he returned, reliving his memories. "Little after they left, I heard sounds from behind, footsteps and screams that I remember vividly to this day." "It was Gluttony and an army of troops¡­" "He witnessed as the ne that once belonged to you was gone, that along with the book of resurrection, and how I was the only man left standing. He could not believe his eyes, opening a portal was supposed to be impossible other than within the teleporting room of the castle, especially in the sacred hall¡­ He did not stop long to address me, almost as though I was trash¡­ All I did was tell him what happened, and with no hesitation, all in your name, they re-opened the closed portal and dove in after the figures with nothing but determination filling them, leaving me all alone, crying on the ground like a fool." "But then I looked at my pathetic state with disgust, and thought about all my failures. And as though to make up for my mistakes, or out of pure instinct, I still to this day don''t know what made me do what I did... I shook myself off before diving into that portal a split second before its copse." "And there, to my surprise, I found myself in a void¡­ Nothing but ck surrounded me with twinkles from beyond for as far as the eye could see¡­" "It was and I had never even seen nor dreamed of in my life. And considering where I am right now, that ce was non-other than the mortal realm, which was never even considered by me at the time due to the taboo." "That was when suddenly, I heard an explosion, and as I turned my head I witnessed what seemed like a light show far in the distance. But, upon closer inspection, I noticed it was a battle between the new troops and undoubtedly angels, angels that overwhelmed them, and even gluttony seemed to be on his back foot." "I stood in awe, taking a gulp as I felt my heart race." "That was when I realized the possibility that it was angels or gods that had stolen your ne and book, and the guilt buried within me could not bear be kept within my heart. A sense of duty overcame me. I had gone this far on my path to redemption, so stopping now would have been idiotic¡­" "So at top speed, I flew towards them and enteredbat. But soon after, it was clear that I was no match as I was fatally injured not even a second upon entering. Yet I fought on, willing to go until my death. But, my advances were then put at a halt¡­ Not by me¡­ or an angel No, but by a fellow demon¡­" "Rinia Brewer, a dear friend of mine who I once taught how to draw butter joined the army¡­ He pushed me away into a portal he erected. And my fleeting life was saved¡­ To this day, I don''t know how to feel¡­ Whether I should be happy to live or mad that I did not uphold my honour and fight until the end with myrades¡­ I felt so useless once again... That''s how I ended up stuck on this very same¡­ But it seemed like I wasn''t alone, for an angel had been sucked into the portal alongside me¡­" Chapter 387 - The Living Nightmare (3)

Chapter 387: The Living Nightmare (3)

"Everywhere I went I saw white, and endless storm and expanse for as far as the eye could see. Yet, that was not what first hit me. No, it was the cold that struck upon my skin and the snow beneath my feet. Even the expanses of space had no such effect on me yet this cold around me was paralyzing," "However, what paralyzed me more was the realization that there was an angel, directly breathing to my side. His armour was cracked, his wings were clipped, and blood gushed out from his every pore as he bled on the ground with an expression of pain that far exceeded even mine." "There I saw an opportunity, and I immediately seized it. I had no way to warm myself¡­ Despite being a me demon, my mes were designed after your pure demon energy¡­ Thus, it gave off no heat at all¡­ It could not help me¡­ So I had to find an escape." "With the meagre strength I had left, I trudged upon this hopeless wastend, dragging the angel upon my two shaky hands¡­" "At one point I had had nearly given up, my eyes were turning dull, my wounds were getting to me and the cold was ready to take me out of my misery. But that was when from above, I witnessed a light¡­ A shining orange light I had not seen in what felt like forever." "Fire..." "It was the only hope I had left, and with that, I grabbed onto it as hard as I could and used everything I had to force myself up that mountain towards the light. And through sheer will and perseverance, I reached my destination with the angel still alive behind me. It was a castle, the very same castle I reside in now, yet it was far less empty, far less faded, and far more alive..." "Indeed, it was bustling with aliens that came in left and right, entities I had never before seen in my life. But to me, it mattered not as I made my way towards the gate." "The warmth of the castle was getting to me the closer I got, yet as soon as I was ready to enter the hot paradise of within, I was immediately halted by guards upon the entrance who spoke to me in anguage I didn''t understand." "So then I forced myself to enter again, only this time they used force and pushed me to the ground." "I grunted¡­ In that moment I had to make a decision, and in that moment, it did not take me long to decide. I channelled my ck mes and vaporized the two guards who stood before me. And the elegantly dressed guests immediately ran away in terror, yet I did not let them flee." "With a pool of blood under my feet, I stepped foot within the castle gates for the first time experiencing true warmth with the angel still in my hand. But, instead of a warmer wee, I was greeted by an army of guards stood before me with spears and shields in hand yelling at me in that same tongue." "I cared not for what they said as they attacked me, I retaliated. And with one simple spell, they were dead¡­ In that moment I realized that I was in the mortal realm, for I was able to defeat them so effortlessly in such a state. They were no demons or angels, they knew not even a single spell to protect their lives and their constitution was so meagre andcked no energy." "Over the bodies I marched, and the further I went the more guards arrived only to be mowed down over, and over, and over again. Their morale and determination weremendable, or was it stupidity? To this day, I still don''t even know. But even as they saw their ownrades turn into mush right before their eyes, barely any of them faltered as they rushed me with zero regards for their own lives." "Eventually, I made it past them all. And the throne room was my final destination, and the warmest ce of all. Women and men dressed in suits danced underneath a bright chandelier, children frolicked ying on the ground, and upon a throne was a smiling man with a crown atop his head." "As I entered, they took one good look at me¡­ But that look was their final one as they were all dead in their next¡­ The only man I kept alive was the king himself who I kept for questioning. But everyone else was erased out of existence like the insects they were." "From all the negative energy I received, I was able to heal myself back to functioning condition. I cast several spells upon the king to ensure he wouldn''t run or kill himself, and I began to heal the angel in my hand to consciousness because we two had much to discuss¡­" "The king was beyond shocked. He shrieked a banshee-like cry of pain as though it were the end of the world. I would like to imagine that is how the ant king reacts when a man steps upon their mound. His eyes turned watery, his nose even more so with snot as he broke down. Had it not been for the spells I cast he would have most certainly died of a heart attack from all the shock." "And luckily for him,he? spoke easily and told me everything I wanted to know. I didn''t even have to resort to any major torture or mind magic to get it out of him, but the angel was far more resilient¡­" "He woke up, chained in the castle''s dungeon, bound heavily and given no chance to retaliate. At first I questioned him¡­ For many years he would not crack despite all the pain and suffering I inflicted upon him. However, I didn''t give up. I had a goal after all, I needed to know what had happened. And on one faithful day¡­ He cracked, and he revealed absolutely everything to me." Chapter 388 - The Truth

Chapter 388: The Truth

"He told me how they did it¡­ How they destroyed and invaded the very world I knew in a single day after that treaty was signed... How from the captured demons they had, they kept them as their very own sex ves to reproduce, and with that new race, they managed to bypass the restrictions and enter the demon world. While we were busy fighting amongst ourselves in civil wars, they were nning an attack and strengthening their forces¡­" "However, out of all the things he revealed, that was somehow the least interesting part¡­" "Indeed, the most interesting part was the fact that they had created this new form of energy dubbed as ''mana''. And with it, they were able to do many things¡­ Notably, in the mortal realm to grow so exponentially in strength¡­" "Itbined a demon''s ability to suck and absorb and the long-range of the faith transference they possessed into one invention¡­ Essences of their angelic beasts as the catalyst connecting them from within¡­" "They infused this mana into the clouds of variouss¡­ The rain that fell down therein infused with their very being, absorbing the positive energy within them and redirecting it back towards the heavens where they resided¡­" "No longer would they need to make people believe in them as deities for them to prosper and gain energy¡­ It''s solely the dependence on this new ability thing they had. Indiscriminately they spread the rain, transforming everything in the realm, even those beasts slithering on the ground who possessed no rhyme or reason we affected and transformed into frenzied beasts consumed by their own power." "And then, from that day onward, the quaint and weak mortal realm was never the same. And that change was masked under an borate veil that was nearly impossible to uncover¡­" "The Nether Realm is most probably in ruins, and there I was being mocked by an angel that I had been torturing for years on end¡­ And as he finished telling me his story, Ished out at him and killed him on the spot¡­" "However, it mattered not since he was going to die anyway, and I didn''t have the means to save him¡­ Even I myself was on the verge of death due to theck of negative energy surrounding me." "I couldn''t live off killing vigers forever, and putting them on a sex farm to reproduce was too much work for me, especially since I didn''t speak thenguage. So, in the end, I employed what that angel told me. Admittedly, what I did was very sloppy and inefficient inparison to the angels, but I managed to find a way where I could manipte and sap away all of their negative energy, leaving them as cheery hollows." "And like that, I lived for many years, simply sitting, doing absolutely nothing as I rotted away in this fading castle. I couldn''t even leave the if I wanted to. The climate was too rigorous for me to even leave my castle for an extended time, and in all my years in theher realm, I never thought to learn some sort of warping or teleportation magic." "But that was when one day. I heard a sound unlike any other in all my years on this. The sound of the sky crying almost like that faithful day in theher realm. At first, I thought it to be an avnche, but when I looked out the window I saw something flying up in the sky." "To me, it was like a giant animal made of metal had invaded me. But, now I know it to be a spaceship that would have allowed me a way out of here. If only I hadn''t fully blown it up..." "Out of that ship, white figures emerged jumping off it like rain¡­ And as soon as I saw that horn on their head I was filled with so many emotions¡­ Fear, excitement, shock, and a lust for revenge." "I stayed in the safety of my castle. And not too long after, they came to me¡­" "I quickly found out that these beings and the invaders of theher realm were not the same, at least in terms of strength. But, admittedly, against their leaders, I did somewhat struggle actually. Still, eventually, they all died, and what remained of them were those two that begged for their lives¡­ So I spared them." "Eventually, I even trusted them enough to teach them some demon magic¡­ But that was when I made an interesting discovery. They had unusually high adaptability with it, and picked it up rtively quickly. And thus, I discovered that in all likelihood, they were descendants of those abominations that first attacked theher realm, and the power of mana was infused deep within their very beings, strengthening their cores¡­ It suggested me that I had been wasting away in this castle for at least several thousand years and I did not even feel the time." "These shalkers¡­ They told me about all that happened in the outside world, including some sort of prophecy of their people for the return of the lord¡­ And how a certain statue began to glow of someone with horns and wings. And without any further exnation, I interpreted it as your return, and life was rekindled in my eyes. And from then on, I once again indulged myself in painting you your majesty as I awaited for your glorious return¡­" "And then the events of recent. I was told by my subordinates that a demon had invaded my domain along with an angel. At first, even I thought it was a traitor who had corroborated with the angels to bring down theher realm, but I never thought that it would actually be you lord Avilia¡­" "That is all that happened given in as much detail as possible¡­ I hope that was some help to you, your glorious majesty¡­" As Rupert finally finished story, Moby''s mind felt right about to explode. It was as though there had been a gate blocking his mind, and only now was it finally opened. He gave many answers, yet it posed so many more questions that he needed answered and so many realizations that only now did he begin theorizing in his mind. ''Demon children¡­ Those must be kids that the negative energy transference didn''t work properly on, and it ended up sucking away too much of their positive energy leaving them as sick and evil out the womb¡­ The reason why everyone on earth is an asshole is because of their abilities and the angels¡­ The ones that are power-hungry are the ones most affected which exins why some really powerful humans such as Mason Griffith were still very nice humans with abilities. ''The reason why Neia Spud''s soul was able to be brought up to the celestial realm was because abilities themselves were so tightly ingrained with abilities, giving it a direct way up... That light that Alex saw escaping people was actually the positive energy leaving their bodies and transferring over towards the celestial realm¡­ And he said that both Avilia''s ne and the book of resurrection were stolen¡­ That means that¡­'' Chapter 389 - Truth (2)

Chapter 389: Truth (2)

Even despite her high and mighty demeanour, Avilia''s face was visibly stunned at the revtion unveiled to her just now. It was almost more than she could handle¡­ The fact that the angels had been controlling the mortal realm for so long and that her homnd was in all likely hood wiped out was much to bear, and she was once again furious with herself that she no longer had the ability to sense the truth with her own powers¡­ Yet, it was all things that were major possibilities, and things that she had alreadye to terms with long ago. What Rupert just did was confirm her suspicions and make her feel a deeper yearning and dependency for her homnd. The problem was how she would be going tobat such an angel force¡­ However, that was for another time, currently, there was something else, a realization bugging her mind. "Rupert. Do you think Gluttony is somewhere still out there in the mortal realm?" "I know not of that my lord¡­ But I would dearly hope so," "That Angel that you captured, the one with us¡­ Did you question him at all?" "No my lord¡­ I simply knocked him out to do a painting¡­ I nned to interrogate who I thought you were and him together¡­" "I see¡­" She nodded. "My lord¡­ Is¡ª- Is he with you?" "Of course not! I need to interrogate him myself¡­ But for now, we will have to leave this space¡­ But before we do, I need you not pledge your loyalty to me, but instead your new lord beside me¡­ Moby Kane. For the current me is in no shape to rule over the three realms. In but one year he had reached to this level of strength, so think not bad of him despite him being extremely weak for a demon lord candidate." She ordered, and her voice seeped into Rupert''s very soul. "I understand! I have no qualms! If you recognize this man and deem him worthy of the throne then so will I! From today onward! I, Rupert Elvrain pledge my loyalty to thee¡­ Moby Kane! For you, and only you, chosen by her majesty lord Avilia herself shall take upon the name of demon lord!" He peered up toward''s Moby''s solid, unflinching eyes with a deep voice and a heavy heartbeat. It was to the point that Moby could simply feel the sincerity leaking from his voice. "Rupert Elvrain I take thee as my loyal subordinate. May your loyalty be proven not only in word, but by action too¡­" He held his hands and touched his shoulders, and he felt a slight tingle on his skin. "It is my honour to serve!" He lowered his head gracefully. "Avilia, I''m sorry to interrupt your reunion, but can we go back to the real world? I have something I want to see¡­" He asked, and Avilia looked back at him with a matching gaze. "Me too¡­" And with a single snap of her fingers, all faded to ck, and soon after did light return and the cold air of the throne room once again covered all. Yet, he had no time to take in his surroundings as he immediately reached into his inventory and pulled out a certain book¡­ Its ck coat was faded in old paper, the cover was hard as steel, yet all thatid within it was endless emptiness. However, when he injected it with his demon energy, a different story was revealed¡­ Power, seemingly of unlimited quantities began to trickle in his very soul, and a wonder engulfed all his senses. The book began to shine within his hands, and a purple, me-like glow engulfed the pages in thin lines, burning through the very cover like a fuse set on fire. At first, its direction seemed aimless, but that was when he recognized that it was anguage he knew yet did not recognize¡­ It was the demon tongue, and it read¡­ "The Book Of Resurrection..." Before he even uttered a word, he heard a voice from his side, and he immediately turned around to see a wide-eyed Rupert, crying and shaking like an elderly woman. "Were¡­ How¡­ How did you get it?!" "My parents, they were probably the two figures who stole the book and the ne. They weren''t angels, they were dragons. I think they stole it knowing that the angels would be after them, so they fled to the mortal realm with it and kept it safe until now." "I-I¡ª I see¡­" Rupert''s tears increased more as they fled down his face and he crumbled on his knees. "I felt great shame at the time for my transgressions and regretted it for thousands of years¡­ But now that regret has turned into happiness to see it didn''t fall in the wrong hands¡­ Where are these parents of yours? I would like to personally apologize¡­" "I don''t know where they are or if they''re alive..." He deeply sighed. "But where ever they are, I''ll be certain to continue their legacy¡­ And it all starts with this book¡­" He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and shaking his head before looking down towards the burning book in his hands emanating power as he steeled himself to flip through to the first page¡­ A page that possessed glowing letters, beating like a living heart in what seemed like poetry¡­ And that was when the light exploded off the pages, and energy once again made its way within him. [ System Alert! ] [ Oh great demon lord! Your glorious blood has been recognized and approved! ] [ New skill unlocked! ] [ Lords Possession ] [ New skill unlocked! ] [ Fragment of Sin | Gluttony | (Lvl 1) ] ****************** A fragment of the energy of Gluttony infused into the book of resurrection from Corvion, the sin of Gluttony and several greater demons in effort to resurrect great demon lord Avilia Graymore. Effects: +150 to all stats Once per day, rather than blocking an energy-based attack, you can consume it and make it into your own power. IMPORTANT WARNING! This is by no means an invincible defence! Not only is the possibility of you being damaged there, but if that attack is too powerful, it can not be absorbed and will lead to death! USE THIS WISELY! IF YOU THINK THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE AN ATTACK THE NORMAL WAY OF TANKING IT! DODGE! ****************** Upon witnessing the notification in front of him. He could almost not believe his eyes once more, for he met even greater shock. ''A-Avilia¡­ Are you seeing this?'' ''Well¡­ Of course I am, I was the one who sent the skill notification. I just finished analyzing this book. I can''t believe it¡­ It''s the real deal! But, with your current strength, you''re only able to learn a single spell from it¡­ That seal your parents put on this book was very potent. It was most likely to hide its presence from the angels, but then they reinforced it for you to reach level 100. It was all nned so the power of the book wouldn''t overwhelm you and kill you on the spot¡­ The only problem is that this book is missing a whole lot of pages from the back and it''s far fromplete, which exins why that shalker had a page too¡­'' ''I¡ª I see¡­ So I''ve yet to unlock all the powers of the book because of my current strength?'' ''Yes,'' Avilia nodded from within. ''I think you should be able to unlock a fragment from every sin.'' ''Wait, what''s this lord''s possession thing though?'' Moby wondered. ''Oh,'' He heard a chuckle from within. ''Give me something small and fluffy and I''ll be sure to show you! I''m so excited! It''ll be a surprise! But in the meantime, we should go check up on that Artorias fellow. What I got from Rupert is outdated, but I think he''ll be able to provide more clearance...'' Chapter 390 - Confrontation

Chapter 390: Confrontation

*ugghhhh¡­* A groan gently trickled into Artorias''s ears. He knew not its origin, it was vague and dim,ing from all directions in the darkness that overcame him. << Ishrivnsivar Upharir¡­ >> The sounds gradually began to flow in more, and the darkness before him began to turn into a gray. ''What¡ª what is that¡­'' He thought to himself, and in that moment he felt the two lids blocking his vision slowly lift, unveiling a blurry, murky world. And in that spinning world, he witnessed two figures with glowing eyes peering down at him. His memory was even foggier than his vision. Despite his perception slowly improving, and the faces of these beings became clearer, he did not know what was happening. But that was when he heard a familiar voice enter his ears, and the world became crystal, like dots connected in a lost part of his mind. "Hello, Artorias. Nice to have you with us again¡­" "K-Kane¡­ Y-you¡ª" He spoke with bewilderment in his voice, looking down to see that he could not move from his spot. His hands and legs were bound in iron, and his body felt like it weighed several tons. His efforts to break loose was futile, and that was when he peered up once again to see a gray-skinned being with horns, and his eyes went wide in realization¡ª that was the man who had so effortlessly put him in his ce. "You¡ª have you two been working together this entire time!?" "No, we haven''t." Moby smiled. "But, when we met, he recognized me as his future monarch and bent the knee as my subordinate." "Ha¡ª " "Don''t act like you''re surprised. I bet you knew who I was all along. You, an angel. Yet, to this day I didn''t understand what exactly you were doing... What is your purpose exactly? Are you a spy? If so then why are you so weak? I bet that if you told your higher-ups of my location, I''d be dead in an instant¡­ So why are you doing all of this!?" Artorias''s eyes remained wide-eyed hearing Moby speak, but that was when his sights narrowed and he inwardly scoffed looking at his bound legs, like he was deep in thought. And after what felt like an eternity of thinking, he spoke¡­ "Fine¡­ I... I''ll tell you¡­ I was going to have to say it anyway, but now I don''t seem to be given a choice¡­" He sighed deeply before he looked up at Moby''s eyes of sin. "Indeed. I''m an angel from the celestial realm. In fact, I''m a rookie apostle of Arc Angel ina, a person you might know as ''Neia Spud''..." Artorias took a small pause as he shed an insignia of light out of thin air, one that Avilia immediately recognized as authentic, and Moby''s face suddenly widened. "I was tasked with the mission to head to earth to ensure the safety of her siblings and to meet you¡­ The former I''ve already done, I had sessfully adopted them and sent them to a loving home where they are safe. And, as for thetter, I had joined elite school as a student knowing full well you would also be here. I''ve been watching you from the shadows ever since, seeing and testing your worth." Confusion overcame Moby''s face, he could almost not believe his ears. ''So¡­ He was the one who adopted them before I could get to it!?'' "Wait wait wait! So you''re saying is¡­ You and Neia are Traitors!? ¡­ But why? And why of all angels were you sent!?" "I see that what I''ve told you isn''t too farfetched. After all, if I was against you, I''d have already sent notice to the higher gods and you would be dead¡­ Her highness the arc angel is a very kind soul, unnaturally kind amongst the conniving angel poption, such it is with mortals who''s souls are sent up into the heavens. But, most of them are usually then trained and have their loyalty proven, and that pure heart of gold doesn''tst." "But arch angel ina, Neia Spud was different. She held on steadfast despite her prosecutions and trials, but she only puts on an act to please the higher gods. But what really set her off was the harsh treatment of the demons. She felt sympathy, and I, being the weakest angel under her was sent, entrusted, and chosen by her since I would be able to slip past security and enter the mortal realm unnoticed due to my particrly low level of power." "In short, yes, she''s a rebel who wants to see the angels and gods be taken down¡­" "I¡­ I see¡­" Moby spoke, trying to hide the bewilderment under his poker face. "You say that she is a traitor correct? But how about you?" "Me? My mistress may be extremely powerful, but she''s but a child! She met a single demon who treated her with kindness and respect and now she has the impression that all demonkind is like that! Letting the demons win the war is not the answer! I exined it to her, but she insisted that as long as you were their leader, all would be fine!" ''Did I have that good of an impression on her?'' Moby inwardly thought, his shock increasing even more. ''Well, she did give you a very rare angel''s blessing, so I wouldn''t be surprised.'' Avilia replied. "So, Artorias, if you felt like that, why did you not report her? Why did you follow orders?" "Because I hate angels more than the actual demons! That''s why!" He roared back in response. "My mistress may be a child, but in many ways, she is wise beyond her age. So I wanted to see it all with my own eyes¡­ If you will be able to make a change! There seems to be no better option and I''d take the gamble!" "So, why did you rush into here? Why did you want toe to this castle so badly that you had abandoned everything? I even remember you specifically saying the word ''Heratic''." Moby asked, his gaze firm below. "That''s because I thought it was an angel in this castle, not a demon!" "Huh?" "They were using our energy syphoning methods after all, so it was my only assumption¡­ And not only were they using it, but they were also abusing it to suck out the life of everything on this, which angered me. It''s not rare to see selfish angels such as these scattered around¡­ Most of them being outcasts, criminals, or runaways. I''d thought that if I talked to them, we would be spared since we are both the same kind. And under no circumstance would I have allowed an angel to discover who you truly were... I just never expected it to be a demon¡­" "But still, why would an angel need to syphon negative energy? Isn''t positive energy what you feed on?" Moby could not hide his confusion. "Angels have their uses for it in the creation of mana and the strengthening of demon ves so they could breed better offsprings¡­ Angels more than have their uses for it, you never know what these bastards are thinking of." "I¡ª I see¡­" Moby began to deeply ponder to himself. For once he was confused on what to do¡­ Whether he should trust Artorias or to simply further question him and kill him on the spot. There were many things to consider, but there was one clear side to lean on. All he needed to do was ask one more question to calm his mind. "You said one of your purposes was for you to see my worth. You''ve been watching me for over a month now? What do you think?" Moby''s eyes were expectant, and Rupert standing beside him stood intimidating although he did not know what kind ofnguage the two in front of him even spoke. Artorias did not even look up to meet Moby''s gaze. He simply sighed and gave his response. "Initially, my impressions were ratherck-lustre¡­ Especiallypared to all of these conniving gods in theher realm and the horror stories of the old demon lord told to us from the days of the great wars. But the more I watched you, the more I realized that I was gravely mistaken and had judged you too early. You''re more cunning than I thought, I can guarantee you have a grand n brewing in that mind of yours¡­ I see great potential, but it''s still too early to say for certain." "I see¡­" Moby nodded. Despite Artorias''s life being in Moby''s demonic hands, he was still able to sense the sincerity in his voice, not just attempting to lie and boost his ego in a desperate attempt at survival. "I''ll keep you alive, at least for now¡­ But one sign of hostility and you''re dead, understood? Just like you looked back on your people, I can''t confirm you won''t do that same to me. But I can confirm that your aid will certainly help me on my path¡­ I still have more questions to ask you about everything that had happened with the angels and demons, but I''ll save that for another time after you fully rest..." "Yes, I understand¡­ Thank you for that kindness..." He took a deep breath and for once looked up towards his probably new master, and he watched as he snapped his hands and released him from his bindings, setting him free. << My lord! You''re letting him free!? >> Rupert raised his voice, not in anger, but from the sheer unexpected surprise. << I''ve seen enough from him. He''s long betrayed his kind. I have my own uses for him, he''ll be an invaluable asset in the future. But we still need to keep a close eye on him¡­ >> << U-understood my lord! >> "Hey! Kane!" He was called to once again, and he looked over to see Artorias standing back up, shaking his bruised wrists from the tight bindings. "Have you thought of a n on how we''re getting out of this? The school will be here in a day or two. What are we gonna do? What are you gonna do with that new soldier of yours?" "I have a vague idea, but I''m still not certain of the specifics. There could be the easy way, saying that we snuck into the castle, ced the teleporter and went back home now. But then we wouldn''t really get any credit. The ideal; way would be if we somehow staved off all whatever had killed the instructors and saved the day. But to do that, we would need to find evidence to prove our words¡­" "I see¡­" Artorias shook his head and looked down at his bloodied, shaky hands with a deep breath. "What happened to the others? Are they okay?" He asked, and Moby raised an eyebrow. "The others? ¡­" ''THE OTHERS!?'' His mind nearly broke at the realization. Of course! There were other people with him, at the gate fighting a shalker. He could almost not believe it¡­ And through everything flowing in his brain, there was only one exnation¡­ Had it been his old self, he had no doubt in his soul that his first thought after immediately defeating the shalker and meeting Rupert would have been to ensure the safety of his subordinates and tell him to call him off. But now, he had let his curiosity and yearning to uncover the truth take charge. When he initially used his item to get rid of his demon corruption, he did not feel anything, but now he more than felt the implications. A part in him began to panic as Artorias looked at him expectantly. All he knew for certain was that their link remained, and they were all alive, but not their safety. But that was when he heard a sound enter the door, and he was shocked to see it to be the shalker at the gate limping in with blood and scorch marks littering his body, behind him all of his teammates and a particrly injured Regrit being carried on Hikari''s shoulders as he was being healed by Elizabeth. << Orvert¡­ I see that you''ve received my message?" Rupert spoke, addressing his subordinate. << Yes my lord¡­ I did, but before that I sensed something¡­ I sensed what had happened in this room, and it was almost as though I knew what had urred¡­ I sensed you pledge your allegiance my lord... >> << Did they sense it too? >> He looked over the injured demonsing through his doors. << Yes¡­ We both felt a tingle in our bodies, and stopped fighting¡­ Had it been a moment longer I was certain we would have wiped each other out¡­>> ''Was that what that feeling was when I touched Rupert''s shoulders when he pledged his loyalty?'' "Kane! We¡­ Survived¡­ Thanks to the powers you gave us¡­ We did it you son of a bitch! *pant* *pant* Now! You this better be worth it! ¡­ I better get famous and be recognized by the school or else I''m gonna beat your ass! Now¡­ Tell me why the fuck you made friends with the enemy!! What the hell are we gonna do now!!!" "Don''t worry! I''ll make it all work¡­ Just you watch¡­" Moby smirked seeing Regrit''s injured yet just as vocal and passionate face. ''How the hell did I manage to forget about this goofball? Was my curiosity really that much?'' Chapter 391 - Rescue Team

Chapter 391: Rescue Team

"How close are we to the Halbert!" "Apologies ma''am! But the space has gotten thicker with debris, we should be expecting a thirty-minute dy¡­" A man handling a control panel spoke in a shaky voice to his clear superior standing to his side, pure distress on her face. "No slowing down! That is an order!" "B-But! General Davis we¡ª " "No buts lieutenant! These kids have waited long enough and must be scared out of their minds! Shalkers are on that and have beat us to it! Full speed ahead! If the ship sustains damage then it''s fine by me! UNDERSTOOD!?" "Y-yes ma''am! U-understood!" For days, principal Rayna Davis and her elite soldiers had set off on a long excursion. Her fiery eyes were like that of a viper, keenly looking out towards the vast expanses of the zooming space with her sweaty hands tightly held behind her back and so much brewing underneath her frown and furrowed eyebrows. The reason was unexpected¡­ A shalker attack, which not only broke the treaty put in ce but also the death of three instructors and a student. The ship was filled with operators and soldiers, and the size of it was nothing short of a warship¡­ Because war was something fully to be expected. At first, she couldn''t believe it, such an action was nothing shy of a deration of war between the two races, but the voice transmissions from the instructors were more than clear evidence. "Ma''am! We have a visual and are ready tond!" "Good! Can you urately track the locations of all the students!?" "Yes! They should be to a mountain to the north! But, we won''t have a clear¡ª " "Doesn''t matter! Land as close as possible to the students! THAT IS AN ORDER!! IS THAT CLEAR?" "C-Crystal¡­" The ckness of space around the ship was suddenly and abruptly reced with white, white, snow and wind that consumed all. The room began to shake, as though the ground was ready to crumble beneath them. Amber lights and emergency sounds rang throughout the entire ship due to the abruptnding, yet no one onboard panicked norined as they pushed on topleting their rough, yet sessfulnding, somehow suffering little to no damage on the ship. As soon as they halted, the massive doors sprung open like a folding gate, and the cold, unforgiving tundra of the sted their faces within. "Attention all soldiers! Your orders had already been given out to you! Search the area and notify me as soon as you sense a disturbance! As for the others,e with me towards the red marker on your maps! That''s where the kids are!" "YES MA''AM!" "Then let''s move on!" Like a silent blur, she disappeared from ce, and all her soldiers that were considered as the top echelon of elites stood there visibly stunned at where their leader went, their eyes wide and their face sweating. It was as though she was never even there. Yet, luckily for them, they did not need her directions as they followed suit at their own pace,gging severely behind. In that mere instance, Principal Rayna Davis had made it halfway towards the marker, ignoring the harsh climate as she flew against the wind at her top speed, gritting her teeth and squinting her eyes. But that was when in the distance, she saw what seemed like a castle, and when referring back to her marker, she found it to be the same area¡­ In that moment, her heart sank, and a realization dawned on her¡­ ''FUCK!!'' She inwardly wailed. They were not safely in a cave like the instructors told... Her students were most likely captured and held hostage within that castle, maybe even tortured¡­ Her teeth were beginning to crackle in the cold wind from how hard she held them tight, and she elerated further until she reached the castle gate. There she witnessed clear signs of battle, areas with snow melted, scorch marks on the walls and ground, cracks on the roof. It was all rather intense, but most peculiar of all was theck of guards watching over such a big establishment. However, those thoughts were mere passing ones. She had no time to fully analyze and investigate, not when her students'' lives were at risk along with the possibility of an ambush. Part of her knew that entering through the front gate was idiotic, and there was a high possibility of ambush, yet she pushed on anyways, for that is the fastest path she found. To her surprise, there was nothing but emptiness waiting for her on the inside. As she sped through the faded hallways, everything around her was but a blur, her sole focus up ahead and on her marker. And that was when she came face to face with her destination¡­ ''THERE!! THAT DOOR!!'' A door was of magnificent beauty, yet one that she defiled by knocking down, preparing for battle. "WHERE ARE YOU KEEPING THE KI¡ª" She bit her tongue in the middle of her sentence, she could not believe her eyes, for what she saw within that room was something she never expected to see in a million years. "Greetings Ma''am! Apologies for scaring and worrying you¡­" "W-w-w-w-w-w-wha¡­" The more she looked upon what was in front of her, the more her bewilderment grew. All the students were safe, and not a scratch was on any of them.? They were all sat eating together in the center carpet, some were on their phones as though it was all casual. However, she could not help but find herself constantly gazing upon the magnificent throne at the back, where sat a smirking ck-haired boy, and still, only if it were for only an instant, she felt like she was in the presence of a true monarch. "Kids¡­ You''re all safe! What¡­ What happened?" She muttered, scratching her aching eyes. "I''d be d to exin¡­" Moby''s smile grewrger as he forced himself out of his seat, walking towards his principal while the others stored their food back into a storage ring and did the same. "We killed all the shalkers, and now we waited here¡­" "You¡­ YOU DID WHAT!? BUT HOW!?" She lost all sense of her dominant professional air and asked. After all, if the instructors couldn''t defeat them, how could they? "Our instructors fought valiantly and got them extremely injured for us, they sent us away into a cave for our own safety, but we disobeyed orders and left anyways since we felt like it would only be a matter of time before the shalkers healed and found us¡­ We had to capitalize on the opportunity¡­ Here are the bodies, I kept them safe in this storage ring so their bodies stayed frozen in time and didn''t dpose." Moby pulled out a ring from his pockets and handed it over to his superior, who immediately looked within to find three corpsesying inside. "I¡­ Apologies, I''m just lost for words¡­" "Don''t worry ma''am! We all understand¡­ And if you are wondering why we did not use the teleporter and head back to school, we chose against it. We thought that it would be best if we were her to exin everything to you and help you collect evidence, and we didn''t know how powerful themunications were to your ship, so we didn''t want to leave only for you to arrive and find nothing¡­" "I¡­ I see¡­ That was a good call," She nodded slowly before shaking her head, her face of shock slowly turning into a smile as she began to softlyugh at herself. "Kids, you have no idea how stressed I was about all of this¡­ But I''m so happy you''re all safe¡­ No¡­ Not happy¡­ Proud! You killed three shalkers and avenged your instructors! I''m certain they''re smiling at you from heaven right now¡­" "I really hope they are too Ma''am¡­" A man spoke from the back, and the principal''s eyes once again went into wide puzzlement. "Kai!? Kai Fatebringer¡­ Ha¡ª Wa¡ª I¡­ I thought you were dead¡­ I got reports saying you were cleaved in half with your guts leaking out!!" "Oh, I''m so dearly sorry to worry you ma''am, but my death was greatly exaggerated¡­ You see, that part of me was just an illusion I conjured with my mes, a trick of the light¡­" "But we lost signal of you¡­" "That was because my right arm was cut off along with my watch¡­" "I¡ª I see¡­ That makes sense..." She nodded and smiled once again, breathing a single breath thatpletely let go of much stress and paralleled her current state of mind. That was when suddenly, footsteps were heard from behind, and all of their attentions were drawn. "Ma''am! Sorry for the wait! But we are here for support!" "Stand down soldiers!" Rayna ordered. "Everyone is safe her, but keep your guard up. Now is not time to get careless! five of you stay here! The rest go and explore every nook and cranny of this castle! If you find anything interesting ry it back to me! I expect a full report on everything! Understood?" "Yes Ma''am!" They yelled back all in unison and did as they were told. "Kids, thank you so much for the exnation," Her expression softened as she looked down towards her students. "but I''m gonna need some things more in-depth to help me out with my investigation. I believe all of you, but ording to protocol, I must question at least one of you about the happenings with a lie detector. This is very important, because depending on your answer, it will determine whether or not peace will be extended a bit longer or we would be forced to once again enter another great war¡­" Chapter 392 - A Tired Return

Chapter 392: A Tired Return

It had now been a day since Moby and his team werest on that frozen of Koban, yet that day felt more like an eternity in their minds. There were so many official proceedings that they felt dead once it was all over, which included: helping with the investigation, going through lie detector tests, setting up the teleporter back to earth, writing full reports, swearing to absolute secrecy about everything that happened, and much more. It was now the night of their return, and they were all justifiably beat. The only upside was that they would have no school the next day in order to rest. Artorias, Elizabeth and Hikari were in their own rooms keeping to themselves while Regrit, Kai, and Moby were in the same dorm room. It was something approved by the principal herself, all in an effort to get Kai and Regrit closer to each other due to the Fatebringer family''s request. "And¡­ Checkmate!" Regritughed and puffed his chest. "Wow¡­ This is a rather interesting game¡­ Chess is what you call this right? It''s indeed veryplex, I had no idea someone like you would be so good at it¡­" Kai nodded, looking at his own defeat. "I''ll have you know I was undefeated in chess in my high school days! And what do you mean you didn''t think someone like me would be this good!? You tryna say something?" Regrit retorted, only to receive a smile and a casual response. "Oh nothing really¡­ Why don''t we do another match? I feel slightly morefortable now¡­" "HA! You''re on! But the oue ain''t gonna change!" However, before they were ready to begin another match, they heard a creaking from the entrance, and their attentions were grabbed as they witnessed the door open to reveal a man with ck hair and green eyes that they immediately recognized, yet what was foreign to them was that small, ck and fluffy bundle of cuteness within his hands. "I''m back," He sighed. "Hope it wasn''t too long¡­" Moby casually walked in and took a nce at Kai and Regrit ying chess. "Is¡­ Is that a cat? A ck cat?" Regrit blurted with a hint of confusion. "Yeah! Isn''t she cute? She kinda reminds me of myself¡­ ck fur and green eyes!" "Yeah, I can''t lie¡­ It is really freaking cute... but why would you want a cat? Is it even allowed?" "Young fledgeling, you should know that it is a grave mistake to question his highness¡­" Kai mumbled, crossing his hands. "Don''t worry, it''s okay. I would rather not everything be so tense and formal, especially if we''re gonna live together. It''s best to be casual, I don''t mind questions¡­ Even I make mistakes at times..." Moby sighed once more, petting the cat in his hands as it purred with pleasure. "Understood my lord¡­" He bowed his head and looked up towards Moby with determination. "You know¡­ I''m never gonna get used to this¡­ You in my ''brother''s'' body. I can''t believe you actually got past their checks and stuff¡­" "Well, my technique is infallible! I am an artist, so I honed my skill in illusion magic so I can always look in the mirror and sculpt whatever I transformed into¡­" "Infallible, but you can only stay like that for 8 hours at a time¡­" Regrit teased. "Qu-Quiet you!" "And also, your name is Rupert right? What kind of name is that? It''s funny as hell!" Regrit inwardly chuckled, only for Rupert''s annoyance to mildly increase. "Rupert is a fine name!" "Enough you two! Try and get along will ya?" Moby interrupted, only for Rupert''s expression to tense up immediately. "A-Apologies my lord! I let my emotions get the better of me¡­" He looked down in shame. "Never mind that¡­" Moby sighed again before continuing. "Do you still have contact with your two shalker minions Rupert?" "Sadly not¡­" He shook his head. "They have infiltrated and blended in with their kinds now, as for how they are doing I know not¡­ They are too far away to contact, but I have full faith in them¡­" "I see¡­ That''s good to hear¡­" Moby nodded, sitting on the couch, fatigue all over his body. "By the way, Rupert, I have a question for you¡­" "Yes my lord! Ask away!" "What gave you the foresight to keep those shalker bodies that you killed before in the dungeons? I''d think most people would have just destroyed them¡­" "I¡ª I don''t know my lord¡­ It''s just that part of me felt like I might do more research on their corpses in the future¡­ I really did nothing¡­ It was you who reverted their corpses back to their original state after they had rotted using the book of resurrection, without it then I don''t know what would have happened¡­" "I see¡­" Moby leaned back and peered up at the empty ceiling."Tomorrow we have a break, I want you two to train together as partners Understood? Regrit, Rupert might be able to colour his ck mes orange, but he has no idea how the Fatebringer fireworks, he needs to perfectly emte it so people don''t get suspicious, and don''t forget to tell him all that you think he needs to know about Kai. And Rupert, Regrit is a new demon, so it would be nice if you were his mentor of some sorts to help him control his demon energy. I feel like you two would make excellent training partners." Moby spoke, and waited for a burst of outrage from Regrit, but the answer he received was not something he expected. "That''s fine by me¡­ This guy is even stronger than you right now right? Even if he''s not as knowledgeable, having someone so powerful as a mentor is really good." "Indeed, normally I would say you should be honoured, but due to the lord''s request, I shall try to be more friendly with you! I hope you can teach me all I need to know about injecting myself in this human society!" Rupert interjected. "Was that supposed to be apliment?" "If you want it to be, then yes!" Moby looked at the disy ahead of him before looking back down to his cat, petting it on the head before speaking. "I might also get Hikari and Elizabeth toe learn from you Rupert. I have many ns for tomorrow, and I have my own training to do, so teaching demon energy to everyone is not something I amodate¡­" "Understood my lord! It shall be done!" "W-wait¡­ Hikari too? Why?" Regrit suddenly spoke, and Moby raised an eyebrow. "Yes? Is there a problem?" "N-no! Not at all! She seems like she''s strong but rough around the edges when ites to real, stress-filledbat! I''ll be sure to teach her a thing or two!" Moby could not understand the sudden awkwardness exposed by Regrit, and he was too tired to understand as he took a deep breath and stood up with his cat still in hand. "Where are you going my lord?" Rupert asked. "To bed, I haven''t felt so tired in weeks¡­" He yawned. "Really?" Regrit wondered. "For some reason, I don''t feel tired at all! Like! Really not in the slightest! Usually, I''d be at least semi-tired by now!" "Thates with the perk of being a demon young fledgeling. Unlike most mortals, we don''t tire as easily to the point that the top echelon doesn''t need to sleep other than for fun." Rupert interjected. "You know, at first I was really skeptical about this demon thing, but I went with it because it was the only choice I had and I was promised power. But now, I''m actually d I did, and just like promised, I still feel like me¡­ And you''re not doing some weird shit to control me¡­ All these added benefits are really amazing!" "I''m d you liked it." Moby smiled. "But now I''m going to sleep! See you guyster." "Hey! Don''t you wanna wait a bit? They''re gonna announce the rankings for the exam! After all that we did, I bet we got first!" "I''ll find out when I wake up¡­ Staying up won''t change the oue... Anyways, I''m out¡­" Moby yawned, petting his cat as he left the two ''brothers.'' alone once again. "So¡­ While we wait for the results, want to y another round of chess?" "You''re on old man!" "Respect your elder fledgeling!" "Stop calling me fledgeling!! It''s annoying as hell you old geezer!" Chapter 393 - Her Highness The Cat

Chapter 393: Her Highness The Cat

Moby slept like a little child, yet, the weight of the world still felt like it was sat on his shoulders, or in this case, his stomach. "Huh¡­" He mumbled out loud, moving his hands to scratch his aching eyes while something was clearly prowling on top of him. ''Is that the cat? Is the cat moving on me?'' He wondered, when suddenly, he heard a voice speak out to him. "Wake up! It''s already 10:00 am you know?" "Yeah yeah, I''m up Avilia¡­" He yawned and opened his blurry eyes before sitting up straight. "Hmmm?" When he looked around him, he noticed that Regrit was not in bed, nor was he even in the house. He must have stayed up for the entire night. And as for what was on his stomach, it was indeed the ck cat, and Moby''s tired face could not help but simper. "What are you smiling for? Get out of bed and move!" "Just give me a sec Avilia¡­ I still feel pretty dead¡­" He replied, scratching his eyes, but that was when he felt a sudden p to his stomach, and his attention was drawn by the cat oddly staring daggers into his soul. "Just move already! That mammon guy''s been trying to contact you for a while now. It''s best not to leave him unleashed¡­" ''What¡­ What did I just see¡­ Did¡­ Did that cat move its mouth like it was talking English¡­ Is the voiceing from her? What''s going on... Am I still asleep?'' He inwardly thought to himself. "That''s because it is real and you''re not asleep! Can''t you see?" The cat smiled and elegantly took a pose. ''Wait what¡­ What''s going on¡­ Is the cat talking to me!? Can it read my mind? WAIT¡­ Does¡­ Does this¡­'' "Yes it does you sleepy head! It''s me! Great Demon Lord Avilia Graymore!" Sheughed with her hands under her chin in a way no cat would have been able to do, and Moby''s eyes grew wide. "Wait¡­ AVILIA!? But¡ª but you''re a cat! How the hell¡ª" "Hahahaha! Now that''s the reaction I was waiting for! It''s all pretty simple you see! It''s because of the book of resurrection and that possession spell!" "Is¡­ Is this why you told me to get something small and fluffy!? This can''t be real! What the hell! I really must still be dreaming huh¡­" He shook his head, his eyes wide in absolute stupor. "I can assure you I''m real as ever! Now I have the ability to possess anything with rtively low physical and mental resistance. For example, this cat is a great one! But, something like a human child is out of my capabilities. Still, I haven''t felt more alive in so long!" She smiled and jumped around on his stomach as if it were her bed. "But¡ª But why something small and fluffy in specific? I never knew you were the type of girl..." "Am I not allowed to choose what body I want to possess? I don''t wanna be a rat or an ugly beast! Something proud and elegant suits me best!" She proimed. "I¡ª I see¡­ Ummm¡­ Nevermind that! Anyways! A part of your soul is in that cat, right? But... You can still read my mind no? H-how?" "Simple really¡­" She waved her paws. "I''m not an independent entity yet, my consciousness is split, both in your soul and in this cat. I''m still deeply bound and connected to you. So, if you die, I would also die, even if I''m in this cat, after all, my soul would have nowhere to return to. BUT! If I were to die within this cat, my soul would find its way back to you and it would be like nothing happened. This also means I can just get out of this cat whenever I want and get back to you!" She proimed proudly to the still dazed Moby trying to fathom everything that had just happened. "If a part of your soul is in that cat. Does that mean you still have your powers!?" "Sadly not¡­" She shook her head. "In this current state, this body would not be able to handle anything beyond simple spells, even discounting the limitations of the possession spell. Don''t count me out though! I still have a few tricks up my sleeve! Even in this stupid body!" Sheughed her signatureugh, and Moby''s bewilderment could not help but subside into a bright, genuine smile. "Don''t worry, I never thought that you were useless¡­ Even like this, you''re still demon lord Avilia Graymore. We''ve worked so hard to get to this point, and even if it''s not perfect, it gives me hope that we can get your body back. Congrats¡­" "Thank you!" She smiled. "This body is far from perfect, but it''s for sure better than nothing! It''s a good start! Life really is great! Now I can move on my own! Explore where ever I want! I can finally talk to other people without you as a medium!? I have so much freedom! Whatever Zerker did with this book of resurrection is incredible!" Moby''s soft grin grew evenrger seeing how happy Avilia was, it was truly a marvel and made him feel warm on the inside thinking what they had gone through to get to this point. He almost felt a tear well up in his eyes, yet he could not let it show. After all, he could not allow such a hideous sight to be presented, and there was so much else to do. "Now that you can talk with others, are we gonna tell everyone else about this?" "Hmmmm¡­" Avilia stopped to deeply ponder. "I''m not sure, but we can certainly tell Rupert, as for everyone else, I think it''d be best if we waited for now..." "I see¡­" Moby nodded. "Anyways¡­ Before I go for today¡­ Do you want to try to eat? You haven''t eaten anything in thousands of years." "Hmmm?" Avilia ruffled her whiskers. "Are you gonna feed me cat food or something!?" "I mean¡­ Yes? What else would I feed you? Maybe it tastes good for you... You know... Becuase you''re a-" "I''m not a cat! I''m the demon lord! I''ve eaten delicacies you could never imagine in your life! My pallet is very delicate I''ll have you know! I will not stoop so low to eat cat food from a bowl!" Chapter 394 - Meeting With The Mammon

Chapter 394: Meeting With The Mammon

Moby wiped the sweat off his forehead and smiled at his very own creation. "It''s finished!" He cheered with a long sigh of relief, holding out what he had made and ced it on the table where the cat-form Avilia impatiently sat looking at her paws. "Oooo! Who knew you could cook so well!?" Avilia''s eyes brightened up into stars, delight all over her face as she turned around to see what Moby had made for her. "This is what you humans call cake right!? A brown cake! Looks very fancy! I''ve always wanted to try one of these but I never got the chance!" "I really hope you like it¡­ It took more effort than I imagined but it''s finally done¡­" He smirked with his eyes closed, washing his hands and removing his apron before going towards the balcony. "I''ll be the judge of your cooking!" He stretched his stiff muscles and took a whiff of fresh air. When he looked down below, it seemed like the students were on break, and Moby could not help but immediately pick up on something that he did not from before. There was an underlying gloomy air, like a raincloud fell upon the campus and affected almost everyone. It was indeed odd, the only exnation he could think of was that they were not satisfied with their exam scores. However, part of him thought that it might be for another reason. ''Could this be¡­'' ''Hello, Mammon? Are you there?'' Moby made a link, and the heavy breathing from the other end was immediately clear. ''OH! My great demon lord! I''m so honoured to be contacted!'' ''Are you busy currently or can you talk?'' ''I am doing some matters currently but nothing is more important than a call from my overlord! I had been trying to contact you for the past few days, yet I could not reach you at all! I grew slightly worried at first, but then I realized that it was surely my paranoia and you were simply too busy to bother with the likes of me¡­" ''Indeed, I was busy, yet it was not because I did not want to talk to you. Don''t belittle yourself so much! You''re a very important demon in my ns.'' ''I¡ª I¡ª I don''t deserve such praise¡­'' The mammon sounded genuinely bewildered, and Moby could not help but inwardly chuckle before continuing what he had to say. ''Anyways, Mammon, you were tasked with the extortion of points from the masses? How are you fairing?'' ''O-oh! Excellent! It is all going even better than I had anticipated! All due to the powers you had bestowed me my lord! These ignorant fools are so simple-minded and easy to manipte! Simply by threatening their enrollment in this school, they are more than willing to bend the knee! Some of them I did not even have to threaten using a loved one as hostage! They truly value their sess in this school over anything, and if it costs them a few points a month then so be it! They are too proud to let their facade of superiority falter and bring disgrace to their family¡­ Then, in their minds, their lives are over¡­'' ''Hmmmm¡­ sounds delightful," Moby smiled. "But how exactly are you doing this?'' ''My lord, you would be surprised how much one can do by simply changing their face and voice and going into video calls. You can uncover so much about one''s family, even their inner secrets, and rarely does anyone ask why¡­'' ''I see¡­ So you threaten to announce their secrets, putting the me on them. And just like that they so easily bend the knee?'' ''Precisely my lord! I do that and even more¡­'' ''I just have one question, how are you able to contact earth through this barrier put in ce?'' Moby wondered, noticing it through the mammon''s exnation, thinking only one thing on his mind: Will he be able to contact his friends back on earth with such a way. ''I have a machine able to make contact with the strongestmunication centers on earth, this includes most households of powerful families. I can show it to you if you so please my lord!'' ''No need,'' Moby sighed. If it was limited to what he imed, then contacting earth would have still been impossible, after all, he would have to contact the Griffith estate where in all likelihood a secretary would pick up and expose him for doing something he should have never had the ability to do. ''So, I assume you have already widely implemented this n of yours¡­ How many students is it and how many points have you obtained?'' ''Thus far my lord, I have made contact with 25% of the student-base, most of them being run-aways from the mammon''s den and all was a sess! I have yet to receive over 10,000 points, but 30,000 has already been pledged to me! Out of every student, I can extract up to 50 points every month to allow them to sustain themselves, and if they don''t, I will simply leak their secrets and pit the me onto them¡­ There''s nothing really the school can do this time, even if they found about about the n. At this rate, most of the school will fall, and I should be able to collect around 25,000 points a month or more!'' ''Excellent mammon! I am very pleased to hear all of that! You have far exceeded my expectations!'' ''Once again, you grace me with such words that I could never fully deserve. I''m truely honored to serve a man such as thee¡­'' ''Mannon, if anything else happens do not hesitate to contact me. The next time I wish to meet you either with mind-link or face to face I will contact you.'' ''Understood my lord! And if you wish to extract any of the points or use them for anything school rted, do let me know! It is rather difficult to dump so many points so early into the school year, it would simply be impossible and raise the school''s rms. But, I can bypass most of it.'' ''Don''t worry, I too thought of this and hade up with my own ns, but I''m curious to see yours when the timees down to it. I currently have other matters to attend to.'' ''Y-you honor me once again¡­'' He breathed shailkly and heavily from the other side. ''I promise to work even harder and more proficient from now on to serve your highness!'' ''That is what I would like to hear!'' Moby smiled and closed the call, taking a deep breath as he sat down on a chair overlooking the campus before simply staring at the barrier enveloping the school with calm eyes. But, that was when his calmness was interrupted with a sudden voice from his rear. "Hey! Moby! This cake is delicious! Who knew you were such a good cook!" She purred in delight. "What''s the main ingredient anyways? Chocte? Is this what cholocate tastes like?" "Cat food¡­" He replied with a wide grin from ear to ear, and just like he expected, a hysterical outrage ensued from behind, one that he ignored to make contact with someone else. ''Elizabeth, are you there?'' ''Yes lord! I just woke up¡­ What is it that you need?'' Moby could not help but smirk hearing her direct shift in attitude from that conversation they once had, like a weed fearing for its life to be plucked. ''We need to talk¡­ Face to face¡­'' Chapter 395 - Angleist

Chapter 395: Angleist

"Here is your drink sir¡­" A man smiled and ced a ss on the table. "Thank you," "And here is yours, ma''am!" "You have my thanks too." "I hope you two enjoy your drink here at the shaq shack! If you ever need anything, please let us know!" The waiter smiled brightly and deeply bowed his head. "By any chance, are you two dating?" He gave them a certain look, yet all he received back was a calm gaze with a subtle feeling of disgust and malice. He felt an ominous aura run down his spine, and his heart lurched down to its deepest depths like he was going to be eaten whole at any moment. However, that feeling onlysted for a split second, and it felt so surreal that he even doubted its existence as he shook his head and waited for his customer''s response. "No, we''re simple acquaintances. You must get a lot of couples thate here so I understand the confusion." He took a simple sip out of his drink, and the waiter lowered his head further almost out of instinct before standing up and leaving them alone. "Thank you for your understanding, sir! But my other statement still stands! If you are ever in need of anything! Please let me know!" "I certainly will! Thank you!" He smiled as he watched the waiter walk away from him. The atmosphere was quite bustling from the city ambiance, the people talking in the near tables under their own umbres and especially the flying vehicles zooming through the air, yet, the two sitting opposite to each other could not have been more focused, almost as though these distractions never existed. "So, how''s your day been Elizabeth? Are you fairing well after yesterday''s events?" "Oh! Haha! I''m doing very well! I see you too aren''t doing half bad Kane, you even bought yourself a cat it seems!" She giggled, looking over at the smiling cat sat on Moby''sp. On the outside, their conversation was friendly and natural, like any conversation friends would have. Yet,? under that outer facade, within their minds psed apletely different story, one much darker in nature. ''One good reason¡­ Give me one good reason why I shouldn''t just kill you now¡­'' ''Oh¡­ I see¡­'' She inwardly smiled, before continuing in a nervous voice. ''So you don''t have full control over me and you''re scared I would rebel and expose you If I''m not left in check right?'' ''I don''t think it''s wise to talk to your superior in such a tone, especially when their lives depend on it¡­ Go ahead, try to betray me! Scream that I''m a demon at the top of your voice, anonymously tell someone all my secrets. Give it a shot why don''t you? But before you try it, I''ll be generous and give you the answer¡­ It won''t work¡­'' ''Then¡­ Then why exactly do you want me gone then?'' She inwardly shuddered. ''I''ll tell you at least this much. You''re unreliable! At most, I can use you as a simple puppet for my own goals, but other than that, you''repletely useless! I''m limited to a certain amount of demon soldiers at a time, and to get more I must pluck one out. And out of all my subordinates, you''re by far the most useless and the most likely not to follow orders other than if I force you. I don''t want to order around a simple robot with no will to help, suggest or serve¡­ So I''m going to ask you this onest time¡­ What makes you so special? Give me one good reason I shouldn''t just get rid of you and find a better recement?'' ''W-well¡­ Ummm¡­'' Moby could sense the panic in her voice, she seemed to have snapped out of her hysteria. ''I''m the only daughter of the Eleonora Household! My family specializes in everything to do with medicine and support! We''re the leading power in that department! I''m certain my family houses some of the biggest secrets in the entire military! I apologize for my tone, and for trying to kill you... It''s just how I''ve been raised and taught¡­'' ''How you''ve been raised and taught?'' Moby raised his eyebrows and leaned in closer to his seat. ''What exactly do you mean by that? Please exin...'' ''Y-yes! I''m an Angleist! Or¡ª atleast I used to be¡­'' ''Huh? What is that? Does that have to do with what you said to me on that? In the ancient tombs?'' ''Y-yes!'' She inwardly nodded. ''This information was left far, far away from the public, but I don''t mind sharing it to prove my loyalty¡­'' She took a deep breath before she continued. ''The Mayan Ruins that the great Alexander Davis discovered these abilities is a sacred ground were pilgrimage of many take ce, but just not anyone¡­ Only those who can afford it, and only those privy to the secret sector¡­'' ''On the walls of the ruins where the golden egg was, there were symbols... Symbols and drawings of winged and horned figures fighting, along with certain texts. From history, the very beginning of the human race, the angels were always glorified, and the demons were shunned. That was how life was and how we humans functioned. And, the writings on the walls reinforced that, vilifying the demons and worshiping the angels.'' ''What I''m about to tell you is an even more well kept secret, but whenever one was to pray to these angels and denounce the demons, their abilities would subsequently strengthen, yet I noticed that their corruption grew along with it, yet it was subtle to the point that not many knew. And all of this was possible due to a single man¡­ Pope Rutherford. Out of everyone, he somehow knew how to read and decipher the texts¡­'' ''Him!?? Moby could not help but blurt. It was a man he saw on TV all the time, always praised for his deeds and efforts to mend the world, and even help the poor and abilityless. ''I thought he was just a normal pope preaching religion, which is a lost cause andughed at by many,'' ''Yes¡­ Him¡­ The one and only. He''s the leader for this secret club of rich and noble families hoarding powers and secrets all to themselves. They have aplete grasp on everything, they even began to make the people lose faith in God for their selfish needs. Even if it would not be as potent as being an Angleist, praying to any god gave a certain boost in power. Honestly, I wouldn''t be surprised if there was any shady business going on within that religion that even I don''t know...'' ''I''ve been indoctrinated into that Religion all my life, and only now that I''ve be a demon do I realize what this all truly meant¡­ So, once again¡­ I beg for your forgiveness. I didn''t mean what I said now, I... I just panicked because I thought my life was forfeit and I didn''t know how to react... I beg, please Have mercy, I may not be privy to all my family knowledge now, but I certainly will in the future. I''m more than certain I can be of great help to you¡­ So please, spare this pathetic life of mine and allow me to properly serve¡­'' Chapter 396 - Emergency Meeting

Chapter 396: Emergency Meeting

''Is what you''ve been telling me honest and sincere?'' Moby asked, heavily imposing his dark aura, and the reaction from Elizabeth was more than apparent. ''Y-yes! All that I''ve said right now is the truth! I would never try to lie in this situation!'' ''Good¡­'' Moby sighed and revoked his tense aura and killing intent, and the sudden darkness shrowding them faded away as though it were never there. ''Well, I hope you keep all that was talked here in mind¡­'' He took a deep breath and stood up out of his seat. ''Wh-where are you going lord?'' She asked, looking up at him from her chair, only for him to turn around and respond. ''Our conversation is over here. You''ve proven yourself useful to me, so I expect great things. For now, you should go train with all the others, I bet you''re gonna need the help controlling your demon energy, I''m gonna go do my own training¡­ Farewell, and don''t disappoint.'' He simply walked away from the table without saying another word, and Elizabeth, who was frightened out of her wits was left alone, her hand on her heavily beating heart taking deep breaths. ''That was pretty well done you know.'' He heard a voice in his head. ''Well, I picked some of that up from seeing how you talked to your own subordinates.'' He inwardly smiled. ''Face to face has much more impact than a simple mind-link, I bet what''s happened today is soldered in her mind, a brand that haunts her and keeps her loyal to me lest she be the unwanted weed plucked out of the ground¡­'' ?? ?? ?? In a muted, metallic room lit up by several blue lights beaming through slits of the gray walls, twenty men and women sat in a circle around a long table spanning from edge to edge. It was silent, and the tension in the room was so evident that it could be sliced with a knife. Sweat covered the sped hands of many of the people sat, their eyes trained on a single empty seat towards the edge and at the door handle as though it was imminently going to be opened. This was especially the case for one woman who stood out considerably from her peers, sat opposite to that empty seat. Her wavy, pitch-ck hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, and there was just enough makeup on her already gorgeous face to beautify it yet not overwhelm her natural allure. Her blood-red eyes were firm, and her hands were sped on the table nervously. Unlike her usual carefree, enjoyable demeanour, she was tame, andpletely professional, if not nervous, which was exemplified by her attire being aplete, elegant suit and tie. She took a deep breath to calm her mind, and that was when a sudden sound came from the door, and the noise of its swinging filled the room, allowing a single man to walk in. His hair was gray and neat, his skin was wrinkled, yet his dominance immediately enveloped the room upon entry as he looked around with a glint in his slightly glowing emerald eyes and a shine upon the ten stars on his attire. And as though it was out of instinct, the entire room shot up straight as an arrow, all in perfect sync as they spoke in a steady voice. "Greetings Supreme General! We are truly honoured to be in your presence!" "Greetings to you too¡­" He smiled, casually strolling to his seat looking around at the saluting soldiers, and only when he took his rightful seat did everyone else take theirs. "So, I take that all of this is important right? Miss Rayna Davis, you''ve called me here for matters of absolute urgency¡­ Please, I allow you to speak¡­" "Yes sir!" She replied with the pride of a lion, and she immediately spoke there after being given permission. "Sir, for the past few days, me and my troops underwent a mission of great surprise! On an exam given to them by staff, a group of students encountered shalkers on a, powerful ones at that. They managed to defeat all three examiners tasked to protect them! It was a we had already explored and deemed quite safe, the inhabitants were weak and had no abilities, only exhibiting oddities in behaviour which could be chalked up to a different culture. So I was led to believe there was no possibility for such an attack." "Ho¡­ I see why you called me now¡­ War is nearer than even I anticipated... I take that the students are dead then¡­ no? This willplicate things¡­" He sighed. "Negative sir! Every single student made it out alive sir!" She shook her head and replied, and the supreme general''s eyes grew wide in disbelief. "Go on miss Rayna, I''m listening¡­" "Sir! I too was surprised to hear about their survival! Because not only did they survive, but they were the ones who took out all the shalkers! Had it not been for the extensive lie detector tests conducted, I would have not believed it either. But their exnations made perfect sense, that the instructors had gravely injured and nearly killed the shalkers, and all they did was finish the job." "Yes¡­" He nodded. "That does make perfect sense¡­ But maybe it makes too much sense no?" "S-sir, what do you mean by that? Are you saying¡ª" "Yes, maybe these lie detector tests are notpletely urate. I was never a big fan of them. In my time, I have seen them bypassed¡­" "Y-you have sir?" She could not hide the surprise on her face. "Well yes, but actually no¡­ Call it a gut instinct. Think of it like this... It may not be that the lie detectors are faulty, but the person being interrogated has the ability to control their memories and mind, making them useless. In the past hundred years, we''ve seen many abilities, yet none of that kind. But, it doesn''t mean that they may not exist out there out public and military knowledge... The world is bigger and deeper than you think..." "I¡ª I see sir¡­ But, the evidence from the investigation and the autopsy proves everything they had said¡­ Which made me more inclined to believe them. What I saw would be nearly impossible to fake, I doubt that we, the military would be able to fake it the way they did. As for the shalker corpses, I had it transferred to Airi Prison on earth where that one shalker is still being kept since the year prior, and he still refuses to speak no matter the torture. At this point, I am inclined to believe that he is unable to speak at all¡­" "Hmmmm¡­" The Supreme General furrowed his eyebrows and took his time to ponder, rubbing his small beard. "This is far more intricate than I thought. Part of me thinks we''ve been caught up in a web of events beyond our scope and we''re being yed for fools¡­" He took a deep breath, to calm his mind before he continued. "I need to know, who exactly are these students who embarked on this exam?" "Five? students sir! The first-ce team from the exam, team Artorias. The team was: Team leader, Artorias Kmeet, Healer, Elizabeth Elianora, The me brothers, Regrit Oswald and Kai Fatebringer, and finally,st but not least, the person who I feel ended up being the true leader of this group¡­ Moby Kane, the famed hero." "Moby Kane?" The Supreme General''s eyes grew wide at the mention of his name. "The same Moby Kane who halted the advances of that shalkerst year¡­ And the same Moby Kane, son of Havel Kane, and Serena Kane¡­ That Moby Kane?" "Yes sir¡­ The very same¡­" Rayna replied, a mixture of emotions embracing her face upon hearing the Supreme General''s voice. Chapter 397 - Emergency Meeting (2)

Chapter 397: Emergency Meeting (2)

"Sir¡­ Is¡ª is there a problem?" Rayna stiffly asked, looking at the supreme general''s face. "What¡­ What is he doing now?" "S-Sir¡ª" "Just answer the question, general! I will not repeat myself! Where is Moby Kane now?" "Last spotted, he was in the city with his teammate Elizabeth¡­ I had given them a break to rest after all they had gone through so they have no school today¡­" "I see¡ª Well, what about the rest of his team? What are they doing right now!?" "They are in training facility A all together training I assume, that was where theyst did their check-in¡ª" "Check their training rooms..." "P-pardon sir?" She mumbled in disbelief. "I said check their training rooms! Am I speaking in a differentnguage miss Rayna? There should be hidden cameras in every training room for emergency purposes. So, I''m asking you to use them now!" "B¡ª but! But sir! That goespletely against protocol! If we are found out to do this in such a manner then we would lose so much trust! The military may never be the same!" "Miss Rayna Davis¡­ you should watch your tone when talking to a superior officer¡­ If I deem this as an emergency situation then that is what it is! Now use the cameras and put them up on the screen!" "B¡ª but!" She blurted out, still unable to believe her shaky eyes, looking over towards the general''s calm yet deadly glint under his furrowed bushy brows. And before she could say anymore, she heard a voice from her side, to a colleague she knew all too well. "Yes sir! Right away!" That man pulled out aptop, and a massive screen appeared towards the rear end of the room with slight static. And with great expectation on his face, the supreme general looked over behind him as the static of the screen slowly faded away into a high definition live video of what was happening¡­ And to say that he was shocked by his findings would have been an understatement¡­ "What¡ª They''re¡­ They''re just meditating in a circle!" "I''m sorry to interrupt sir, but what were you expecting¡­ Why are you so on edge? What is it that we don''t know?" "That is none of your concern, general!" "Then who''s concern is it then? This room is filled with people from the highest echelons of all the military! What is it that is so secretive that we are not allowed to know!?! It seems to be of great importance if it''s getting you this flustered! If it''s for the sake of humanity''s well being we have the right to know sir!" "Watch your tone, general¡­" "I apologize but¡ª I just need to know this! Does this have to do with the case of Havel and Serena Kane!? They were upstanding soldiers! The best of the best people I''ve ever had the honor to meet and fight alongside! I strongly believe they were a great reason for our survival in the first war! But so suddenly, they were shunned away as though they were nothing! Their aplishments were never recognized as though they were forsakened!! Sir! Why is that!? And is this simply prejudice from your hatred of Serena and Havel Kane!? I don''t know what they did, or if it even warranted their treatment! In fact, no one seems to know!! But for certain, their child who was a mere toddler at the time of their depart has nothing to do with anything!!" "MISS RAYNA SAMANTHA DAVIS!! CALM YOURSELF AND WATCH YOUR TONE!!" The supreme general roared, raising his voice for the first time since he entered. A pulse of dark aura escaped his body, suffocating the entire room in a miasma of pure horror to the point that some even began to choke¡­ It almost felt like there was a sharp, dark hand of shadows hovering and rubbing against their hearts, holding the power to in an instant, crush it like a grape. Vibrators paled inparison to the speed some of the people sat shook at, their eyes like peas and their teeth nking filling the air. Supreme General Cade Walker''s face was slightly clenched, and his now viper-like emerald eyes shined like aser beam through his thick aura towards principal Rayna Davis. Despite being the target, she remained resilient, withstanding all the anguish with nothing but slight grunting and sweat build up. However, even she at one point had to break, and bend the knee to absolute power, choking and struggling to survive until suddenly, the darkness dispersed, and all went back to normal. "Principal Rayna Davis¡­ Listen carefully¡­ I usually do not under any circumstance tolerate any insubordination and disrespect¡­ I would normally have fired you from your post and shunned in the wind¡­ But for you, I''ll make an exception¡­ If it were not for my rtionship with yourte grandfather, your fate would have been the same as any other¡­ You should not stick your nose in matters that don''t concern you¡­ All you need to do is followmands, that is how we keep order and how we protect humanity, you should know the consequences and how it feels when someone doesn''t follow orders properly seeing you have such a high rank, right general? Now, I will allow you back to your post as principal under one condition, simply apologize and promise me such a thing will never happen again¡­" As though it were out of instinct, Rayna Davis found her head lowered, unable to move as she listened to the words of her superior with heavy breaths and sweat dripping from her forehead and on the ground. As he finished what he had to say in that distant voice of his, she had many thoughts going through her mind, and in the end, she responded in a strong, yet somehow jittery voice. "Yes sir¡­ I apologize for my abhorrent mannerisms and disrespect. I have more than learned my lesson and I promise that such a thing will never happen again¡­ Thank you so much for your mercy and generosity sir, you are truly far too kind to give me such special treatment¡­" "Good to hear!" He smiled, looking down towards her before shifting his gaze towards everyone else in the room. "I hope that message sticks with the rest of you as well. Now, let''s continue on with this meeting. I will personally contact the shalker king on this matter, and I will try my best to reason with him and extend our time until the war, your findings are truly useful. Oh, as an extramand as well, I want you all to keep a particrly closer eye on Moby Kane, and report anything suspicious to me. Break the rules if you must¡­ That is an order! Understood?" Chapter 398 - Party Time (1)

Chapter 398: Party Time (1)

Moby took a deep breath as he opened his foggy eyes to an equally foggy and wet tube that was soon followed up by white smoke as the hatch ahead of him opened. For the past few hours, he was sat in that tube, yet his mind wandered elsewhere in the virtual world where he and Avilia trained. He practiced the elemental magic basics even further, yet what he focused on most was discovering any new techniques to do with his new evolution, and the look on his face told the entire story. Just like his dragon half, Avilia was not able to help him learn the skills and magic, after all, she was just as lost as he was. However, now was even worse since Avilia had at least heard about dragons, this "Abyss"'' was aplete unknown even to her. He now knew and understood the struggle that many demons went through over many years to develop and perfect their moves, all this time, he had the best mentor and cheat code a man could ask for in the form of the demon lord herself, but now he was left to his own devices to uncover the mysteries of his new form. He sighed as he took his first step out of the machine, and the first thing he noticed was the bright light past the open doors of the training room. ''Oh, they''re all back I see¡­'' He thought to himself, before he felt something soft and fluffy rubbing on his legs. ''What''s with that face? Don''t get discouraged, with your skill and talent I''m sure you''ll soon make a breakthrough,'' ''Huh? I don''t think you understand who you''re talking to! Training is in my blood. I don''t mind an extra challenge, I haven''t had one in a while!'' He chuckled. ''Also, your back in cat form, is it so easy for you to switch back and forth from VR to cat?'' ''Yep,'' She nodded. ''Only downside is that by doing that, the cat''s soul takes control while I''m gone,'' ''I see. That''s not that bad,'' Moby stretched. ''Anyways, as long as I get the hang of all of this by the end of the year, I''ll be more than satisfied. After all of this is over, the real quest will begin¡­'' ''I don''t doubt that at all!'' She purred. ''Speaking of that n of yours, are you going to tell at least some of it to your minions? I think the new adjustments you made will be very nice indeed.'' ''Yeah, I think they have the right to know at least some of it,'' He smiled. ''Speaking of letting people know, are you just gonna hide that cat form of yours from everyone other than Rupert or are you gonna introduce yourself?'' ''That''s¡ª That''s none of your business!'' ''Huh? Are you shy or something? Never thought that you would be the type,'' He teased. ''No! Of course not! I just don''t feel like the time is right! I''ll do it on my own terms!'' ''Suit yourself,'' He shrugged with a smirk, before focusing his attention on the soundsing from outside the room. ?? ?? ?? "Damn that smells good! Imma dig right in!" "Watch your manners, I didn''t cook all of this for beasts to devour¡­ Hmmm?" "Oh, Kane''s back!" "Greetings my lord!" "Hello, everyone," He smiled, taking a seat next to all of them on the dinner table, not taking his eyes off a certain new guest. "Why is Artorias here exactly? Is it not curfew yet? I haven''t really been paying attention to the time." "No, it''s not," Regrit replied. "We met him on our way to training, then he just stuck with us," "I see¡­" Moby nodded. "And Rupert, you''re once again in your demon form." "Yes my lord," He deeply bowed. "I only have an hour of transformation time life for today, and there is currently no one watching us so I decided to save it in case of an emergency." "Oh, don''t worry I understand. I was thinking out loud¡­ Anyways, what were you all doing here before I came?" "We just came back actually, so we just decided to eat. We haven''t even had a time to celebrate our first ce on the exam, so now seems good a time as any other! Artorias is a great cook!" Regrit responded. "Sadly I can''t do some of the ssic family dishes from up above, but I have thoroughly educated myself in the way of human cooking¡­" He casually nodded, slicing a piece of steak. "Sadly, miss HikariYami could not join us today, nor Elianora due to the gender boundaries. And, we could not go elsewhere to eat because Rupert''s transformation timer was running low, and most importantly, there would no real celebration without you being there¡­" "Indeed! No party isplete without my lord!" Rupert nodded vigorously. "As for my transformation timer, can you not just give me one of those things that you use to keep yourself not looking like an angel?" "I''ve already told you that this item is exclusive for us angels, I wouldn''t be astonished if it were to be poisonous for your kind." "But would it not be possible for the book of resurrection to¡ª" "I know not," Artorias interjected. "Nevertheless, I only have one that I am solely using, I could not give you another even if I wanted to¡­" Moby''s smile could not help but widen listening to their conversation¡ª it made for a perfect segway to what he wanted to discuss. "There might be times were you''ll be in need of your ''Kai'' form when your timer had run dry. For example, how would it be possible for you to undertake an exam like ourst one when there may be examiners watching us at all times?" "M¡ª My lord I¡ª I''ll try my best to perfect my technique to make it active all twenty-four hours of the day! I promise to try my¡ª " "No need¡­" Moby chuckled, and with a simple wave of his hands, Rupert was silenced. "It''s not that I don''t trust you, but I just have my doubts about your ability to do it. But that doesn''t matter, since I have another idea in mind¡­ I think it''s about time to exin to you all my ns for the year, and to do that, I think it would be a good time for a proper party with everyone in it. We have three hours until curfew, so, how does that sound?" ?? ?? ?? Of course, no one had the right to reject Moby''s request, so they all packed their needs into their inventories and rings in order to set out. Prior to talking to them, Moby had already set up all the arrangements and informed all who needed to be informed. There was slight hints of nervousness from Rupert, rightfully so considering his timer. Yet, after a single look into the cat''s almost unnatural emerald eyes, he shook those doubts away and even felt disgusted with himself. They all left the room together, and ventured out into the dimly lit hallways and towards the elevator ride. But that was when something rather unexpected urred¡­ "Hmmm? Kane, youing?" Regrit raised an eyebrow and turned around. They had all left the elevator, yet there stood their leader inside of it, looking at his watch with wide eyes filled with what he could only assume to be interest, fear, or astonishment. Chapter 399 - Party Time (2)

Chapter 399: Party Time (2)

It was currently night-time, and the dome hovering over the sky turned into a darker tint of green, shining dim light on the city below. But, indeed, below the glowing dome was an even more magnificent light-show formed of several miniature lights, like apact cluster of stars shining in the sky. shing lights filled the streets, beaming from every angle all refracting on the many reflective surfaces. The skyscrapers stood tall, the flying cars zoomed through the skies and near the roads making all sorts of sounds that added to the city''s bustling ambience. Compared to the mornings, the streets were filled with people on the sidewalk and an unusually high number of drunks aimlessly wandering in and out of bars, that along with couples that wanted to enjoy the nighttime air. And through the crowds, six figures made their way through the darkness with a casual demeanour and a clear purpose in mind. And that purpose led them into a grand hotel, five glowing golden stars proudly disyed upon its facade. Yet, before entering, one man stood out from the rest, looking keenly at the sky before smiling and shaking his head, entering along with his friends. And after they got past the counter, they made it towards a magnificent door etched in gold towards the center of the bottom floor. ''My lord, Joker, I hear footsteps outside the door¡­'' ''Don''t worry mammon, it is I. I''m going to use the key, so don''t be startled upon our entry.'' ''Yes my lord! Understood!'' The door slowly opened without a single creek, revealing a dark yet spacious room. However, for them, the darkness posed no problems as their night vision made what lied within more than clear. It was a house like any other, and the fanciness matched even their own, rather rich households which were very impressive. It was fully decorated in gold and silver, many paintings hung on the walls and furniture all aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Yet, despite all of that, what grabbed their attention most was the long table at the center with eating utensils neatly set, and light from ssical candles upon the middle. ''Greetings my lord¡­'' Those three words were the first thing he heard upon entry, and directly ahead of him was the figure of a young,pletely unknown man that Moby immediately recognized. ''Greetings to you as well mammon, I assume all the arrangements are set up? Things look excellent so far from what I can see¡­'' ''Yes, my lord! All is ready! Even thest-minute adjustments you proposed!'' ''Excellent¡­'' He smiled, closing the doors behind him, ensuring they were locked before he turned on the actual lights of the room. ''...'' ''Mammon, raise your head, why do you still keep it low?'' ''M-my lord¡ª am¡ª am I allowed to gaze upon your true face? I''ve only seen you in a mask prior¡­'' ''Yes, I allow you,'' His smile grew bright, and a hint of a chuckle emerged from under his expression as he watched the mammon slowly, and nervously raise his head, only to be met with eyes as deep and expansive as the very oceans. ''My lord¡ª You''re¡ª Moby Kane!? The Hero¡ª I¡ª I would have never assumed so in a million years! You were thest person I thought of in my mind.'' ''Oh, well, I hope you were not disappointed,'' He inwardlyughed. ''No¡ª No! Not at all my lord! This¡­ this is incredible! The sheer providence to be able to so easily fool everyone is incredible!'' The mammon began to crumble, shaking uncontrobly. His reaction was just as Moby expected, no, it may have gone even further beyond, but now, Moby had no time for such distractions. ''Enough of that mammon, on your two feet!'' He ordered, and his minion immediately did as he was told. ''Yes my lord!'' ''Is this room fully secured?'' ''Yes lord! Every room in this hotel ispletely private, I can 100% assure you of that¡­'' ''Excellent,'' He nodded, before his attention was directed elsewhere. ''Hey! Kane! Should you set up all the food here? We gonna start eating or what?'' Regrit called, and Moby turned around to face him. ''Don''t worry, we''re gonna eat alright, but we''re gonna eat over a long discussion about everything that''s gonna happen this year.'' ?? ?? ?? Over the table, they all had a lengthy conversation, and the unravelling of what Moby had in mind was more than any of them imagined. ''Wait wait wait! So you''re gonna use THAT event to announce everything!? How''re you even sure you can win without you revealing your powers anyway!? And, let me get this straight, you got the mammon on your side, and you''re not even gonna use any of the points he''s farming for you? Why?'' ''All will be clear in due time,'' He smirked, looking over towards Regrit. ''My lord, are you going to let this person talk to you in such a way and question your nning? Does he not understand that your mind is beyond all of ourprehension?'' ''Mammon! Keep calm!'' His eyes turned purple, and his nce shook him to his very core. ''Questioning me is no sin, even I make mistakes and rely on my subordinates to point them out! What is a king who does not listen to their subjects?'' ''Y-yes my lord¡ª- U-understood¡­'' He lowered his head and gulped, before he heard a slight chuckle from his side and a voice entering his mind. ''It''s alright, I had to learn the same lesson too,'' And when he looked up, he noticed it to be a fellow demon with gray skin and horns that stood tall upon his head. ''Now that I''ve got all of that exined, do any of you have any questions? He looked expectantly towards all of them, yet he did not even receive a single response beyond a faint breath, but that was when Hikari nervously spoke, her voice soft like a whisper. ''Big brother¡­ I¡ª I just wanted to ask you if you know what exactly I am¡­ A fallen angel?'' ''I''ll respond to that,'' Artorias abruptly interjected. ''It''s veryplicated, and I noticed it ever since I first saw you¡­ Angel magic has greatly corrupted your being. I''ve never actually seen a fallen angel, but I''ve done my research. It''s not intercourse between an angel and demon or something of the like¡­ It''s more like when two corruptions sh against one another.'' ''I don''t understand¡­ Are you¡ª Are you calling Yami a corruption of some kind?'' ''No no,'' He shook his head. ''I think you''re two halves split is the thing¡­ In all my life, I''ve never seen or even heard about such a thing. You greatly intrigue me. To this day I''m uncertain if your two halves are two different people or halves of one. It''s all the fault of my people¡­ Please allow me to help you and rectify that mistake!'' He held her hand with passion, and Hikari could not help but back off and inwardly look down to hide her face and surprise. ''Hey! Hands off bud! What do you think you''re doing!'' Regrit smacked Artorias away with clear annoyance on his face. ''She might be corrupted, but she''s not corrupted at all. That''s just the way she is! And I like her for both her halves!'' ''Watch yourself,'' He scoffed. ''Why do you speak for her? Maybe she doesn''t like being like that and wants to sever the corruption to return to her true self? Maybe get a different form for her two halves?'' ''BOTH OF YOU! Calm down!'' Moby roared, startling all at the table with a lion-like voice. ''Now is not the time for this! Hikari is not some little girl! She can decide for herself! Now, Rupert!'' ''Yes sir!'' ''Have you and mammon agreed upon the swapping method? I will be the medium for it! And mammon, don''t forget to tell your minions that Rupert''s true form will be your true form as well since he will cover for you in many circumstances.'' ''Yes my lord! We''ve both worked it out,'' He lowered his head gracefully, the mammon following suit doing the same. ''Lord Kane, I don''t know if it''s my ce to ask. But what is the purpose of all of these precautionary measures? Why must we be so careful?'' Elizabeth leaned over and spoke for the first time since entering the room, her pupils keenly yet quiveringly looking towards Moby. ''I don''t want to take any chances¡­ This all has to be absolutely perfect¡­ That is all¡­'' He leaned back into his seat, taking a deep breath looking at the ceiling with narrowed eyes, remembering the words written on that unknown message anonymously sent to him. << Beware the hounds, they are your enemy¡­ >> Chapter 400 - Down The River Of Memories

Chapter 400: Down The River Of Memories

It had been well over an hour since this "party", and now was as good a time as any for it toe to an end¡ª they had more than discussed all they needed, and it was the first-ever time that all of Moby''s new subjects had met eye-to-eye. And as they stored all of their belongings, their attentions were drawn towards the mammon who aimlessly walked to the edge of the room, pulling out a certain book off a bookshelf. And suddenly, the entire shelf itself began to move, shift and turn, removing itself to reveal a secret passageway underground. ''Wait what? How did you do that!?'' Regrit was beyond stunned, his mouth unconsciously wide open as he viewed a scene as though it were straight out of a movie. ''It''s a secret path towards myir, it''s specially designed with teleportation in mind.'' He exined, almost bragging. ''Yes, but why is it here!? And how?'' ''Well, I do own this hotel. It''s only natural, he smirked, only to impress Regrit even more. ''Rupert, go there for the day while I go off with our lord. Are you able to remove that watch of yours to give to me?'' ''Certainly,'' Rupert nodded, snapping his fingers to create a blue dome around his wrist before casually removing the watch that felt like it was super-glued upon their flesh before giving it to the mammon who immediately wore it. Everyone witnessing what happened looked rather stunned, rightfully so. Yet, what they did not know was that Rupert used a greater demon exclusive spell to freeze the item in time, allowing there to be no rm triggered while he removed it off his wrists. ''Great! I''ll send a clone with you to vouch for your identity as mammon, and to exin to you precisely what to do!'' He brought his hands out, and his flesh began to swirl into an identical figure of himself, escorting Rupert away. ''Farewell for now your majesty!'' He spoke, before the passage removed itself, and the environment returned to precisely how it was before. ?? ?? ?? Altogether, they left the hotel and began to walk back towards the school. It was one hour until curfew and none of them wanted to be out sote. All except for Moby whogged behind the group, he and his green-eyed ck cat that was never too far away. "Are youing?" Regrit called out. "You guys go without me! I''m gonna go on a walk with the cat!" "Huh? Okay! You do you I guess! Not my fault if you''re out past curfew now is it?" Regrit was the only one to say his farewell out loud, while the others, like ordered, did it in their minds. "Did he say he''s walking with the cat or walking the cat?" Regrit mumbled before he faded away out of Moby''s ears. With his ck cat walking near his legs, they strolled towards a park. An area of vast grass overrun by a sea of flowers for as far as the eye could see. Trees from all over the world and some from even foreigns on full disy. Rivers ran through the center like dividing lines, with a single bridge connecting them both. Wild-life of all kinds flourished, the noise of the bustling city was feint, reced by the sound of birds, crickets, and running water. ''So, what did you wanna talk to me here about?'' Avilia spoke, casually walking on the ledge of the bridge overlooking the vast river. ''That message¡­ I''ve never gotten an anonymous message before¡­ Someone''s definitely out to get me right?'' He spoke calmly, his hands resting on the gray, rocky ledge as he stared at the leaves slowly falling down towards the river. ''That''s hard to say, maybe it''s just a troll, or maybe it''s real. Who knows right? But if it''s making you more cautious then it''s a good idea for things like this¡­'' ''Yeah¡­ I hope it''s a troll, but I''ll be sure to watch out¡­'' He sighed. ''Anyways, it''s been months now, and the supreme general has yet to call me to discuss about my parents. Do you think I should contact a teacher?'' ''I would say not,'' She purred, licking her paws. ''I think he has much on his hands to bother with you, war on the horizon and all.'' ''I guess so,'' He sighed once more. ''It''s just odd, why is the information about my parents kept so secret? What''s up with that? Do you think the military did something to them?'' ''I thought that should have been obvious by now. The military has never been a trustworthy environment. Now especially after Elizabeth told us about that Angel worshiping cult.'' ''Yeah, that''s why I keep my guard up ¡­ ¡­ Hey, you think that there might be a demon worshiping cult somewhere out there?'' Moby mused ''Well, on earth, I doubt it other than maybe a select few¡­ But in the beyond, there certainly are a whole lot more. Take that shalker we took onst year. He worshiped the ground I walked on and was convinced he could rip me out of you to be the new demon lord. At least in the shalker ranks, there are demon worshipers.'' ''That''s very true!'' Moby''s eyes lit up above his smirk. ''Maybe those shalkers under Rupert can do something with them, who knows.'' ''Yeah, and I''m still very curious about that stone he talked about, the one the lit up upon my arrival¡­ Do you think it''s a ce simr to what these humans found in those Mayan temples?'' ''Possibly¡­ Arrrggghh! There''s so much I want to know about!'' ''Now you know how I feel all the time! Congrattions!'' Sheughed in ssic Avilia fashion. ''You know, now that I think about it!I think I know of a certain group of demon worshipers still on earth¡­'' ''Wait! Really!? Where!'' ''They''re the people that are still giving you XP to this day! The XP share still works from this distance, and they were the ones that allowed you to even get to level 100, you just never noticed because you have those notifications disabled!'' ''Wait, you mean¡­'' ''Yep! They see you as the next demon lord! So they''re definitely demon worshipers, right? Abby Reid, the me princess, Jayden Griffith, the problem child, Ray Gwane, the boy genius, and Nags Axel, the calm juggernaut.'' Moby''s face immediately brightened hearing their names, and his eyes fell down towards the reflective surface of the river imagining their faces. His heart felt unsteady, and his mind felt like it had its own heartbeat thinking about how his corruption that was now no longer there would affect the way he acts towards them when they meet again. ''You know, it''s only been a few months since Ist saw them or even heard their names, yet in my mind, it felt like years¡­ I wonder what they''ve been up to without me¡­ I actually wonder that almost every day...'' He smiled to himself, before suddenly hearing a ruffling faintly entering his ears, and his mind went alert under his casual poker face. And as he activated his energy sense, he witnessed something extremely far away exit his range, only managing to catch a small glimpse as he took a deep breath, leaning even further on the rocky ledge, returning the smile on his face even wider than before. Chapter 401 - The Final Event

Chapter 401: The Final Event

The auditorium was loud and bustling, rightfully so. All of a sudden, every student was called down at once. Yet, to them, it was not something sudden at all, but rather expected considering it was the time of year that brought upon the most anxiety of all. They knew what was toe, yet that still could not stop them from sweating profusely and jittering like sugar addicts. After all, it had now been many months since the initial exam, and now was the end of the year¡­ The end of Elite School for all of them¡­ "SILENCE!! The principal is here! Behave yourself!" A sound emerged from the darkness of the auditorium, echoing around all the walls and into the shaking hearts of every student. And as though it were out of instinct, quiet overcame them all as they waited and watched with bated breaths, looking over as the red curtains slowly unveiled themselves, uncovering a single figure stood in the shadows that was then immediately lit by bright, golden light beaming towards them like a spotlight. Of course, it was none other than principal Rayna Davis herself, her hair tied in a ponytail elegantly behind her back. She was just as usual, yet this time, she was not dressed in her casual attire. Her soldier''s uniform of ck disyed golden stars that shined on her heart, perfectly matching the seriousness on her blood-red eyes and her rigid demeanour that slowly subsided into a smile. "Greetings all students! It is I! Your principal! Rayna Davis! By now you should be more than used to my face and voice! The same could not be said about many others¡­ Out of 1089 students who initially set foot upon the grounds of this esteemed school, only you remain! Chosen Elite above the elite! 256! That should be a great achievement you never let down! No matter what happens next! You all are champions in my eyes!" Her smile grew wider, putting her hands behind her back as she casually strolled around the stage. "As you know! Every year, the final event set up is a tournament of every single student! A great tournament that will be broadcasted throughout all human civilizations around the universe! A ce to prove your metal and strength over everyone! THE ARENA OF CHAMPIONS!!" She waved her arms out wide, and her words echoed epassing the still silent room, nothing but the sound of the racing hearts of the masses heard thumping like a shockwave. "Like every year, the tournament will be managed by the military itself and it will have five special guests judging and overseeing it all! The five greatest guilds in the world!" "The Hunter''s guild! Famed for their control over the right sector and many of the most powerful names in the world! The Hawk Guild! The newest one to enter the top 5! Their reach is far and wide throughout the gxy, and their members have been rumoured to make the most on average! The Sellsword Guild! A guild of power and freedom! Unlike the others guilds, they focus solely on the top echelon of power! Despite having far fewer members, each one has distinguished themselves beyond a shadow of a doubt! The meseeker Guild! A guild owned by the most powerful and distinguished of all fire ability households! The house of Catarina! Andst but most certainly not least! The guild of light! Aimed to reach and explore the far reaches and darkness of the universe to discover what was once unknown!" "Their leaders will all be here! Them along with me, and the supreme general himself! Cade Walker! We will oversee the top 32 matches, and after each one, each will have an opportunity to give you a position in their guilds, or the general will bestow upon you a rank in the military if you choose to stay with us!" "Certainly, beyond the offerings, there will be many rewards! Especially that of the coveted first ce rank! However, like every year, the rewards will be based on the judging, and will not be public until the award ceremony!" She took a long pause as she continued walking up on stage with a bright smile, her footsteps bing ever louder, like a crescendo of anticipation welling up with each step until her mouth opened once again. "Now¡­ You might be asking yourself ''What''s so special about this? They do it every year¡­'' Ahhh! But not this year!" Sheughed. "As you know, the virtual reality tech has recently been expanding at a rapid pace! And the researchers and students in this very school have been taking charge as many of you might have noticed, especially in the prototype machines found in your dorm rooms! Well! This year! The entire tournament will take ce in virtual reality! To show it off to the world and how such technology can prove very essential for the future of humanity!" "So! If you haven''t tried it yet! I very much implore you to try out the VR machines in your dorms! You have been taught and prepared for this very moment by all of your amazing teachers, so don''t panic! Simply try your best and see what destiny has in store for you!" She spoke, before she paused once again, but this time she halted her movements as well and narrowed her blood-red eyes towards the crowd with a mixture of an innocent smirk and a sinister frown that sent shivers down the spines of all. "Oh, and for those who n on cheating or rigging the event, I suggest you reconsider¡­ That is all I''m going to say on that matter¡­ And this is the end of the assembly¡­ 2 weeks! You have 2 weeks to prepare! I wish all of you luck, although strength and strategy will be the determining factors of this tournament.? Luck is certainly not needed when you''re good enough... I hope you have enjoyed your stay in elite school thus far! For this will be the finale! May the greatest fighter win!" Chapter 402 - The Arena of Champions

Chapter 402: The Arena of Champions

The assembly had just concluded. It was very brief, yet its impact was rather poignant. There was mass panic and hysteria every year after such an assembly, that was expected. However, the gravity of it all this year was multiplied even further beyond, as the students were left to go on their normal break, their faces wide, some awfully vocal as they walked out into the open fields while others were deathly silent, staring apathetically at the ground. Everyone had an opinion on what they had just witnessed, and Moby and his servants were certainly no different. ''Hey! Kane! Were you listening!'' Regrit yelled within the mind-link, running up towards Moby in the distance. '' The whole thing is gonna be in VR! Is this gonna fuck things up?'' His voice became more frantic as he neared the still silent Moby, until his face became clear¡­ A look shrouded in shadows, a grin from ear to earpletely contrasting the faces of panic all around him. ''No¡­ This is no problem at all¡­ In fact... This just solidified our victory¡­'' ? ? ? Precisely a week had passed since the student body had all gathered in one location, and currently, it may be theirst¡­ The main gym of the school was bustling, cramped and nearly unrecognizable. Fitting for the event, metallic stems showered green light from above along with slight shimmers that fell upon the rows and rows of neatly ced virtual reality machines, giving the otherwise drab space an almost whimsical air. Teachers were stationed in every corner, tasked to maintain order and guide those who were confused. Each student had a specific machine assigned to them, and once the teachers assured all was correct, they too entered their very own pods and allowed their minds to be whisked to a new reality. The process of entering VR had be all too mundane to everyone there. After all, they had been in it practicing non-stop for the past week. Yet despite their efforts, none were prepared for what they witnessed upon entry¡­ The hollow sound of the static void in their bright vision was there, yet it slowly began to fade away into something hazy and more familiar¡­ The brightness that surrounded them did not dull at all, but even expanded further in power as they began to gain feelings within their limbs, and the true world began to fully set in along with that subtle haziness surrounding their senses until finally, all was crystal¡­ "They''re here!!" "Let''s gooo Raymond!! We''re on your side!!" "asdnjdas***" Before they took in their surroundings, the sound of the roaring crowds exploded into their ears from all directions, sting them wide awake. Their surroundings were so unfamiliar¡­ The ground they stood on was a tiled white of pristine quality, and the sky was a shining fantastical bright white with golden clouds swirling unnaturally, like it was one''s interpretation of what heaven looked like. That was what their eyes fell upon first¡­ It instilled a sense of wonder unlike anything previously in their lives, yet it was not where their wide eyes stuck. Beyond the thick wall of their fellow students was another wall of people of far denser thickness, sat upon a seat of a grand reimagining of an old coliseum, cheering at the top of their lungs. The pirs decorating the ring of people surrounding them seemed to have a distinct architecture, independent, unique from the ones of the past. And as their eyes followed around the circle of people, their gazended upon an area above, protruding outward from the main building, decorated with a swiling structure like a stream of falling water frozen in time. And upon such a grand canopy sat six smiling figures gazing back down towards them. "Wee to everyone! Your favourite time of the year has finallye! The arena of Champions! And this year is extra special! Made in VR!" A sound echoed in all directions, one upbeat and hyper in nature that no one could seem to find, screaming over the entire crowd¡ª no doubt an announcer. However, upon closer inspection, there was a man who stood upon the stage ahead of them that did not bear a student uniform, but rather a tuxedo and sunsses along with blonde-slick-backed hair to match his energy as he spoke. "And without further ado! Let''s get this started! First, I would like to bring your attention up top towards our cast of judges this year!" A slight shine engulfed the canopy above, and all eyes were drawn towards the six that sat in its shadows. Two of them were immediately recognizable, the supreme general, Cade Walker himself along with their very own principal, Rayna Davis. However, the other four were expectedly unexpected, and turned their awing gazes intoplete astonishment and a loss for words. All of them waited for the crowds to settle and shout all they wanted, and from the middle of the pack, the supreme general was the first to take action, standing up from his seat and immediately grabbing the attention of all. And with a simple raise of his hands, the overly aggressive, roaring crowd was consumed byplete silence as they waited with baited breaths. "Greetings to all students of the Alexander Davis School of Elites! I, supreme general Cade Walker personally congratte you on reaching this far! What you did is no mere small feet! But one that should be cherished no matter the oue! I''m more than certain, all of you will go great ces in life!" "I would also like to greet the audience! They''re not just any random old crowd! I''m so d all of you could make it through your busy schedules to witness the champion of this new generation!" "And a special thank you to all the people watching from home! Many of this would not be possible without all of your support!" "Oh, and of course! Last but not least! I would like to thank our four guests of honour for their arrival today!" The supreme general smiled, his wrinkly face like that of an old, loving grandfather before he sat back down on his seat after receiving a bow from all those who were sat beside him. "Thank you so much supreme general for your kind words! They will truly make an excellent starter to today''s events! I would also like to introduce all of our very special guests for today! And the judges who will oversee everything, especially the final 32 students!" "Thank you to the leader of the Hunter''s Guild himself for gracing us today! Sir Vilhelm Ortiz!" he motioned towards the man sitting towards the far right of the judges, and he immediately stood up and greeted the crowd with a kind, loving smile that matched that of a celebrity or supermodel. Ashen, short hair gently hung over his fine, young, warm face. His narrow amber eyes, set sunken within their sockets, as he charmingly watched over the fawning crowds. His features were well-framed, and his face was clean-shaven with subtle scars like medals of honour that oddlyplimented his hair and left a pleasant memory of his reckless luck in battle. He stood gracefully among the others, exemplified due to his lean frame. There was something charming about him, perhaps it was a feeling of sadness or perhaps it was simply his sense of honour. "It''s a pleasure to be in all of your presence!" His smile grew brighter before he sat back down on his pale seat and allowed the announcer to speak once again. "And to his left is ady that needs no introduction! Her bloodline had been famed for its strength and ferocity since the infancy of abilities! The leader of the meseeker guild! Ashley Orbec!" Just as the man to her right did before, she stood out of her seat and greeted the crowd, only the energy she disyedcked his elegance, but more than made up for it in emotion and ferocity. Her straight hair waved in the wind as she walked, an odd mixture of ck and white fighting for dominance on top of it. Her attire matched that of her demeanour and fit snuggly on her short yet rather well-endowed body. Her wide, beady eyes were a mismatched ck and white, and the smile on her face was bright, proud, and cheery, disying her white, yet oddly sharp teeth that would set a smile on any beholder''s face. "Good luck to all students! And congrattions to you all for making it here! But just you know! I don''t just choose anyone to enter my guild! Prove to me that you deserve it and I''ll shoot you an invite!" Sheughed heartily before sitting back down where she stood. "And next! We have another woman of equally matching beauty! The leader of the famed Sellsword guild! Yuria Dark!" All eyes on her, she uncrossed her legs and strolled out into the limelight, her long ck dress dragging slightly behind her feet. Her entire persona emanated dominance and elegance as she looked upon the crowds with an all too assertive look. She was clearly the oldest of the three women sat atop that canopy, yet her beauty was not squandered by age nor shown too much. Her dull green eyes had a slight glow to them, looking around as she waved with a subtle smile on her face that bore a small beauty mark near her right cheek. Her deep, red hair was straight, smooth as silk, and her movements had an odd mixture of dryness and exaggeration that felt all too natural for someone like her. And with a few simple words, she strutted back to her seat, the crowd cheering her name. "May the best warrior win¡­ I''m looking forward to seeing how things go this year¡­" "And now! Last but not least! The new guild on the block! They have climbed up the ranks and almost emerged out of nowhere to their current dominance! Of course! It''s non-other than the Hawk Guild and their leader! Grey Osborne!" The announcer spoke, and subsequently, a man stood out of his seat. His long, wavy midnight-blue hair fell down near his shoulders, the light beautifully reflecting upon it giving it a dark shine. His bright eyes of gold were elegantly poised below his thick eyebrows, and his open smile as he openly weed the crowdpleted the expression on his handsome face that bore a slight stubble. His attire was rather simple yet awe-inspiring in its own way, a dark blue that matched his hair along with a nicely paired gold and ck befitting even his cape. Unlike the others, he had a more weing air to his actions¡ª like that of a kind but fair monarch who would rule with his mind and influence and not by an iron fist. "I''m so honoured to be attending this for the first time and to see such a warm wee! It is truly wonderful! Good luck to all of today''s participants! May the light shine bright upon today''s events!" He waved and sat down from where he stood, and as soon as he did, the announcer cut off the crowds once more. "And of course! We can''t forget about the person who oversaw all of this! none of this would have even been possible without the help of our dear principal! Rayna Davis herself! The granddaughter of the great father of abilities! Alexander Davis!" She stood up and greeted the audience and the students ahead as she usually did. Yet if all was normal, her students would not be looking at her in such a way¡­ After all, it was the first time they had ever seen her in a ck suit and not in her military uniform. "Put on a good show students! I hope your training paid off! You better not disappoint me! UNDERSTOOD!?" "YES MA''AM!" The entire crowd saluted and responded out of instinct, which put on a smile on the nowughing principal as she took her seat once again. "Fighting will begin shortly! All matches will be put in ce by a randomputer generator for the sake of fairness! The match-ups themselves will be shortly posted upon this screen!" The announcer spoke, and a massive blue screen appeared at the other end of the Arena as though from thin air. "All students have been sent instructions for the rules, but they will also be posted for the audience on their guest watches if they so please and on our website for those at home! When the time for their match-upes, all students will be automatically teleported to their designated arena! If you wish to spectate a specific match, simply refer to one of the before-mentioned sources to navigate to the arena or to one of the sub-channels for those at home!" "We have 256 students and only 1 will remain in the end! So there will be many matches going on all at once until the top 32 which will be going on one at a time! And for all participants, keep an eye out! For there will be a chance for one of our honoured guests to spectate your match even before the top 32!" "For now! All students will be teleported to their event hub! We will go on a shortmercial break! I hope to see you all again in fifteen minutes!" Chapter 403 - Interlude

Chapter 403: Interlude

A bright, patterned radiance of white emerged beneath the feet of every single student, and with a simple sh that engulfed their vision, they found themselves once again transported to an unfamiliar environment, one far more nd yet still pleasing to the eye. Altogether, they stood upon what could only be described as shimmering clouds, each with a specific message that appeared in front of them that they immediately read. [ You have approximately 30 minutes until your next fight and 15 minutes until your matchups are announced. You should be prepared due to the fact that your battle could begin as soon as five minutes after the matchups are announced to a full 45 minutes. In your free time, you can go explore the various different exhibits and tourist attractions within this area of virtual reality, spectate the battles of your fellow students, or simply train in a private area until you are automatically teleported to your next match! In closing, good luck to all students! ] Conversations sprung out immediately between the masses and their fellow students, discussing about what had just happened. It was the first time that they could find the energy in themselves to properly speak after the day''s events thus far. And not too long after did light engulf the feet of many of the students as they disappeared from ce, perhaps doing as the message suggested by their exploring this new world or training even further for their uing match. Moby and the others had done extensive research in VR in preparation for this tournament. And, it had already been established to them that mind-link was oddly missing in this space. So, for the first time in seemingly forever, they had to rely on the word of mouth to converse. After they had been teleported onto this cloudy void, they had already met up with each other. "So, Kane. What do you think we should do now?" Regrit asked. "I don''t know, do whatever you want." He smirked, shrugging off Regrit''s question. "It''s only fifteen minutes so whatever training you''re gonna get in isn''t much." "My lo¡ª I mean¡­ K-kane¡­ Are you that confident of victory? Is it okay to be this casual? I believe I could easily defeat everyone here considering my status bu¡ª" Kai spoke, before suddenly and abruptly being cut off by Artorias. "I wouldn''t speak too much if I were you¡­ I wouldn''t trust this space. For all we know they could be using this to spy on us without even knowing. The military is sly, we can''t reveal all of our family secrets." "Yeah, that''s true. Good eye Art!" "Art?" Artorias raised an eyebrow towards Regrit. "Yeah! Art! Short for Artorias! Good nickname right?" "Yes, I can conclude, I''m not ipetent. But thest time anyone has ever called me Art was my mother¡­" "Then, Art... call me daddy!" Regritughed. "Silence!! Call me art again and you shall pay!" Artorias retorted, and everyone around him could not help butugh. As though he felt a massive headache overwhelm him, he ced his hands on his head and sighed. "Anyways, we don''t have much time before the start of this tournament, and I''m really inclined to go exploring this VR area¡­ Hikari, do you want to join me?" "Ummm¡­ Ahhh¡­ O¡ª okay! Yeah! I bet it''d be fun!" She nodded. "I''ll join you guys too," Elizabeth agreed. "It''s not like I have anything better." "Wh¡ª" Regrit blurted before stopping his speech early. "Hmm? What''s the matter Regrit? You have something to say?" "No! Art! I don''t!" "Then suit yourself," He smiled. "We''ll just go without you!" "B-big brother¡­ You wanna join us?" Hikari asked with wide-open eyes. "No, sorry, I have other things to attend to. It isn''t something of concern really." He reciprocated her smile before casually walking away and disappearing into thin air before anyone could give him a proper goodbye like many of the others that once stood in this space. "O¡ª oh! I see! Well, good luck¡­ What about you Regrit? You joining us then?" "Nah," He shook his head. "I think I''ll go alone with my big bro Kai. Am I right!" Heughed, wrapping his arm around his brother in a friendly manner, slightly startling him. "Oh, well. Okay. Why not, seems like a good time with my cute younger brother!" "Oh¡ª Okay¡­ well, you two have fun then¡­" The disappointment on Hikari''s face was evident as she looked down gently before suddenly, Regrit shook his head and quickly turned away. "We''re gonna go now! Good luck with all of your matches! Hope to see you in the top 32!" Both he and Regrit walked away, and a small white light engulfed them as they prepared to teleport. "So long to you all as well!" "Hey, and Kai¡­ How many times did I tell you to stop calling me fucking cu¡ª" ?? ?? ?? Kai and Regrit were whisked away through the void as they suddenly found themselves together at what they could only describe as an amusement park in heaven. The sky shined down upon them with its same magical radiance, yet now it was blocked with various tall, magnificent structures one could have only imagined in dreams. It was not the machines themselves that were impressive, but rather the modern yet colourful and intricate design fitting the theme of heavenly magic. They found themselves in the middle of a bustling crowd, rides all around them. Overwhelmed with where they wanted to go, they began to aimlessly wander through the crowds. Yet, in the end, they could not find a single ride fitting, and they found themselves sat upon a bench, looking towards the sky. "Hmmm? Does nothing seem to find your interest? I think this is all pretty cool." Kai spoke, looking towards Regrit. "Well, uhhh¡­ That''s not it¡­" "Then what is it?" "Thest time I came to an amusement park was when I was very young¡­ My mother had finally saved up enough money to get tickets and we went there together¡­ It was one of the best, most memorable days in my life and I just don''t feel like it''s the same¡­ I always just think of her every time I''m here you know?" "Ah! I see¡­" Kai nodded before slightly smirking. "But! Are you sure it''s not because Hikari chose to go with Artorias rather than you?" "Wha!? Where did thate from! Of course not!" "You can''t fool me little brother!" Heughed. "I''ve kept an eye on you for the past few months, and I can confirm that you have a crush on her!" "N¡ª no! That''s not true! Why would I like someone like her of all people!" "I don''t know, why don''t you ask yourself? If you wanna prove to me that you don''t like her, why don''t you try talking to a girl here? There''s a lot of good ones! I''ll even do it with you! Just for fun and to get you out of yourfort zone!" "You''ve gotta be kidding me! I may have never had any experience in girl stuff, but I''m certainly not helpless! " He sighed, scratching his head. "And wait, what about that girl you always painted and stuff? I always thought she must have been your girlfriend or something." "Her! Oh no! No no no no no no no! She is indeed the most beautiful girl in the world, but I would not dare think of her in such a way! I''m not even worthy!" "Oh¡­ Okay¡­" "Anyways! Are you a pussy or not! You gonna talk to some girls with me!" "Pussy? Where did you of all people get that word from?" "From you! Who else?" "Fair¡­ Uggghhh! Fine! I''ll do it! But I''m just gonna do some casual stuff! I''m not tryna be a weirdo!" "Great!" Kaiughed. "This will be a first for me too! I''m certain it''ll be fun!" "I can tell you''ve been watching too many bad influences sinceing here¡­" Chapter 404 - Pick-up Artist

Chapter 404: Pick-up Artist

"Hey, are you gonna talk to someone or not? We''re running out of time! Are your standards that high?" It had been several minutes of just aimless walking, and Rupert had begun getting restless. "Stop rushing me! It''s not as easy as it looks!" Regrit scratched his head. "Is it really though? Let me show you then!" He smiled, looking over towards two girls in the distance that caught his eyes, lined up behind one of the roller coaster rides that were not as cramped. "Hey! Wait up!" Regrit followed suit. The two girls were gorgeous indeed, both talking to each other with clear excitement upon their faces. One was a girl of average height, her deep blue hair like the night sky and her matching eyes almost sparkled, surrounded by her clean, pale skin and thick, arching brows. Her attire was rather casual, a cropped ck tee shirt and jeans that fell down slightly above her knees, perfectly matching her low socks and blue sneakers. The other seemed to be just as outgoing, yet slightly more morous. Her pink hair was tied into short pigtails, and her green eyes radiated fierceness within their sockets. Her white shirt fit rather tightly under her jeans jacket, and beneath that was a red skirt and ck stockings that went up from her shoes and past her knees. And before the slightly red-faced Regrit could even speak a single word, he found himself in the line behind them with Rupert taking the lead. "Hellodies, can I have a moment of your time if you don''t mind?" "Ummmm¡­ Who are you guys? Do I know you? What do you want?" The pink-haired girl turned around and raised an eyebrow, her friend doing the same only her gaze was far wider. "Apologiesdies, me and my brother are going around interviewing people to get an insight on what they think of the tournament." He smiled. "Elise!" The blue-haired girl nudged her friend. "That''s the student uniform for elite school! I think they''re both in the tournament!" "Oh-oh! Is that true!" Her eyes immediately went open. "Well, yes¡­ But I didn''t want to make it a big deal¡ª" Heughed slightly nervously. "I¡ª I see¡­ But why us of all people? There are so many others... " "Oh! Well, you two caught our eyes! I''m not gonna stand here and start lying to you! Right Regrit?" Heughed and nudged his brother to his side. "Uhhhh... Y-yeah¡­" "Oooohhh! I see¡­" The pink-haired girl smiled."What you''re names? I should at least know the people interviewing me right?" "Oh, of course! My name is Kai Fatebringer! And this is my little brother Regrit!" "Fatebringer!" The girl with blue hair blurted. "You mean the fire family!? You guys are experts at mana maniption right! Can you show us something please!" She asked with star-like eyes. "Ummm¡ª well, that''s getting a little off topic but¡ª" "Pleeeeaaassseeee¡­." "Okay, Regrit! Why don''t you show em something!" Regrit was suddenly put on the spot, and his mind went nk before he remembered that Rupert could not exactly do theseplex mana tricks. "Fine, I guess I''ll do it¡­" He sighed, lifting his hands and expelling orbs of mana from every colour of the rainbow popping upon his fingers. And by simply flexing his wrists, he controlled them up in the air like fireworks that exploded and formed a rainbow of mana up above. The two girls were absolutely stunned, looking up towards the magnificent light-show disyed towards them in awe. "Wow! That''s really amazing! I can only get three colours myself! No wonder you''re elites and members of the Fatebringer household!" The pink-haired girl spoke slowly approaching Regrit with hands sped, maybe slightly too close as the rose on Regrit''s cheeks became slightly more apparent as he instinctively took a few steps back and spoke. "Uhhh¡­ d you liked it. It was really no big deal¡­" "Anyways!" Rupert pped. "I wanted to ask you a few questions! Are you two okay with that!" "Yeah! Of course!" "Great!" He cheered. "First, what''re your names?" "Oh yeah! How could we not have introduced ourselves! I''m Elise Leona! It''s a pleasure to meet you!" Elise, the pink-haired girl slightly bowed her head before looking them both in the eye and standing up straight. "And I''m Jasmine Kale! We''re both from country H! It''s nice to meet you both!" She followed her friend''s lead. "So, what did you wanna ask us exactly?" "I''m getting to that!" Rupert waved his fingers. "First off, in your opinion, who do you think is most likely to win the tournament this year! And who''re you gonna be cheering for?" "Oooo! Now that''s a tough question!" Elise pondered. "But, if I had to choose, it''d have to be Adam Walker!" "Mmhm" Her friend nodded. "I''d have to agree with that." "The Supreme General''s son? Not me? Ahhgg! You wound my heart with your harsh words, mademoiselle! counting me out so quickly!" "Oh, I''m sorry," Sheughed. "I''m just being realistic. I don''t really know what you''re capable off¡­ I don''t know, maybe surprise me in your first few matches and I''ll change my opinion¡­" She narrowed her eyes and leaned in closer. "Oh! So you''re gonna spectate our matches!" "Well, now we are!" Sheughed. "Ah! I guess that''s even more motivation to impress!" He reciprocated herughter that quickly spread amongst their peers, although Regrit was rather stiff doing so. "Well, other than us, who''re you cheering for? What were you looking forward to most whening here?" "Ha! Well, that''s easy!" Jasmine chuckled. "We''re both definitely cheering for Moby Kane! If anyone has a chance to take down Adam Walker it''s definitely him!" "Yeah!" Elise agreed. "He nearly defeated a shalker leaderst year! I wonder how strong he''s gotten since then! Ooooh I can''t wait!" "That''s a great answer! Very understandable! I bet you won''t be disappointed. I''m more than certain he'' ''ll win." Rupert smirked and nodded. "It sounds like you know him! Please tell us! Or no no! Never mind! I wanna be surprised! No spoilers!" "Well, I can tell you that he and we are kinda close¡­" "Wow! That''s amazing! I know Kane gets a lot of hate from all the jealous people since he was just an orphan who rose up after getting an ability, but I really admire his determination and how he is genuinely trying to help the world! I know there''s many people who would try and take revenge after gaining such power¡­ I was just worried since we hadn''t heard anything about him at all for an entire year... Anyways, I''m really happy to hear that he''s made allies and wasn''t antagonized in that pretentious elite school!" Elise smiled, holding her hands strongly. "Well, he''s too powerful for anyone to actually antagonize him! Trust me, some people tried..." Rupertughed heartily. "Oh! Is that so! You''re getting me so excited to see his fight now! I''m getting all giddy!" "Do you consider yourself fans?" "Well, I guess so!" Jasmine giggled. "But, we''re not part of that extreme part. I know there''s many people that can get wild!" She spoke, and suddenly an announcement came from ahead. "The next round on the roller coaster is about to begin! All aboard!" "Oh! Elise! The line is moving again!" They all followed the line, and just as they were about to enter together, both Regrit and Rupert were cut off, and the twodies entered without them, of course not before giving them a goodbye. "It''s been really nice talking to you both! Good luck with both of your matches! We''ll make sure to be there! Byyyyeeeee!!" "Thanks for thatdies! It''s been a pleasure to meet you two as well!" He waved back towards them before they faded out of view in the distance. There was no longer reason for Rupert and Regrit to stay in line, so they simply walked away, one certainly feeling much better than the other as they found themselves once again sat down on that all too familiar bench. "Hey, Regrit! You were so quiet! You''re normally quite the talker! You were like a little kid out there! Ha ha! I knew it! You really are shy around women!" "Shut up! That''s not it!" He shook his head. "I would have spoke more if you didn''t just talk all the time¡­" "Hey, are you jealous of M-m-Moby or something?" "J-jelous!? Why would I be?" "Well, it does seem like he''s popr with everyone and all¡­" "Arrrghhh!" Regrit scratched his head. "I''ll just have to prove myself in this tournament then! Everyone knows about you but not me seeing you''re the face of the Fatebringer family! It''s time to make a name for myself! I have my own goals too! I''m not jealous at all!" "Uhhh huh¡­" Rupert slyly nodded before suddenly, a loud sound emerged from his watch, in fact, it emerged from the watches all around him as well. And immediately, as though they all had the same thoughts, they looked down towards their wrists with excitement and eagerness as they read¡­ "The match-ups are here!" Regrit expressed. "Uhhh¡ª My match is in 40 minutes! Against¡­ Brian Lue¡­ Never heard of him before¡­ Seems like an easy match." "I''m in 35 minutes against Ubric Vendry¡­ I don''t know him as well¡­ Artorias is also in 35 minutes against Niome Bray¡­ Hikari is in 20 minutes against Zoe Yimfah¡­ Elizabeth''s is in 8 minutes against Jaylen Morgan¡­ And M-mo-Moby''s is in¡­ FIVE MINUTES! Against Raymond Scott!" "Damn¡­ I didn''t expect him to be going this soon¡­ But, at least we have time to spectate. And from what I''ve heard, his first match-up''s gonna be pretty tough¡­" Regrit acknowledged. "Tough?" Rupert snorted. "That must be some sort of joke!" "Well, he''s still gonna win of course," "Anyways, how exactly are we gonna get to his Arena¡­ It''s uhhhh¡­ AB0301¡­ That''s the code." "I''ve read up on it while you were staring at the sky earlier daydreaming." I can show you how, Rupert spoke, when abruptly, their figures were covered in an abnormally thick, human-shaped shadow, like someone peering over them from above. And to their surprise, it was two girls, yet not the same two girls that they had spoken to prior¡­ No, these two were far more beautiful to the point that even Rupert himself had to blush in their presence. It was a beauty that could not even be considered on the level of human. If thest two they had spoken to were eights or even nines out of tens, these two would have most certainly broken the scales... Their faces bore an abnormally elegant polish and elegance found nowhere else, and a deep, thick stare peering down towards them. The one that carried a denser presence was slightly shorter than the other. Her eyes shined brighter than sapphires, and her long, vibrant, dark blue hair reached her bosom with slight bangs above her elegant yet thick brows. She wore a pure ck sundress connecting around her neck and falling down slightly above her knees, revealing her clearly well-endowed physique along with her tender legs and her feet wrapped in strappy sandal heels. Around her, she wore a thin gray coat with her sleeves rolled up, exposing her thin, smooth arms and the golden bracelet upon her right hand. Her friend not standing too far from her was slightly taller, her expression more sombre¡­ Or perhaps it was nervousness and excitement, it was almost impossible to tell. Her long, fiery crimson hair looked silky smooth especially under the bright sky, tied slightly towards its ends. Her eyes perfectly harmonized with her hair, glimmering like encrusted rubies that sat upon her pale, attractive visage. Unlike her friend, her attire was far from muted. Upon her neck was a ck choker with an aura of fire flowing furiously through it, and beneath that was her bright, velvety button-up shirt drew that much attention even beyond her hourss figure, her sleeves rolled which disyed her arms that were beautiful in their own way, and far less than elegant, revealing signs of what they could only assume as work or rigorously hard training. The ck skirt that seamlessly connected under her shirt and wrapped around her hips was tight and made of high-quality material, a button connected onto it from hip to hip to keep it from falling and was aesthetically pleasing even alongside her toned, yet beautiful legs that ended with ck summer heels that matched that of her friend. "Hey, are you two part of the tournament?" The blue-haired girl casually asked, peering down towards them from above. "Uhhhh¡ª Y-Yeah¡­ Yeah, we are¡­ You need something?" "Yeah, actually we do¡­" She sighed, shaking her head. "The website doesn''t seem to load properly from our watches. Can you tell us where we can find the fight for Moby Kane?" Chapter 405 - The First Match

Chapter 405: The First Match

"Oh! Ahhh... Of course!" Rupert scratched his head. "AB0301 is the code to his arena¡­ If you want, we''re actually heading there right now. We might as well¡ª" "Nahhh, it''s okay! I know the way," Sheughed, dismissing him. "Thanks for telling us though!" "Yeah," The girl in red slowly nodded from her side with a smile before they both turned away. "Hey! One sec!" Rupert called out. "Huh, what is it? We''re kinda in a hurry you know?" "Just one question! You two also one of those super fans for Lor¡ª K-Kane¡­" "Su-Super fans?" She burst outughing, clenching her stomach. "I''m way above those sorry chicks! I bet they literally wish they could be me every day!" "Sis, we have to go now! We can''t miss the match!" The red-haired girl nudged her friend to her side, now revealed to be her sister, making her slightly calm down. "Yeah, yeah! Let''s go! Ain''t no way I''m missing this! Good luck with your matches too I guess fire boys!" Sheughed heartily once again before she and her sister faded away in the crowds. "Who were they? They knew who we are!" Rupert blinked and looked over towards a smirking Regrit. "If I didn''t know as much I would think you''re shy talking to women¡­" "Qu-Quiet you! It''s not like you spoke at all there! I have years and years of experience with thedies! But those two are even hotter than subi! Especially the blue-haired one!" "Huh!?" Regrit raised an eyebrow, almost as though he was shocked. "The red-haired girl was way better! You blind!?" "You cheating on Hikari now?" "Wha!? We''re not dating! And I already told you there''s nothing mutual between us!" "Ah, if you say so¡­" He shrugged. "Well, we''re gonna go spectate the same match, so we''re bound to run into them again right? They seem to be from strong, wealthy families or something, sisters even! How cool would it be if each of us dated one of them! You know, since we''re brothers! Of course, only if they are willing to join our glorious household and prove useful, then we can be really close!" "Sh-Shut up with your delusions! I''m not that desperate! And! you''re not my brother!!" "The look on your face says otherwise..." ?? ?? ?? Moby''s match was about to begin, the announcer had already talked up both fighters as thebatants before they even entered the Arena. In the area they all nned to meet, Artorias, Hikari, and Elizabeth were there, yet there were two others oddly missing and came in just in time before the match began. "Hey! What took you two so long!" Artorias gave them the eye as they sat down. "We got a bit lost," Regrit responded. "Who knew this arena would be so full just for a preliminary match! I don''t think I can see many empty seats in this loud arena!" "Well, it makes sense. Moby does have quite the reputation even outside the elites. It''s only natural, he IS a hero after all¡­" Elizabeth responded. "Yeah, but even still¡­ I never expected there to be THIS MANY people here! Even two of the guild leaders showed up to see this match! And the principal herself! I feel bad for whoever has a match at the same time¡­ I bet that arena must be really em¡ª" "Shhh! It''s about to start!" Elizabeth leaned in closer and whispered. "Ladies and gentlemen!! This may be the first match of the day, but even I never expected to see the seats this packed! I guess that''s what happens when two tournament favourites end up together for a match this early!" "You already know who they are! You don''t need me to exin it! So without further ado! Meet your two fighters! Moby Kane! Annnnnnddddd!! Raymond Scott!!" The announcer that stood upon the center tile of the Arena spoke, and suddenly, both fighters emerged from their respective ends, trodding upon the path surrounded by the outer grass, going up the stairs until they met eye to eye. They both wore studentbat uniforms along with standards weapons given by the military to ensure an equal ying field with litter to no outside advantage. Moby of course wore his signature katana strapped onto his waist while his opponent had a great sword sheathed upon his back. No, such a thing could not be considered a great sword but more like arge b of metal attached to a hilt instead. Both fighters looked rather simr, at least from a top-down view due to their jet-ck hair. Yet, upon closer inspection, one was clearly more refined and carried himself with confidence, while the other most certainly let his arrogance shine through beyond his smirk directed towards the crowd and his sombre opponent in the distance. And as they made their walk, the crowd certainly let their favourite of the two shine through, drowning out the voice of the other''s supporters even as they cried their hearts out to make their voices heard. "So¡­ You must be Moby Kane huh! You don''t look so tough! You''re the most overrated guy in the entire tournament for no reason! You may have some of the best grades sure, but whenever someone challenges you to a match you always dodge them!" As per standards, both fighters were connected with a microphone sting their voices throughout the crowds, almost certainly used to add excitement and drama to a fight if the fighters desired. It''s only natural that one would want asting impact upon the crowds, yet it seemed like Moby did not even make the effort to put on a show. "That''s because most challenges aren''t worth my time¡­ And why would I do challenge matches for points when I don''t need any? I don''t see the point in fighting when I reap no benefit and just expose my techniques to the public¡­" He sighed, shrugging off Raymond''s words as though they were nothing. "That''s the same excuse all cowards make! And I''ll¡ª" "Enough thering¡­ Actions speak louder than words¡­" "Wha¡ª You... Fine then! Just wait and see until I put you in your ce! People really think you can win the whole thing! That''sughable! No one will ever care about you after you lose in round 1! "I don''t need to exin myself." Moby sighed once again, shaking his head. "If you want to expose me or whatever then go ahead and try. I can more than justify my ims with just pure power and skill¡­ As for you, I''m not sure I can say the same¡­" "Hmph! dly!" "Wow! Tension is rising!! Both contestants seem fired up! The stakes of the match have reached a whole new level! Both have something to prove, and the eyes of everyone will be solely on them as they test their metal!! Are both contestants ready!" The announcer screamed from within his booth, pointing towards both contestants as they both nodded towards him. "ALRIGHHTTTT!! Both contestants seem about ready as can be! So without further ado, let''s get this started!" The announcer shouted, excitement clearly emanating from his voice as the crowd exploded in its wake, the two fighters taking stance¡­ Raymond''s figure rather stiffly grabbing the hilt of his sword while Moby was far more rxed, his knees slightly bent and his hands hovering over his katana ready to draw. "3!" "2!" "1!" "BEGIN!! Chapter 406 - The First Match (2)

Chapter 406: The First Match (2)

Immediately as the announcer finished his count down, a boisterous sound was heard from all around like an explosion, officially marking the beginning of the match. Raymond immediately pulled out his sword as though it weighed like a feather, and with a smile on his face, the ground started to tremble as glowing blue crystals began to sprout out of the ground all around like nts, forming hazards and barriers as he covered himself in a thick ball of that same, bright, reflective, shining crystal. "Raymond Scott is immediately on the defensive trying to get his spirit mode!!" The announcer yelled. This was fairly standard practice for the beginning of any serious match. A fighter would always lean to getting off their spirit modes as soon as possible without allowing their opponents to interrupt them while they were in the middle of their transformation. After all, there was no such thing asmon courtesy among fighters to simply allow each other time for a transformation. At times like these, there were only two options for the opponent: either to try and interrupt the transformation anyways through the defences or to simply take the opportunity to transform themselves. However, what Moby did was none of the above¡­ "What''s this!! Kane hasn''t moved an inch! He hasn''t even drawn his sword!! THIS! This is unprecedented! His eyes are closed! And he seems so rxed! Is he taunting his opponent! In all my life! I''ve never seen anything like this! Now, how the hell will he be able to counter a fully powered opponent in his spirit mode!" That was when all of a sudden, the cocoon made of gems that surrounded Raymond exploded into shards of small crystals that fired in all directions, most of which hit the barriers protecting the audience while some did make their way towards the standing Moby. And for the first time, he made a move¡­ He lifted his hands, and in an almost cocky, over-the-top manner, sted away all the shards and attacked the cloud of dust where Raymondid before he drew his sword with both hands directly in front of him, ready for whatever his opponent did. His eyes were trained upon the dust like a hawk, and the grip on his de was tight¡­ Until it suddenly became loose, flipping to its edge and sliding it back as though he prepared to stab thin air behind him. And with a casual sigh, stab thin-air he most certainly did¡­ Only the precise moment that he did, a figure bearing a bright, celebratory grin-from ear to ear erupted out of the earth like a ground-hog, his greatsword in hand ready to strike. However, all he was met with was the straight back of his opponent, a glint in his right eye looking back and a katana abruptly stabbed into his guts seemingly out of nowhere. *Gawk* The expression on his face instantly shifted as he immediately stepped back away. Although it was VR, the pain could not escape him, nor blood could release from his virtual system as he was instead hit with pure pain shocking him to his very core. His face was red, several veins obscurely popping out of their sockets. So quickly was he injured and out of breath, yet his eyes remained determined, like a proud lion staring towards his almost expressionless opponent as he turned towards him like he was not worth his time. And without a single word or moment of hesitation, he grasped the hilt of his crystal sword so hard to the point it began to crack, gritting his teeth as he sted off the ground using a crystal shard to boost him as he brought his sword up high and shed down towards his stationary opponent with all his might¡­ However, his sword felt nothing, as though it had swung at thin air as he zoomed by¡­ Confusion overwhelmed his angered mind once more, before a surge of pain enveloped his entire body¡­ It all felt too surreal to be reality, it had to have been nothing but a nightmare. His body grew numb, his eyes immediately turnedblurry and hazy with visions of darkness manifesting from the sides¡­ Thest thing that he saw before his vision went senseless was the ground slowly approaching his face and the great sword once in his hand now cracked, cut clean in half... The crowd who watched the disy were silent,pletely unlike their loud, and open appearance as they tried to process what they had just seen. For in under twenty seconds, the first match had already reached its end. "Th-thats¡­ THATS IT!! There you have it folks! The first round hase to an end! Such a disy of overwhelming domination! Itsted less than twenty seconds yet the match was heart pounding and had many ups and downs! Back and forths! What a start to the tournament! And as you can already guess from what we had just seen! Undoubtedly! your winner issssssssss! Moby Kane!!" Only when the announcer mustered the gull to speak did the crowd go back to normal and erupt intoplete chaos. Moby took a deep breath and sheathed his de without batting an eye towards his opponent before chuckling and smiling brightly, raising his right fist in victory towards the crowd in a casual yet confident manner. "This has to be rigged! No fucking way!" "Shut up you butt-hurt twat! Hahahaha! This is exactly what I expected from the future winner of the tournament!" "Fuckin'' hell man! If this is him barely trying I would love to see when he gets pushed into spirit mode!" "Yes yes Moby! LET''S GOOO!! YEAHH! I feel bad for whoever has to face him next!" "That was so fast!! Oooo! I''m your biggest fan! Congrats!!" "The rumours about the kid are true I see¡­" The crowd''s cheering continued, and Moby''s gaze remained upon them before it suddenly shifted towards the canopy above where the honoured guests sat with wide-open eyes. "Rayna, is this really the kid you''ve hyped us all about?" Yuria Dark, the leader of the Sellsword guild spoke, leaning back to her seat with a casual yet slightly perplexed look upon her face. "Yep! Not bad right?" She puffed her chest forward. "Yeah, he''s not bad I guess¡­ His opponent was just an idiot though, he was powerful, but he immediately ran into a fatal attack¡­ And after that attack, he was too weak to continue fighting even if he''s in spirit mode... It hurt me internally watching him¡­ All in all, I''m not all too impressed." She sighed. "Ohe on Yuri! It''s too early to judge now! I don''t think the other guy was that stupid. I think Kane just made him look that way. He''s a very bright, hard to predict fighter, reminds me of myself when I was young¡­" Vilhelm Ortiz, the leader of the hunter''s guild snickered, leaning towards his fellow guild leader with a bright smile. "Firstly, call me Yuri again and you won''t have a tongue. And secondly,? yes, I guess I do agree, it''s too early to tell¡­ He seems to be quite the fan favourite after his debacle fromst year. But,? I don''t sense anything special from where I''m standing, I don''t see how he''s going to win, especially against the supreme general''s son who he personally trained¡­" "Hmph¡­" And from above emerged a voice, prominent yet that no one seemed to hear. "Such pretentious amateurs acting all high and mighty! They wouldn''t know true power and skill if it hit them in the face." And that same voice came from aughing woman smiling upon the battlefield below as she leaned upon the high walls of the Arena above the judges canopy before she casually teleported away into purple dust that only one man from the audience seemed to have even noticed¡­ "Hey, Kai. What''s up? I know that was a pretty cool victory and all but what''s with the wide look?" Regrit nudged him, yet his expression only grew more drastic. "Kai? Kai¡­ KAI!!" "Oh Wha-" "What''s up with you looking at the sky like an idiot!" "Umm¡­ It¡ª it was nothing¡­ I''ve gotta be hallucinating¡ª Don''t mind me," He shook his head vigorously and pped his face several times. "Ummmmm.... Okay, if you say so then," Regrit shrugged and looked away, leaving Rupert to calm down and reflect upon what he had just seen. "No- no way..." Chapter 407 - The Pope

Chapter 407: The Pope

"I''m usually not a fan of such rudeness¡­ But I must make it clear¡­ You disrespect me, I''ll give you what you deserve. Simple. I hope I proved my point well! Oh, and before my time is up here. I would like to make one thing known. I''m well aware that there are many people that aim to win, and there are many projected favourites. But, in this tournament¡­ I''ll be the sole victor, and that''s a promise you can hold me up on¡­" *YEAAHHHA!!* "A¡ª Such bold ims from this match''s victor! It just goes to prove the absolute passion and confidence today''spetitors have! As for if he can back up those ims is still to be seen! But! The answers are soon toe in the uing matches! I hope¡ª" *Tssshhh* The screen that once disyed the match suddenly closed, and the atmosphere of the moderately small room of red was brought back to absolute silence. The room was brightly lit and elegantly decorated in high-ss furniture fit for a medieval king. The burgundy floor tiles were warm, and the machines around the room magnificently contrasted the old aesthetic of the design. In this room sat two people casually staring upon the now closed disy, age clearly disyed upon their wrinkly faces. "So, Pope Rutherford! What do you think? Did you sense anything suspicious?" The skinnier of the two spoke to the other who casually sat on the other end puffing a cigar with seemingly no care in the world, a white garb upon his well-fed body, his blonde hair short and his blue eyes oddly dull and vibrant at the same time. "Cade old friend¡­ Why do you of all people, the supreme general have to stay in here? We could have been up watching the match with our own two eyes." "I already told you! I don''t want to seem suspicious! And there''s a big chance he''ll be wary of someone like you! I can''t show too much interest!" "You''re being way too paranoid, and you sound like a horny teen who''s too scared and anxious to show too much interest in their crush. just chill out for a bit¡­" The pope puffed a whiff of smoke into the sky and chuckled towards his flustered friend. "Just answer the question! Moby Kane! What do you think of him?" "Ummm¡­ Well, it''s been a couple of years since Ist saw him. I didn''t expect him to get this far in life that''s for sure. He seems pretty tame yet cocky at the same time, just like the ordinary kid these days. I don''t see why you''re making such a big fuss to bring me all the way out here¡­" "You know don''t you! He''s the son of Serena and Horace Kane!" "Yeah, of course I know, how could I not..." He shook his head and sat up properly. "But, general¡­ You should also know that we tested and found that he has no blood rtion to them¡­ That ne that they sent back as a dying wish was nothing but a hunk of junk. Their house was carefully searched and nothing was found. And, he was questioned about all he knew with an advanced lie detector and the kid knew absolutely nothing. You do know this right?" "Yes! Of course, I know this! But¡ª" "But what? He''s been racking up achievements like crazy? He keeps running into shalkers? You really think that he''s one of those heathens on the other side?" "Yes! Exactly! The things that he''s been doing are so lucky and convenient! It can''t be a coincidence or humanly possible!" "I guess that does have some merit to it. But it''s nothing but spection. It''s not like there weren''t any other shalker sightings in the past year, he just happened to get famous from it and hold his own. There''s nothing suspicious about it. At this rate, your gray hair will begin to fall out, I say you should calm down and focus on more important things that deserve your stress. Like you know, the war and all." "What about the cube? Is there anything you can do with it?" "The cube?" The pope raised an eyebrow. "The cube of Abagon blessed upon us by the gods themselves has not reacted in a very long time, and I doubt it will now or anytime soon." He sighed, and pulled out a cube from his pocket, one made of dazzling crystals of a white, heavenly aura, only the light it emitted was rather dimpared to its beauty. "I even used the cube on him back then, and it sensed absolutely nothing, which just confirms he was just a kid they adopted without a shadow of a doubt." "Yes! But I just have this feeling about him! I can''t exin it really! And you''re the only person I know who can help me on this." "Cade old friend, at this point you''re truly too paranoid over nothing. As you keep your secrets secret there should be no need for rm. Are you trying to hide the fact that you''re doing this because you think that your little grandson won''t be able to beat him in this tournament?" The pope grinned and leaned back into his seat. "No! Of course not! I have no doubt he''s gonna win!" "You know, if you really feel that flustered about it you can do a little modifying, it''s your world after all." "What! Even I won''t stoop so low! Aghh! Nevermind that! Are you willing to help me or not!?" "Hmmmmm¡­" The pope thought deeply before a smirk emerged from under his cigar that he disintegrated into thin air, standing up with his robe of pristine white hovering over the wooden floor as he walked towards the door on the other side of the room. "Normally, to anyone else, I would just call them crazy and leave since I have other things to do. BUT! For you Cade old friend, I''m willing to do anything. Don''t take my yful banter too seriously. I don''t know, maybe I''m just denying it because I''m too afraid to consider if it''s true¡­" And with a sombre look towards the supreme general, he left without another word, leaving Cade Walker all alone with a headache brewing from under his furrowed eyebrows. Chapter 408 - Against The Odds

Chapter 408: Against The Odds

It had been hours since the tournament initially began, and all had been going precisely as expected, no major upsets. three total rounds had gone by, leaving 64 out of the initial 256 participants remaining. There was only one round of fights separating them from the start of the true tournament for the final 32¡ª In the eyes of both the masses and the very participants, anything before that was nothing but preliminary rounds. Moby and those who followed him''s ns were all going precisely as expected. None of them experienced any hardships during their climb to the top. However, that was not entirely true if hardships also consisted of paparazzi. Currently, it was still break-time in between matches, and all of them were together sat around a table in the shade, all except for one crucial person who was missing as they patiently waited for the next round of fights to be announced. "Elizabeth, I''m just wondering how you''ve even made it this far." Regrit chuckled. "Just because I mostly have supporting skills doesn''t mean I''m helpless!" She shrugged. "Regrit, now''s not time for this¡­" Artorias sighed. "What! It was a serious question!" "This is the first time we''ve seen each other since Moby''s first match, now''s really not time for trouble¡­" "Is¡ª Is big brother not joining us?" Hikari asked with disappointment on her face. "With paparazzi on his ass I doubt he''d being until the whole thing is over and finished with," Regrit responded, leaning back on his chair with closed eyes and his hands behind his head. "Oh¡­ I see¡­" She pouted. "Man I''m hungry, I wish we could order some food." Regrit groaned. "Hungry? You do realize we''re in VR right? The VR machines will keep your body nourished until you''re out of it." Kai turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Of course I know that! For me, being hungry isn''t just to satisfy my needs, there''s just a feeling about eating that I''m missing right now due to this virtual body¡­ A lot of it even makes some of my powers useless¡­ There''s nothing running through my veins¡­ It''s all hollow." "You know, I sort of understand you brother. Eating is sometimes just about the experience," Rupert smiled and nodded. "We finally agree on something!" Regritughed. "Well, WE ARE brothers!" "Stop rubbing that fact in like you''re proud of it!" "Quiet you two!" Artorias slightly raised his voice with his hands crossed. "We''ve already got eyes on us from the nearby tables to begin with since we''re still in the tournament, let''s try to not cause a scene now¡­" "Come on Art! Don''t act like you don''t like the attention," Rupert mused. "Ugh¡­ Now is not time for fun and games! This is serious business! We can''t rx too much!" "Oh, ease up on it! This tournament is pretty much all secured! It''s more like a vacation in here and seeing fun matches more than anything! Even Lor¡ª *cough* Kane is 100% certain of victory," "But there''s still no guarantee! Anything can still happen!" "Hmmm, I guess so. But with me on the team you really got nothing to fear!" "You know¡­ Living in an actual society really has changed you since we first met¡­" Artoriasmented. "I''ve always been like this, I just don''t act like this in front of important people or when the moment is actually serious. I know humility when it''s needed and rxation when it calls!" He chuckled. "It''s true¡­ He''s been like this for a while now¡­" Regritmented. "Well¡­ You''re¡­ You''re just more certain in your own power¡­ That''s why you can be so rxed." Artorias muttered. "Hmmm? You jealous now?" "No! Of course not! Anyways! Let''s just get off this topic! People are staring! Just get more serious! Prepare for the unexpected! Because I''m sure that''s what HE would want us to do!" "I guess you might be right¡­" Rupert took a deep breath and sat up straight. "I suppose I''ll try as long as that is what he truly wants¡­" *DING* And that was when suddenly, a notification sound echoed through the air like a tidal wave, and as soon as that sound seeped into the ears of the masses, all was dropped as their eyes were immediately drawn upon their wrists, wide open and in haste. The final preliminary matches have finally been announced... "Damn! My thing isgging!" Regrit heavily tapped his watch. "The servers are overloading, everyone is on the website at once so it makes sense," Elizabeth answered with a smile on her face as she scrolled down to where she needed to be. "Nevermind that! Just tell me what the matches are! Who am I fighting!" "You''re against¡­ Krone Nelson in 30 minutes¡­" "Never heard of him! Seems to be another easy match! How about the others?" "So far, I don''t see any of us fighting each other, so that''s good¡­" She continued before Artorias took charge. "I''m fighting Hera Jine in 25 minutes¡­ Moby''s fighting Perry Payton in 20 minutes... Hikari is facing Ganzo Babstisma in 15 minutes¡­ Elizabeth with Arnold Terry in 10 minutes¡­ And finally¡­ ¡­ ¡­" "Hey, what''s the hold up? The website''s not loading for me either. Who am I facing?" Rupert leaned forward. "Does it matter? You''re confident in winning anyways," Regrit chortled. "You¡­ You''re fighting Adam Walker¡­ The supreme general''s grandson and projected favourite by almost everyone to win this entire tournament¡­" The table stood silent among the boisterous crowds as they all stared wide-eyed. Naturally, the eyes of many fell upon their table, noticing Rupert''s figure, eager to see his reaction to what was undoubtedly an early end to his tournament run. But when they did, they found a face they did not expect¡­ Once he got past the initial surprise of the match-up, there was no fear in his eyes, nor any kind of dispair or disappointment. No¡­ That greater demonic smile he bore did not harbour anything amusement and excitement. In moments such as these, orders were very clear from Moby himself, and once he looked down towards a sudden message from his watch, his resolve and delight were once again sharpened beyond what he first perceived. [ Do it¡­ And good luck. If you beat him, I''d be d to face you in the finals.] "Hey! You''re Kai Fatebringer right?" A man looking over from the side came up and asked, before many others who only ispected from a distance followed his lead. "Yes! The one and only!" "You¡­ You''re facing Adam Walker, the supreme general''s flesh and blood¡­ That look on your face, are you not worried? Scared that it''s all over?" "Huh? Now why would I ever be scared of someone like him!" Heughed. "Just you watch! I''m about to put him in his ce and show him what true power is¡­" Chapter 409 - Against The Odds (2)

Chapter 409: Against The Odds (2)

The grand battle arena was packed full of spectators, eagerly waiting for the beginning of the uing bout, this was as expected given who it was going to fight¡­ One was undoubtedly the favourite to win the entire tournament, his presence took the breaths of many and demanded attention that brought upon the eyes of all: Adam Walker. However, the same could not be said about his opponent. Indeed, he was a part of an esteemed fire household, yet people did not look out for him as any kind of threat. The seats during his matches were rather barren, with only a few spectators watching each one. But, as he continued to fight, the more spectators returned due to first impressions. Although little amount of people witnessed him, the few that did seemed to have some sort of change of heart, like they werepletely mesmerized. And one such person was sat upon the grand canopy with a wide, eager smile, overlooking the empty Arena below. "Miss Ashley Orbec. May I ask, but why exactly are you interested in such a match?" "Excuse my rudeness, but supreme general, why are you spectating this match out of all matches?" She looked over towards her superior with a gleaming smile, removing her oddly coloured ck and white hair from her face. "Well, it''s the qualifying round for my dear grandson! I would never miss this in a million years!" He chuckled heartily. "Well, the same thing could be said about me. Kai Fatebringer is a fellow fire ability user. Our households may not be on the best of terms but¡­ He''s really caught my eye this tournament. Supreme general sir, I don''t think this match is gonna be so cut and dry like you assume. I think your grandson better watch out¡­" "Wha¡ª" The supreme general''s eyes burst wide-open. "Surely you jest miss Orbec, my grandson had never once lost a match since his infancy! No, he had yet to even struggle! I personally trained him myself to ensure his sess!" "There''s a first time for everything sir. You''re not undefeated either supreme general. Why don''t we just wait and see? Let the kids do the talking." She smiled and leaned in closer, her eyes parched down towards the arena as the supreme general to her side was left lost for words. But in the end, he opened his mouth but spoke not, perhaps there was nothing more to say as he took a deep breath and peered down towards the announcer ready to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen! It is an honour to be your announcer once more! I see that once again the stands are packed! Not a single seat left unimed! Very fitting for our very first qualifying match! You already know who''s fighting here! That''s the reason you''ve alle! So without further ado! Allow me to present our two fighters!" As the announcer spoke, the crowd exploded into cheers. The two gates opposing each other opened at once allowing a passage from their dark tunnels, the sound of chains and metal filling the air as the gates lifted. "On the right! We''ve got a man you''ve alle to know very well in this tournament! His record stands undefeated since his birth, and he''s undoubtedly the projected favourite to win this entirepetition! Adam Walker!!" The crowd''s apuse filled the air, their eyes following the announcer''s fingers towards the dark entrance that slowly began to show signs of a figure that quietly trudged into the light. His blonde hair waved in the wind, tied neatly in a ponytail reflecting the bright space above. His glittering sky-blue eyes were like a calming ocean set vibrantly staring at the path ahead, wellplimenting his attitude. A small scar was clearly seen on his right cheek which represented the only time an opponent managed to even wound him, worn as a reminder of his mistakes, yet it did not detract from his looks, in fact, it even added onto his overall charm. The weapon strapped upon his back was now a ssic that all knew him for. It was rather obscurepared to the standard sword or spear one would normally see. It was like two swords mixed into one. Two massive des protruded from each end and a metal hilt connected them at its center where it was safe to hold. His face was indeed handsome, even amongst the very best of models. Yet, his perfectly sculpted face was far from what made his allure so mesmerizing. Despite this being a tournament that would decide one''s future, he was calm as can be. Though, his face was nearly emotionless,pletely unlike the stereotypes of the obnoxiously overconfident nobles. If anything, it seemed like he felt bad for his opponents. Perhaps some sort of pity knowing that the opposition''s bright future was snuffed out all due to their luck of being pitted against him. As he made his way upon the stage, the crowd''s madness became even more apparent. Yet, he paid it no heed as he simply waited, taking a single nce at the announcer. "And on the other side! We have a man who is no slouch! He made it this far in the tournament with nothing but raw power and intuition! A member of one of the esteemed fire households! Kai Fatebringer!" Just like before, a small figure began to reveal itself from the opposite gate, yet the expression he bore upon entering the light was a contrast akin to night and day. Although the crowd''s cheering was nowhere near as rambunctious as the opposition, he still wore a confident smile on his face as he looked up towards the crowds and not at the path ahead. His mismatched hair of orange and blonde was rough yet oddly elegant at the same time, parted away from his eyes that nearly glowed with a dominant yet casual air. The standard spear provided to him by the military shined brightly upon his back as he confidently strode up to the stage, gaping towards the canopy of judges before reaffirming his gaze towards his sudden wide-eyed opponent. "Are¡­ Are you not scared of me?" Adam Walker spoke, and at that moment, the entire crowd went silent¡­ For that was the only time Adam Walker had even uttered a single word since the tournament had begun. "Scared of you?" Kai raised an eyebrow before his face turned into innocentughter. "Now why would I be scared? This is what fate has decided, and who am I to argue with fate? If I lose, then so be it! I''ve done all I can. But if I win, then so be it as well! I don''t care what others think!" "Interesting¡­" Adam narrowed his eyes and ced one hand on his chin and mouth. "I''ve never met a man such as you before, even the most arrogant, overconfident fool would have cracks in their facade. I truly hope that your words are sincere and not just empty lies you ced in your heart to convince yourself of victory." He smiled from under his concealing hand as he further examined his opponent. "Kai Fatebringer was it?" "Mhm," He nodded. "Member of a house of mes, I hope we have an interesting bout. I would love to put that confidence of yours to the test." "By all means, test to your heart''s content!" "Incredible! Such sportsmanship from bothpetitors! Even I could have never foreseen this! I''m even more hyped to see this match now! So, if bothbatants are set, allow me to count you down!" The announcer looked over towards the two of them for a sign of approval, yet he seemed to receive nothing back as they continued to stare towards each other. But that was when suddenly, a hazy ck blob emerged from Adam''s shadow like leaking water, forming its way up towards his shoulders. And there, it formed a face of its own. Red, glowing eyes beamed through the sea of ck, and a disturbingly wide mouth resembling that of human teeth began to open and close. It was like somethingpletely out of nightmares¡­ "Aaadammm¡­ That man¡­ He is not bluffing¡­ I sense something from him¡­ something odd¡­ odd indeed¡­ Do not let your guard down¡­" The shadow spoke in a low, almost hissing voice that no one else could perceive. His speech was heavily slurred, and the tone was something soft and ominous, almost otherworldly in nature. "Hmmm? What exactly do you sense Nago?" "That¡­ I do not know¡­ Maybe it is this virtual world¡­ or maybe it is something else¡­ All I know for certain is that the power he harbours is potentially a great threaaaattt even to you¡­" Chapter 410 - The Light Against The Shadows.

Chapter 410: The Light Against The Shadows.

The shadowy blob was slithering in front of the eyes of many clear as day, yet none seemed to be surprised by his presence. The Walker family was one of the most prestigious households in the world for a reason, and why a member of that household was the supreme general himself¡­ That was because the Walker family was the only family that possessed the ability to interact with their inner spirits outside of their minds as a physical manifestation. As such, many people had dubbed them outer spirits instead. This unique aspect not only allowed for an ability andbat style unlike any other, but also strength and growth almost unrivalled. A person with the ability to not only speak to but befriend that spirit was unprecedented. After all, one''s power was extremely tied to their rtionship and bond with their inner spirits. And even amongst the Walker family itself, Adam seemed to be a particrly talented and special case. This was what truly made Adam Walker a dominant force unlike any other, a man seen with a god-like status, nearly untouchable even amongst those attending the school harbouring the next generation''s strongest. For truly, no other man could do what he could. But now, even he stood in anticipation, perhaps even nervous for the first time hearing the words of his spirit''s warnings and looking over towards that source. However, he would be lying if he told himself that there was no excitement and anticipation brewing under his outer facade. "Nago, I understand your pleas¡­" He closed his eyes and nodded, and a slight glow could be seen shing in those red sockets of the shadow upon his shoulders. "Very well¡­ Aaaadaaammm¡­" He spoke slowly, his form withering away with a chuckle that gradually eased out of his ears. "Hey! You done talking with that thing?" "Indeed I have¡­ Announcer! I am ready to begin!" "Oh¡ª Oh! Alright!!" He chuckled, getting past his initial anxiety of being ignored for so long. "Bothbatants are set! So without any further ado! Let''s get this match on the road!!" And as the announcer spoke, the previously dead-panned crowd slowly began to regain that energy they once had as they too began counting down along with the announcer. And as the numbers slowly ticked down to zero, both Kai and Adam took up their respective fighting stances. "5" "4" "3" "2" "1" "BEGIN!" Like a p of lightning, both instantly disappeared from ce. Yet the sound of thunderous impacts did not fill the air upon their vanish like many expected. Rather than the head-on approach, both found themselves methodically circling around each other looking for an opening, yet their efforts seemed to yield them no clear advantage. "What is this?! A game of cat and mouse!" Although to any normal crowd what urred was boring and rathercklustre, but the fact that Adam Walker had never once taken such a careful approach to any of his fights thus far put them on the edge of their seats. Their paths were nearly identical, and their speed matched in such a way that it would be nearly impossible to catch up even when trying to catch each other off guard switching directions. None would dare go towards the center lest they be trapped, and it seemed like the initial beginning led to nothing as the crowd waited with baited breaths for the two silent opponents to make a move as they assessed each other. And make a move they most certainly did, only it was Kai who took the initiative, sending many fireballs in his opponent''s direction that he meticulously dodged whilst somehow keeping his momentum with unquestionable skill that appeared almost as casual as breathing. A dainty grin grew upon Kai''s face, yet his opponent still bore his deadpanned look despite all the pressure that Kai only increased with more fireballs of orange and yellow. "Hey! I can keep this up for a long time! You just gonna run forever! Or are you go¡ª" And even before Kai could finish his taunting words, his speech was cut off short. All of a sudden, Adam found himself hit, yet upon the clearing of the dust, he was nowhere to be found. In a mere instant, a shadow enveloped Kai. No, two shadows surrounded him from both ends like a sandwich. Only by crossing his eyes trying to look in both directions did he notice what it was. To his left was a shadowy shark swimming within the very ground, its eyes staring him down like azer and its sharp, infested mouth gaped open ready to tear him to shreds. And to his right was a whirlwind of darkness from that de once strapped to his opponent''s back, his deadly gaze only slightly visible from within the thick shadows. He was in the iron maiden, and the spikey hatch was inevitably going to close where there was absolutely no escape. "Hahahaha! So quickly do the cocky fall! I should have never worried!" The supreme generalughed, yet the woman sat to his side bore an unnaturally serious expression. "Apologies supreme general, but I believe you should not have averted your gaze so soon¡­" "Hmmm?" "WHAT!?" He bit his tongue, unable to believe his eyes. His breathing grew irregr, his stomach sank to the deepest depths and sweat leaked out of his every pore. He now found his right hand grasping his throbbing chest as his heart rate immediately skyrocketed to something he had not felt in many years. His gaze did not meet a mangled, chewed-up corpse nor an injured or disintegrated body, it met a body of a man on the ground unable to stand near the ledge. Only instead of it being Kai, it was Adam instead, coughing with gaping eyes trying his best to stand as Kai continued his approach for a finishing blow. With his spear zing with the intensity of a thousand suns, Kai jumped in the air, and like that sun had suddenly turned into a meteorite, he dove down straight towards Adam as though he was ready to deliver the finishing blow as his shadow spirit shielded him in a dome of darkness. "Quiet theeback right supreme general?" She smirked, looking over towards her clearly distressed superior who did not respond nor pay her any heed as he clenched his open left hand into a fist, almost out of panic mere instants away from the supernova between Kai''s spear and Adam''s shield. The explosion was wild, shrapnels of shard-like shadows exploded in all directions that were blocked by the outer shield that seemed to barely even handle the eruption of power disyed. The crowd gawked speechless at the disy ahead of them, unable to believe what had just happened. "WOW!! UNBELIEVABLE!! *Cough* *Cough* Is this match already over!? Even I who is standing amidst the mayhem cannot discern what''s going on! This is the biggest upset I''ve ever seen in my life! At thest instant before defeat, Kai Fatebringer turned himself into pure me and dodged what was otherwise certain death! And in a swift reversal managed to absolutely turn the tide of battle!!" The announcer broke the silence, and that evoked others from within the crowds to speak what was on their minds. "Did¡­ Did he just win?" "No way that just happened right?" "How is he that strong? I''ve never even once heard of this kid¡­" The dense cloud of dust made it nearly impossible for anyone to perceive what had just happened, and the screens disyed all around them seemed to give them no better answer. There only seemed to be few people amidst the crowds that could see what others could not, and even they stood absolutely silent at the result that not even they expected. "Artorias¡­ Did you see that? How did he?" "I don''t know Regrit. I wonder how much he''s restricting himself to do this or what is allowed for him to do¡­ But this is incredible¡­ The power of a higher being..." And as the clouds cleared from the battlefield, what was unknown to most made it to the light of the bright, virtual sun. Two figures were seen from within, standing on both feet, and as soon as they appeared, many sighs of relief filled the air and a weight was lifted from their hearts. Although one was clearly more injured than the other, it was Indeed not over, far from it. Both fighters found themselves once again stood upon equal footing across each end of the arena. Yet unlike the beginning, both bore a bright smile unlike any other. Their mutual nce spoke volumes to each other, and those were the only words they needed before rushing head-on. But this time, there were no holds barred. The speed they once bore was made an absolute mockery by what they did now, so quick that most even forgot that they were witnessing a bout between mere teenage students and not veteran elites. Their weapons shed, shaking the very barriers that contained the very arena and causing ripples in the rapidly regenerating ground. Blow for blow, they found themselves evenly matched in front of the quietly gazing audience. A fireball or anything of the such always found itself squarely blocked by a barrage of thick, almost solid shadows and any trick one had found a match with another that their opponent kept under their sleeves. Even in a two on one, where Adam''s wild, shadowy spirit fought alongside him in a way no ordinary man would be able to predict, there seemed to be none taking edge. However¡­ That was solely on a surface level. To the naked eye, most would believe Kai to be overwhelmed by the shadowy barrage of two god-like foes, but in reality, he was perfectly calm. Almost too calm as he narrowly dodged and countered every hit in a way that appeared to be out of sheer luck from an outside perspective yet extremely calcted and intentional to those with a keener eye. Whatever Adam Walker attempted to do, Kai Fatebringer always found himself seemingly one step ahead. It was not a gap in power¡­ No, it was a gap in talent or experience as if he had been fighting such battles for hundreds or even thousands of years. And in a mighty sh of fists, they found each other equally blown away towards their respective ends of the arena as if they had just entered once again, not moving a single inch as they both mutually used the time to steady their heavy breaths. Only this time, their expression and attitudes werepletely dissimr, nearly as though they had just entered as new people and that the true battle had yet to begin. "You¡­ You were holding back before, weren''t you¡­ I never thought I''d see the day..." Adam spoke with a small chuckle, dusting himself off. "Well, I like not to reveal my entire hand whenever I have the chance. But, I could say the same about you too! You almost took my head off with that sandwich of yours! What I don''t understand is how you were able to block my final hit there..." Kai grimaced, casually removing a shard of shadows from his left shoulder as he continued to speak. "I¡­ I honestly do not know¡­ It was a special reversal to redirect but even still. To be honest, there are many things I don''t know about this match. This is a unique experience for me. I have never once been so injured let alone felt imminent defeat such as that in my entire life. You¡­ You are a true warrior and rival to even I. I would have never believed a man such as you was so unknown to me and even resided within the same school. Kai Fatebringer¡­ I shall never forget your name even if you do lose before the official tournament. For you, I shall reveal something that I had never nned to use against any human, especially in thispetition. But for you, I believe you are worthy enough for me to test it¡­" Chapter 411 - Victory

Chapter 411: Victory

The words he spoke were rather soft, yet it left the crowd utterly without words, understandably so. Nothing but a small whisper exited the mouths of very few as they watched with anticipation upon the grounds ahead. "Ah¡ª" Even the supreme general himself could not help but stand up from his seat absolutely shook at what he had heard uttered from his grandson''s mouth. Yet not even he could say a single word as he was immediately silenced by a slight re that set him back down where he stood, his hands dejectedly grasping his head and many thoughts on his mind. ''He''s being serious¡­ What the hell¡­ Kai Fatebringer, him of all people can''t be this strong!! He''s even weaker than his little brother and lost so many matches in school¡­ So how!! Even if he was truly this strong, how can a brat like him have the patience to hide his power for so long!!'' "You alright sir?" He heard a gentle voice from his side. "Oh, apologies miss Orbec, I''m okay. I just never expected this match to be like this¡­" "Hehe," She chuckled. "Neither did I, I thought that it would have been over long ago. But I think this match is already decided¡­" "Yes, I think so too¡­" He took a deep breath to calm his mind, leaning back on his seat with a wide grin from ear to ear. The ground below began to tremble, the bright, vivid colours that once epassed the space slowly began to fade away, turning into something akin to a muted gray. The light that shined down became dimmer, and darkness began to consume all that was contained within the boundaries to the point that people started to have issues peering upon what was going on. "Arrrghhh!! News update folks! I''m in the middle of this hellishndscape and I can''t see a single thing too from this darkness!!" The announcer grimaced. "I think¡­ I think Adam Walker is transforming! I never thought I would be saying this so early on in the tournament let alone my entire life!! I promise we will try our best to get the cameras back and¡ª" "No need for that, announcer guy!" A voice encroached from the endless darkness, and as soon as those words were uttered an eruption of unspeakable magnitude exploded within the space like a supernova. The dome that was oncepletely consumed by darkness was suddenly lit up, almost as though an entire star had abruptly ignited from within. And at the heart of that star was the source of all this fiery light. His aura crackled like magma, his entire mass was drenched from head to toe in mes, even the clothes upon his back were set aze and the eyes sat within his sockets were hellish in nature. Two fox-like ears emerged from his head along with several whiskers of aura grown upon his face. Yet, what was most visibly noticeable and stunning about his appearance were the orange tails that sprouted from his back, crackling and sporadically waving in the air like an extension of his body, all nine of them over the size of his entire being. The power disyed from Kai Fatebringer''s spirit mode was so powerful that the darkness began to shed allowing his opponent''s face to once again meet the light of day, yet it was not at all as it was before¡­ Simr to his opponent''s fire, Adam was himself covered in inky shadows, yet these shadows that engulfed him were not a flowing mass of aura. It was more like a suit of armour, no, such a description would be inurate, it was more akin to skin, scale-like in nature and as dark as night, hugging his body tightly emphasizing his physique. He appeared nothing like he was before, his eyes were like two pearls shining red through the endless darkness behind him, his teeth were white as snow, human-like in nature despite his now inhuman appearance and spanned his entire face in an all too uncanny manor. His head was d in the same ck scales as the rest of his body, shaped like a triangle that separated into two on its ends like spikey ears and two holes at its center representing his nose. Simr spikes found their way on his neck, gradually following his spine and were even present upon his elbows and the ws on his hands. The bright red from his eyes seemed to droop down his neck and on his chest like glowing water, flowing upon his skin like a river in an almost tribal-like pattern that were clear to see even amidst the chaos. Yet what was very evident even to the unperceptive were the two wide wings connected to his back spanning the length of his entire body¡­ Its shell was akin to that same-scale-like darkness of his skin and it was almost bat or even dragon-like in nature. The arena was split in half¡­ The darkness now had a light, and the two opposing ends began to fight for supremacy at its center without one taking any edge over the other, like a perfect bnce of yin and yang. "Ooo¡­ Kai Fatebringer¡­ You still have power to spare even as I transform¡­ Impressive¡­ Impressive indeed¡­" The winged figure of darkness opened his gaping mouth of teeth, yet it sounded nothing like the Adam he once knew. It was a mixture between his speech and that of the spirit he had fused with, his voice was heavy, slurred, and cold, like he was no longer human. "Well, of course! What kind of man would I be if I couldn''t?" He chuckled. "But it seems like you fused with that thing you had. What are you even? A dragon? A lizard? Maybe a vampire or something? Wouldn''t fusing just make you weaker since you don''t have a double team?" "Ooo¡­ Quite perceptive of you¡­ Quite perceptive indeed¡­ However¡­ You¡­ You are sadly mistaken¡­ You stand no chance¡­ Boy¡­" The darkness behind Adam began to shift and turn like dough, and out its seemingly endless expanses it spat out blobs, blobs that began to bubble and slowly move. And in droves, an army those blobs turned into that same monstrous spirit as before,ughing at him and pping their hands like rabid beasts. "Oh wow! I didn''t expect that!" Kai pped. "But if you think you''re the only one who can summon here, you''ve got another thinging for ya!" Immediately as he closed his mouth, his nine tails began to glow and shake even more violently, and as they hit the ground, shards of what they were began to shift and turn until they became their very own foxes of ming orange and gold, growling and ready to fight as though they were alive. "Now we''re even right?" "Ah... I suppose so¡­" Adam shrugged. "You are an odd individual¡­ I could sense it¡­ But even still, victory is not possible for the likes of you¡­ It is toote for that now¡­" Adam''s body suddenly disappeared into the endless shade, and the army of red-eyed spirit blobs on the ground''s pping and sreeching exemplified as they charged head on like monkeys with seemingly no strategy in mind. "We''ll see about that." And reacting to his opponent''s moves, Kai tightly clenched his ming spear and disappeared, blitzing directly into the dark as he left his summons to deal with the shadows. Indeed, the darkness was oppressive. Yet, despite its presence, the sound of nking soon after filled the air. Light began to twinkle within the darkness, and the ckness began to slowly dilute into gray, allowing all to gaze upon their bout. Adam made good use of illusions, his body was rock solid yet malleable and stretchy at the same time which even extended to his weapon. Yet once again, no matter how he tried, he could never seem to bypass his opponent''s guard, almost like he knew what he nned before he even did. "Illusions don''t work on you¡­ Hahahaha¡­" Heughed in that eerie voice even as he received a merciless thrashing for his attempts. "Incredible! Both fighters are once again evenly matched! Even their summons fighting on the ground are evenly matched!" How can this even be possible!?" The announcer''s voice was quick and nervous as he tried his best to find the energy to speak, which was more than most of the audience could even do. The level of power they were showing had once again entered an entirely new realm from where they once were. This was but a preliminary match, but in their minds, it was as though they were witnessing the final match unfold before their very eyes, the eyes that for some could not even keep up with what they were beholding. But as the match went on, as though history was repeating itself, a victor began to show himself through the cracks¡­ Yet the smile present on the faces of both contestants did not fade away. "Supreme General sir?" Ashley Orbec nudged her superior with a hint of worry that slowly turned into a subtle smile. "Oh, don''t worry miss Orbec! He''ll win! No! He''s already winning! Haha! My little boy always liked to have fun even at times like this!" Heughed, suddenly clenching his left hand into a fist that began to tremble and strain his entire arm. "Sir? You okay? You that scared that your grandson finally met his match? I thought someone like that would finally be happy he found an equal." "Ho ho! I''m sure he would, but sadly that match is not this one! Just you wait and see! I''m sorry to say, but this fire boy never stood a chance!" Hisughter increased before settling down into a grin, his hands turning abnormally red from how tightly it was clenched. "If you say so," She reciprocated hisughter, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulder with a smirk as she continued to inspect the battlefield with open hands. As Adam flew out to keep his distance, he attempted to retreat to recover by masking himself within his shadows once again since that appeared to be the only illusion that seemed to work. He was heavily injured from all the bad exchanges, his scales were cracked, his red eyes bled the liquid it bore and his muscles ached. Yet before he could even intake a single breath, he was met with a deep, cracking pain on the back of his head, and the next thing he knew, he found himself hurtling towards the dark ground, a smile on his face and so much yet so little on his mind. It was the face of a man who epted defeat... His eyes slowly began to close and sumb to the darkness, until abruptly¡­ they suddenly didn''t... "Huh¡­ It''s this feeling once again¡­" *CRASH* The sound of heavy collision filled the air, and as the noise of its impact faded away, so did the darkness of the space. The heavenly light of day began to return once again. From the darkness, there were two figuresing into view, one standing proudly upon two feet while the otherid motionless on the ground¡­ The only sound that could be heard was the sound of the blowing wind apanied by the beating hearts of the masses that collectively held their breaths with wide-open eyes eager to find who was the victor... Chapter 412 - Victory (2)

Chapter 412: Victory (2)

The cloud of dust subsided, and the gleaming golden light of the heavens above pierced down upon the face of the victor who, almost out of instinct, lifted his head to block his keen ocean blue eyes. His golden hair that was tied behind his head was now dishevelled,cking the elegance it once had, his clothes were in simr condition, burn marks clearly visible and slight cracks upon his weapon. The crowd sat unmoving as that man removed his hand from his face that now fully embraced the light¡­ It was a nk canvas, yet most people saw it as confidence, indifference, or even disappointment as he gazed down towards his unconscious foe. "It''s¡­ IT''S OVER!! Ahhh¡­ My heart¡­ I don''t think I could have taken any longer¡­ I can''t believe it was only a preliminary match¡­ But now it''s all over¡­ After a hard-fought battle the likes we''ve never before seen, we finally have ourselves a victor! The favourite to win! ADAM WALKER!!" As the announcer cheered, the masses did not reciprocate, at least not many. Most were still dumbfounded trying to internalize what they had just witnessed. And only when they got past that initial shock did they explode into cheers. "Adam! Our victor! that must have been a very interesting battle for you I bet! Do you have anything to tell the world after such a stunning victory!" The announce asked, yet there was once again no response. Sweat began to pour down from his face like a waterfall, and his entire body suddenly became stiff, but none of thatpared to when Adam finally moved his head, turning towards him with dark, empty, nightmarish eyes that turned his stomach inside out, almost like he was in sleep paralysis. Only when Adam averted his gaze and began to walk back towards the tunnel in which he came did the announcer regain control over his body and his energy to speak. "Ah¡ª hahaha! I see! As expected! Well, there you have it folks! That is your winner! Adam Walker will be going on to the official tournament! I am excited to see what other battles he has in store for us today, but part of me doubts we would ever see a disy of strength such as this!" ??? "H-hey¡­ Artorias¡­ How did Walker just win¡­ Kai is even knocked outpletely, I didn''t even think that was possible¡­" "..." "Artorias?" ??? "Ah¡ª I don''t know Regrit¡­ I most certainly don''t¡­ But... This can''t be real¡­ In all my life¡ª By... By a mere mort¡ª ¡­ No, he can''t be¡­" "Artorias? Are you okay? ??? "HAHAHAH!! Why were we even worried! I already knew he''d win!" "It was very close though, who knew the Fatebringer family''s son was so strong¡­" "Damn right! He''s strong! But Walker is still a good amount stronger! Look at him! He''s not even shaken in the slightest!" "Very true¡­" For the most part, the crowd all had simr opinions, and the amount they spoke, cheered, andughed was something never seen before. There was an overall air of joy that epassed the arena, all except for certain areas. "Hahaha! That''s my boy!! He really showed him, didn''t he!" The supreme general snorted and rolled back up to his seat with a wide grin from ear to ear. "Congrattions on your victory general," Ashley Orbec of the meseeker guild sighed. "Don''t misunderstand miss Orbec, that boy was indeed powerful, but he never stood a chance to begin with!" "Oh¡­ Is that so¡­" Her voice was unnaturally monotone, a total contrast to her usual expressive, almost cheery self¡ª she was like apletely different person. "Don''t worry sir, I''m not mad¡­ Just perplexed¡­" "How so?" "If I might be so blunt, you''ve been acting really odd sir¡­ You''re not thepletely calm and charismatic man I thought you were. You im to have never been worried but that worry was marked all over your face. You were sweating, and your entire body was jittering." She sighed once more, standing up from her seat before ncing towards her superior once more before her sight shifted towards his closed fist. "If it hadn''t been for us being in VR I bet that still clenched and jittering hand of yours would have popped by now¡­" She walked away from the canopy, leaving the still stunned general alone. Suddenly, his gaze also fell down towards his still clenched hand, now abruptly opening it. And with many thoughts running through his mind that he shook away immediately with a deep breath, he continued to spectate his grandson''s victory. ??? Adam walked into the dark tunnel from which he came, storing his weapon away, not even batting an eye as the gates closed on him and the light of yellow torches rekindled the previously drab space. Ever since he had awoken to the light, his vision was an unclear blur, almost like a badly drawn water painting. The sounds of what he could only assume were the cheering crowds were a muffled mess, almost as though he had been swimming underwater. But even with such vision, the light of the yellow and orange torches could not escape his eyes¡­? As he steadied his gaze upon its light, he felt a sh within his mind of something more ferocious, and he leant against the nearest wall clenching his head from the pain before shaking himself off with a heavy gasp. He continued his way down the hallway. The horizon ahead felt endless, yet he continued on to the muffled sound of his steps until suddenly¡­ "Adam Walker. That is your name correct?" His eyes went wide. For the first time in seemingly forever, the shape of the horizon changed, and he heard a voice clear as day, one of a soft, yet powerful female voice. And as he lifted his head, he met the face of a shorter girl, or was it a grown woman? Her face was unclear, and other than her being female, even the simplest feature to identify her from was out of his reach. Although his vision was steadily getting better, the shape of the horizon was still far from crystal. "Who¡­ Who are you¡­ And how did you get here? Are you paparazzi? If so, then I have no interest in conversing¡­" "My name is no great concern. And no, you can rest assured I am no paparazzi. Though, I havee here to ask you a few questions¡­" Adam felt a tingle down his spine, one that was an odd feeling that he had never once experienced before. But that was when he heard Nago speak from his shoulders, and those thoughts were whisked away. "Womannn... He said no... Noooww... Ge-" "Silence spirit..." Although her voice was low, it shook the very ground. "Unless I ask you directly or you have something important to say, don''t even utter a word..." "Uh... Un¡ª Unnderrrstoood..." ''W-what... I''ve never seen Nago act like this in my entire life... Not even to grandfather... What... What is this? Is he afraid? Even if she somehow kills us now we are in VR. Death means nothing here... So why... Who... Who is this woman...'' "Who... Who are you..." "Nevermind that now, I''m certain those answers would reveal themselves in due time. So, Adam Walker, I will ask you this once more. Can you answer these simple questions for me?" Chapter 413 - Awoken

Chapter 413: Awoken

"#h$%''# *i*[emailprotected]" "How''s he#$%," "h$#''* him¡­" In an empty void of absolute darkness, Rupert found himself suspended. The space felt like an odd liquid, wrapping its cold, unforgiving ws upon his naked frame. His mind and body were numb, he was unsure where he was, nor what he should even think. His soul was a nk sheet as he stared up at the sky. He was but a mere aimless soul residing in a barren husk. He had been like that for what felt like an eternity, and only now did he hear sound for the first time within this endless darkness. So it drew his interest. The sound was muffled, its origin unclear. But that was when the darkness of the sky began to form cracks. "The... sky¡­. The sky is ¡­ cracking?" He murmured. A single shard escaped, one made of pure darkness falling by him, narrowly missing his head. And from its remains shined a blinding light, piercing his gaze. The cracks began to increase, and with it, so did the light and voices from the outside¡­ "Hey! Hey! He''s movi*$%" Slowly, the shards began to crumble and drop one by one. And only when it became too damaged to maintain its uniform shape did it explode, and like pouring rain, those shards of darkness sped towards his face with a blinding yellow light overcasting the previously pitch-ck sky. "HWWWAHHHH!!" As though out of instinct, his eyes went wide, his hands flung towards his heart with no thinking as heavy sweat dripped down his face. There was pain epassing his entire system, yet he did not know for what reason. His stomach twitched, his muscles felt tense, and his cloudy mind began to thump as though it was begging to burst out his skull. Light once again entered his sighs, yet this time it was no superficial yellow. It was physical and more real than ever, yet still rather unclear. White, that was the only colour he saw as he panned his eyes. His clothes were white, the nket enveloping him was white, and the walls were an even purer white. ''Where¡­ Where am I? What''s going on?'' He thought to himself, before a familiar voice entered his static-filled ears, the same one he had heard in that dark space. "He''s awake! He''s awake!" "It''s about time he woke up¡­" Another voice sighed. "Huh¡­" Rupert coughed, finding the energy to rub his eyes. "I was so worried about you mister Kai! Wee back!" "Wh¡­ huh¡­ Wel¡ª Wee back?" He turned his head, and there sat next to him was a familiar smile he would have a hard time ever forgetting. Her brilliant white hair blended well with the walls, and her child-like innocence brightened the room even more and instilled a sense of needed calmness within his uneasy heart. "Girl, you say that like I was dead," He chuckled. "Oh wow, you seem to be taking this better than I expected you to," A different voice spoke, and that was when he noticed the other figure stood beside Hikari, Elizabeth Eleonora. However, beyond her, there was none present¡ª Moby, nor Regrit and Artorias were anywhere to be found. "Taking what better? What do you mean by that?" "Hmmm?" She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were gonna be all sad and mopey like: ''I''m a disgrace¡­ how can I ever look him in the eyes?''" "Huh? Now, why would I ever do that? "Do you not remember what happened? Look around you, what kind of room do you think this is?" "Hell if I know! I''ve never been to a ce like this! It''s all white, full of machines and needles." "Agghhh¡­ I should have expected this knowing who you are¡­" She shook her head. "This, this is a hospital room!" "A hospital room?" His face widened. "Yes, you were taken here after you lost your match against the supreme general''s grandson, Adam Walker¡­" "L-Lost¡­" He leant back onto his pillow, his voice was sombre, and the wait it carried put the room in uncanny stillness. "..." "..." "..." "AHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!" Rupert clenched his stomach, from pain, and tears began to fall down his eyes as he rolled back from mass hysteria. "Lost? Do you have any idea who you''re saying that to!? In a ce like this!? Now now, can you really tell me the real reason why I''m here, no stupid answers please!" Hisughter only continued to increase, but as he looked back towards those next to him, they did not seem to be as amused¡­ "B-but¡­ Mister Kai¡­ It is true¡­ You did lose¡­" Hikari scooted closer and showed him her watch, the news on its screen written inrge, bold-font clear as day. "You went unconscious then you were sent here¡­ We might be in VR, but it was your mind that was injured, not your body¡­ You''ve been here now for hours not responding at all¡­ We were so worried about you¡­" "I¡­ L-Lost?" "..." "..." He uttered those words again, only this time did he realize its true impact¡­ His pupils dted, his right hand clenched his heart while his left grasped his guts. The world was suddenly enveloped in ayer of haze as his stomach sank from pure anguish. It was a simr pain that he felt before, only this was far more intense and was not induced by maddeningughter but a maddening realization. Sudden bursts of bright light shed within his dizzy eyes of memories, memories of what had happened past¡­ Those shards in that dream, they were no mere illusion¡­ They had truly stabbed him prior. He was winning, winning with ease, until for one instant, he suddenly wasn''t¡­ ''This¡­ This can''t be real¡­ No¡­ but it is real¡­'' His mind ran rampant. More than anyone, Rupert knew what was dream, illusion, and reality, especially now that his mind was cleared¡ª He was a greater demon after all. But that was the same problem¡­ Even if he was holding back immensely, He was still a greater demon, so how¡­ Chapter 414 - Awoken (2)

Chapter 414 - Awoken (2)

*Gurg* He fell down from his seat and crashed towards the ground, his mouth gaping open as though he was ready to barf. Yet nothing escaped his mouth but a puff of air. "Ahhhh¡­" "Please!! Mister Kai! Calm yourself! It''s okay! It''s really okay!" Hikari hurried to aid her hurtingrade with all her heart, pulling his frantic, senseless body back onto his bed while Elizabeth simply stood and watched. "Ahhhh! Now that''s the reaction I was expecting!" She snickered. "Elizabeth! Please help me! Do you know any healing for this? He''s getting even worse!" "Well, I suppose I can try," She waved her hand, and a green light enveloped Rupert, and his frantic nature slowly reverted into hyperventted deep breaths. "Now, Kai, if you''ve calmed down now... We have a few questions for you. Do you remember exactly how you lost? None of us could really see it at the end there." Elizabeth asked her question, yet she received no response beyond a slight nce and continuous breaths with his hands clenching his vitals. "I don''t know¡­ I don''t know¡­ I really don''t¡­ I don''t know how I lost¡­ Where¡­ Where is lord!? Arggghhh¡­" "Calm down Kai! All''s gonna be okay! Please!" Hikari held his hands tightly. "He''s not mad at you! He evenmended and congratted you on the fight! He said you did a good job!" "Don''t patronize me... And... Even¡­ Even if that is the case¡­ I failed in something so simple!! I can never be trusted!" "Oh shut up!" Elizabeth snorted. "You''re acting like a child! If you really messed up I''m sure he wouldn''t be sugar-coating it! He''s a pretty direct guy! Trust me, he''s not mad or disappointed! He''s still certain of victory¡­ He made sure to tell us that..." "B-but how!? It''s impossible!! IF I COULDN''T BEAT HIM HOW COU¡ª" "Are you really questioning him now?! I thought you were the biggest advocate of never questioning his wishes even when we try to give suggestions! What happened now huh!? Are you really so shallow! What happened to your pride! Broken so easily!! How would he think of you now in such a pathetic state!" "Elizabeth!! Please! You''re being too harsh!" Hikari wept, tears falling down her face. "N¡ª No Hikari¡­ She''s right¡­" Rupert sighed extensively, the wind slowly whistling out his mouth. He shook his head and stretched his back before looking back up with a stable yet unsteady gaze. "So¡­ I''ve been asleep for hours now, right? A few rounds passed¡­ What exactly happened at that time?" Elizabeth widened her eyes at his sudden shift in attitude, but once she got past the initial shock she went back to normal. "In short, I got out in the first match of the top sixteens against Artorias, pretty easily might I add. And Hikari made it one round farther only to lose to Moby. We''re the only two out, that''s why we''re here." "I¡­ I see¡­ So what round is it now? Where are the others?" "Moby has already got past the quarter-finals and has entered the top four. And now it''s the final round of the top eight quarter-finals." "Final round?" He muttered. "Who''s fighting who? Is it¡­" "Yes, I think you could already guess¡­ It''s Artorias facing Regrit¡­ Speaking of which, that match is starting in two minutes so I''ll be on my way." She turned around and strode towards the door. "Hikari, youing?" "I can''t leave now!" She immediately responded, only for her too to be cut off. "It''s okay Hikari, you can leave me be and go watch the match¡­" Rupert smiled. "B-but!" "No buts! Now, you go off and watch the fight¡­ I''m sure Artorias and especially Regrit would appreciate your support¡­ I''ll be fine. Plus, I think I need time for myself too¡­" "O¡ª ¡­ ¡­ Okay¡­" She mumbled, stepping away slowly from his side with a sniffle. "Hey! Hikari! I''m leaving! You gonna join me or what!" "Coming!" She hurried through the door after Elizabeth, but before she exited the room she turned a quick peek back towards Rupert with clear concern towards his state, but that look slowly turned into a gentle smile as she nodded and left the room, gently closing the door behind her. Rupert was all alone once again¡­ The room bore a hallow empty feeling, and the cold muted colours did not help in that aspect. He shook his head, leaning back on his pillow and stared towards the empty ceiling of white¡­ ¡­ But that was when just like before, a sound intruded upon his seclusion. "Hello¡­ May I please enter?" Once again, it was the sound of a female knocking at his door. A voice familiar yet one he could not connect a face to. He did know for how long he had been aimlessly staring at the ceiling. For all he knew, the tournament had already been over¡­ He knew not what to think¡­ And think he did not as he answered that unknown voice. "Yes¡­ You may enter¡­" As so, the door slowly swung open, and his eyes were led by the sound to its source. Indeed, it was a woman that had entered, and despite his disoriented vision, he immediately recognized her. How could he not after she and her brilliant red dress made such a big impression on him. As for why she had suddenly decided to visit him of all people and such a time began to perplex him, and the gears of his brain once again began to turn. Yet, his mouth did not open as they both nkly stared upon one another for what felt like an eternity. Until finally, it was she that gradually inched towards him and began the conversation. "Uh-Ummm¡­ Hi¡­ Kai Fatebringer... I''m not sure if I''m intruding or if it''ss the right time¡­ I don''t think we know each other¡­ We haven''t met other than today and I believe a few rare family gatherings when we were kids... But... I just wanted to talk and ask you a few questions¡­ Is¡­ Is that okay with you?" Chapter 415 - Angel Vs Demon

Chapter 415 - Angel Vs Demon

"Come onee all to thest and most awaited quarter-final match! Today has been a rather long day, but I''m sure none of us areining right!!" The announcer lifted his hands up in the air, and the packed crowds returned his energy with widespread, boisterous cheering that echoed to all ends of this white void. "ALRIGHT!! Seems like everyone else is excited as I am!! Once again, it is an honour to be your announcer andmentator for this match. I would like to thank every single one of you for showing up! And I would also like to thank all that are watching from home!! And a special thanks to our lovely group of judges looking out towards us as well! None of this would be possible without you!" The crowd cheered once again, their sights now at the canopy above where the six figures sat, some silent, cold as ice while others smiled and waved back towards the cheering crowds. "This final match of the quarter-finals might as well be the most exciting! Both fighters have pushed thus far showing little to no effort! They had yet to even reveal their spirit modes! And now we will see what happens when two such freaks of nature fight! But despite their amazing show of strength today, there can only be one victor who will move on! So without further ado, allow me to introduce bothbatants!" The announcer waved both hands, and the two gates barring the entrances lifted open with that now all too familiar sound of rolling chains. Over to my right, there is a man with a piercing lion-like gaze! His will and skill are a sight to behold, and his drive for victory could be seen from his every step! A fire-wielding demon! Regrit Oswald!!" The crowds apuded, and Regrit stepped into the light, slowly yet not so gracefully. The two katanas sheathed upon his waist glistened under the bright void, yet what shined even brighter were his keen, reddish eyes hidden under his scruffy orange hair that he quickly parted to the side. His strut was deliberate, his hands casually held his waist and the smile on his face was far from hidden. Yet despite its presence, it did not scream overconfidence or arrogance, no, it was clear excitement and pure adrenaline that rushed through his virtual, empty veins. "And from my left is no nobleman! Yet his noble elegance and masterful air is undeniable! For being someone so unknown, he might quite the debut this tournament, and I''m certain many in the crowds kept a close eye on him! And that man is of course Artorias Kmeet!" As soon as a semnce of movement was seen from the dark entrance, the crowd absolutely exploded, far more than that for Regrit. It was likeparing the sound of a running car to that of a roaring jet engine. As he confidently strode into the open he did not hesitate nor bat an eye at all the sound. In fact, his eyes of entrancing gold were closed under his calm, silver brows. Unlike almost every otherbatant, he bore no weapon on his body. It was not concealed, that was proved by many of his earlier matches. His flowing, silky smooth silver hair hung slightly over his still, snow-white face, and his shoulders were out broad as he continued his march towards the stage. And only when he reached his destination did he take his first breath and opened his eyes to calmly meet that of his opponents before ncing over to his side where the announcer stood. "I didn''t think it would be like this¡­ But seems like this is what fate had in store for us¡­" Artorias sighed. "Huh?" Regrit raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn''t believe in fate!" "I most certainly don''t," "Then what? You scared that I''m gonna beat your ass in front of so many people?" Heughed. "If you believe that to be the case then I''m not stopping you. But if I were you, I''d try acting dignified. You''re no longer a child you know...Now, you''re just making a fool out of yourself." "I''ll do whatever I want! You''re not my mother!" "Quite observant of you¡­ Indeed I am not¡­ But I believe your mother is indeed watching this match unfold¡­" Artoriasmented. "..." Suddenly, Regrit went silent, and for that moment even Artorias could not help be taken aback. "Yeah¡­ You''re right¡­ She is¡­ You hear me, mom!" He lifted his head and pointed directly at the cameras. "I''m gonna win this match just for you! JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE!! HE''S GONNA BE CRYING ON THE GROUND BEGGING FOR MERCY WHEN I''M DONE WITH HIM!!" However, that moment of calmness did notst for long, and Regritughed returning back to what he did best. Although Artorias smiled and felt rather indifferent, the same thing could not be said for others. From how Regrit acted, it was clear that he had already made many enemies from the crowds. Yet, he paid them no heed. That was how it was his entire life¡­ And nothing he did was going to change that fact¡­ it was not now that he began acting like someone who he was not. "Aha! I see that both fighters are already excited to fight! And who am I to stop them from proving which of them is superior!? Now, if both fighters are ready, I''ll count you down!" And as soon as he spoke, the announcer immediately received that very same confirmation he sought, a clear look and a nod from both fighters. "ALRIGHT!!" The announcer giddily lifted one finger up into the sky with a grin from ear to ear. "I see both fighters are ready to get at it! So without further ado! Allow me to count down!" The announcer did a swift backflip from his position on the stage,nding swiftly onto the outside grass where he would be rtively safe. "3!" "2!" "1!" "START!!" Chapter 416 - Angel Vs Demon (2)

Chapter 416 - Angel Vs Demon (2)

The match had officially just begun, yet there seemed to be no movement from either side. It waspletely out of character for both fighters who would have immediately rushed their opponents with no hesitation in their previous fights. The crowd held their breaths, most in a mixture of confusion and anticipation. But, upon closer examination, all became clear. Their eyes were deadlocked, like fierce predators sizing each other up, both in their own special way¡ª? like a Lion to a Fox. Despite all their previous talk, it was more than clear from their gaze alone the level of respect each bore towards the other. Yet, it did not take too long for them both to do their first moves¡­ A brilliant aura of flowing power twinkled and swirled beneath both their feet like a ferocious yet gentle typhoon¡ª a typhoon that slowly became thicker and wilder until one point, both erupted into bright light¡­ Regrit''s body was now covered in ming orange from head to toe, his previously nd armour now had an extrayer of flowing translucent cloth, almost like that of an ancient fighter with a fox-like appearance. From shape alone, it incited a certain reaction from the audience. For indeed, they had seen this form before, or at least something very simr. It was the exact same form as Kai Fatebringer''s, only his form seemed to have been far more orange than yellow and only possessed eight talespared to the usual nine. They were brothers after all, but some spectators did not even realize considering their differentst names. Not only his weapons were set aze but also his heart that burned passionately, perfectly reflected by his open smile towards his opponent d in all white. The armour of aura he conveyed was far more solid. His eyes pierced through his waving silver hair past the sockets of his bird-like helm that only covered half of his face and did not extend down past its beak-like nose. The elegant curves and aesthetic of this armour extended down towards his waist where tworge feathered wings were found, puffy and white as snow. However, it was only below that did his image take a more feline approach. He was a Griffin, a spirit beast that almost none even knew existed. Regrit had both katanas now unsheathed, yet Artorias still had seemingly nothing to fight with, at least for now... He slowly brought his w-like gauntlets out in front of him, and from his palms, a bright light of blinding white began to manifest. And from that bright gleam, something began to mould like dough until it took form. A long sword of light, encrusted in breath-taking gold with an edge so brilliant that it would cut even some of the hardest metals like mere butter. Compared to his armour, itpletely stood on its own far above, such was the aura it emanated. On opposite ends, they both stood grinning, and in the next instant, they were in the middle shing des with that expression in their opponent''s face. "INCREDIBLE!! Things were going so slow but it suddenly just sped up to blistering speeds!! Both fighters have already entered their spirit modes! It''s like they read each other''s minds! No need to set up anything for their transformations!" nks permeated the space, the bubble protecting them shook and the crowd turned from silence to absolute madness as they watched with clenched fists and wide-open eyes. "So! Where''s your ability!? You gonna show it to me?" Regrit mocked as they sped des. "Now is not time to talk¡­ But if you must know, this very sword is my ability¡­ I guess you can call it my Excalibur¡­" "Excaliber!?" Regritughed. "Your name is Artorias, not Arthur! I''ll make that sword of yours melt like butter!" Suddenly, Regrit''s smile widened, and along with it, the mes upon his de also expanded in both volume and strength in a form like a roaring fox that engulfed the entire Arena in scorching mes. *Urg* From above, Regrit''s sword slowly began to make its descent upon the struggling Artorias. He gritted his teeth, the ground beneath his feet started to crack and melt like putty as he began to sink down into it like quicksand. The sword held within his hands began to slowly falter and be pushed back near his chest. He narrowed his gleaming eyes and strengthened the grip on his sword, bending his knees to the point of almost kneeling down. All looked grim from the zing inferno below, yet through the mes, Artorias gritted teeth slowly softened into a confident smile. Suddenly, his holy de''s glow expanded, and like it truly was butter, it slid upon the edge of Regrit''s des until they were no longer locking edges. The impact from Regrit''s momentum left him tumbling down off bnce. The only thing he witnessed in that moment was Artorias dodging his falling katanas with his sword aimed directly towards his head. In that moment, his face widened, his heart sank as time slowed down within his mind. He was witnessing his own demise, yet he could not control his falling body nor his iling arms. And in the very next moment, it was like time had sped up once more, and his all was consumed by darkness¡­ Yet it was not at all the darkness he expected. It was grey, and dusty, not the ck emptiness he thought. Wind blew past his face as he found his footing, and silence filled the air. His hands unconsciously lifted towards his neck where he thought that sword would strike. Yet there he only felt but a small scratch, yet that mere scratch burned like the surface of the sun. ''I''m¡­ Alive?'' That was when suddenly, he heard the very first sound within his hazy minding from behind. And when he turned around, he bore witness to Artorias coughing on his knees, his hands grasping his de that was stabbed through the ground for bnce. Sweat rolled down his face like a river and his eyes lost some of their previously vibrant colours. ''Ha¡­ HAHA!'' The Relief that Regrit felt in his heart was immense. His previous attack must have weakened him enough to disorient his final blow to the point that hepletely missed. There he saw an opportunity, and he used it to his advantage. His grin once again returned, and his des roared even more furiously than before. He blew past the dust blocking his way and lifted his des up in the air in the shape of an X as he dove down towards the recovering Artorias who immediately reacted by lifting his sword up to block. For a brief moment, they once again locked des, yet this time it was interrupted. Swiftly, swords of light unmasked themselves through the dust and fell down like shooting stars towards Regrit. Though, such tricks would never work, if anything, he almost felt insulted that Artorias would ever try something so amateur against him. Had he forgotten? They were indeed quick, but due to Regrit''s demon vision, he was able to see them through the dust clear as day. Regrit grew even more ferocious as he dodged all the attacks that would have turned him into a pin-cushion like they were rocks thrown by a child. Artorias was left absolutely stunned by what he witnessed, and Regrit used that distraction to strike with a cross sh towards the chest that sent him flying and teetering over the edge. Had he not stabbed his sword through the ground to lessen the impact, he would have most certainly gotten eliminated by a ring-out. Distance was put now between them, and Artorias used the time to ready himself and catch his breath. Yet Regrit would not allow him such luxury as his zing figure was seen racing towards him. shes of light from Artorias''s de whiffed past his face like nothing as he closed the distance in no time. The tides of battle had so suddenly shifted. Once again they fought in closebat. Their swordsmanship was masterful, two uniquely distinct styles that were almost pr opposites shing against one another, only this time, it was the style of demonic fire that was clearly on top. Artorias''s movements had be sluggish, a quick parry immediately led to a counter-attack, a sh of des led to him losing a few steps back and his movements became easy to read and dodge. Still, despite that, he still managed tond several blows, ones that Regrit agonized over far more than he thought he would, a pain he had little to no experience dealing with. Yet through his adrenaline, he shook that seething pain away. For the first time, Artorias pped those bird-like wings and took flight above the ground preparing an attack. But, Regrit''s eight tales expanded and pulled him back down only to see that he had used his own move against him, propelling himself down like a diving falcon. Regrit''s X-formed katanas blocked the impact, only just. The look in Artorias''s eyes was fierce, yet that fierceness was so suddenly obstructed. It was only for a second that they locked eyes, as the tip of Artorias''s Excalibur made it through both of Regrit''s des. Time slowed down once more¡­ Yet this time, Regrit did not quiver nor quail, no, he even smirked. By the time his sword slipped past, Regrit had already been ducking. And in an immediate reversal, he dropped his now useless, tangled des on the ground and lit his fist aze. And as if it was the very sun in his hands, he struck Artorias''s chest. *BOOM* Like a volcano erupted from the impact, ck dust consumed all and quickly faded away¡­ Like always the crowd sat silent, yet it was not in anticipation of who had won, but what they had just witnessed¡­ The victor was more than clear, Artorias was now sat on the grass struggling to stay conscious. ck chars filled his heavily breathing face that no longer had that same elegance as before. His spirit form armour was cracked beyond repair slowly faded away, and even the standard armour underneath was in a simr state¡­ It was all over¡­ "W-what a match!! It was obscene! Art¡ª Artorias Kmeet has been knocked out of the ring and is unable to fight! Your winner that will be moving on to the semi-final round will be the zing fox standing in the middle of the arena!! Regrit Oswald!!" The announcer was almost too lost for words to speak, and the crowd did not fair much better as they recounted what they had just seen. So many times, Regrit seemed dead, yet he always managed to escape. It was almost like he could see the unseen. By the times they could notice the sword-shes of light from within the haze, he had already dodged them. Or an illusionary attack, he would strike with confidence as if it were not there¡­ Sweat began to fall down the announcer''s face. The crowd was silent yet he did not know how he could hype them up again. He struggled to formte words¡­ And within that panicked mind, he noticed something¡­ *p*... ¡­ *p* ¡­ *p* *p*... From the grand canopy of judges, Ashley Orbec, the leader of the meseeker guild had just so suddenly stood up out of her seat with a gleam, slowly pping. Soon, others followed suit¡­ One man stood pping from within the crowds, and that motivated another¡­ And another¡­ And soon like dominos, nearly the entire crowd roared in apuse at the spectacle that they had just witnessed. However¡­ The man stood in the center, the focus of that very same apuse did not celebrate nor writhe in the victory. No¡­ That very same overly vocal man stood in absolute silence, his spirit form slowly fading away, not even batting an eye towards the crowd¡­ Instead, he looked down towards his fist that had delivered that very same finishing blow with wide-open eyes in some sort of grand realization that narrowed soon after¡­ The announcer spoke, and the crowds cheered, yet he did not hear any of that as he lost himself in his own mind. Only the sudden appearance of a shadow caught his attention. And by the time he looked up, he saw a figure standing directly ahead of him¡­ The very man he had just defeated was still in pain, yet slightly more healed due to external reasons. The crowd''s apuse grew even more boisterous as he approached with that calm smile of his yet, Regrit did not return that smile that he gave. *Tch* He inwardly scoffed, shaking his head. "You did great out there! You were much stronger than I ever expected!" Artorias spoke. "I can tell you''ve really been training hard for this! Congrats! And good luck with your next match!" He brought out his arm for a handshake. Regrit''s eyes widened then narrowed even further ncing down towards his extended arm before looking back up towards his face. Unconsciously, his fists were clenched, and his teeth were gritted underneath his closed jaws. "Artorias.... You¡­ Who do you think you are? Don''t you dare patronize me¡­" Chapter 417 - Anger

Chapter 417 - Anger

Regrit''s voice was low, yet despite that, all could hear what he spoke. His thick words ominously permeated the air, and the atmosphere suddenly turned grim as the crowds gradually began to lose their previous excitement. The silence slowly grew and spread like wildfire, and before it could be too overbearing, Artorias spoke with a simple smile. "Patronize you? Whatever do you mean? Apologies if my words came out wrong, but I was truly trying to congratte you¡­ You''re the victor here¡­" "Am I really though..." Regrit scoffed looking at the ground and clenched his hands tighter, small sparks releasing from them. "Well, certainly so! You have bested me! Are you trying to argue that you somehow lost?" Artorias chuckled. Regrit''s arms began to tremble, and those small sparks upon his hands slowly began to flicker into me. And with the ming orange eyes of a predator, he looked up to meet the gaze of his foe and at the now tranquil gaping crowds staring at him from behind. Yet, when he did so, the eyes he met werepletely unlike that of what he expected. They were serious, with the ferocity of a lion yet with the calmness and wisdom of an owl. His arms were still out wide, looking for a handshake, even despite all that had just transpired. *Tsk* Regrit scoffed once more, relieving his pressure, the mes upon his shaking hands slowly dispersing into nothingness. "Keep your hand to yourself¡­" He took a deep breath and smacked Artorias''s hands away in disgust. And with those parting words and a scowl on his visage, he walked away towards the tunnel in which he came, ignoring all the silent stares targeted at him like daggers. ?? ?? ?? The fight had officially ended, and it was once again time for a break before the semifinal match-ups were announced¡­ And at a time like this, the group had never been more separated¡­ Moby was in ces unknown, Rupert was in the hospital recovering, Elizabeth was all alone and Hikari seemed to be elsewhere she could not find¡­ There were only two men who found their way together. In a dark tunnel underneath a cave where the bright light of the heavenly space could not reach¡­ Cracked rocks of gray filled the walls, water droplets gently dripped down from the ceiling and rodents scurried the ground and yed within the filthy puddles. There, at the edge of such a ce peacefully stood one man¡­ His silver hair could not gleam like it once did, his arms crossed and his golden eyes staring keenly towards the wall as though he was waiting for someone''s arrival. And that most certainly seemed to be the case as the sounds of footsteps and sshing puddles were heard from behind, turning his previously nk face to something more natural. "Tell me¡­ Of all ces, why choose this one?" "Because no one would be able to hear or spy on us¡­" The figure responded. "I¡­ I see¡­" He grinned, turning around to view the face of the same Regrit he fought on the arena, no, this one may have been even fiercer.? "So, why exactly did you call me here? What''s on your mind?" "Don''t act fucking stupid! I know you let me win! I''ve worked hard to reach where I am here! I don''t need such handouts!" "Let you win?" He raised an eyebrow. "Now, why would I let you win? What made you think that? Even if I was holding back somehow, so were you! There''s no blood in this space so you couldn''t go full power. And besides, my holy Excalibur does extra damage to demonkind so you even managed to win against the odds..." "There you fucking go again¡­ I''m no idiot! Did you really think I wouldn''t notice!? How I just miraculously dodged attacks that would have otherwise killed me!? How your movements were odd, not to try and mix me up but give me an easier time!? Hell! You even used useless techniques YOU KNEW would never work on me! You even tried to make me look good in front of the crowds!! WHI!? YOU LET ME WIN!!" "You were so mad that you went all this way to tell me that? Well, Hypothetically, let''s say that I for some reason did do all that stuff you said, I fail to see the problem. In the end, you still won, isn''t that all that matters?" "NO!! You made me look like a fool! I can''t stand for such an empty victory!! Don''t look down on me!" Regrit roared, an aura of mes enveloping fists his slowly lightning up the darkness of the space. But that was when Artorias''s smile faded away, and his expression shifted¡ª like a mask had suddenly fallen off his face and was now dissolving on the puddle beneath his feet. "You im you''re no idiot¡­ But is that really true? You came into the arena as the viin¡­ And you could have left as a hero¡­ You won the match, won the favour of the crowds¡­ All you needed to do was act natural¡­ Just thank me and shake my hands¡­ But you blew it¡­? Something so simple, and you threw it all away¡­ I tried to be nice, give you an opportunity at glory... Now you may never get the chance¡­ You let your pride get in the way of something so simple! Your pride got in the way ofmon sense! At least you showed some restraint there at the end, or else you would have gotten disqualified¡­ But¡­ What happened to getting to the top? Isn''t it by any means necessary? Wasn''t all your hard work in order to help your mother? How is what you did suppose to help her!? YOU''RE BEING SELFISH!! What would she think when she watched you do all that on TV? Proud?" "DON''T YOU FUCKING DARE BRING MY MOTHER INTO THIS!! YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Regrit''s roared, his voice echoing off the rocky walls as he heavily shook his head. "Do I really know nothing?" Artorias slowly approached. "If you think so then so be it¡­ You call yourself a rival to Moby Kane¡­ What a joke! You''re just a pathetic child¡­ I thought more highly of you in the past¡­ This will be thest time I ever think about helping you¡­" He slowly walked past the clearly distressed and motionless Regrit, and soon after did he disappear into the shadows. "GOOD!! IT''S NOT LIKE I EVEN NEEDED YOUR HELP ANYWAYS!!" Chapter 418 - A Girls Worry

Chapter 418 - A Girl''s Worry

The many ces on disy in this virtual space were bustling with people as far as the eye could see, yet most popted of all was still by far the grand amusement park. The tournament was reaching a conclusion, and that was more than seen by looking at the excited faces roaming through the well-paved streets. However, there was one girl who stood out from the rest. There was worry and a hint of uncertainty in her eyes as she ran rapidly through the streets. Unlike where most people were, she always found herself in odd corners and vastly underpopted areas¡ª It was like she had lost something important to her, and to some, it was almost as though they were watching a small child frantically looking for their mother. And in a dark corner with a single beam of light shining in, she was suddenly enveloped by arge shadowing from behind. As soon as that happened, her heart skipped a beat. The shadow was all in the form of a human and she immediately tensed up and turned her head. "There you are Hikari! I''ve finally found you! You just ran off on me without saying anything! You didn''t even answer any of my texts! What''s gotten into you?" "Elizabeth?" "Yeah, it''s me. Something wrong? Forgot about me already?" "Have¡­ Have you seen Regrit? I''ve tried to reach out but I can''t find him¡­" "Regrit?" She raised an eyebrow. "Now, why would you care what some idiot like him is up to?" "Well¡­ Ummm¡­ I''m just worried¡­ Have you seen him anywhere? I have a lot to say but¡­ He just ran off without saying a word..." "''Ran off without saying a word,'' huh? sounds familiar¡­" She remarked before continuing. "But no, I haven''t¡­" She sighed. "But I wouldn''t worry about a guy like him. After what he did in the arena it''s no wonder he wants time to himself. He''s probably not in the best ce mentally, even more so than usual." "Y-yes¡­ I-I know¡­ " Hikari lowered her head. "But¡­ It''s just the way he acted¡­ I¡ª" "You really care a lot about Regrit don''t you?" Elizabeth abruptly interrupted. "Uh¡ª Well¡­ I suppose I do¡­" "I see¡­" She sighed heavily before her expression turned into giggles. "Luckily for you, I can help you with that!" "R-really!" Hikari''s silver eyes glowed like moonlight. "But, I thought you didn''t know where he was!" "Well, yes, you''re not wrong. But, I do know where he''s going to be very soon¡­" "Where?" "In the Arena of course! How didn''t you know this? His match ising up in a few minutes!" "Ah¡ª Already!" Hikari''s eyes grew wider. "Didn''t you get any notifications on your watch or anything?" "N-no¡­ I never noticed¡­ I did check my watch every now and then but all I focused on was messages from Regrit so I never noticed anything else¡­" "I see. Well, you already missed one match. Moby''s semifinal match against Sol Rinwell has been already over and done with for a while now." "Wait really!? I guess I must have lost track of time then. Did he win?" She leaned in closer and asked. "Well, of course, he did! Pretty easily too. It was almost too easy actually¡­ too easy for him to beat such a formidable semi-finalist, especially of the Rinwell household." "That''s good to know¡­" Hikari breathed a sigh of relief, only for distress to once again take over her senses. "W-wait¡­ If Moby faced Sol then that means¡­" "Yep! Regrit is going up against Adam Walker himself!" "..." "Come on, he''ll be fine!" Elizabeth patted her on the back. "Y-yes¡­ I hope so¡­" That was when suddenly, voices from the light outside were heard, and although it was all uniform, it was clear what the topic was. "Shit, we''re gonna bete by the looks of things! We should get going, Artorias is probably already there waiting for us!" Elizabeth turned around and moved towards the distant light, Hikari following close after her. "Hmm? What''s with that look on your face?" Elizabeth asked. "I''m just¡ª" "Do you not have faith in him or something?" She teased. "Hmph!* "Yeah! You''re right! I should have more faith! What am I even doing!" Hikari shook herself off and smacked her pale face several times to the point of turning red. It was so abrupt that even Elizabeth was taken aback at such a disy that she would have never expected from Hikari. "Well, anyways. d to see you better. You seem to have a lot more faith than me that''s for sure! Anyways, you haven''t answered me properly. Why exactly do you care so much about Regrit anyways? You looked pretty intense. You just worried or is there maybe something more..." Elizabeth nudged the confused Hikari as they walked with a smug expression. "Something more?" She questioned, pondering in her head before her cheeks turned rose in realization. "No! It''s nothing like that! I''m just worried since he''s my friend! If it was anyone else I would have done the same!" "Hahaha! No need to get so flustered! I was just teasing! But most importantly, I''m kinda surprised you managed to even pick up on what I meant! You''re not so innocent anymore are you?" "Please stop Elizabeth¡­ You''re embarrassing me¡­" ?? ?? ?? Unsurprisingly, the grand Arena was packed. Upon their arrival, they were immediately hit by a tsunami of people for as far as the eye could see and an even bigger wave of very vocal voices. The Arena they stood upon now was farrger than any other from the past matches, yet every seat seemed to have been taken, and Hikari seemed to be gawking far more than her friend considering she had not been there for the previous semi-final match. It was almost too much for her to take in. Her sights wandered aimlessly throughout the space, moving in a circle until her eyes met the now even grander canopy of judges silently peering down towards the stage. And then, that was when she followed their almostser gazes towards its focus, the eye of the Arena, the white-tiled battlegrounds below. "Regrit!!" She uttered, yet her voice was drowned out by the many others around her. In fact, she did not know if she had said that out loud or if it was a thought within her mind. Indeed, they appeared to have arrived to be quitete. Regrit and Adam were already stood upon the stage with the announcer not too far away. Yet, luckily for her, it seemed like the match had yet to begin. She stood motionless, many emotions emanating through her shaking eyes as she tried her best to read his expression. Sweat began to pour from her temples, and her hands unconsciously clenched seeing what she saw. "Hikari¡­" "Hikari¡­" "HIKARI!!" "Y-yes!" She looked around frantically only to be met with Elizabeth''s face. "Oh, good to see you''re still with us! Anyways, we should probably get to our seats!" "Our seats?" "Yeah, over there!" She pointed, and as Hikari followed her finger, she did indeed see empty seats where only one man sat near. It was Artorias, he had most likely reserved it for them as he waited calmly as usual. Or was it even calmness he was exuding? It seemed so on the outside, yet Hikari could not help but sense something else¡­ Even if it were only for an instant.... Chapter 419 - Consumed

Chapter 419 - Consumed

As Hikari walked down the stairs, the almost homogenous sound of the crowds slowly began to be more separate in her ears. Her face saddened, it was just as she expected yet she could not let it bother her too much. However, the exact same could not be said about Regrit Oswald. He and Adam were abnormally silent, staring at each other. Both seemed rather unusual from how theyst appeared, most notably Adam Walker himself who seemed to be almost smiling as he spoke. "So¡­ You must be Regrit Oswald¡­ Brother of Kai Fatebringer¡­ I have forced myself to refrain from watching any of your previous matches¡­ I have been looking forward to our inevitable bout... It has been told to me by rumour that you are even more powerful than your older brother¡­ Is that true?" "..." "For someone who''s stayed quiet for the entire tournament, you sure do talk a lot. If you wanna see how strong I am then face me and see for yourself!" As Regrit spoke, the crowd became even more vocal hurling insults and mocking him. Yet, he did not even bat an eye to their words, either because he simply ignored them or that he could not care less about them. "Teach him some manners Adam!" "Put this kid in his ce!" His usual expressive face was stagnant, it was almost impossible to assume what he was thinking. That was the case unless they knew him and could sense the emotions he kept hardened beyond his clenched iron fists. "Confident¡­ I see that you and your brother are quite different¡­" Adam''s subconscious smile slowly began to reveal itself upon his face. "Very well, I shall see for myself then¡­" The crowd now cheered at Adam''s words as the announcer lifted his hands up into the sky and looked up at the approving judges. "ALRIGHT!! It seems like both fighters are ready for battle! The second semi-final match of this great tournament is about to begin between Regrit Oswald and his ming swords and Adam Walker with his puppets of shadows!!" "Three!!" "Two!!" "One!!" "BEGIN!" The signal rang throughout the entire space, drowned out by the sound of the exploding crowds. Immediately, with their des in hand unsheathed, both fighters disappeared from ce, and what followed was a nking of metal filling the air. Though, unlike most fights that were met in the middle, their figures shed far more near the right end where Regrit previously stood. In fact, it was almost as though Regrit had barely even taken two steps, such was the difference in overwhelming speed. And in that next instant, Regrit found himself flung towards the barrier surrounding the Arena, bouncing off of it before recovering safely to the side of the ring, a smile on his face and his swords crossed like an X, preparing to strike. mes rekindled his body, and his breathing was steadied as he stared towards his now nk-faced opponent. "Regrit Oswald¡­ You disappoint me¡­" Adam''s voice was deep, like an ocean of darkness consumed the entire arena in a thick miasma fueled by his emotions. His eyes were narrowed, and the grip upon his two-sided spear tightened almost out of anger before it loosened, allowing him topletely unsheath his weapon, now standing still with his arms fully crossed. The crowd stood silent, one almost inexplicable as they processed what they had witnessed... Even the canopy of judges could not help but widen their eyes and lean closer into their seats at such a disy. "What¡­" "..." "What did you say?" "ARE YOU TRYING TO MOCK ME!! Still, the silence could notst long, as there was a single voice that shattered itpletely¡­ Like the roar of a demonic fox. Regrit''s eyes shined like orange stars, and his body and de coated itself in mes that boosted him towards his unarmed opponent, almost immediately closing the distance. And with one mighty sh aimed directly for the head, he strived to end it all. Yet what he struck was not flesh, but nothing but thin air. Adam had suddenly disappeared from ce like he were never there. For a moment, he was ovee with confusion, only for that confusion to be reced by immeasurable pain in the next¡­ Adam''s fist found its mark on Regrit''s liver, rocking his entire system. He gagged, his eyes rolled back white to the back of his head, and he felt like his spirit had exited his body. Before he could even realize, in the corner of his hazy vision, he witnessed Adam Walker''s stern face, leaning closer to his ears. "Did you not hear me the first time? I said you disappoint me¡­ You''re nothing like your brother¡­ If I were you, I''d just give up now to save myself the embarrassment¡­ Don''t act like a lion when you''re nothing but a mouse¡­ Now¡­ Resign or stay down¡­ Understood?" His voice was nothing but a soft, deadly whisper in Regrit''s ears, yet to him, it was fuel for his zing heart. The me in his eyes was once again lit, and with all his might, he retracted his head and headbutted his leaning opponent. The blow took Adam by surprise and hit its mark, pushing him back to the edge almost off-bnce. "I SAID DON''T FUCKING MOCK ME!!" Regrit promptly seized the opportunity, entering his spirit mode and rushed his rocking, recovering opponent with his dual katanas. But sadly for him, that opportunity may have been hisst¡­ Like second nature, Adam ducked below Regrit''s slicing des, tripping him and kicking him to the side. Cracks filled the air from Regrit''s bones as he skitted far on the tiled hard ground. Still, despite such an impact, he stood back up on his two feet and rushed ahead once more with those same eyes, like that of a demonic raging bull of mes. "Foolish¡­" Adam punched him once again, even harder than before, yet Regrit could not stay down¡­ It was like childs y, every attack Regrit would throw no matter what he tried missed by a casual dodge that was nearly always followed by counterattacks. However, even though all the pain, bruises, broken bones and ruptured organs, Regrit persisted. A kick to the stomach, a jab to his nose, an elbow to the ribs, a punch in the eyes¡­ The pain would grow, yet Regrit could not care or had simply lost himself. Over¡­ and over¡­ and over¡­ and over¡­ and over again¡­ Nothing changed. In mere minutes, Regrit found himself looking like a bruised and bloated mess, barely even managing to breathe. Had there has been blood in this space, he would have undoubtedly been died scarlet. However, despite that, his attacks were still just as powerful and ferocious. It was a miracle to most that he could even stand. Yet, to the crowds now watching, it mattered not. At first, theyughed and cheered at the disy of dominance they witnessed, and some still did even now. However, for the vast majority, they grew abnormally still. Even the announcer could not bear tomentate. What they witnessed was no fight at all. It was more like a sad massacre¡­ At a man consumed with emotions smashing himself on a brick wall so many times, yet standing up from each one and trying again. Like a bully picking on the determined weak. It was almost too gruesome for some to watch. Certainly, had it not been for the set rules of the match, it would have all been over long ago. But as long as Regrit stood inside the ring, there was no end in sight¡­ At least that was the case until now. "DIE!!" "I have had... enough of thissss¡­" Thest thing Regrit saw from those hazy, slit-like, bruised eyes of his was a shadow of darkness, its corrupted teeth of white opening wide numbing his consumed body and soul¡­ Chapter 420 - A Lord To Serve

Chapter 420 - A Lord To Serve

For hours, the hospital room ofplete white had been dead silent, although there had been two people present. They sat near each other, yet they spoke no words as they stared nkly at the wall, almost like they were trying to disregard each other''s presence. The atmosphere was slightly awkward between the two. Both bore hair with bright colours of me. One, sat on the bed with hair of half orange and half gold while the other, a female with hair of bright scarlet was sat upon a stool to his side, hints of sweat on her face and her hands clenched on herp. But that all suddenly changed. The man on the bed abruptly sighed and sat up straight, catching her by surprise after he had kept to himself and ignored her for so long. "What do you want¡­ " He muttered, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. "You said we met before right? What''s your name, and state your purpose¡­" "Apologies!" She lowered her head. "I seem to have let my manors slip; I have yet to tell you my name¡­ My name is Abby Reid." "Reid?" His eyes gently opened. "Where have I¡­ Wait¡­ I''ve read this somewhere¡­ Wasn''t your entire family executed?" "Yes, they were," She nodded. "I was the only survivor all due to the mercy of my stepfather¡­" "Are you not distraught over that?" "No, of course not. I feel no remorse for the likes of them¡­" Rupert was taken aback by her sudden change of expression as he leaned back on his pillow. "Hmmm¡­ I see¡­ That seems like a sensitive topic, so I won''t pry any further. But, can you exin to me how you even know me?" "Kai Fatebringer. How can I forget? When we were children, the fire families would always frequently meet. The adults would go to their own ces while we children were left in another room to socialize. I would always get picked on by all the other kids, and especially my older sister but it was always you and your brother who stood by my side. Especially your brother who would always stand up to my sister like some sort of hero or champion. However, he was rather cold and unkind when I would try to thank or help him¡­ While you on the other hand were far more open to conversation." She gripped her hands together and stared down as she did once before. "I''m sorry but, I can''t seem to remember any of that." Rupert shook his head. "It''s not surprising. We fire households stopped doing meetings after I had turned ten. But, I promise you I speak the truth." "Don''t worry. The way you describe Regrit really does seem urate, so, I believe you. Still, I can''t guarantee that my intentions at the time for helping you was any pure. I had a troubled past you see. But that''s behind me now. Anyways, why exactly are you here again? Is there a reason I shouldn''t just send you away? I don''t ever remember inviting you." "I got special permission for entry¡­" "Figures¡­" "I came here to thank you for your help in the past and to ask something else." "Yeah? What is it? Spit it out," He responded with clear disinterest in his voice. "I spectated your match with Adam Walker. It was truly a spectacle to behold. The way you used fire was unlike anything I ever thought was possible. It was almost inhuman. Would you be willing to teach me do the same?" *Tsk* "Who the hell do you think I am?" He scowled. "Don''t think just because you got a pretty face and a nice chest that I would teach you." "OF COURSE NOT!! I would never!! I have something else to offer!!" She stood up out of her seat straight as an arrow with firm, angered, gleaming eyes of crimson that immediately left Rupert speechless. *Hmph* "Whatever it is you offer, I doubt I''d agree. And besides, why would you want a failure like me to teach you?" "Failure?" She raised an eyebrow, slowly sitting back down in her seat. "You almost beat the strongest student in history! If you are a failure, then I am even worse than trash!" "Well, then maybe you are¡­" "Excuse me!" "You don''t understand¡­" Rupert''s tone suddenly lessened, and the glow around the female to his side began to subside. "I had the power to win. I had more than enough. But I had lost and let down the person I admire most. Now, I doubt he''d ept me or even bat an eye at the sight of me without disgust." "Huh? Who is this person of yours? Some sort of superior?" "Maybe he is. Maybe he isn''t. You have no right to know his name." "Perhaps so! But I do have the right to speak what''s on my mind! And I think whoever it is, if that''s truly how they feel, then they are not worth serving!" "Ah¡ª How dare you utter those words!!" ck mes engulfed Rupert''s figure, slowly turning orange as they burned off the bedsheets wrapped around him. With a dominant force nearly unrivalled and a stare that could melt steel, he stood face to face with the girl ahead of him, yet despite his presence, she remained firm; no hesitation in those crimson eyes. "A great man once told me¡­ When I too was a pathetic sob like you! No! I was even worse¡­ He told me¡­ ''How many times do I have to tell you this! You have it all wrong! No matter how weak you get or how far you fall behind, you will never be useless or be mistreated by me because you are more than just a tool, a servant or subordinate.? So keep your head up high and think of the future! I am sure you will get past this eventually, I know you will!'' THAT''S WHAT HE SAID!! If you understand you tried your best and put your whole heart and soul to serve, that should suffice!" Despite the overwhelming pressure ahead of her, her voice remained strong. As she spoke, the weight pressed upon her began to lessen, and the face of anger upon the man ahead slowly widened following suit. "Of course! That does not mean that you should not always strive for sess, but that does not excuse any of this! Think about what you can do to make up for it and how you can better serve in the future! How is what you''re doing going to help your situation!? You think I don''t know anything huh? Do you! I''ve been in that exact same position as you before! Pathetic, drowning in my own delusional misery! IF YOUR SUPERIOR WOULD SO EASILY NEGLECT AND THROW YOU AWAY THEN HE IS NOT WORTHY OF YOUR TIME, EFFORT, OR LOYALTY!" "..." Once more, the room found itself engulfed in quiet. The aura that Rupert once held had all butpletely subsided. And his dark face that grimaced seemed to have rekindled some of its lost mes. "Those words¡­ They sound familiar¡­ Who was it who said them?" "Just like you won''t share the name of that seemingly heartless superior of yours, I have the right to reserve the name of mine as well!" She smiled. "I¡­ I see¡­ That is very understandable¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Hmmm¡­ Looking out into the future and trying my best to move forward¡­ Is that the reason why you came to me for help in fire training?" He smiled back. "That may be the case. I can''t say for sure. Anyways, so, what will it be?" "Hmph¡­ I guess I can consider your proposal¡­ Of course, depending on what it is you have to offer." He waved his hands enthusiastically. "Well, that''s a relief! Because I''m certain you won''t be disappointed!" Her closed her eyes and confidently puffed her chest out forward with a chuckle. But that was when their conversation abruptly came to a halt and the doors of the room found themselves flung open. "Hey Kai, I''vee to check up on you. Regrit''s match just ended and¡ª" A pink-haired girl emerged casually scratching her hair. Her head was looking towards the ground withzy eyes, yet those eyes became gaping when she looked up to see what happened. "Abby Reid?" "Elizabeth Elianora?" Abby responded. "Wait, you two know each other?" Rupert asked. "I guess you can say that¡­ It''s been a while since west met eye to eye. I can''t believe she''s still even alive... Anyways¡­ Seems like you''re suddenly doing a lot better¡­ Why is she here?" She exchanged nces between both of them. "That''s none of your business Elizabeth! What are you? Jealous?" "Jealous!? Jealous of what!? *Arg* Whatever! Seems like you''re better now! So, youing or what!?" "What is there toe to?" Rupert questioned. Elizabeth sighed shaking her head before responding. "Regrit lost his match against Adam Walker." "As expected," Rupert interjected. "So, you know that it means that it''s now Moby Kane against Adam Walker! The final round is starting in a few minutes! I thought I''de here to see if you''re good enough to go!" "Of course I''ming¡­" He sternly responded before looking over to his side. "Do you want to watch with us too?" "Uh¡ª No, sorry." Abby aggressively shook her head. "I''m already watching this match with my step-sister. I can''t simply leave her alone. Especially this match that we had been dreaming about watching for almost a year¡­" "Oh! I see¡­ Well, it''s your loss!" Rupert shrugged. "My sister should already be there waiting for me. I should not keep her waiting. Thank you for talking to me Mr. Kai, this conversation has been truly insightful. If it is okay with you, I would like to contact you after this tournament is over." "Fine by me! But it should really be me who thanks you¡­" They both bowed and exchanged a mutual expression, and soon after did Abby leave the room, leaving Elizabeth and Rupert to themselves. "Why was she here anyway? From when were you two friends?" Elizabeth questioned. "I''d stay as far away as possible from her. She''s only trouble¡­" "We only just met now¡­" He responded. "Is there something going on between the two of you?" "No! Of course not! She''s not that kind of girl!" "Yes! But YOU''RE that kind of guy!" Chapter 421 - A Betting Man

Chapter 421 - A Betting Man

The Arena where the final match was going to ur was still rtively empty. Only a few people arrived to take an early seat, most of whom were VIPs with explicit permission. Among these few people who had already arrived, six of them stood outstanding in a secluded canopy along the top. Usually, there would be somete arrivals, but considering the excitement brimming from each of their faces and the fact that it was the final match, none would dare bete. "Oh, man! Today''s been a long day, hasn''t it?" Vilhelm Ortiz, the ashen-haired leader of the Hunters guild stretched and looked over towards his fellow judges. "Agreed, it was quite long but I barely even felt any of it! This year''s fighters are truly something!" The meseeker''s leader responded cheerfully. "I suppose that is the case¡­ Yes¡­ They will certainly make for good soldiers for me in the future¡­" Yuria Dark, the mistress of the Sellsword guild chuckled, rubbing her cherry lips and parting her deep red hair covering her right eye. "Is this not the standard of power each year? This seems very close to when I was their age..." Grey Osborne, the young leader of the Hawk guild uttered. "Ah, I suppose that this is your first time spectating such a tournament." The supreme general interjected. "But, I can assure you what they speak is the truth. Last you entered this tournament, it had been the mostpetitive lineup of fighters in many years. This is the equivalent of that. No, maybe even beyond!" "I see¡­" Grey stroked his chin, his perplexity slowly bing into a smile. "I guess I''m lucky to be able to have this as the first tournament I properly spectate." "Yes! Miss Rayna Davis has done an excellent job managing and teaching this year! This is all due to her hard work and dedication!" The supreme general cheered, and suddenly, all eyes were ced upon her, catching her greatly off guard. "Oh no! Please, you give me too much credit! These kids are the true people you should be congratting! They are the special ones here!" She blushed, scratching the back of her head. "Oh! Don''t be too modest principal Rayna! Certainly, these kids yed a big part, but it was all you who made it happen! Don''t think I didn''t catch notice to all those extra hours you would put in every day!" The supreme generalughed heartily. "Miss Rayna, may I ask you a question?" Vilhelm Ortiz leant in closer. "Yes, you may. What''s on your mind?" "Well, I''ve been wondering¡­ By far, out of all of us, you spent the most time with these kids. Gave them tests and exams and watched them train in ss¡­ Has the results of today so far surprised you in any way?" "Hmmm¡­ Now that''s a hard question to answer¡­ But, to bepletely honest¡­ No¡­ Give or take a few surprises and upsets, this is exactly the result I expected." "Even the match between Adam Walker and Kai Fatebringer?" Grey asked. "Oh no! Not even I could do that!" She chuckled. "Hmmmm, I''m curious... that does assume that you predicted that the final match would be Adam Walker against Moby Kane." Yuria Dark smirked, narrowing her dull green eyes. "Yes, you were right to assume so miss Yuria¡­" "Ho-ho! So you truly had that much faith in that boy?" She bit her lip and lent back into her seat in amusement. "Well of course! He''s been the most promising student I''ve seen my entire life!" She puffed her chest forward, almost as though out of deep pride. "Your entire life?" Vilhelm questioned. "That''s quite the im miss Rayna! Are you saying even more so than Adam Walker?" "Perhaps¡­" She grinned. "So, out of these two finalists, who do you see as winning?" He leant in closer to his seat to ask and suddenly, the atmosphere was drowned by his words, bing abnormally anxious, yet that tense nature did not seem to affect the gleaming Rayna nor her judgement as she immediately responded. "I think it will be incredibly close, yet I believe Moby Kane will definitelye out on top." "Ah¡ª You can''t be serious right?" Vilhelm responded, with hints of sweat on his face. "I''m dead serious! Why would I be joking at a time like this?" Her grin widened. "Indeed! You must be jesting miss Rayna! My grandson had never lost a match in his life! This is all but guaranteed to be on his side! What do you all think!" The supreme general asked. "Of course Adam! There''s no doubt in my mind!" Vilhelm immediately answered. "I think Moby Kane will win!" Ashley Orbec grinned a grin not too dissimr from that of Rayna. "What?! Now, why would you think that!?" Vilhelm nearly jumped out of his seat. "Principle Rayna predicted it, so why would I not believe her? After all, she does know them the best doesn''t she? And besides, anything can happen, just look at Kai Fatebringer!" "Ash! You''re just being a bias Fire ability user as always! Besides, Fatebringer still lost! The same will probably happen here!" "Think what you''d like. Our bickerings won''t change the oue. All we can do is wait and see¡­" She shrugged, disregarding his words. *Argh* He shook his head. "Grey, Yuria. Who do you think will win?" He turned around and asked. "First of all, who gave you permission to call me by my first name." Yuria scowled with a sigh. "But, if you must ask, I strongly believe Adam Walker will win. Although, if Kane does win, I wouldn''t mind nor be too surprised¡­ That boy is always full of surprises¡­" She giggled. A slight smirk grew upon Vilhelm''s face. "Hahaha! At least someone else here knows how to be a proper judge!" "You''re acting immature Vilhelm¡­ And here I thought I was the most childish one here¡­" She shook her head, yet Vilhelm seemed to pay her no heed as he gazed over towards Grey who was the only man who had yet to answer. He crossed his arms and legs leaning back onto his seat with his brows furrowed, clearly deep in thought. And after several seconds, the humming and groaning exiting his mouth abruptly halted as he took a deep breath and gave his answer. "Moby Kane," "WHAT! But why!?" Vilhelm stood up, nearly falling out of his seat. "I don''t know¡­ Call it a gut instinct I guess," He innocently smiled, scratching the back of his head. Vilhelm''s face shook. The sheer shock and surprise on his expression could not help but insight suddenughter from the smug Ashley Orbec sat next to him. "Hahahaha! See! Now sit down and watch like a good boy! Let''s all see what''s gonna happen!" *Argh* He grimaced. "Fine! We''ll see!" He sat back down on his seat, a scowl on his face and his teeth anxiously gritted. "Come on people! There''s no need to get so passionate about this¡­ All I said was my own opinion. I had no intention of starting a war¡­" Rayna tried her best to help. "Toote for that now. Don''t worry, it''s not your fault, but peace is no longer an option." Ashleyughed. "Damn right it''s toote!!" Vilhelm interjected, a small smile slowly growing on his face. "How bout this! We''ll make a bet!" "Oh! I didn''t know you were a betting man Vilhelm!" She smirked. "Well! You thought wrong!" He returned the sentiment. "Okay, guess I did¡­ So, what you got in mind?" "Hmph! Let''s bet our guild weapons!" As soon as those words exited his mouth, the air enveloping the space suddenly took a drastic turn with a single thought shared through all of their minds. "Our guild weapons over something so petty!? You can''t be serious right?" Ashley''s face widened. "I''m in agreement here with miss Orbec. That''s far too valuable. The greatest treasure a guild possesses over a simple squabble?" Yuria added. "I''m dead serious! I''m going all in! What are you scared? You realize your idiocy now!" Heughed heartily, a small vein appearing upon Ashley''s face as she abruptly interrupted. "Fine! Guild weapon it is! I ept! There! You happy now!" "HAHAHA! YES! THAT''S THE SPIRIT!!" "M-miss Ashley. Are you sure about this? You could have just declined¡­ No one would have med you¡­" Grey leaned in and whispered in her ears. "And let this idiot have thestugh!? In his dreams! Besides, the principal, Rayna Davis herself said that Kane is gonna win did she not!? So, there''s nothing to worry about! I have full faith in her!" "B-but! Miss Ashley¡ª" Rayna tried to speak. "Shhhh!! I have full faith in you! No need to doubt yourself now! This is all on me, if things don''t go right I don''t me you at all!" "Ah¡­ Alright." "Children these days¡­" Yuria deeply shook her head. "Sir, what do you make of all of this?" She asked her superior. "I say let them enjoy themselves! Who am I to stop them! Although, I do believe that miss Orbec just made the rashest mistake in her life and that Vilhelm made one of his best. It''s more than clear that my grandson will be the victor. I feel bad, I''ll most likely reimburse her for her loss after this is all over¡­" "I appreciate your kindness supreme general sir but¡­ I have no need for your pity! I am ready to take ountability for all my words and actions when this is all over! That is, in the case that I am wrong that is¡­" Her eyes sparkled, and her smirk gleamed as she turned around to meet the face of her superior. Those were not the eyes of a desperate gambler betting against the ods, but the eyes of a shark certain of the choice she had made. "Indeed¡­ We shall see soon enough who is right or wrong¡­" Chapter 422 - The Finals (1)

Chapter 422 - The Finals (1)

By the time the judges finished their bickering, the empty arena had suddenly be far fuller. Every seat now had a bottom attached to it and those who could not find anywhere to sit simply stood where they could find the chance with seemingly noints. The amount of excitement generated in one room was immense¡ª? had the sweat been swept from their palms, it may have even satiated an entire basin of water. "Elizabeth! And¡­ Kai?" Hikari called out, waving at the two figures slowly approaching in the distance. "Hello!" Rupert waved and took a seat where his allies had been saving for him. "Nice to see you finally doing better¡­" Artorias remarked. "There was nothing to worry about! I shall take on any and all responsibility for my failure! But that''s not my main concern right now¡­ By the way, where''s Regrit? Hete or something?" "No, he''s not with us." Artorias sighed. "Not shocking following histest showing¡­ Still, I do believe he''s still somewhere out there, spectating from the crowds." "I see¡­" Rupert nodded. "Well, I don''t know much about what happenedst other than he lost pretty badly." As Rupert talked, Hikari clenched her hands tightly and looked away, yet no one seemed to notice. "That he did¡­" Artorias shook his head. "Hey, Kai¡­ You''re the most powerful one out of all of us here¡­ I''ve been wondering¡­ Who do you think will win? Be honest with me here¡­" "..." Around them, the volume of the cheering crowds swiftly lessened, yet that was merely an illusion in their minds. The almost casual sounding Rupert of before suddenly took a far more sombre tone, and the facade of calmness he once wore began to slowly crumble. "To bepletely honest¡­ I think his chances are very slim. Adam Walker is far stronger than I thought¡­" "..." Although Artorias asked for an honest response, he did not actually expect to receive anything of the sort. "However!" He abruptly continued. "Knowing him, he''ll still win in the end. He''s been so confident throughout. Even watching through all the matches. I''d be surprised to learn he has nothing new up his sleeve! Maybe the him in my mind I thought I knew would probably lose, but the him of reality will find a way to win! Have faith! Faith is absolute!!" "Okay, now that''s the answer I was expecting to hear!" Elizabethughed nervously, almost as though taking a sigh of relief. "I concur¡­" Artorias nodded. "I shall hold on to this faith as well. No matter how grim and meagre it may yet be¡­" "Don''t worry! Big brother will win! Just you watch!" Hikari leaned over into her seat with her fists clenched and an unknown expression behind the cloth covering her mouth. ?? ?? ?? "ALRIGHTTTTT!! It seems like everyone is finally here!! The crowds are filled, and the time hase!! Thank you all for spectating! And once again a huge thank you to our faithful judges watching over us! After a long day of non-stop battles and excitement, I expect you all to be rather tired. But! I need your energy for onest battle! ARE YOU ALL READY TO DELIVER!?" The announcer raised his hands in the air, and the crowds went absolutely wild. "That''s what I wanted to hear!!" The announcer yelled. "NOW! Without further ado! It''s time for the final match of the tournament!!" "Both need little to no introduction! They''ve wed their way up the ranks and proved to us all why they deserve to be here! Now the question is¡­ Who is it!? Who is it that is more powerful and deserving of victory!? Usually, I''d announce both fighters separately! But for this match, they shall arrive at once and meet each other eye to eye!! It is with great honour that I call upon our two finalists, Moby Kane and Adam Walker to enter the stage!" Simultaneously, the two gates set at opposite ends echoed the crunching of metal, slowly lifting and revealing the deep darkness lied within. And at once, two figures gradually entered. Although this was the final match, each fighter still wore the exact same standard equipment provided by them¡ª yet, that was not where they would express themselves. No, all such things found themselves stered upon their faces as they entered the light. Moby seemed rxed, almost too much so as he calmly strode across the paved path with a slight smile. It was a smile that was not disrespectful, but one that he bore as he subtly acknowledged the crowds. On the other hand, Adam seemed stone cold. Yet upon closer inspection, one could see slight sweat build-up and a small shake in his muscles and especially in his mouth, like he was trying to hold himself back. It was not out of nervousness, but clearly something else. The crowd erupted upon their arrival¡ª Like two volcanos exploded to shake the ground with mere voice alone. Each volcano cheered for its preferred fighters with great seething passion, almost abnormally so. And, surprisingly, both volcanos were nearly equal in size and volume, shing against one another fighting for supremacy. "Wipe that look off his face Walker!!" "Don''t let this phony beat you!" "Knock him off the throne Kane!! "Humble him down to earth will you!" Still, these people seemed passionate, yet rtively calmpared to the hoard of fan-girls who arrived armed and dangerous, ready to defend their favourites like life or death. "I CAME HERE JUST TO SEE YOU!!" "KANNNEEE!!" "ADAM I LOVE YOU!!" "AHHH¡ª YOU SEE THAT!! KANE WAVED AT ME!!" "NO ME!!" "WHO CARES ABOUT HIM!! ADAM IS MUCH BETTER!!" "SHUT UP!!" "Hey, kid, calm down. What''s the big deal?" "WHAT''S THE BIG DEAL!? YOU KIDDING ME!? IT''S MOBY FUCKING KANE!!" Beyond the incessant screaming and screeching, those were the only words some could make out. A great amount of these girls were underage and rather young, yet there was still a far greater amount of adults and fellow students who did the exact same thing¡ª Although, they were not much in the grand scheme of things and certainly not all females participated. In this modern time, power was everything. The music idols of the past were no longer as important as young uing fighters. These are the types of people who would be hard-pressed to go anywhere without paparazzi. At the same time, they both ascended the lengthy steps to the stage. And when they reached theirst, they found themselves staring eye to eye¡­ *Hphm¡­* A small grin grew upon Adam''s face, it was clear that he could no longer hold himself back. The rush of blood pumping through his veins must have been immense. "So we finally meet¡­ Moby Kane¡­" Chapter 423 - The Finals (2)

Chapter 423 - The Finals (2)

"I honestly didn''t expect you would be the one I would face in the end. I had heard many a rumour about you, you''re quite the topic of conversation you know?" "You honour me with those words grandson of the supreme general!" Moby bowed. "But I must ask, are these rumours good or bad?" "Hmmm¡­ I can''t say¡­" Adam shrugged. "I dare notin though. You havee this far, thus, this means you must be the strongest this school has to offer. Does it not?" "I can say the same for you as well!" Moby returned. "Oh¡­ Such boldness¡­" Adam''s grin extended. "Last I heard such confidence the battle turned out to be a great disappointment." "Don''t worry. That won''t happen, I can assure you of that." "I hope so!" Adam sighed. That was when Moby walked away from his position, heading to the center of the stage. And in a move that no one foresaw, he brought out his hands. "I hope we have a good match." Upon witnessing this sight, Adam''s face widened, and the quivering sweat around his body intensified. He walked up towards the center to shake his opponent''s hand in a sign of unforeseen sportsmanship. "I hope so too. And good luck." The crowd apuded as they shook hands. Their eyes locked, their warrior gazes trying to withstand the other''s pressure and read their minds. To the audience, all that was invisible, yet these mind gamessted long before they both went back to their own respective sides with the announcer rambling about how impressed he was at what he saw. Yet, for Adam who was still walking back, that voice was nothing but ambience to his own thoughts. ''This guy¡­ That gaze of his¡­ Solid, ominous, with no sign of wavering. my body is acting up now even more than before¡­ What''s up with it? Ever since I came on stage I''ve been shaking like crazy. My blood is pumping, my fingers are tingling¡­ Nago... why is that?'' The spirit, toothy red-eyed blob of shadows slowly emerged from his feet and slithered towards his back with heavy breaths. "Adaammm¡­ Indeed you thought right¡­ This man is different from every other¡­ Even more so than that fire fox of yore¡­ Your body is sensing something, and is reacting to it without your knowledge¡­ Yesss¡­ I can feel it too¡­ This is true excitement, Adam! The feeling of a worthy foe!" Nago''s soft hissing seethed into Adam''s ears like a typhoon, and his mask of proud indifference began to crumble into an open grin. "Yes¡­ I truly hope so¡­" "¡ª Now! Allow me to count you in for the beginning of this match to end all matches!" Adam noticed the announcer as he backflipped off of the stage and out of the way, yet his steady gaze was sharpened, never venturing to leave his opponent. "3!!" "2!" "1..." "BEGINNN!!" ''WHAT!?'' Adam inwardly shouted. He had yet to even blink, but the enemy once in his sights suddenly disappeared into thin air like he had never even stood there. For the second time in his life, he inwardly panicked, looking everywhere he could in the time he could, all but one direction. "UP!!" Like an eagle, Moby soared down from above, camouging with the blinding light shing down his ck, purple pulsating katana. Had it not been from Nago''s foresight erecting a shield of shadows, he would have most certainly been cut. Adam''s vision was blocked by thick darkness, yet luckly for him, he and Nago shared senses allowing him to see through his beating red eyes. Moby was pushed back from the attack, yet before he found ground he created several purple ice knives and threw them at him. But, just like his previous attempt, his attacks proved futile, bouncing off the erected shield of shadows that Adam immediately dispelled to go on the offensive. However, just when he thought he was safe, Moby once again disappeared into thin air. And the next thing he knew, a katana was stabbed through his chest, just narrowly missing his heart due to Nago''s quick thinking. *Gug¡ª* Adam gagged. And with shadows engulfing him, he exploded a force field around him, sending his opponent flying, giving him time to calm and catch his breath. Fortunately, a te of shadow armour built up within his body, yet he could still feel every moment of that sword plunged into his system. However, he would only get a mere moment to take everything in as a voice rushed in his ears. "Those knifes! He can teleport to them!" Nago immediately followed those words by shrowding the ground in shadows that engulfed the knifes, immediately destroying them. Once again, both fighters found themselves standing at their respective ends, the only difference being their condition and the expression upon their faces. The crowd''s cheering somehow became even louder, and the announcer began speaking with heavy breaths like he was on the verge of having a stroke, yet none of that even made a dent on either of their concentrations. Especially that of Adam. He could not allow his opponent to gain the upper hand once again and humiliate him by disappearing before his very eyes. He could not guarantee survival the next time such a thing would happen. And in that moment of deep intensity¡­ Something changed within him¡­ His eyes widened. Like a rush of power, or some sort of energy was now permeating through his veins. His eyes glowed, and his vision reflected that. He felt empowered. It was an odd feeling, yet one that he had experienced once before during those final moments with Kai Fatebringer. There was no doubt in his mind, it was the same exact thing¡­ And in the next moment, he noticed something. Two throwing knives were headed his way, only one was secretly hidden behind the other. That was when the figure from behind began to glow a deep purple glow and disappear. In that next instant, that same purple glow transferred over to the hidden knife. Out of instinct, his body reacted. This moment was so surreal. From before, no matter how hard he stared, that purple glow just before teleportation was virtually invisible in his eyes. But now, it was clear as day. There was a weakness in his moves¡ª a clear dy in teleportation, and Adam nned on capitalizing on it. With his two-ded spear in hand and shadows strengthening its tip, he dashed over towards that glowing knife like a blurry charging bull. And just like he expected, there he found Moby exactly where he expected. Their des shed. Moby only just managed to react and block his move. The absolute shock on his face was evident, filling Adam with untold euphoria as he sent him flying. And whilst Moby was recovering in the air, there was Nago waiting for him as a thin shadow slithering on the ground in waiting. When he reached above him, that was when he struck, turning into a shark and snapping his jaws down at him like it had just escaped the murky water of haze, leaving nothing behind in its wake but the sound of its roar and echoing jaws.... Chapter 424 - The Finals (3)

Chapter 424 - The Finals (3)

However, that sound of snapping did note from the sound of this shark of shadows closing its jaws, but from something different. Upon closer inspection, it was clear to see that the shark''s mouth was jittery, still slightly open, and looking even closer would reveal the face of a grinning man. His sword was horizontal propping up the shark''s mouth open. Its metal was bent abnormally and cracks filled it from edge to hilt. It was more than clear, the sword would notst. And like a toothpick, it then snapped in half, shrapnels of metal flying in all directions as the shark''s jaws finally locked in ce. Yet, this gave more than enough time for Moby to spring himself out of the jaws of hell, safelynding on the outside with heavy breaths. The crowd almost lost their minds, one second it seemed over, and in the next the battle continued. First, it was Moby with his katana stabbed into Adam, and now it was Adam nearly eating Moby alive. So much had happened in mere seconds that their hearts could not contain the excitement. ?? ?? ?? "You see Ash! You should have not talked so big! When Kane was ''winning'' at the start! Adam was clearly toying with him!" Vilhelm Ortiz chortled, and the supreme general who sat not too far away smiled his words, his right hand tightly clenched as he leaned on his left. "Toying? You blind? These two are giving it all they got! Supreme General sir, what do you think of all of this?" "..." "Oh! Apologies! I must have lost myself in the battle, what is it that you need?" "Ummmm¡­ What is it you think of this match so far, sir?" She asked with an odd expression on her face as she closely inspected him, her eyes always finding themselves locked on a certain part of his body far more than the other. "Oh, well! I think it''s quite obvious that my little grandson here is just having some fun. I''ve never seen him so happy before in my life! So if he''s happy, I''m happy! That''s my thoughts right now." Heughed heartily, leaning back on his seat and crossing his hands ready to enjoy the show. ?? ?? ?? The battle raged on, yet this time Moby had no de, his only weapon was his bare hands. At first, they seemed evenly matched, trading blow for blow¡ª It was clear to see that both of their martial arts and fighting prowess were unrivalled, especially for their age. It was like witnessing a dance between two master fighters weaving and attacking with grace. However, as the battle continued, a clear winner began to show¡­ Adam was not alone, Nago was always not too far away from his side. It was clear that Moby had trouble tracking and fighting both, especially with no weapon. And worst of all, every time Moby would try to teleport, he was always countered. All he had to work with was his ice, and that seemed far from enough for victory. In one final seemingly desperate attempt, Moby created several ice shards that shot out a beam of energy that surrounded Adam who immediately blocked, no, even reflecting the attack back at its sender. Yet before the beam could make contact with him, he sent those still floating shards towards Adam and teleported to one of them only to find himself blocked as soon as he did, paying dearly for it. Adam''s initial sh to Moby''s abdomen missed its mark, yet the shadow spike stabbing the shoulder and the kick to the gut that sent him flying most certainly did not miss. The two fighters once again stared each other down waiting for the first move. And sooner than expected, the first move dide, yet it was not in the form of an attack. "What''s with that look on your face Kane?" "Does it look weird to you? I hope I haven''t been a disappointment to you so far like you feared." "No! Not at all!" He chuckled. "But, I''ve seen through your teleportation, and your weapons are no more. how is it that you''re going to face me now?" "... Hmmmm¡­ Is that what it looks like to you? That sword the military provided was nothing more than a toy. I don''t need it¡­" He smiled. "I have a much better one!" Moby lifted his hands into the air, a smokey purple glow surrounding his fingertips. It was clear that he nned for an attack a powerful one at that. Adam could no longer hide his excitement, he lifted his des and prepared himself, charging his own attack to match. The ground shook, and the masses waited with baited breaths for something to happen. But, for several seconds, nothing came, at least until one wide-eyed man from the crowds noticed something and pointed. "WHAT IS THAT!?" There, above the heavenly clouds at the edge of the arena''s barriers, he saw a sword, one made out of thick, bright purple ice. Or, could was what he saw even be called a sword? It was more like an iceberg, in the shape of a sword. The detail engraved upon it was immacte, yet it quickly became hard to tell as such a behemoth began its journey down. Only then did Adam Walker catch notice, looking up past the subtle clouds of light. The crackling sound of ice crystals and wind permeated through the bubble, blowing away all in its path. However, even in front of such a monster, Adam smiled. Casually, he raised one hand that he had been using to channel his shadows and pointed it at the sky. And with a simple flick of his wrists, spikes and malleable tentacles of umbrae rose out of the ground, attacking the falling sword from every angle. Quickly, the sword began to crack, and not too long after did it shatter into several small chunks falling down to the ground likerge but simple hail¡ªpletely harmless. The attack was quite the surprise to Adam, not because it was strong, in fact, it was the contrary. It was far too weak, he had wasted too much power on dispelling it. Luckily, he had only used half of what he had been charging, yet he could not shake the disappointment from his face even as hail showered down on his head feeling more like a light shower. But that was when the disappointment was erased, and he finally realized¡­ His opponent still smiled, even as his ''ultimate attack'' was so casually defeated. His eyes grew wide as a goldfish, and the gears in his brain began to turn in overdrive. And at that moment, he witnessed that same purple glow that shed when he was ready to teleport, and in the next moment, he disappeared. Adam''s mouth flew open. ''WHERE!?'' He had kept his eyes on him at all times, he had yet to throw a throwing knife to teleport, he made 100% certain of that. So¡­ Now where did he go!? In that mere instant, his brain worked harder than it ever had in his life, and in that moment of immense shock, out of the corner of his eyes, he remarked an unnaturally bright purple light. Signals went off in his head like wildfire, it sensed danger, and his body moved on its own by mere instinct. And as he jumped away, he felt a stinging pain writhing out of his right side. And as soon as hended, regaining his bnce and vision did he see what it was¡­ His arm¡­ His right arm that was previously attached to his shoulder was cleanly severed. It was not a sight he would have ever imagined to see in his entire life, and what made it even odder in his mind was thepleteck of blood he would have expected to be spraying from it like a sprinkler. Still, no matter how much it hurt and how much he was stunned, his eyes could not dwell on his arm for long. No, it kept steadfast on his opponent and his zealous, almost bottomless glowing purple eyes. In his hands was a katana madepletely out of purple ice, almost an exact replica of the giant one fall dowing. And in that moment, Adam realized what had happened¡­ This seemingly harmless hail, all of it were marked for teleportation. It was all premeditated and nned. He used his own attack against him, he could not believe he was so easily fooled. ''He''s smiling¡­ Ha¡­ Ha¡­'' Slowly, the expression of shock and sweat engulfing him began to dissolve, and what came to rece it was not grief or anger¡­ No¡­ It was joy¡­ Pure joy and unrivalled excitement with every part of his body jittering in glee. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!! I didn''t expect that Kane! You got me good! BUT! This is thest time I''ll allow you to make a fool of me! SHOW ME WHAT YOU''VE GOT!! DON''T HOLD BACK!!" Chapter 425 - The Finals (4)

Chapter 425 - The Finals (4)

From all corners of the space, shadows emerged, flowing and pooling underneath his feet. Nago, his shadowy spirit,ughed with a bright glow in his eyes as he soon after dissolved within the ocean of darkness¡­ This thick dusk crawled up onto Adam''s feet and immediately spread towards his severed arm,pletely recing it with one madepletely out of shadows. And from there, the energy continued to flow up, reaching his neck until itpletely covered his grinning face in the thick, uniform, darkened scales. The shadows all around him hardened and formed into shapes, like a skin-like armour of scales, two massive wings springing out as he opened his ws and let out a piercing roar that shook the entire bubble around and destroyed some of the still falling hail that was then immediately stopped by the dome of darkness raised throughout the space. "NOW FACE MEEEE!! KANEEE!!" Theughter and excitement could be seen on his transformed face even more so than that of his original. His jagged pearly white teeth were always open and the sheer passion in his now beating red eyes was unlike anything the crowd had ever seen from him before or even imagined¡ª Especially considering this was nothing like the silent,id back and sombre Adam Walker they knew for their whole lives. In the face of this ever-growing darkness looming over him and the wind blowing upon his face from his opponent''s roar, Moby calmly stood his ground with that now all too familiar expression of confidence, seemingly unphased. And by simply closing his eyes and spreading his arms wide, he began his retaliation. "dly¡­" The flowing darkness began to sidestep where Moby stood as energy began pouring and flowing all around him, one ominous, pitch ck, and dark in nature, far different from that of his opponent. Such energy made the already trembling ground exponentially more unstable. His aura followed his body up, forming into scale-ted armour and gauntlets that possessed sharp, demonic ws. Honed ck scales slowly crawled up his face and stopped sitting firmly under his eyes in a serrated state. The shoulder pads were not at all symmetrical, the right one being far more spiked than the other that looked verycking inparison. Scaly wings that were bat or maybe even draconic in nature spread wide behind his back, and simrly, patterned scales extended from his neck all the way towards his glowing eyes, jagged and rough around the edges. In fact, the same could be said about the rest of his appearance, itcked polish. It was unbnced, some parts seemed to bepletely missing and others were mismatched. In all ces, the crowd never expected to see such a thing here¡­ An iplete spirit mode. Yet, even at such a sight, no one dared to raise their voice in protest, after all, the energy and presence expelling out of that man were undeniable¡­ In many ways, these two spirit forms looked very simr, and in others, they seemedpletely unique. Thus, the question on everyone''s mind was: through this now ever-thickening darkened arena, who will emerge victorious? "GOOD!!" Adamughed. "Now let''s go!" He waved his hands, and an army of Nago spirit summons emerged out of the darkness at his feet like a small battalion that he sent. And once again, in the face of such a force, Moby''s smilingposure remained as he nodded and rushed straight into battle. He opened his left fist up in ck and purple light, and after crushing it, the falling hail that was once blocked by the dome of shadows began to once again rain down, cracking and breaking through the erected barriers with more power and ferocity than before. Theserge spikes of hail made their mark on Adam''s summons who shrieked in defeat, and allowed Moby a perfect way in with his teleportation. The battle that ensued could only be described in one word¡­ Legendary. Their abilities perfectlyplemented and countered each other. Moby''s clones that he used to trick his opponent and confuse him with teleportation proved to be excellent distractions for the ever-growing army of summons, and Adam''s crafty maniption of his shadows was perfectly matched by Moby''s purple ice. Nothing but the sound of weapons nking and the ghastly whales of dark energy filled the arena. All sat silent, sweating uncontrobly watching the fight¡­ That was, assuming they could even watch the fight. Everything moved so fast that even the strongest beings sat in the crowd struggled to keep track of their movements as they flew zooming across the skies like dark blurs. The power ceiling seemed to have no limits, the more they fought, the more insane it all became The barriers ced to protect the crowd began to crack aggressively, more and more as the fight continued to the point that staff was forced to reinforce it as they fought. Yet, despite that fact, the two fighters never acknowledged that nor once ceased battle¡ª They were far too lost in the adrenaline and rush ofbat to even care about anything else, and that fact was especially true for the openly beaming Adam. ?? ?? ?? "So, Vilhelm, have you changed your mind yet?" Ashley Orbec smirked and nudged the man to her side who leant forward in his seat almost unable to believe his eyes. "Y¡ª y¡­ Yes Ash¡­ I¡ª I believe you okay! This Kane is no joke, even with his iplete spirit mode¡­" He gulped. "If this is how strong he is when it''s iplete, it scares me to think how he''ll be once it gets perfected¡­" "So, you ready to hand over that guild weapon of yours yet!?" She burst outughing. "EH!? Calm down there! Who said I think he''s gonna win!" Vilhelm immediately turned his head. "It''s a close match, but Adam''s still gonna squeak it out! Right supreme general!" He looked over to his superior looking forfort. "Ho ho! Yes yes! Don''t worry, leader of the hunters guild. My grandson is guaranteed victory. Most certainly so!" He confidently stroked his beard with his left. "Hmm? Are you sure about that supreme general? Your sweaty face and shaking right hand of yours sure tell a different story! You may be trying to hide it, but I can see through the cracks clear as day! You shouldn''t give him false hope you know." She smugly retorted. "..." "Ah¡ª" The fellow judges who sat all-around promptly stopped what they were doing as they stared directly towards Ashley with apprehensive expressions. ''Did she really just say that?'' they all thought in unison. For all their lives, they never once heard the supreme general be addressed in such a way and they expected to see some consequences¡­ Yet, despite all they thought, that was not at all what she received¡­ "Haha! You think so miss Orbec? I understand that I may not always predict things right, but your words may have been too harsh no? Nevertheless, we''ll see in the end who''s right and wrong! Oh, in fact, the match seems to being to an end now!" He assuredly acknowledged and leaned back onto his seat, which led the eyes of the judges away from him and back glued on the fight below. ?? ?? ?? Abruptly, the seemingly never-ending hail falling from above ended, and the cracked dome of shadows closed from above, never to be opened again¡­ As a result, the Arena darkened, and the thick miasma of Adam''s shadows finally began to take root. That was the first time the fight had stopped for even a moment as the two severely injured and heavily breathing fighters acknowledged what had happened with two drastically different reactions. Adam''s smile now extended two his pointy ears, and his eyes were now the only light that could be seen from within the space. For the first time, a look of true panic appeared on Moby''s visage¡­ His source for escape and teleportation was no more, and he was now defenceless in the face of Adam''s crippled yet still potent power. It was a moment that Adam could not allow himself to pass, thus he swiftly acted. With his newly summoned minions unhindered, he surrounded Moby from all sides. There was no escape as they shed and bombarded him while he tried his best to use his ice as a shield. "Surprisingly resilient¡­" Adammented. "But that ice can''t save you from this!" He hoisted his right arm up in the air in magnificent spectacle, and the shadows all around Moby began to dissolve and mould into a new form. Together, theybined in a new figure, that of a perfect sphere, a floating ball thatpletely encased Moby''s entire body. Whatever material that shadow was made of, it was solid to the core. The sound of heavy echoing of crashes emanated through the inky void as Moby hurled his hands from the inside trying to escape, yet no matter how much he tried, it all proved to be futile¡­ The ball did not crack nor did it even vibrate anything substantial. The sound of Moby''s attempts at escape sounded like music to Adam''s ears as his twitching arms continued to keep the ball afloat. "Ha¡­ haha¡­ It''s finally over Kane! This! This was it! Although it''s now over, you did not disappoint! That was by far the best time of my life! Thank you so much! But don''t think this is over! We will fight again! And next time! I will be stronger! And I hope you will be too! But for now¡­ GOODBYE!!" Chapter 426 - Defeat

Chapter 426 - Defeat

Adam lifted his open right hand even higher from his head, and with much tension in his arms, he closed his fists of darkness with a noise akin to shattering ss. Suddenly, the ball of shadows floating above in the sky began to twitch, and in the very next moment, the twitching stopped. The sound of agony and metal could not have been any clearer. The ball that had once been as smooth as could be was now a dishevelled monstrosity of spikes¡ª like that of a sea urchin. ''Ha¡­ Ha¡­ It''s over!!'' Adam cheered and celebrated in his mind, not trying to suppress that monstrous grin of his. "Heh¡­ Heh¡­" Now, there was nothing but silence¡­ His subtleughter was the only thing entering his ears beyond his own thoughts. That match had taken out of him more strength than he could have ever anticipated. He closed his sights and took a quick breath to ease the pain of his aching body. And that was when he opened his tired, blurry eyes only to see a light flickering in this dark, somber world of shadows¡­ ''Ah¡ª Beautiful¡­ Purple¡­ Purple flickering¡­ What could this mean¡­? hmhm¡­'' It was a subtle purple light on his still lifted right hand, one of an origin his distressed mind could not yet discern nor care about much past its extravagance. But that was when something happened that he did not ever anticipate at this very moment¡­ Abruptly, that purple light disappeared, and in its ce emerged pain¡­ Pain unlike he ever felt since birth. A sharp, stinging pain that no doubt originated from the heart. It stabbed deep, churned, twisted, burned and pulsated throughout his entire body. *AGH¡ª* He choked. His eyes of haze shot wide open, a feeling of lightheadedness and nausea took over, and he felt like he would pass out at any moment. But before he did¡­ "K-KAnneee¡­" He blurted. ''Impossible¡­'' The gears that had nearly halted in his mind began to work in overdrive, reinvigorated, fighting through all the pain. No doubt, that was the man he saw, holding his sword of ice stabbing it deep into his agonizing chest. But, how could that be!? He had died right before his eyes, impaled by several spikes that he erected from within, there was absolutely no escape! He should have been a mangled corpse! So how!? Unless¡­ Abruptly, a sh of light filled his vision, and a realization widened his face¡­ It was the memory of what happened at the start of the match¡­ No, perhaps even before¡­ ''THAT HANDSHAKE!!!'' That handshake of goodwill at the beginning may have not been at all what he expected. He, the man who stood above all in power had been tricked by something so elementary. Hazy, confused and weak in his knees he felt as if he could copse under his own weight at any moment. Yet, he gritted his teeth and pushed on still despite this weakness. He could not allow himself to fail. The voices in his head that normally contradicted each other now screamed in unison and told him to stop what he was doing and find a way out of this destion. The road ahead was a tough one and right now he wasn''t sure whether he was willing to walk it, let alone whether he was able, yet he went on nheless. However, his attempts quickly proved futile¡­ ''I¡ª I can''t move!'' A numbing sensation along with even greater pain met his resistance full force. It was purple ice that spread from his heart, all the way to the rest of his body¡­ He was being frozen alive. The fact that escape was futile quickly set in, yet the final nail in the coffin came from an outside voice. "Farewell¡­ you did better than I thought¡­" ''Ah¡ª B-Better than I thought you say¡­ Is that so¡­'' Adam''s expression calmed down, slowly soothing into a smirk, looking up with what little vision he has towards Moby''s face. ''His body was fine, uninjured even. Had I been underestimating how much damage he had delt this entire time? He could have killed me all this time no doubt¡­ Yet he waited for the perfect time to reveal his trump card¡­ He baited me all into this¡­ Incredible¡­'' His smile softened. ''...'' ''So¡­ This feeling¡­ I''ve never felt like this... It''s so utterly absolute¡­ bitter, yet at the same time so sweet... So infuriating, yet so satisfying¡­ So demoralizing¡­ yet so motivating¡­ Finally¡­ What could it be¡­? "Is¡­ Is this¡­ Defeat...?" Those were thest words that exited his mouth before he sumbed to the freezing cold, his vision slowly turning from crystalized purple to pitch ck as his body was now nothing more than a block of ice¡­ Suddenly, the dome of shadows was expelled, the light of the heavens above once again set in brightly on the nearly destroyed arena below where one man stood, his hands shielding his unustomed sights from the ring sun, all eyes silently gazing at him. Indeed, the match had ended, yet that fact did not seem to set in well just yet in the minds of the spectators. Thest most of them saw was Moby encased in a dense ball of shadows as he struggled to escape. After that, the ever-thickening darkness made it nearly impossible to see¡­ There, they held their breaths. They heard the sound of screaming, and they thought it was over¡­ Only to see a slight purple flicker beam from within the umbrae. And now, the victor had finally appeared standing before them, and the one defeated was encased frozen in a block of ice, no doubt unconscious¡­ Still, most curious of all was the expression he wore on his face through that solid sheet of purple frost. It was a smile. One that, despite defeat, was oddly peaceful and at ease, like he had fully epted his fate. "It¡ª It''s ALL OVER!! THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR''S HEAVILY CONTESTED ARENA OF CHAMPIONS! THE MAN WHO FOUGHT AGAINST THE ODDS AND PROVED HIMSELF THE STRONGEST!! MOBY KANNNEEEE!!" Chapter 427 - Objection!

Chapter 427 - Objection!

For a very brief, yet preciously peaceful span of time, a small sigh of relief exited the supreme general''s mouth. His furrowed temples softened, his arched backid back onto his throne and his heavily jittering right hand opened and rxed from its closed fists. ''Finally¡­ It''s all over¡­'' was the only thought present in his mind as he closed his eyes and once again sighed his stress away. After all, his grandson had finally won, and hiswful words were once again upheld like holy scripture. However, that brief moment of serenity was precisely as it was, brief, and the tower he had all built thus far came crumbling down on him head first. When he opened his eyes, the world of shadows was no more, and both fighters were once again on the ground, yet instead of Adam standing victorious, he was in a block of ice, and instead of a mangled corpse, Moby stood tall and proud as the victor. ''WHAAAATTT!!!?!?'' His eyes spurted bloodshot as he leaned forward in his seat with an open mouth, yet despite such an act of pure instinct, he could not speak even a single word, all went on within the machinations of his mind. ''Ah¡ª !! How could this happen!? There was no mistake! There should have been no way! I MADE SURE OF IT!!'' "Hahahahaha! I knew it! See that Vilhelm! My main man Kane won! You ready to pay up now!? I expect my new guild weapon delivered by tomorrow, 12:00 PM sharp country X time," Ashley openlyughed, gloating in the glimmer of sweet victory. "This¡ª This can''t be¡­ Supreme general! How did Adam lose! I thought you we¡ª" "Yes! And I was certain!" Cade Walker, the supreme general interrupted the sweating man to his side. "There must have been something wrong! I''m confident of it!" "B¡ª But sir¡­ Are you really s¡ª" "YES! That''s the only way!" Everyone watched stunned within the canopy, they had never once seen their general act in such a way, even in the most intense of war meetings, he had never once crumbled nor lost hisposure. He was always ten steps ahead of everyone else, if anything, this was further proof to them of how certain he was of victory. Once he noticed the gazes of shock, Cade calmed himself down and once again leaned back in his seat with narrowed eyes, his gray brows once again furrowed as he stroked his beard. As he was thinking, the announcer continued on with his praises and words of victory¡­ And in the midst of it all, the supreme general''s face lit up in realization, his eyes widened, and a surge of what could only be described as subdued rage overcame him as he abruptly stood out of his seat and looked over below. "Moby Kane! As the winner of this entire tournament, would you like to give us and all the people watching at home your finalments and closing words? What is it that you would like the world to know as you now stand victorious?" The announcer leaned in closer and asked a confidently smiling Moby who immediately nodded. "Yes! Of course! I''d be honoured to! What I¡ª " "OBJECTION!!" Suddenly, a loud, authoritative voice rang, echoing to all ends of space¡­ From boisterous, Immediately, the crowd was silenced, left sweating as their heads snapped to where the sound emerged, such was its power. "S¡ª Supreme general?" Few muttered, yet all thought within their minds. "With my power as supreme general of the military and overseer of this tournament! I hereby have you disqualified!" ''Disqualified!?'' The crowd gasped, yet before they could speak they choked over their own words from such astounding pressure. Most in the crowd were gasping for air, and some forgot how to breathe altogether. Yet, despite that, even as the target of such force, Moby stood his ground, no, he owned it with confidence,pletely unmoved. In fact, some could have sworn he even looked smug. "Supreme General sir! Excuse my rudeness, but what mistake have Imitted to be the bearer of such harshness!" "Don''t you dare fool me boy! I know what you did! You had marked my grandson for teleportation, yet the match had yet to even begin! That is clear cheating! And as such, you will not only be disqualified, but also severely disciplined to dare pull off such a stunt!" "Me? Cheating? I would never!" Moby raised his hands. "Little for me to argue with the supreme general himself! But even if that were to be the case. Where in the rules does it state that what you described is against it?" "What!?" The supreme general retorted. "You heard me! State to me where in the rule book does it say that I''m not allowed to set up traps or tactics until the referee starts the match?" "..." "Hey, boss, should I keep running the cameras? This is looking bad¡­" One man from the side nervously stuttered. "Shut off the cameras!? YOU CRAZY!? We''ve just struck gold! Keep rolling like your life depends on it! I''ll walk on your corpse and continue to do it myself if you pass out! UNDERSTOOD!?" "Y-yes sir¡­" "..." "Hmmmm¡­? Nothing? Still thinking?" Moby ced his hands on his right cheek like he was pondering deeply. "You know why you can''t tell me? It''s because no such rule exists! I''ve carefully read the entire rule book from cover to cover many times over, yet nowhere does it state such a thing! In fact! I am far from the only one to employ such tactics! As long as your opponent doesn''t pick up on it, you''re free to do so!!" "S-such! Such disrespect! How dare you speak to your supreme superior in such a way!" Veins pulsated out of the supreme general''s skin, the rage he had held back before seemed to be on full disy, forcing some spectators on their knees, yet there Moby was with that same expression as before. "With all due respect sir, you may indeed be my superior. Yet, even if you are, does that not give me the ability to stand up for myself!? Here you were ready to threaten me with cruel punishment and disqualification over somethingpletely vague and made up, this is the least I could do! I am far from the only person to employ this legal tactic, yet you single me out. Why would that be¡­?" "..." "Don''t answer that! That''s a rhetorical question! The answer is clear! You''re clearly biased towards your grandson!" That was the thought on everyone''s mind, yet none had the audacity to speak it out loud, and even through all that happened, they never expected Moby to keep going under such a deadly re. "And to that, I can''t me you. How could you not be? He''s family after all. However, sometimes one must distance themselves from rtives and loved ones in the pursuit of being objective. Still, second ce in such a tournament is no small feat, it could have gone either way! Your grandson was extremely formidable, far more than the imagination. I greatly look forward to our next encounter! And I truly hope that maybe, we could call ourselves friends someday¡­" "..." "I¡­I''ve calmed myself¡­ And¡­? I apologize for anything I could have said or done, I truly do... I ampletely willing to relinquish my victory to him now, but would such a victory be satisfying to him? Would he want it or even stand for such an empty triumph? That''s something to think about..." "..." "A few minutes ago¡­ Very narrowly, it could have been me in his position now, that is something I have been thinking about ever since it all ended. You should not be saddened! Nor should you be angry! Ipletely understand, and I appreciate having a supreme general with a big heart! Someone who truly cares! And for that, I am thankful! truly, thank you, supreme general Cade Walker!" *p* ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ *p* ¡­ ¡­ *p* ¡­? *p* p* *p* *p* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP* Swiftly, the previously muted crowd went wild, pping and cheering even more than before, praising the supreme general. A reignited me by a single match dropped into a field of grass spreading like wildfire, and that match was none other than Moby''s passionate speech. More than before, the supreme general was left utterly speechless. Sweat dripped from his every pour and his eyes could not stop from shaking. ''What''s going on¡­ How¡­ How could this boy bring this crowd up from the dead like some sort of necromancer¡­ Impossible¡­ They''re so passionate, even I couldn''t do such a thing, yet this measly little boy¡­'' His mind spun round and round, looking for an escape, yet he found himself choking over every word that he wanted to utter¡ª all led to a dead-end¡­ He waspletely cornered, bested in something he thought he had mastered. If he pushed on despite it all, he would bebelled as harsh and tyrannical, and his appeal with the masses would plummet. And, on the other hand, if he were to ept and try to damage control, it would prove all of Moby''s words and ims as factual, and his grandson would remain the loser. All moves led to checkmate¡­ Faced with such an ultimatum, he had to make a move¡­ And out of both moves, he chose the lesser of two evils¡­ "Huh¡­ huh huh huh¡­" The supreme general''s face rxed, and his expression went into softughter¡ª his aura was immediately dispelled in the wind, diluting as if it were never even there. "Apologies boy! I should be the one thanking you for your kindness! The crowd as well! Such bright talent indeed! Thank you for looking at things through my lens as well! Not many people could actually do such a thing during stressful times! I suppose the realization that my little grandson is no longer undefeated really had me acting abnormally! I guess I should look forward to him now having a new rival!" Heughed heartily. "Young Moby Kane! Winner of this tournament! How could I ever make it up to you after what I''ve done?" "Sir!" Moby smiled, saluted and deeply bowed. "You grace me with such words! I dare not ask for any reward! After all, as you said, I have already won myself a new rival! What more can I truly ask for?" Chapter 428 - Surprise Visit.

Chapter 428 - Surprise Visit.

Atst, the tournament was finally over, yet the headache brewing in the mind of the supreme general had just only begun. For several minutes, a smiling facade remained on the supreme general''s visage like a mask, hiding what trulyid within. All the spectators had long cleared out from the stage, and all thepetitors along with them. What remained still present were the canopy of judges, still excited as ever conversing about the match that had recently transpired before they left to prepare for the award ceremony. "You see! You idiots should have trusted the principal! She knows her students best doesn''t she! Such a good teacher!" Ashley Orbec grinned, wrapping her hands around the slightly flustered principal Rayna Davis in celebration like they were best friends. "Miss Orbec! Please stop! You''re giving me too much credit! It was but a hunch!" "Hahaha! Nonsense! Nonsense! You were right on the mark!" Sheughed. "Hmmm¡­ I do admit, that boy¡­ Kane¡­ Hmmm, quite the rare specimen¡­ Shame on me for thinking lowly of him¡­" Yuria dark parted her hair and bit her lips as she leaned back and crossed her legs. "Although I am not inplete ord with the fashion you make of this miss Yuria, I am in? general agreement, the boy is special. His abilities are still rough around the edges as well, he has so much untapped potential. Don''t you think so sir Vilhelm?" Gray Osborne, leader of the Hawk guildmented and looked around to see his fellow male judge. "Huh? You asking me? Can''t you see I''m too depressed, crying over losing my guild weapon here?" "You can continue crying Vilhelm Ortiz, but while you do that I''ll think of how I can make that boy my own¡­" Yuria dark giggled, narrowing her eyes. "Wha!? You didn''t even have faith in him before it started! What makes you think he''ll join you! With two guild weapons at my side now he''ll no doubt join me!" Ashley proudly eximed. "Ladies, Ladies, calm down. We will see when it all happens. I also look forward to seeing who it is that will win him over. He and Adam Walker were evenly matched, but sadly for us, Adam will no doubt follow in his grandfather''s footsteps and join the ranks of the military, isn''t that right Supreme General?" Grey Osborne looked around to meet the cheery yet dull eyes of his superior, and after a moment of odd silence, his eyes moved and he began to speak. "Well of course! My grandson is not for sale to any of you! He''ll no doubt be my sessor! We, humans, are strong, but not immortal! Even I!" Heughed out loud before casually standing up from his seat. "Where are you going, sir? Do you not want to rx and hang out with us?" Vilhelm raised his head and asked. "Apologies young leader of the hunters, I would love to stay here! But sadly I cannot. This is no time for rxation, I may be old, but I''m still the supreme general. There''s always work to be done!" He chuckled heartily, like the tenderugh of a caring grandfather and with an equally bright smile to follow it. "Damn! I would never survive being supreme general! But at the same time, it makes me so grateful to know we''re in good hands!" He raised his head, almost forgetting about his earlier depression, only for it to be once again returned in full by the supreme general''s ensuing words. "Oh, and I did not forget! I''ll try my best to reimburse you for your lost guild weapon. It may not be exactly as valuable, but I''ll try my best! It was my fault you lost it after all!" "O¡ª Oh no¡­ It''s fine¡­ Please¡­ You don''t have to¡­ But if you really want to¡­ Then I guess maybe you can give me something..." Vilhelm reverted back to his earlier state, and the entire room collectively fell intoughter. "This has been quite the experience conversing with all of you! I''ve been to many of these over the years, yet something tells me that this one will be special! I''ll certainly have a hard time forgetting this one! I should get going though! So long!" Everyone said their farewells, and the supreme general coolly walked from his seat heading towards the teleportation corridor where he had arrived. Yet, before he entered, he heard a voice call him from behind¡­ "Open your right-hand supreme general! You''re too stressed, I can see the veins! Or is¡ª" It was the voice of Ashley Orbec, leader of the meseekers, lively and upbeat as always. Yet, before he even had the chance to hear it all let alone react in his ailing mind, his body had already been whisked far away, leaving him all alone back in the istedfort of his own room. Suddenly, his heart sank, his brain began to throb and his head began to hurt. It did not feel real, almost like he was undergoing an out-of-body experience. His eyes widened, his racing heart and heavy breathing entered his ears as he witnessed droplets of his own sweat slide from his face and onto the teleportation pad below. And before he could think any further, he slowly moved his head and steered his wide eyes onto his right hand¡­ Indeed, it was closed shut like adamantine, sweaty, shaking, veiny, and bright red. His face was again broadened in panic as he tried to unclench his hands. And even for him, in that brief instant, he did not know how, until he truly forced himself to do so. "For how long was that thing like that¡­" He muttered under his radically increasing breath. "Ashely Orbec¡­ Did she figure me out? No! She couldn''t have! And even if she did! She has no evidence! No one would believe her!" He slowly tried tough off his worries and return that fake lively mask of his, yet no matter how much he tried he simply could not do so. "Kane¡­ That boy¡­ That evil spawn! It''s all his fault! My perfect public image has been stained! My poor grandson... He ruined everything!! Why¡­ WHY WHY WHY WHYY!!? If it weren''t for him I''d¡ª" "..." "No no no no¡­It''s not his fault¡­? It''s all mine hahaha¡­" He gripped his old wrinkled face with all his palm. "I greatly underestimated him¡­ Like his parents, I should have gotten rid of him while I had the chance, just to be safe! Even worse! I allowed him to gain poprity and power right underneath my nose!! Unlike his unknown parents who knew nothing about how society functioned, he has the people on his side! They worship him like the new saviour of our race! There would be public outcry if¡ª" "Arrrrghhhh!!" He heavily shook his head. "''Arrrrghhhh'' Indeed, you''re put in a tough spot now aren''t you Supreme General of the Military." Abruptly his world of dark, self-istion was invaded by another¡­ The sound of a female, one that he had had never heard before, strong and proud unlike any other he could even dream of. His senses were heightened, and his spine shook like crazy for reasons he did not even know. "Ah¡ª" He quickly scanned around the room that he thought he was alone in, and only then did he notice a figure carelessly sitting upon his couch looking the other way, only the back of her silky head of purple-tinted white hair showing. "So¡­ We finally meet face to face¡­ Do you act like this often? Quite pathetic for the overlord of these humans don''t you think?" She casuallyughed from her seat, her head still turned. "What is this!? How long were you in here!? Who are you! This is my special room! There should have been no way for you to enter unless given my permission!!" "..." "Hmph hmph¡­ Oh! Apologies! I must have forgotten to introduce myself! My manors must have been getting rusty, I rarely get the chance to actually talk to people you see!" She chuckled once more, now standing up from her seat yet still not turning around. As that happened, the supreme general''s imagination went wild, willing things into existence that were not even there. Subconsciously, he took a step back from where he stood, his eyes solely on the woman ahead past the world of nightmares "I am known by many names all throughout the three realms. But you, you can call me by the name I''m most famous for¡­ I am queen Avilia Graymore, the first demon lord¡­" Chapter 429 - Confrontation

Chapter 429 - Confrontation

"D¡ª Demon lord¡­" He quaked, taking another unconscious step back. "Did I stutter? Lord of humans¡­" Finally, she revealed her face. On the outside, she looked merely like any other school girl. Her smile was wide yet innocent. She was rather attractive, her features lookedpletely human, and the outfit she wore perfectly matched that of any ordinary girl. Yet, the feeling he received from her was anything but ordinary¡­ She had no horns, no fangs, no wings, and her aura was none existent beyond a slight glint in her purple gaze. However, from his shaking eyes, those things came to existence. Feelings that had remained dormant for his entire life had suddenly resurfaced in full¡­ Primal fear¡­ Intimidation¡­ Inferiority¡­ He once thought of himself as a dragon ruling over a hoard of puny drakes, but now he felt as meagre as a rodent. His imagination yed tricks on him, making a reality of his internal fear. With every step she took forward, he unknowingly took one back. Step by step, quickly yet so so slowly¡­ Until suddenly, he ran into a wall, and his weak legs could move no more. That sudden impact jittered and ruptured his entire body, like a p to the face returning him back to his supreme senses. ''What the hell am I doing!!'' He inwardly screamed. ''I, the supreme general, am running away from this little girl! Heh heh¡­ I truly have sunk so low, haven''t I¡­ All due to that Moby Kane¡­'' Abruptly, his expression disying primal fear was changed. He gripped his fists tight, his bent knees soared back up, and subtleughter exited his mouth. "Demon Lord huh? DON''T MAKE ME LAUGH!! LITTLE GIRL! YOU DARE TRESPASS ONTO MY PRIVATE LIVING QUARTERS AND TRY TO MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME!? I DON''T CARE HOW YOU LITTLE SLUT MANAGED TO GET IN HERE!! YOU WON''T FUCKING SURVIVE!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU''VE GOT YOURSELF INTO!! IN THIS WORLD! I AM GOD!! AND YOU WILL OBEY!! YOU WILL SOON SEE THAT!!" He shook himself off, smiling with his teeth openly gritted, and his eyes monstrously beating red. Dark aura exited his body, covering the entire room in dense mana. The ground shook beneath his feet, and the previously organized room began to crumble, like a hellish tornado had suddenly spawned. "NOW!! WHAT DO YOU¡ª" And at that moment, his sights dted, and his heart lurched, sunken down once again. He peered ahead¡­ through the cyclone of murky madness, there she was, the self-proimed demon lord standing there like she was feeling the morning breeze of a summer day. Her eyes glimmered through the darkness like stars, and with her casual strut forward through the dark blizzard, those stars becamerger and brighter, apanied by that same smile of domination. Once again, he lost control of his body, no matter how much he wanted to move, all he could do was wait and watch from the outside. And before he even knew it, she had already arrived in front of him, her hands slowly extending towards his eyes until his feet could no longer feel the ground. His aura dispersed as though it had never even existed. Her hands were sped around his mouth, raising him high up in the sky. He heard cracks, his skull was slowly crushing and copsing onto itself. "God of this world!?" She burst out in hysteria as the supreme general tried desperately to escape her iron grasp. "I''ve fought and killed so many gods in my life, you don''t even cut it for a servant boy! Are you sure you don''t care who I am!!" Her aura of royal purple intensified,pared to what the supreme general disyed, it was not on the same ne of existence. He inwardly screamed. His eyes were locked onto hers even still, and upon seeing her smile further, he panicked. Like a worm, he tried to wiggle himself out. Human nature kicked in. He frantically tried to escape, he bit her fingers, yet all that led to was broken teeth, like attempting to gnaw at diamond, and when he tried to kick her with his dangling legs, it rattled him to the core, like he was trying to kick open the gates of hell. "So! This is the supreme general of the military!? Doing such petty tactics! Quite pathetic don''t you think?" She crushed his face further, and his world was narrowed and slowly consumed by darkness¡­ Despite his fake, virtual body, the pain was insurmountable. It would not stop even as all went dark¡­ Had he died? Was he in some purgatory? No, that couldn''t have been¡­ He still felt that tight squeeze sucking him dry, and death was impossible in such a world. His panic continued, until suddenly, he was dropped, and he found himself crushed on the ground barely able to breathe from his deformed, almost alien-like face. "Kh¡ª" He coughed with no restraints, scanning all around him. There was nothing¡­ The room he once stood in was no more, and all that remained was a vast space of empty darkness¡­ When he looked down, he managed to see the faint figure of his old body, shaking uncontrobly to the point that the most advanced vibrators would pale inparison. ''Am¡ª Am I dead?'' He thought once more¡ª An illogical thought, yet somehow the most logical thing he could think of¡­ But that was when in this darkness, he heard a sound¡­ And heart began to thud like an engine attempting to blow out of his hurting chest. And out of pure reflex, he turned his head, only to gaze upon the figure of that same demonic school girl as before. Was this some sort of hell? Punishment for all the sins he hadmitted? Perhaps divine retribution? He knew not the answer, but his body most certainly did¡­ It was a pure living nightmare. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!!" He attempted to flee, yet no matter where he crawled, there she was, smiling eagerly at him with the same amused expression, omnipresent in her step. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen¡­ I domend you though, yousted much longer than most people, and far exceeded my expectations. I can''t imagine an ego so big that even for a second, you believed you could defeat me¡­" She giggled. "AHH¡ª Who the hell are you!! This is my VR space! I''m in control here! What have you done!! Where is this ce!! I can''t even escape back into the real world!" "Huh? Did you not hear me? I don''t usually repeat myself, but just because I''m in such a good mood, I''ll humour you. I am Avilia Graymore, the first demon lord! Do you really think that your puny existence, even as a cheating entity, can handle my soul? Don''t make meugh! This world is mine to control! I can do whatever I want! Try all you might, but there is no escape!" "YOU CAN''T BE!! THAT''S IMPOSSIBLE!! I¡ª" His words were cut off short by pure pain¡­ "AHHH¡ª" Purple energy engulfed him, and he began to burn. Yet it was no mere burn, itcked heat, and more than made up for it in pure pain. It was unlike anything he even knew could have been possible. Had any other form of torture been offered to him, be it slowly peeling his skin off with a rusty scalpel inside and out or bathing in the hottest magma from across the universe, he would have absolutely chosen that alternative. However, despite such agony, all he could focus on was her gaze beyond the mes, piercing into his very soul like peering into the depths of hell. That shook him more than anything, yet it was her otherworldly voice that set in, etched, scarring his heart. "I made the exception to repeat myself twice¡­ But no man, in my thousands of years of existence, has ever lived to hear me repeat myself thrice¡­ When I speak... When I move... When I breathe... you listen and understand¡­ My word isw¡­ You will not escape... No one will hear your agony no matter how loud your screen or call for help... Your pathetic existence is in your hands... Understood?" And with those words, the pain disappeared, leaving him to his own devices once more. "Understood¡­" He murmured, catching his breath. "Demon lord¡­ What business do you have with me of all people? What have I done to deserve this?" "Oh! So we''re finally getting to business, are we! Smart man!" She smiled. "I''vee here to ask you a few questions¡­ Care to answer them? Oh! You too! You can answer as well!" She snapped her finger, and like tugging a spirit out of his mouth, something escaped into this new existence¡­ It was a dark, ominous figure. Toothy with bright red eyes, very simr to Nago, the spirit possessed by Adam Walker. "You¡­ How did you pulllll meeeee outtt¡­ How is that possssible?" He hissed, clearly stunned out of his mind. "I have my methods," She retorted. The supreme general watched in pain and horror as his very own spirit was forcefully ripped out of his body, yet he could not remain on the hurt for too long, lest he dare make her repeat herself. "You need questions answered? I''d be honoured to help! Ask me anything! Kath would as well answer, I''m certain of it!" He looked over towards his spirit. "Thisss being¡­ I¡­ Yes¡­ I shall answerrr¡­ I am at your will..." "Excellent!" She smirked. "Let usmence with something rtively simple¡­ Did you cheat in order to rig this tournament in your grandson''s favour?" Out of all the questions and possibilities that sprung up in his mind, that question had not even been on the radar. It was an easy question to answer, yet he thought deeply for several seconds, gulping with a shaky smile. "No! Of course not! I am a man of honou¡ª AHHHHHHHHHHH!!" That stinging pain that had yet to leave his skin for long suddenly returned, only this time it was somehow even more painful to him and his spirit summon. "You dare lie to me? Who do you think I am? You got burned twice as hard for two lies. Not only are you a cheating man, but youck all honour¡­ I am well aware of that right fist of yours¡­ Whenever it was clenched, you made it so it would greatly raise your grandson''s attack power to your will. That was the only reason he ''defeated.'' Kai Fatebringer." *Cough* *Cough* He barely managed to recover. "YES!! YES!! I admit it! I did! But I never intended to! It was ast resort I never dreamed of even using! It was obscene that Kai Fatebringer was that powerful! He must have also been cheating! I''m certain of it!!" Chapter 430: Confrontation (2) Chapter 430: Confrontation (2) "..." "Cheating you say¡­ Bold of you to assume that is the case¡­" She dimly spoke. "Yes! He had to be! I may be in control of this space, but there may have been forces from the shadows! The Fatebringer family is one of the most powerful in the entire world after all! A useless brat like Kai Fatebringer should have been nothing but fodder! He and that Moby Kane!" He proimed, adamant and aggressive in his approach. "He was not cheating, not at all¡­" "... E¡ª Excuse m¡ª " "You dare make me speak again!?" "Ah¡ª" He gulped, his gray hair jumping numb. "Kai Fatebringer is a loyal servant of mine¡­ A greater demon! It''s only natural he would be far more powerful than that puny grandson of yours! You are the only cheater here! The only reason Moby Kane managed to triumph was because he bided his time and waited for the precise moment to finish it off while you were unaware and could not further boost his power!" ''He¡ª HE KNEW!?'' He inwardly screamed. "AHH¡ª" His eyes widened in horror, and in the next moment, his head came crashing down to earth like a meteorite in prostration. "Please forgive me oh great demon lord! That possibility never urred! I had no idea! Believe me! Had I known such a thing I would have never¡ª" "Of course you wouldn''t have!!" She roared from above. "You only regret it now due to consequences!! Spineless! You had absolutely no intentions of a fair match, but a guaranteed victory! ¡­ That is somewhat admirable¡­ Doing something for your own devices under the public eye¡­ Yes, a very demonic thing to do indeed..." "Mm¡ª" He gulped trembling in confusion. "Speak not, for that is the onlypliment you shall receive from me! I will note here to im to be some kind of saint who would never do such a thing! I am a demon! Yet I am no hypocrite iming to be a saint even at a time like this!" "Y¡ª Yes! I understand my mistake! It must be habit to try to make myself look good at every passing second. Please forgive me! Yes!! I truly am a corrupt, despicable human being and a disgrace of a leader! I''ve known that for long! I cannot count how many times I''ve deceived and oppressed for my own benefit!" "..." The space was deadly silent, existing in a state of unease within the mind of Cade Walker. Time slowed waiting for any response, and he dared not lift his head. All he could hear was a ghastly voice whispering in his mind and the shaking and ttering of every bone in his entire body. The pain of waiting almost outweighed the pain of the burn¡ª He could not take it any longer, so he forced his mouth to open and break the silence. "Oh¡ª OOoOh great demon lord¡­ Is there any more questions you want to be answered?" "Why yes!" She gleamed. "Whatever question your gracious majesty would pose to a lowly human like me, I''d be honoured to¡ª" "Yeah yeah¡ª enough with the formalities," She scoffed, and the supreme general stiffend once more to her own amusement. "Firstly, I will ask you one simple question¡­ Serena and Horace Kane¡­ What happened to them?" "WHA¡ª How¡ª" He suddenly lifted his head. "Do you want me to repeat myself!?" "AHHH¡ª No no no no! I heard!" He quivered, like a hand gripped his very heart. "Then what is the problem?" She raised an eyebrow. "I¡ª I just can''t" "And why is that!?" She stepped on his back, grinding the tip of her boot on his spine. "I can''t say that either!" He shook his head vigorously on his knees. "..." "Ha¡­ hahahaha¡­ hahahah¡­ HAHAHAHAH¡­" Out of nowhere,ughter exited his mouth, yet it was no normalughter, it was heavy, dark, and reeked of abnormality. I won''t tell you! What am I even doing! This world is fucking VR! I can''t die in here! And this tournament won''tst forever!" He shook himself off her feet and looked up, gazing eagerly into her royal eyes of amethyst with a wide grin from ear to ear. "When I don''t show up to the award ceremony, they will send people to find me! Then you will be finished! I can assure you of that! I''ve wasted enough time here! Losing my secrets, my power! That is not something I will be willing to sacrifice! Whatever pain you want to inflict, go ahead! I, SUPREME GENERAL CADE WALKER WILL MORE THAN WITHSTAND!!" "..." There was a stunned look on the demon lord''s face, and that stunned look only worked to further fuel theughing grin on the supreme general''s own. However, that did notst for long. Her face suddenly changed, a mixture of awe and amusement returning to her once baffled visage as she scoffed and spoke the final words that he would hear in this world... "So be it¡­" *Snap¡­* Abruptly, the darkness surrounding him grew darker. The demon lord once stood to his side suddenly faded into the background, his pounding heart softened, his body rxed as he sat silently in a ce even more unknown. There was an odd serenity that he had yet to experience before in his life, there was no stress, no fear, no worry... Like a baby born new to this world... He was at peace¡­ However, the peace did notst for long, as light entered his once secluded dimension, blinding him, apanied by an overly obnoxious sound that he would never forget in a million years. *HUUUHHH* His eyelids woke, and his hands lifted to shield his eyes from the light. His gaze opened, quickly gaping all around him, and his eyes flung touching all parts of his body like he was trying to sense if all was intact before it returned to his heavily pounding heart. There was a familiar warmth wrapping his body, and an equally refreshing cool breeze. The walls around him were pure white, decorations and golden awards for as far as he could nce. The crack on the wall where he had angrily thrown a picture was there, the coffee mug, steaming hot that his servant always left him when he woke, the sweet smell of cherry blossoms entering his nose. There was no mistake... ''This room¡­ This¡­ This is my room!'' *RING* *RING* *RING* ''This sound¡­'' He peered over to his left. ''That''s my rm¡­" He sat silently in his king-sized bed, his head slowly turning to every corner. For several minutes, he continued, all the while his expression subtly shifted, for only now did it begin to fully set in. ''He¡­ he¡­ hehe¡­'' With a smile on his face, he sprung out of bed like a child on Christmas Day, and the first thing he did was grab his phone sat atop his counter, checking the date on the calendar.'' ''8:00 am June 31st¡­ That''s¡­ The day of the big tournament¡­'' ''...'' ''Huh hf¡­'' "HAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!" Chapter 431: Day 1 Chapter 431: Day 1 ''HAHAHAHAHAHAH I KNEW IT!! IT WAS ALL JUST A NIGHTMARE!! LIKE ANY OF THAT WOULD EVER HAPPEN!! A demon lord randomly showing up to question me!? Adam losing to a fraud like Moby Kane and Kai Fatebringer!? In what world!?" "HAHAHAHA!!" Hisughter continued, youthful and filled with life. It reached to all ends of his estate and had almost made the ground shake from where he stood from the pure emotions emanating from him. "Supreme General sir! Is¡ª Is there a problem!?" A man burst through the door unannounced. He wore an all-ck suit, his jet ck hair was slicked back and shined brightly under the golden light, and his face of worry was covered in subtle sweat. "HHAHAHAA¡ª Oh! Joey!" The supreme general halted hisugh acknowledging his faithful butler. "Don''t mind me boy, I was just having a good time! The big tournament is today after all!" He continued. "Ah¡ª That''s great sir! I''m delighted to see you so happy!" He wiped the sweat along with the concern from his face. I will get everything ready for you! If you need any assistance please don''t hesitate to call!" Joey deeply bowed before his master and gracefully exited the room, leaving the supreme general all alone once more with an even greater grin on his face. The joy and relief from the deepest depths of his heart made him want to burst intoughter once more, yet he managed to control himself from doing so. With a spring in his step, he hopped out of bed and immediately went to the washroom, showered and brushed his teeth before dawning his special military attire for the day using his storage ring. And before he left, he made sure to inspect himself in his grand mirror, ensuring all looked appropriate, smiling in various poses, something he could not remember doing in years¡ª He almost felt like a new man. Upon leaving his room, he was met with an all too familiar long corridor, yet he wasted no time walking, instead, he teleported to the dining hall where his breakfast had already been prepared, along with a special guest who came to visit for this special day. "Ho-ho! Adam! It seems like my grandson hase to visit me today!" Heughed upon his arrival, quickly taking a seat in front of his te, his grandson on the other side of the table. "Greetings grandfather." Adam swiftly raised himself and bowed. "It is only natural I woulde to see you on such a day." "Hahaha! No need for formalities boy! We''re family!" Heughed zealously. "As you wish," Adam slowly nodded and took his seat once more. "It''s been a while since west met! How is training?" "Excellent grandfather, I have all but perfected what you have taught me." His voice was almost gray and monotone as he spoke eating his food. "I''m d to hear!" He smiled brightly. "Grandfather¡­ Excuse my words but¡­ You seem¡­ Odd today¡­" "Oh me? hm hm! I''m just happy! Why shouldn''t I be! My grandson will take first ce and bring honour to the family! Why don''t you seem happy?" "Yes¡­ Indeed I will win¡­ Quiet easily at that¡­ No one in this school could hold a candle to my power¡­ That is fact... Maybe evenw..." "Indeed!" He proudly nodded. "But that''s the problem¡­ Apologies grandfather¡­ But I truly want a challenge¡­" He lowered his head and gritted his teeth. The supreme general halted and gazed intently. ''In my dream, this never happened¡­ ¡­ But, I always knew this boy wanted a challenge¡­ Huh, I guess that''s the difference between dream and reality,'' He inwardly snickered. "Don''t worry boy! Once you graduate, in the real world you will face much hardship! That I can guarantee!" "... ¡­ ¡­" There was no response, and the room grew awkward before he once again tried to restart the conversation. "So, who in this tournament are you keeping your eyes on?" "... Normally, I would say no one¡­ But from rumour, and my gut instinct¡­ I''d really like to face this Moby Kane fellow¡­" "M¡ª Moby Kane¡­" The supreme general''s voice shifted, and Adam clearly took notice as he looked up with brighter eyes. "You know him?" "Oh¡ª Well of course! That boy is kinda famous you know? He is a top student at this school, but beyond that, he''s nothing to worry about!" "Oh¡­ That''s a shame¡­ Last night, I had a dream¡­ A dream of a good fight with an equal, I don''t remember who had won¡­ His face was obscured in my memory, but I believed it to be Moby Kane¡­ *Sigh* I''ve never been a person to believe superstition, but here I am¡­" Upon hearing those words, the general''s heart skipped a beat, and the thump that came after rattled his entire chest. However, he could not let a stupid dream sway his heart, so he disregarded it. "I feel your pain boy! I truly do! But don''t fret! Don''t fall for such superstition! Here is advice from an old sage-like me¡­. You understand reality, you know what is real and what is fake! If something seems too unreal to ur, then that is most definitely the case! That''s how it''s been all my life!" "Th¡ª Thank you, grandfather¡­ I truly do not deserve such kindness, I am truly grateful for everything, and I will surely pay you back in the future." ?? ?? ?? Breakfast had ended, and Adam once again left to prepare at his own dorm. From the moment he had entered his very own grandfather''s house, he had spoken no words to anyone but the supreme general, such was how he normally was, so he paid it no heed. There was little more to be done, and preparations ensued as usual, all handled by the young butler Joey before the supreme general finally made it to his own special VR room where he would attend the tournament. And as he fell dormant within his machine, his mind wandered off to his new reality, seated upon a grand throne looking over the waves and waves of ant-sized masses chearing below. The arena itself looked identical to that of his memory, and the cheering was just as energetic as he imagined, filling him with much-needed strength. His fellow judges had already arrived sat next to him, acknowledging his greatness by lowering their heads. And now that he had finally arrived it was finally time to begin¡­ The students were then soon after teleported upon the stage, gazing upon all the wonders of this reality before gawking up at his greatness at the canopy. He smiled down at them proudly, yet he grimaced for a mere instant when he noticed a familiar face, his eyes of green looking aimlessly past his messy yet oddly pleasant-looking hair of ck and red. ''Kane¡­'' However, that grimace indeed onlysted for an instant, for in the next instant his expressionpletely changed¡­ His body quivered, his eyes trembled, and his arms clenched tightly. His expression changed into primal fear, and all that Kane did was simplyzily nce at his direction and smirk with an absolutely dwarfing aura. And as he blinked, the smirk and the aura had suddenly disappeared like they had never even been there, which was the only logical conclusion. ''That damned nightmare is making my eyes y tricks on me!'' Luckily, it seemed like none noticed anything. He shook his head and once again wore his mask of greatness, raising his hands to address the crowd with a great speech of his own. His voice kind yet demanding respect. ?? ?? ?? What followed was standard. The opening ceremony was usual and was oddly simr to his nightmare, yet far from exact, which the supreme general only attributed to his impable memory and imagination. The tournament then began, and the rounds randomized were familiar¡­ They were identical to his nightmare. That was the first sign of clear unease in his heart, yet still, he did not mind it. Like before, Moby Kane had the very first round of the tournament, and there he sat in his special room with his great friend, Pope Rutherfurd. The match that had transpired seemed too familiar, and the power Kane disyed gave him goosebumps. When he looked over to his friend smoking on his couch, he could not help but feel the unease that he had been there before. "That man! He''s up to something! He might be some sort of demon! Kai Fatebringer! Inspect him too just in case!" This time, the supreme general made certain to be even more adamant. Even he himself could not believe his nightmare was anything more, yet deep down, he felt like there may have been merit to suspicion, especially after what he had seen. "Fatebringer? They would never¡­" The pope casuallyughed, taking a puff of his cigar. "Just use the cube on them! There''s no harm in doing so no!? What if they are heathens!? Then we''d get a big reward!" "Cade old friend, you need to calm down. You''re stressed over nothing. After we took care of his parents, I sensed him with the cube, and nothing came up. I''ve had a close rtionship with the Fatebringers, and the cube has never reacted, he''spletely safe! And as you know, there is no conceivable way to turn a human into one of those heathens, so there should be no worry. Unless you''re trying to tell me you know something I don''t?" "No! Of course, you know more than me! But¡ª" "I''m sorry Cade, but I''ve got to get going¡­ Normally, I''d call anyone like you crazy, but since it''s you, I give you more credit. You may be onto something I don''t know. I''ll think it over. For you Cade, I''d do anything. Don''t take my yful banter too seriously. I don''t know, maybe I''m just denying it because I''m too afraid to consider if it''s true¡­" He stood up and left the room, leaving the supreme general stunned, all alone once more with a sense of unfathomable deja vu. ?? ?? ?? "Wee! To thest qualifying match of the day! One that has been much anticipated! Adam Walker, grandson of our supreme general and Kai Fatebringer! The boy of mes!" The announcer yelled as the crowd roared. "Supreme General, you look shaken, what is it on your mind? Are you worried?" Ashley Orbec, leader of the me Seekers asked. "Oh, me, worried? No no!" Heughed. "My grandson will surely win, there is no doubt! If you think otherwise you''re just being a bias fire user!" "Huhu! I wouldn''t be so sure! Fatebringer has shown much promise in thest few matches! This is no bias at all!" She proudly proimed. "Yes yes, I know. I''ve watched them too as I was doing paperwork, but he still stands no chance!" "Huh," Ashley looked rather stunned, keeping a keen gaze upon her supreme general. "Well, let''s just watch and enjoy the show! Shall we?" The supreme general took several deep breaths, blood pressure was already at an all-time high trying to keep himself under control, yet even with all his mental preparations, none could prepare him for the ensuing nightmare ready to ur¡­ Threw the bright mes and thick shadows, the supreme general''s mind went rampant. ''This¡­ this can''t be happening¡­ HOW IS FATEBRINGER WINNING!? AM I STILL IN THAT DAMNED NIGHTMARE!! WHAT IS THHISSS!!" He leaned in closer, my fists clenched tightly in anger and his eyes nearly bursting out their sockets. And as soon as his hands closed, the tide of the match shifted as expected, yet it was still a back and forth of immense power almost none could keep up with or see. "Supreme General¡­ I thought you weren''t worried! You look pretty stressed to me!" Ashley smugly proimed. "Me? Stressed! No no no!" He shook his head, trying to calm the nerves that had taken control of him. "Hmmm¡­ Supreme general¡­ Open that fist of yours¡­" "Excuse me?" "It''s shaking like crazy¡­ My mes have healing and soothing properties, maybe I can¡­" She slowly reached over to open his fists¡­ His heart sped up, time slowed, and his survival instincts kicked in. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!!" He angrily shook his hands away, taking all beside him by surprise. "..." In that moment of awkward silence, within the darkness of the fading shadows, a victor appeared, Adam Walker standing proud over his fallen foe with an expression of sadness and joy indescribable. And upon seeing the result, his hands opened in relief, and he slid his back once again towards his chair with a sigh that turned sombre. "Apologies for that. I didn''t mean to hurt or startle. Yes, I may have been slightly worried about the results, and clenching his fists is a way of stress relief. That Kai Fatebringer is much stronger than I thought, but my words still stand that he stood no chance." He smiled. "No sir¡­ I must be the one to apologize¡­ I had another motive¡ª nothing sinister of course!" She made sure to rify. "I just thought that there may have been something else¡­ If you don''t mind, can I ask you a simple question with a lie detecto¡ª" "No¡­ young miss... How dare you ask such a thing? Maybe I got too friendly... Had you forgotten who I am!? Not only do I not kneel to such tests but I''ve also much to do now!!" He angrily released his drowning aura of darkness. And, with clear grandness and superiority in his step, he closed his eyes and stood up out of his seat, leaving through the teleporter without batting an eye to anyone else. "FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!! WHAT''S GOING ON!! SHE¡­ SHE COULDN''T HAVE!! BUT SHE HAS NO PROOF!! BUT THE SUSPICIONS ARE STILL THERE NOW!!" "Agghhh! I''ll deal with herter! Now! KAI FATEBRINGER!! HOW IS HE¡ª HE''S A DEMON!!" He screamed in realization within the seclusion of his own room. "I NEED TO KILL HIM NOW!! HE AND¡ª" And as he yelled, his voice suddenly stopped by an all too familiar aura, and a sound that had left a scar on his very soul. "A demon? Kill him now? How did you figure that out? Hmmmm¡­ You may be smarter than I gave you credit for supreme general¡­" His spirit lurched, the air felt thin around him, and his eyes shook uncontrobly seeing that luscious hair of very bright purple, standing up to reveal her smirking, demonic face. "AH¡ª AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Like a little girl, he screeched. His legs gave out,nding him on his bottom. And through the deafening scream, the girl''s smile only increased, amused by what she had seen, like his face that well surpassed the worst terror was art and like his horrid voice was music to her ears. His entire body sensed fear, and every fibre of his being screamed for an escape. And in his quick thinking, he raised his hands to his head in surrender, only to press upon his forehead, allowing him to escape this hellish space and return back to his VR pod in the real world. *huh huh* he heavily puffed, running out of his secured room. "Oh, supreme general, wee back! We were¡ª" The sense of looming danger never escaped, it was primal fear, nothing but survival mattered in this reality. Through several servants, he ran without paying heed. His mind was in distress, absolute chaos, yet the path he was headed to for dear life was more than clear¡­ To his room¡­ In the safe where he kept his most prized possession. However, that once clear path was suddenly halted by a wall, a wall made of sand and adamantine at the same time¡­ In his secluded teleportation room which only he had ess to, stood another, yet it was not that demon lord from before, this time, it was a man with a simr purple gaze, leaning onto a wall almost waiting for his arrival¡­ "Supreme General¡­ You didn''t arrive for the final round! So we were all tasked to look for you since you would not answer! I asked the guards to let me¡ª " Moby Kane moved forward and smirked with that same spine-shivering gaze. "You¡­ I''ll... FUCKING KILL YOU!!" At a speed untraceable to most, he lunged over to him, yet his fists did not connect¡­ Instead, he was met with unimaginable, burning pain that left him crying and rolling on the ground¡­ Only the shadow of a voice addressing him from above. "Oh¡­ So you knew I had ulterior motives? Well, doesn''t matter, only means I''m gonna have to do this the hard way¡­ Let''s just get straight into business... Supreme General¡­ I have a few questions for you¡­ What the hell did you do to my parents? And what ticked you off about me?" "Aghhh¡ª Wha¡ª Who¡­ Who are you¡­" He looked up to meet his hellish gaze. "I am asking the questions! Do you really think you''re in the position to question me!?" As he witnessed him speak, he quivered, gritting his teeth and clenching his body preparing for the pain. "Hmph¡­ Well, maybe you do deserve to know¡­ Remember this well human¡­ I, am Moby Kane¡­ The future demon lord¡­ You never stood a chance, so don''t try... There is no escape¡­ Satisfied?" "D¡ª D¡ª D-D-Demon Lord¡­" "Now¡­ Will you answer me? Or must I torture you with the worst pain imaginable for you to speak and maybe jog your memory¡­" "..." "N¡ª No¡­ Please no¡­ This can''t be real¡­ SOMEONE SAVE MEEEEEEEEE¡ª Agh¡ª " Chapter 432: Day Two Chapter 432: Day Two His maddening screech filled the air, and a familiar feeling of odd pain and serenity took over him at that moment as all went dark¡­ ¡­ But then there was light. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡ª!" *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP* "Huh¡ª " His head shot up like a rocket, and there he found himself staring at gold. "This¡ª This¡ª " He gulped and steadied his jittering eyes¡­ His saliva fell down his throat, yet it could not reach the bottom of his painfilled stomach that had sunken to the deepest pit. Sweat leaked from his every pore, and time stood still as he took in his surroundings¡­ The beeping sound from his left¡­ The aroma of cherry blossoms¡­ The sight of steam from the fresh coffee brew to his right¡­ The room of golden trophies and memories of many years¡­ There was no doubt, this was his room, yet it did not instill him thefort and peace of mind it did before. There were to many questions¡­ How was he here? Mere moments ago he was on the verge of death under the grasp of a pure monster, and now he was sitting in bedpletely unscathed like it was all just a nightmare¡­ Had reinforcementse to save him? If so, what happened to the tournament? How could his lowly servants defeat such a monstrosity, one that even he could not dare topple? He did not know what to think, nor what toprehend¡­ All that he knew was that he was not safe... his soul still shook trembling and his heart was full of unease. "SUPREME GENERAL SIR!!" A voice came bursting through the now open doors. "SIR! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!? What was that shriek!? I came here as soon as I heard!" "J¡ª Joey¡­" Seeing that man''s face, he felt calmer. He tried to force a smile seeing his butler, yet his mouth could notplete it, shakingly stopping in the middle of the road. "Yes sir! It''s me! What is the matter!" "Don''t mind me boy¡­ It''s just I had not fully recovered it would seem¡­ Tell me¡­ Is all taken care of now?" "P¡ª pardon sir¡­ What is it do you mean¡­ Preparations for the tournament?" "Hmm? Tournament¡­ Had the tournament not ended yet?" "Ended!?" His eyes shot wide in confusion. "Heavens no! But yes, preparations areplete! That I can assure you!" "..." Like a punch to the gut, the supreme general gulped. In that moment, so many questions popped up in his mind, and with one question they could all be answered. "Joey, time and date¡­ What is it? I need to know¡­" "Ah¡ª Sir¡­ It''s 8:00 AM right now, the day of the tournament! Your grandson should¡ª" As he heard those words uttered out of his own servant''s mouth, the world began to darken around him¡­ His face grimaced and crumpled into each other¡­ His skin went numb, his hair stood on its own, and his visage turned into the most fearful face imaginable. "... AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" He shrieked, his voice causing tremors of pure agony in the air. "SIR!! What is it!? What''s going on!! Please an¡ª" "OUT OF MY WAY NOW!!" in pure panic, he jumped out of bed, shoving his very servant to the ground as he rushed frantically towards a heavily secured door to the back of his room. ''What''s going on!? Am I still in that nightmare!? Am I stuck in a time loop!? Am I in hell!? WHAT IS THIS!? T¡ª time-loop! YES! It must be it! If I can just defeat those two monsters and break the cycle I can¡ª " "Supreme general sir! What is this?! What is the matter!?" "STAY OUT OF MY WAY BOY!!" He squealed imputing his biometrics on the terminal near the door. "Stay out of my room and only call me when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!! IS THAT CLEAR!!" "Y¡ª Yes sir! Understood!" He muttered, standing on his two feet and rushing out of his superior''s room, not before witnessing him enter a certain room he had never seen open in his entire life. Despite the nearly impregnable security applied, the room was rather empty, devoid of any life¡­ Yet that was a mere illusion for those who did not know. Within the darkness, the supreme general''s ghastly figure darted, activating a secret button that teleported him elsewhere. A small, sombre ce of creaking rusty metal, dripping liquid and pitch darkness where lied a single metallic safe. Despite his panic, even he gulped in the face of this rusty old thing¡­ It was a sight had not seen since the very start of the war¡­ Still, he did not hesitate, nor waste any time. He shook himself off and approached, teeth nking and bones rumbling. Despite all the time, he did not forget the code¡­ And how could he when his very life depended on it? And within the agonizing seconds that felt like an eternity, the magic safe opened, and inside of it was the most prized possession he owned. To any man, what lied inside seemed like nothing but an ordinary flute, yet that was anything but true, for this was his very lifeline. Once again he stood motionless, however, it did not take long for his old wrinkly hands to once again start moving towards it, gently picking it up like some sort of holy relic, fondling it gently within his two fingers. "Ha¡­ ha haha¡­ After all these years... It hase to this¡­" smoothly, he raised his hands with the flute in hand, pressing his mouth onto the hole and yed¡­ It was a soothing melody, resounding softly in this dark, unknown space. His face turned natural, his movements softened, and his heart rate rxed as he yed notes unfathomable to the human ears and would bring most men to tears. With grace, it began and with grace, it ended. He dropped his flute to his hips and sighed heavily with closed eyes. He fell down with his knees crossed in meditation, taking several deep breaths. His job was now over, and all he needed to do was bide his time and wait¡­ And wait he did¡­ And wait¡­ And wait¡­ Yet no matter how long he waited, there was no response. A drop of water dripped on his head, and his heart began to thump. "Any second now¡­" He mumbled. "They should be here soon¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ It was mere minutes thest time¡­ ¡­ ¡­ D¡ª Did I y the melody wrong!? But I practice every day! Have my old breath muddied the song!?!?!" Slowly the build-up and unease grew. His patience had reached its limit, and chaos began to take its hold. But that''s when he realized¡­ "NOOO!! THIS FLUTE!! IT''S NOT REAL!! IT''S DAMN FAKE!!" He hurled the instrument at the wall, snapping it in two. "HOW!? THIS PLACE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND!! ONLY I KNOW ABOUT THIS!?!? WHY NOW!?!" He tried his best to wrap his head around what he saw, yet nothing was able to save him from delving deeper into the sense of lost hope. His fears kept up ever so slowly, like the feeling of constant danger, like a tiranch was forever crawling on his back. Always being watched, hunted from the shadows. His survival instincts kicked in, they screamed at him to survive¡­ And that''s what he attempted to do. "Kill him¡­ I NEED TO KILL HIM!! IT''S THE ONLY WAY!!" Swiftly, he teleported back to his room, not bothering to lock any door behind him as he rushed out. There he saw his servant, Joey, waiting outside restlessly on guard, precisely as ordered of him. "Sir¡ª You''re ba¡ª" His face brightened, quickly dimming soon after. "What time is it now? I''ve little time to talk!" "The tournament begins in thirty minutes sir! Your grand¡ª" "Perfect¡­" Those were thest words Joey heard before his master disappeared from sight. ?? ?? ?? It took several minutes of preparations, yet it was finally all finished. Even in such peril, he could not help but chuckle at the work of his own hands, looking down at a certain student VR pad. From memory, he knew which one Kane would take for the tournament, and he acted ordingly. Disguised as a regr safety check he managed to poison the very pad he would rest at. Of course, he fully knew a demon''s immunity to poison, he was certainly not ignorant, for this very poison was holy in nature, personally gifted to him, said to have properties to even kill the most powerful of demons if they were exposed to it for very long. Kane was no exception. Normally, a demon would be able to easily react and evade death. However, in VR, things would be different. His connection to his body would be nearlypletely severed. And by the time the tournament ended, he should be more than dead. Plus, considering how this was no ordinary poison, it would seem like he died of natural causes and would absolve him of all suspiciouns. Finally, after all the pain he had found sce, yet it was no time to celebrate¡­ No, even if he died, there was still that other demon he had to worry about¡­ And that one may have been even more dangerous¡­ And thus, with a grinning smile he kept hidden under his veil of professionalism, he exited and went to his own special VR room to begin the tournament. Like before, all began standard with the opening ceremony. The only difference was as soon as he witnessed Kane arrive, he activated the poison he hadid. And so, the tournament progressed as normal, and the entire time. The supreme general kept tabs closely on Moby''s condition, yet so far there seemed to be no change. But considering how there was still over half the tournament remaining, he had yet topletely panic. In that time, he talked to his dear friend pope Rutherford. He exined to him how the flute had somehow been stolen. The response he received was as expected, he lost his casual air and had nearly lost his mind upon hearing what he had heard. That was but the beginning of the pope''s shock... "What¡­ So you''re telling me that Kai Fatebringer, Moby Kane, and some other powerful demon areying in wait within this very space¡­" He muttered, intaking all he had heard. "I am 100% certain!! I know it all too well¡­ They''re too powerful to take on alone, so I was aiming to get reinforcements¡­ Especially that other demon girl¡­" He shivered, only for that shivering to turn into a maddening tremble after what followed. "Other demon girl, you say? You wound me with such words¡­ You somehow seem to know a lot about me¡­ So at least do the courtesy of mentioning me by name¡­" A demonic, all too familiar female voice reverberated to all ends of the room. His spine quaked and his knees grew weak hearing her voice. And before he even had the chance to squeal like a choking pig, the world around him grew dark, and he was once again met with a world of void still fresh in his mind. There that very demon girl in uniform stood, grinning at him with that same expression. All he could do was watch in horror. He was all alone, and the pope was nowhere to be found¡­ He had once again entered hell, and the doors had shut tight in his face. "So¡­ You must be Cade Walker supreme general of the military? My name is Avilia Graymore, the first demon lord¡­" She spoke, yet she received no verbal response, a reaction she seemed to be all too ustomed to. "You greatly surprised me¡­ How did you know about me? I had fully made sure to mask my presence. How did you know about Moby Kane or Kai Fatebringer as well? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But more importantly, how did you get your hands on such a powerful divine poison? That thing was made to kill greater demons." "H¡ª H¡ª How d¡ª do you know ab¡ª about that¡­" He muttered, managing to find his lost breath. "Oh! So you do know how to speak! For that, I''ll give you the courtesy of getting your question answered! You see, I keep a close eye on Moby Kane; he is a protege of mine in some sorts. The poison certainly activated, and had he been anyone else, he would have been dead. Lucky for him, that poison doesn''t work on him!" She burst outughing. His mouth fell openly shaking, and he delved even deeper down his abyss of hopeless despair. "What¡­ what is it do you want from the likes of me? A lowly human¡­ Why should a demon lord of your status want to talk to me in person¡­" "Ahh! Getting down to business I see! Smart man! So, I won''t waste any more time! I think It''s quite obvious what I want! I want answers! How did you get such poison? How did you know about me and the other demons you mentioned, what ticked you off? Oh, and what exactly did you do to the parents of Moby Kane?" "..." "..." "I ¡­ ¡­. I can''t answer any of those questions¡­" He mumbled fiently. "Excuse me¡­" Her eyes glowed a demonic purple, and he was set aze in mes of amethyst forged in absolute anguish. It was a sensation he had now felt many times before yet could never seem get used to as he rolled on the ground screaming in maddening horror. "I SAID I CAN''T!! WHY ME?! WHY DO I DESERVE THIS?!! EVERYTHING HAD GONE PERFECTLY SO FAR!! SO WHY NOW!? AHHH!! I JUST CAN''T SAY IT!!" "..." "I may have given you too much credit for your own good¡­ You are no smart man at all¡­ Very well then¡­ You will suffer¡­" "..." The dark became darker, the quiet grew more sombre, and the pain turned peaceful. And then light broke through the ss of shadows, and he opened his eyes only to be faced with a room of golden trophies, the ringing of bells, the smell of fresh coffee and cherry blossoms mixed with unease and the ever-growing sense of death¡­ "Why¡­ Why am I back¡­ WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!! AHHHH- I HAVE TO BREAK THIS GOD DAMNED LOOP NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!!" Chapter 433: Day ?????? Chapter 433: Day ?????? "I¡ª I GIVEEE UPPPP!!! PLEASE HAVE MERCY!! AHHHHHHHHH!!" He broke down crying, trembling out of control beneath the mighty boot of the supreme demonic overlord. The very same girl who was now ingrained in his very being and instilled almighty dread, unlike anything his limited human mind could even fathom. Cade Walker was indeed a resilient soul, with every new beginning after a nightmare of despair, thereid a hint of hope. Dim, ever so meagre, it still remained, a new beginning, a new chance to escape this hellish nightmare without death¡­ But no matter what he did¡­ Whatever method he would employ no matter how creative¡­ There was absolutely no escape¡­ With his knowledge, he conducted several intentionally failed attempts simply to gather information before killing himself to reset, but even still, using any kind of loophole, his chances were grim. Any form of assassination ended in failure¡­ Anytime he would even attempt at exposing Kane to the public they would scoff and not believe a single word, especially when he would do a public lie detector test¡­ His various attempts at contacting a higher power werepletely futile. All ended in his cruel torture by the hands of those two same demonic figures, and all were followed up by darkness and the light of a new day, or rather the same day, the day he could never escape¡­ All of this led up to this very moment. After a time that not even he knew¡­ For what felt like several life spans, he had finally cracked and had sumbed to reality; a reality that he now barely knew. He never adjusted to it all. For how many times he had spent within there, his sense of being faded and his memory waned. His previous life of glory and the original timeline that had entered him into this predicament were gray within the nightmare of bloody red. All he now knew was fear and pain. There was no hope left, and all he now wanted was the sweet, sweet release of death, and to do that, he must finally speak aloud the pocket of memory he had held on for so long... "Hm hm! So you finally speak then! A very wise decision!" Sheughed, her voice echoing in this world of endless shadows. "I am curious! You are free to speak!" "YES!! YES!! I SHALL REVEAL EVERYTHING!!" He whaled. He shook crying, gritting his teeth before he looked up to face her with reddened horror. "O¡ª One hundred years ago when the green light of creation was blessed upon us¡­ It was by no mere ident¡­ Green rain happens on manys, transforming alien animals into frenzied beasts and changing how its world functioned, yet the earth was different¡­ These beams of light¡­ We¡­ WE ARE ONE OF THE EMPYREAN PILLARS¡ª AHHHHHHHHH!!" Abruptly, as he uttered those words, his body began to glow a brilliant white that shined to all ends of the space. For an instant, even Avilia shielded her sights from the stinging pain before gazing back at him beneath her with open eyes. There was a beam that suddenly entered the space, smiting the general where he stood. His eyes were yeary red, his pours leaked disgusting ooze and his mouth foamed like waterworks, yet surprisingly, there he stood conscious through it all. "Empyrean Pirs?" Avilia questioned as she assessed the situation and brought out her magic to keep things under control. "YES YES!!" He shrieked. "I DON''T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!! I REALLY DON''T! THAT''S JUST WHAT THE ANGELS TOLD ME!!!" "Angels!?" Her eyes grew wider. "ANGELS YES!! I''VE SPOKEN TO MANY!! THEY FIRST CAME HERE WHEN THE LIGHT SHOWED UP!!" He coughed, screaming at the top of his lungs and slowly losing his voice. "They didn''t say much! All they said was to keep an eye out for any demons!! They even gave us devices to track them! That''s how we found out about Kane''s parents!! The angels gave me a flute that allowed me to summon them by ying a melody. I handed them over to the angels! But I made damn sure to torture those weaklings for all they knew!!" Heughed through the maddening pain. "Fun! Yes! It was much fun!! Yet they did not speak!! Not even a single groan of pain! It was silence! It got on my nerves!! I didn''t get anything beyond their names!! No motivation, no status, no nothing! Yet there were people around me who made a big deal about those weaklings!! HAHAHA!! I would have done the same for you!! But the flute has been stolen!!" Heughed once more, his body slowly fading into oblivion. "That''s it!! That''s the truth!! NOW LET ME FINALLY DIE IN AGONY WITH THE LITTLE SANITY I HAVE LEFT!!" *Grrr* Avilia grunted trying her best toprehend and contain all that happened, but that face of struggle slowly melted into a grimace and a wide face of frustration witnessing the supreme general disintegrate into white before her very eyes,ughing through all the pain. ''What''s going on! He''s killing himself!! But how!?'' She lifted her arms out wide. Her eyes shined royal purple along with the tips of her fingers as she created a bubble around the supreme general trying to stop whatever was suddenly happening with all the power at her disposal. ''What happened!! He''s gone crazy!! Ah¡ª the angels and gods must have ced a spell on him to keep his mouth shut. Those damn angels!! How did I allow this to happen!? How did I not realize this?'' She beganughing through her gritted teeth. ''That damned general! How long was he in that nightmare spell of mine? A few days? A week? A month? Perhaps even a year? Or was it even longer?'' She wondered. ''All I set as a requirement for him to break free was to speak the truth, yet he refused for so long until hepletely gave up on living and chose the only way out¡­'' "The angels must have promised him the worst pain he could ever imagine if he spoke, and only now did he break andpletely give up on living!! I, DEMON LORD AVILIA GRAYMORE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!!" Chapter 434: Award Ceremony (1) Chapter 434: Award Ceremony (1) With its winner decided, the tournament finally came to its conclusion, yet the air of excitement never left the looming air. The spark of fireworks followed by the crowd''s boisterous cheers and the world-famous band, Baiken, ying its song of celebration marked the beginning of the award ceremony as one by one, in order of status, the top thirty-two fighters of the tournament proudly entered through the main gates. One would expect nothing but upbeat smiles and a deep sense of pride from these people, however, reality was very different. Some remained rather quiet and reserved like Regrit Oswald and Adam walker, and others did indeed arrive with their heads held high and their spirits over the moon, but in the same breath, there were people kicking dust with a frown of disappointment and anger upon their faces, some even with a hint of fear and anxiety. Nearly every single person within that line belonged to a family with considerable prestige, and a varying degree of tolerance and expectations. And with so many families who had such high regard for their children, there were bound to be several crushing disappointments. These expressions of gloom and anger were suppressed for the eyes of the public, yet to their fellow ssmates who stood mere inches away, it was more than apparent. It was something that the victors found great delight in and further boosted their ego and extensive grins, yet even still, all that paled inparison to the sheer presence one of them disyed¡ª it was as though he possessed his very own gravitational force attracting the eyes of all, and how could he not after such a showing? Of course, that man was none other than Moby Kane. With both the grace and rigidness befit of soldiers, they all lined up upon the stage, their hands sped behind their backs looking up expectantly at the canopy of judges above. And as they did, they could not help but notice there was something, or rather someone very crucial missing¡­ ?? ?? ?? "Hey, do you have any idea where the supreme general is? I get he''s supposed to have a dramaticte entrance and all, but shouldn''t he have been here by now?" Vilhelm Ortiz, leader of the hunters guild subtly leaned over and whispered towards the chair to his side where the queen of mes, Ashley Orbec sat. "The hell if I know." She shook her head. "But, knowing the supreme general, I wouldn''t worry," She casually ignored his plight. "I agree withdy Orbec here," Yuria interjected. "The general is both a strong and handsome man¡­ He shouldn''t be too long¡­" Her subtle smile took over her face as she crossed her legs and adjusted her hair. "Yeah, I get that! But this is weird¡­ All my time knowing the supreme general he''s never been thiste¡­ I''m getting kinda worried¡­" "Worried for what?" Gray could not help but chuckle. "Supreme general Cade Walker is very capable I''m sure you know. What would be able to loiter someone like him?" He casuallymented. "Hmmm¡­ You know, he hasn''t been acting very welltely¡­ It''s very¡­ odd¡­" Principal Rayna Davis suddenly interjected. "Not feeling well? You mean he''s sick or something!?" Vilhelm blurted, his expression filled with clear worry. "I''m not exactly sure¡­" She shook her head, trying to formte an answer. "She''s right," Ashley sighed, drawing all attention now towards her. "Right about what!?" "The supreme general has been acting very odd. I''ve noticed it all day, it''s like he''s been hiding something. And it couldn''t have been more apparent than after his grandson lost." "Ah¡­ Yes, I do admit that was rather out of character for a man like him¡­" Gray pondered. "But, at the same time, it''s something wholly understandable. A man of high stature such as he must be under much stress, and he kept that hidden away from us all. I assume when his grandson lost so unexpectedly, he let it all out. Also, it is only natural for him, the supreme general to have various secrets, I do not see that as any problem." He spoke with a serious tone. "Think what you wanna think, I know that there''s something deeper going on and I n to get to the bottom of it." She shrugged, only to be interrupted by the sound of sudden footsteps and a voice that startled even her from behind. "Ahh¡ª It seems so lively here now that all the tenseness has faded! What were you all discussing in my absence? From the looks of it, it seemed rather interesting." "S¡ª Supreme general! You''re here!" "Hmmm, yes, it does appear to be so. At least I think it''s me." He jested, inspecting and patting his body with an open smile before he sat upon his throne-like chair looking down towards the crowds and the victors awaiting their award. "Greetings to you all! I''m sure you know me quite well by now, so I won''t bother with introductions. This tournament has truly been a spectacle. In all my years of experience and in all the countless tournaments I''ve spectated, nothing could match the sheer spectacle and calibre disyed today! It was certainly an honour that I could live to witness it! Truly, as the supreme general, watching the future generation fight has filled me with so much hope for our people! Everyone most definitely worked hard, and it showed! Not even I could have predicted the oue!" He chuckled to himself as he addressed the crowd cheering and pping, proudly congratting the contestants. "Now! Without further ado! Before we judges propose our offering to today''s winners, let us present them with the awards they deserve! Let the ceremony begin!" He raised his hands up into the sky, and fireworks once again sparkled in the heavens above before the announcer took over where the supreme general had left off. "ALLRIIGHHTTT!! Ladies and gentlemen! I don''t know what I can say that''s not already been said several times! So, I''ll save you the talk and do what you all came here for! Give these winners what they deserve!" He pointed one finger to the sky with overexaggerated ir, his blond, gelled back hair wobbling like jello in the breeze. "First is our prizes for our top thirty-two! Your reward will be something very simple but still more than exciting! Each of you will walk away with fifty million dors!" A light shined upon the arena, sixteen beams abruptly striking the ground mere inches in front of the feet of several students. And as the light faded away, it revealed a table wereid a single ring, encrusted in gold and engraved with red glowing words, mystical in nature. Clearly, it was a storage ring that housed what they had won, yet at the same time, it served as an excellent award of distinction¡ª a unique ring marking them forever as victors, better than any trophy they may have asked for. In unison, these sixteen students gazed upon their reward and eagerly or hesitantly grabbed it, cing it on their fingers. And as they did, the table that housed what they imed suddenly disappeared as if it were never there. "Next is our prizes for our top sixteen! Your reward will be a varied assortment of rare training items to aid you in your training! Keep them safe and use them cleverly! They are extremely rare and nearly impossible to find and buy!!" Eighth more beams of bright light struck in front of the next eight students, and in its stead appeared a nearly identical table. The only discernible difference was that the ring was coloured ruby red and appeared far more expensive than thest, signifying a superior rank. "It''s time for the top eights! Not only will you get TWICE as many training items, but you will also have a chance to attend a special training session with the supreme general himself where he might teach you some special secrets! This goes for all who ranked eighth or above, not just from eight to four!" "Now! We have our top four prizes! The two of you who were just shy of the finals! And for you, we have something special! Each of you has won a voucher to freely choose a single weapon or item from the military''s maximum-security vault housing some of the rarest items in the entire world! We knew you most likely, each of you had different opinions and preferences, so we decided to give YOU the choice! We hope you''re satisfied!!" As expected, there appeared a table before them with a white ring at its center. The first of the top fours grinned eagerly ogling his ring, puffing out his chest and grabbing his ring with pleasure, yet whilst he did that, the other who stood to his side was unusually silent. "Tch¡­ Hope you''re satisfied huh¡­" Regrit Oswald mumbled in a voice nearly indiscernible to the ear before for the first time, taking a single nce up towards the audience and grabbing his ring. It was as though the world was aplete, empty void to him; he was barely aware of his surroundings and the many gazes on him from not only the audience and judges but also his fellow ssmates. "ALLLRIGHHHTTT!! It''s time to award our second ce winner! Adam Walker! Not enough good could be said about how overly unexpectedly good and thrilling that finals was! And as such, I think we''ve chosen a very fitting reward! At least, that''s what it said on my script¡­" He began chuckling to himself in front of the now confused crowd. "It seems to be something top secret only for you. But that is all I know on that end. Still, whatever it is, I''m more than certain you will enjoy it!" The table that now appeared seemed far different from all the rest, gray with blue, liquid-like lights flowing through like several intersecting rivers. And in its center was a pitch-ck ring shadowy in nature. It was almost as though it was custom made with him in mind as the wielder. "I shall humbly ept this reward. Thank you all for your generosity." He bowed before raising his head. "As I was previously unconscious, I did not get the opportunity to address all those who came to cheer me. I will note here to apologize if I disappointed any of you. Because the answer to that is clear, I tried my absolute hardest, and I did not dissapoint. Moby Kane was simply the better fighter, that is no secret. This¡­ Defeat... was a first-time experience for me, and like all things in life, I shall use it as a learning opportunity. It seems like I finally have something to strive for¡­" He giggled genuinely for the first time out of battle before grabbing his ring and turning his head. "I did not have the chance to properly thank you for such an experience. I could never have imagined it, it was truly wondrous." He brought out his hands towards the man to his side going for a handshake, taking the initiative, unlike thest time. "Yes, that battle really was something to remember. I hope we spar once again in the future. Not as fellow enemies or students, but as rivals or evenrades!" Moby fully epted and shook his hand, and Adam''s grin shone brighter. "Like-wise." The crowd joined in unison for such a moment, and even the announcer could not help butment. Both sides, previously mortal enemies supporting their party cheering as one voice, truly a sight to behold. "Now! Is the moment you''ve all been waiting for! The award for our champion! Moby Kane! It is something not physical, nor is it something one would be prepared for! His reward will be what has always been given out to every single winner over the history of this grand tournament! A reward usually reserved for heroes of war! You will be allowed to wish for a single wish thatnds within the power of the military! Of course, there are limitations that will be deeply specified such as no killing the innocent or no wishing yourself to be supreme general! BUT! If one were to think creatively, this might be worth several times that of anything else awarded today!" Chapter 435: Award Ceremony (2) Chapter 435: Award Ceremony (2) The table that held the award for the victor appeared in a brilliant beam of light, illuminating all in a heavenly aura of gold that made what came before it seem like a mere shlight inparison. As the light faded, it did not reveal a table akin to the rest, yet the ring still remained. Royal purple shining like amethyst, floating in mid-air with an uncanny green sparkle surrounding it. The crowd stood mesmerized by the sheer beauty, unable to speak. They only watched with eyes glued to the stage as Moby stepped up with pride in his step to grab the reward that was rightfully his and ce it upon his finger. Only then did the crowd regain themselves and rightfully apud. "The awards have been handed out! Phase one isplete, and now, wille phase two to follow! Here, each contestant will be given various offers from all of our judges! A once in a lifetime opportunity! So without further ado! I will hand over control to¡ª" "Hold on one second¡­" Suddenly, a voice emerged, soft yet potent interrupting the announcer, and when he looked, he witnessed the face of a smiling Moby, his right hand up in the air, and suddenly, all eyes once again sat solely on him, especially from the canopy above who leant in particrly closer. "Ahh¡ª Pardon my manners! It seems like the winner of this tournament had something to say!" He nervously began sweating. "What words does the champion have to grace us all and everyone watching at home!" "Thank you for entertaining my selfish request, announcer." He smiled closing his eyes. "But, what I will say is no victory speech I can assure you that¡­ The truth is, I would like to use my wish right now." "WHHHATTT!!" That was the very first word that came to everyone''s mind, yet only some spoke them out loud. Their mouths shot open, their eyes expanded like the universe and their bottoms suddenly found themselves leaning forward near the edge of their seat. Even the judges could not keep their facades of calmness and professionalism. Those watching at home spat out their drinks, some nearly choked on their food, whatever they were doing was of little importance to what was happening in front of them. Out of everything that had happened in this tournament so far, this was the thing they least expected. "Ah, I can see many of you are shocked," Kane scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, I dide into this tournament nning to win, and I had already formted what I wanted to do with it well in advance. "Ahh¡ª Ahh¡ª" The announcer looked around in panic, from the canopy to the champion in utter loss and confusion. He had not prepared for such a turn of events, and he knew not what to do, more so than anyone else especially since he was put on the spot. His stress was starting to opening show, and just as he was ready to crumble, a voice emerged to save him. "I see¡­ Hmph hmph¡­ A boy who is independent and ready to control his future¡­ Teenagers are so hasty these days. I like it!" The supreme general broke the mayhem. "I would be lying to say I saw thising, but out of anyone, it would make sense that you would be the one. After all, you have no family ties to bind you to their whims and decisions. "That may be true supreme general, but I can assure you this decision was not made in haste." Moby bowed respectfully. "Is that so¡­ Now you have me even more curious boy... Then allow me to hear this wish of yours! I''ll see it done to the best of my ability!" "Thank you, supreme general," He lowered his head even further, only to raise it up high the instant after with an unshakable determination in his very presence. "I wish to create a top-ranked guild, and to do that, I request the highest level guild weapon item and a chance to be a judge in this event!" "Ah¡ª" The supreme general stuttered before smiling and shaking his head. "I see now why you couldn''t hold off on this wish of yours. Ho ho, I see you''re trying to poach some of the best prospects from us! But, a wish is a wish, and I am in no position to decline a request such as this! It shall be done! But allow me to ask you this¡­ Why do this? What is your motivation? What inspired you to create a guild now of all times?" "..." "I¡ª ¡­ This has always been my main goal¡­ As many of you know, although here I stand as a world champion, I am an orphan. My beginnings were anything but spoiled, my parents were taken away from me by the war, and I was left all alone. Only a mere two years ago, I was weak, abilitiyless and naive. Every day I woulde to school only to suffer and get belittled. And outside of school was not much better. Every day was a perpetual nightmare, yet I did not let it stop me." "..." "Each day I would train from sunrise to sunset, I learned all my family had to teach and mastered martial arts in all forms, yet even still, I could not keep up with even the weakest of F-ranks, such was the human limit¡­ Through my struggle and humiliation, I only look up to see faces of amusement, and at times even fear. I always wished for help, yet help never came, only hesitation and mockery," "The only reason I stand before you today was out of mere luck of me finding an ability in my time of need. And, ever since then, I''ve devoted my entire life to helping the weak! To help the me that never got help! I would be there!!" "Through my journey, I''ve met many great people who showed me the beauty of mankind... Some of whom are now dead and I shall never forget... Through it all, many began to call me a hero or saviour, yet I am not foolish enough to see myself as that! No! I am human just like all of you! And I am selfish towards my own ambition! And to that end, I will create this guild!!" "A guild that rejects no one as long as they have the heart and will to seed! So many people have lost the will, yet there still remain those like the old me who strive for sess! Anyone like that is more than wee to join! We live in a very discriminatory society! One where the strong are praised and the weak are shunned! I will aim to bridge the gap!!" "I want to build the perfect guild! To honour my parents and my legacy, it shall be called the guild of blissful demons! a utopia for both the weak and strong to live alongside each other, and each will have their own roles and be awarded as such! All will be given the tools to seed! I have manufactured and studied my own methods in the pursuit of this, but even still, what I speak may sound hard or even impossible¡­ But that is why I require strong, reliable aid to start it! All are wee, and together we will rise up and break through heaven itself!!" Chapter 436: Recruitment (1) Chapter 436: Recruitment (1) Through all that urred, Moby stood at center stage, his shoulders broad and his arms out wide in firm conviction to his cause. As expected, the crowd stood up in apuse, cheering after the passionate speech they had heard. However, equally as expected, there were several people sat still, some even with clear disgust upon their faces, after all, this crowd was filled with nobles and rich people alike. The prospect of helping the weak had never once crossed their minds, some even could not help but cringe at the prospect. Many of them may have even been exploiting the weak for their own selfish gain to sessfully run their businesses. What was most surprising was that there were equally as many supporters as haters in the stands, and the overwhelming cheers masked any words of disdain. The reason was ambiguous, yet it was clear that the positivity and kindness in their hearts were still being siphoned by the angels, yet there they stood supporting a good cause. Even Moby did not expect such a turn of events. Had their hearts been swayed? Did they idolize him that much now? Or did they have an ulterior motive even he was not aware of? The crowd''s cheering seemed to have no limit, only when the supreme general raised his right hand up did the crowd suddenly calm itself and gaze once again in rtive silence. "That was quite a thorough answer you had there boy. If I didn''t know any better, I''d think you were trying to advertise your new guild on worldwide television." "You caught me! Nothing seems to get past you supreme general sir! That might be part of the reason, but I truly believe in every word I spoke," He beamed, scratching the back of his head. "Yes boy, that much was clear from the passion you possessed! And in that effort, I, supreme general Cade Walker shall aid you to create this new guild with all my power just as you wished! You can be most assured of that! You certainly have very unique and ambitious goals and motivations, I''m very curious to see how you will aplish all of this¡­" The supreme generalmented. "Thank you very much, supreme general! And don''t worry, you won''t be disappointed!" Moby grinned and lowered his head to show respect. "Oho! I will look forward to that then!" He could not help butugh. "In the meantime why don''t we get started with the recruitment shall we?" He stood up out of his seat and raised his hands, and the crowd moured in ovation. One by one, each of the judges grinned and smiled in anticipation. Each received a chance to advertise their own guilds and what benefits they would provide in general. "I''m very certain all of you must know the benefits of joining the military, but as tradition, I shall exin it anyways." Rayna Davis stood, addressing her former students. "All of you will be given a rank of Lieutenant at the very least, and you will be considered a high-profile member of the force. Only when you have sessfully proven both loyalty and worth will you be promoted ordingly. We the military will care for your wellbeing and that of your family to the utmost of our abilities in detail which I willter exin. Alongside that, depending on your rank and trust, we will provide you with secret intel and powerful items that would otherwise be unavable. For example¡­" Her voice was strong, vibrant, yet seriously tense at the same time. Her speech appeared as though she was reading a paper, yet she possessed no script to be seen. Despite her long-winded, professional and thorough exnations It was not at all boring to listen to, it was rather engaging for those present and those watching at home. "Thank you for your time, on behalf of the world-wide military, I hope you remain with us!" She sat down to a flurry of cheers, only for the next person to stand and take her ce. "Hello everyone! It''s me! Ashley Orbec, leader of the me Seekers guild!" Sheughed heartily and gloated under the shining light that reflected off her mismatched hair. "In my guild I like a lot of freedom! You wanna explore that distant because you heard a rumour about cool aliens? Go for it! You wanna take a day off to visit family? All power to ya! Just make sure to use your time wisely and do your weekly minimum quota! Yes, the guild is kinda small I do admit with only a few hundred members¡­" "BUT! that''s what makes it so tight-nit, filled with the best of the best! We here are all family! We are the me Seekers for a reason! We seek the unknown lighting it up with our mes! And the burning passion we bear is unbreakable!" There was no dy, as soon as she closed her mouth, the crowd opened theirs. Her pitch was short, yet it delivered such a strong message, all that it needed to aplish. It was such a contrast from the approach of methodical professionalism practiced by the military, but from the smile on her face, she was clearly proud and satisfied with herself as she sat down and handed control to her fellow female judge who slowly stood up and approached. "Mhm Mhm¡­ Greetings¡­" She subtly smiled, her hands sensually on her lips. "I''m certain many of you know me very well¡­ I am known by many names, "Queen of Shadows", "The Mother of Domination," and many others. But today, mistress Yuria Dark, leader of the Sellsword guild shall suffice¡­" "We are no mere ordinary guild. As our name would suggest, we are a band of sellswords. Unlike others who explore, hunt, and mine, we are for hire by all those who possess the means to pay¡­ We will ept anything frompletely vani to morally gray. We, the guild will only take 20% of whatever you make, the rest is for you to decide. And when we do our own excursions, we will reign down terror and suck the life out of everything we see¡­ Such is our guild¡­" "Miss Orbec mentioned how her guild is considered rather small¡­ Well, mine is even smaller¡­ Only thirty members reside in my guild, and thirty is the maximum limit I have set and allowed. Even with such a small number, we stand here as one of the most powerful guilds in the world! I am aplex yet very simple woman¡­" "Power is everything! If you catch my eye, you will be chosen! Many of you who participated are still far too meagre! And as such, you will not even be given the smallest offer! But even still, full entry is not guaranteed until you prove yourself worthy to take the spot of an already existing member! And until you do, you will remain in our sister guild..." "These are but a few of the benefits I will provide¡­ The rest you shall have to find out upon your initiation¡­ I promise you that all will be worth your time¡­" She giggled and slightly licked her tongue underneath her covering hands before elegantly turning her head and strutting back from where she stood. The reaction she received was the oddest out of the entire evening. A very few cheered loud enough to fill all the stands, yet many remained silent, deep in thought. Certainly, she was most bold of any of her colleagues simply by her sensual attire and demeanour, but many still did not expect such a showing. The void she had left in the minds and hearts of the masses was clear, and such a void had to be filled by someone. And there was only one man present there good enough to reinvigorate the crowd. "Greetings everyone! It is I! Vilhelm Ortiz, leader of the famed Hunters guild! And not only famed, but the biggest guild in the entire world! With over one hundred thousand members, we certainly have a wide array of talent! I''m not sure why my fellow guild leaders made it seem like having a smaller guild is better, now let me sell you the other way around!" "My guild is an entiremunity, a massive beehive of sorts working in harmony! It is very organized, yet at the same time very open! Out of all of these members, you are free to be a part of any team! Go on any mission depending on what has been posted for that day and be paid ordingly! Whatever effort you put in, that is how much you will make! I will not mandate you even work with me at all, simply when you need it!" "Many of you will not be given the highest rank from me, but even I from all the way up here can see great potential! I look forward to you climbing the ranks and proving yourself worthy of praise!" Indeed, the crowd was revitalized and regained their former vigour as they cheered towards the gleaming, charismatic man. And after spending several seconds gloating in the spotlight, he quickly turned his back leaving his cape pping through the air as he left the stage for the only man who has yet to speak. It was a man with long silver hair. His charm was evident beyond his looks, it was like an air of calmness and serenity took over as he spoke with his soft, soothing voice. "Salutations to all my fellow brothers in arms. My name is Gray Osborne, leader of the Hunters guild¡ª once a band of mercenaries, we now specialize in government aid. This guild has existed for many years, but only under my now recent leadership did it be what it now is today. We are rather close with the military, and as such, we have focused all our efforts entirely on the war." "Where it be inbat, research or medicine, I can assure you we are always leading the charge. With but five thousand members, we have made an impact unlike any other. In fact, it was our very own research team that made such VR technologie even possible. If you aim to help get rid of the Shalker menace but hesitate on joining the strict military, I can guarantee you a home with me under my wing." What he spoke was short, not very much detail, such as expected for a man known for his vagueness and mystery. Most out of everyone present, Gray Osborne and his Hawk guild have been the victim of various rumours. Some early disturbing while others mildly immoral or devious. Of course, no definitive proof was ever provided for such ims, yet many still lingered on them despite that. Still, it was more than clear that the Hawks and their leader were very loved and cherished by the masses. The passion and support was clear from most of those who were present, which was identical to their public perception and die-hard supporter. Even Moby could not help but keep an exceptionally closer eye. Still, even he could not admit that he possessed a certain charm that would draw people near and the eyes of a true leader. It was surprisingly odd to see how differently each guild approached such a thing, but there was no clear, objective edge to who was better. Only time would tell which of the guilds the students would choose. And only when that was finished did the recruitment officially begin. Of course, everything began from the bottom. The military along with all of the other guilds gave their offers. As previously advertised, Yuria Dark did not bother to speak nor acknowledge any of their presence, yet what was not was the fact that out of all offers, Moby Kane''s was most generous of them all¡ª He had offered them the rank of Duke, which was in his guild, directly below Arch Duke, Lord, and Sin. But nevertheless, even after such generosity, none even considered joining him. They did not voice their disdain, yet it was clear from their albeit subtle demeanour as though they looked down on him or were jealous of his position. Still, even after several rejections in a row, Moby did not bat an eye nor crumble. He kept the same air of confidence, especially now that he saw who it was. "Elizabeth Elianora¡­ Despite being a supporter and healer, you joined this tournament where power mattered most and disyed utmost mastery of your power¡­ As such, I shall offer you the rank of lieutenant along with a swift promotion to general once you have proven yourself. Indeed, your skills will truly be used for a good cause." The supreme General gave his offer. "For the Hunters, I offer you the rank of High Sentinel and allow you the privileged of leading your very own elite team as you so please!" Vilhelm reached his hands out and spoke, only to be quickly taken over by another voice. "That''s it!?" Ashley Orbec chuckled. "If you chose the meseekers! Not only will I offer you the rank of me Goddess, but I will also appoint you as the head of all support operations! What about that!" "Yes, yes indeed, miss Ashley is correct. Support is imperative, a weak team and a single strong support could beat armies of powerful monsters. This youngdy should be offered much higher than her rank. No mere support ability user could reach such rank. As such, I shall also appoint you as a protege to our current head support member until you feelfortable to take over her role." "Hmmm, yes, you caught my eyes very much Elizabeth dear¡­ So, if you are willing to join, you might have a chance to rece one of our current support¡­" Yuria spoke for the first time, rubbing her long ck nails on his cherry lips. Chapter 437: Requirement (2) Chapter 437: Requirement (2) "Elizabeth, for you, I shall give you the position of lord within my guild, and the ability to lead your very own battalion as you see fit. That is all." Moby spoke as the final one, unusually confident, unlike every other time. Now that all the offers had been given, it was now finally time for Elizabeth to decide. Her face softened as she parted her silky pink hair and stood in silence as though contemting her answer. That was until suddenly, her eyes narrowed to a precise ce within the crowds, and she let out an audible sigh perceived by all as she opened her mouth and gave her response. "I have a duty to my family. I had already promised my father that I would aid him in his business once I graduated¡­ And¡­ Until a few minutes prior, that was what I would have done¡­ One of the guild leaders swayed me, and I decided to take fate into my own hands. And the answer could not be clearer now¡­" She took a small pause to gaze upon the canopy of judges with a deep breath, seeing each of them smile and lean closer in anticipation. But that was when her eyes abruptly shifted down andnded upon the ground level where she stood. "Moby Kane, it would be an honour to join you and your guild of blissful demons." She bowed respectfully and gave her final answer. There was silence as all formted what they had heard, only for madness to ensue. Through it all, Elizabeth kept her head lowered ignoring it all. Of course, what she spoke was a mere lie in order to make her master''s guild sound more appealing, her mind had been long set and was never swayed, she would never dare reject. Yet, there still lied a hint of truth from that lie. More than ever, she was certain the future lied within his hands, and going against his will would be nothing but foolish. She had to learn that fact and learn it well. Her father''s wishes were no longer of concern to her. Shivers ran down her spine thinking of what was toe from Moby Kane and his brain, yet oddly enough, she could not help but smile with anticipation and excitement through it all. As the recruitment process continued, so did Moby''s streak of rejections¡ª for the students, rejecting all offers and staying to support their family or choosing one of the original judges seemed to be the only option, and the disdain, jealousy, or even embarrassment to join Moby continued. The only people who had joined him were those who were guaranteed, his fellow demons, and each one who joined incited an upset considering they were one of the most promising students in the entire tournament. Many began to rethink their rash thinking and mockery¡ª They began to see Moby as a true threat¡­ That was until it was time for the top threepetitors¡­ Regrit Oswald, a man known for his overly boisterous nature was abnormally silent. Unlike the others, he did not even look beyond his own two feet. It was certainly most obscure for him, none knew what he thought, yet embarrassment was certainly not the answer. "Regrit Oswald correct? Your showing was not half bad! You got some power in you and a burning determination for strength! For a rank such as yours, I offer you a position of General with a close possibility of promotion to high general!" The supreme general smiled, only to be suddenly interrupted. "Apologies supreme general, but what do you see in such a man? His power is indeed somewhat impressive rtive to everyone else, yet there lies the problem with his temper and manners. He seems merely a worse version of his elder sibling. He should have been up here, not him, as such I will pass, he''s not my type." Yuria Dark yawned and waved him off with a flick of her wrist, the first person she had ever rejected within the top eight. "Yuria! You''re being too hard on the kid! Sure, he''s not perfect! But we all had our phases right!? Give him a chance! I sense great potential! So, Regrit Oswald, I will give you the rank of apprentice war god! You certainly got the firepower! Now I wanna see how you lead!" Ashley Orbec smiled brimming with joy as she extended her arms out to the unresponsive man below. "You sure you''re not just being a bias fire user Ash? Sure he''s strong, but is he really worth the trouble?" Vilhelm Ortiz raised an eyebrow. "I will pass on him. I seek no barbarians; my guild has a reputation to uphold. I agree with mistress Dark, his brother is just a far better version. I''ll be sure to offer him an invitation as soon as possible." "Mhm," Gray Osborne nodded to himself. "I feel greatly apologetic to admit I share that sentiment. Truly, that boy is powerful, and his future may be bright once he relinquishes his rage and pride. But in his current state, I shall not ept him, maybe in the future." The crowd knew that the judges had many thoughts on Regrit Oswald, yet they did not expect so many to pass up on a powerful foe such as he. None expected him to stand a chance against Adam Walker, and he managed to beat everyone up until that point; he had an incredible showing. "They''re passing up on him like they''re ying hot potato," one spectator could not help butugh. "I guess that''s what happens when you''re a reject born in the boonies!" "Wait is he really!?" The ears of a demon were very potent, and Regrit could hear and perceive every sound within the ocean of voices. Yet still, he forced himself not to hear them. He already knew what they spoke of after all. But that was one a voice entered his ears, one that he fully forsaw and could not escape from. "Regrit Oswald, old friend. I know how you truly feel and what is your true potential. Don''t pay attention to the bbering of these old geezers." Moby shrugged. "Ooo¡­ A feisty boy¡­ I like it¡­" Yuria smirked and licked her lips with the eyes of a predator. And, Gray Osborne who sat at her side could not help but gaze in shock before that shock turned into smiling keeness. "Who''re you calling an old geezer! I''ll have you know I''m still young in my thirties!" Vilhelm shot up out of his seat with his fists clenched. "Your eyes must be waning if you don''t see the power of what you had passed upon. As such, that makes you an old geezer. Mistress Orbec and our Supreme General were smart enough to see it, yet you did not." "I made a rational decision with all my years of expertise! Don''t be arrogant, boy! What do you know that I don''t! My fellow judges have their own tastes and I have mine! If you want to take him so badly, then you take him!" Vilhelm shouted. "Take him? Indeed I shall. And I shall give him the highest rank in my guild! That of Sin!" Moby shook his head smirking. "Mark my words, in a few months, you will see how ignorant you truly are for underestimating me¡­" "Hey! Who do you think you''re taking! He there''s still my offer and that of the supreme general!" Ashley interrupted with finesse. "So, Regrit Oswald! Who will it be?" The stage was set, and all eyes were on the still ever silent Regrit¡­ For several seconds, silence overcame all who gazed. But that was when he moved. His hands once clenched opened wide, and with a deep breath, he raised his head revealing a formidable gaze of steel thatnded upon Moby Kane. "Thanks¡­ I guess I''ll have to just ept your offer¡­" Upon saying those words, he closed his eyes, only for them to suddenly open mere momentster by a tight grasp choking him from the neck. "Now that''s what I''ve been waiting for! Wee aboard sin of pride!" Moby wrapped his arms around that of Regrit. "Sin of pride? I always saw myself as the sin of envy or even greed." He smiled, Jittery as it may be, it was one not noticeable by many, but ever so small it still remained there. Chapter 438: The Aftermath Chapter 438: The Aftermath With the crowd calmed down, now, there remained only onepetitor unimed, yet the excitement and mystery surrounding him was seemingly none existentpared to all others, after all, he was the grandson of the supreme general. It was to the point that the judges did not even bother to give any offerings, such things would simply be wasted effort. They simply gave him the stage to speak his mind. "As you all may have assumed, yes, I will be joining the military and following in the footsteps of my grandfather as I promised him. That is my duty. That was all I was going to say at first, but with this new development of Moby Kane creating his own guild, I feel like I mustment. Fear not, I will most certainly not be joining, but I do wish you the best of luck. I look forward to future developments, but rest assured I won''t allow you to surpass me in any way from here on. That is what I had promised myself." He turned around and smiled. "Like-wise, I wish you the best of luck as well, but I guarantee you won''t best me!" ?? ?? ?? And with that, the tournament officially came to a close, the school year had finally ended and all were left to live out the beginning of their adult lives. Yet, there were still events toe. The amusement park was just as bustling as ever with cheers and celebrations that echoed to all ends of the space. The stress ofbat was now over, so it was finally time for some much-needed rxation. The sky within the virtual reality turned a dark blue reflecting the sky of the outside world, and the lights shining upon the darkenednd were like bonfires of glee. Still, from this festival, there were several people nowhere to be seen. And one such person was the winner himself Moby Kane who left himself within thefort of his own room, a room of never-ending white, aura-like light. Sitting on his couch with a smile, he tapped his feet with delight and anticipation. There were many reasons for his absence; after such an announcement and the fact that he received first ce, there was certain to be hoards of attention and paparazzi headed his way, yet that was not the main reason. No, he had a meeting to attend to, and he was simply waiting for that person to appear before him. And there she was, in a sh of purple that burst through the white, the light purple-haired female appeared wearing the school uniform he had gotten all too ustomed to now. He could not help but grin as she materialized out of thin air, yet his expression turned into perplexity upon gazing upon her face. With slow, deliberate steps that echoed within the space, she walked up towards him andzily sat next to him on the couch with a tired sigh. "So, how was it? Did you get the supreme general to speak?" Moby asked. "Yeah, I did¡­" She took a deep breath and crossed her legs. "I could tell, he was acting exceptionally nice to me¡­ And now that I think about it, he did seem very different. How did you get him to speak? I bet he just instantly shat his pants and fessed up immediately!" Moby burst outughing. "Ehhh¡­ I was surprised, he was actually a much harder nut to crack than I expected." "Even for you?" Moby looked genuinely surprised. "I guess I must have underestimated him¡­ Still, all''s well that ends well. How was it that you got him to speak then?" "Physical torture initially didn''t seem to work, so I opted to ce him in a nightmare." "ssic!" Moby could not help but chuckle, only for him to calm himself down a few secondster with a deep breath. "Now¡­ What exactly did he reveal¡­" "I''ll get the things you''ve been wondering about most out of the way first. The military has a way to detect demons, and that''s how they managed to identify your parents." "Identify my parents?" His face widened. "Yes," She nodded. "Your parents'' death was no mere ident. It was all organized by the supreme general himself. The military seems to have deep connections with the angels, in fact, angels have visited here before¡­ For their final years, the military and supreme general tortured your parents for information, yet they did not speak at all. Now, I''m fairly certain they are captured by the angels, but the possibility of their death is very high. As a child, you were also tested to see if you were also a demon, yet you passed being human and were chosen to live¡­" "..." "I see¡­ That exins a lot¡­ Well, I guess I''ll have to n more for the future, things might get more dangerous from here on out." "Hmmm?" Avilia opened her eyes and raised a brow. "Aren''t you mad or something? Are you not yearning for revenge on the man who tortured your parents?" "If it were the past me, I most certainly would have. But I''ve long mentally prepared ande to terms with the fact that my parents could be dead. I have already shed enough tears, they wouldn''t want any more. Besides, you had already tortured him enough for me, that''s enough mental closure¡­" "..." "I¡ª I see¡­" Avilia looked down and to the side. "Anyways, I''d like to know the details of the rtion the angels have with humans and how your ne managed to get to me unscathed. And then, there lies the fact that despite all this time, me and my fellow demons managed to escape detection for so long." "I have my theories on some of that, but it may take longer to exin." "I see, then we can save that for another time," Moby nodded. "For now, I want to know exactly what came of the supreme general¡­" He smirked. "Is he now our pawn? Have you scared him into submission?" "..." "Ummm¡­ Not exactly¡­" "Then what?" "I scared him to death¡­" Chapter 439: The Aftermath (2) Chapter 439: The Aftermath (2) Immediately, as though struck in the back of the head, his expression took a turn. Sweat poured out of his face, and his mouth opened out of instinct yet no words exited for several seconds. "D¡ª Dead!? How!? Why!? How was the general up there speaking to me then!? Does everything you touch just die!?" "Hey! That''s not true! ¡­ Even though it kinda was my fault." She soughed. "Your fault? How so? I never expected you to say that¡­" He questioned. "Well¡­ I''m just trying to be honest andpletely transparent with you¡­" "..." She took a small pause and looked away before closing her eyes and continuing. "Anyways, let me just exin what happened. I managed to get him to speak, yet I was blindsided on why he was so adamant not to speak. At first, I thought it was his pride, so I tried to break him into submission¡­ That did work, but¡­" "But what?" Moby leaned in closer and asked. "The nightmare I ced him in left him in a time loop, and the only way it would be broken would be for him to speak the truth. I thought it would be a good way of making him see you as some sort of almighty being once we controlled him, but the n backfired¡­ From what I assume, he must have endured several lifetimes of torture with the hope of escape, but in the end, death seemed to be his only option. He was that stubborn, or maybe even frightened¡­" "..." "But now you ask, ''How did you let him die?''... As soon as he told me the truth, he began to fade away into the white light of immeasurable pain. As soon as I realized it, I tried to stop it, but even I was powerless, especially in my current state of being. That was most certainly the work of a celestial being. They must have ced a seal on his tongue to never share the truth, and if he did, he would suffer the worst pain imaginable and die. That should have been something I foresaw and tried to bypass, but by the time it happened it was far toote." "Ah¡ª I see¡­" Moby began to ponder deeply. "But¡­ Doesn''t that mean that the angels know that he spoke the truth? A signal must have been sent to them. Shit, those fuckers might be on their way now to¡ª" "I wouldn''t worry about that¡­" She took a deep breath and calmed him down. "Once I realized I couldn''t stop his death, I focused on intercepting whatever signal would go to the gods and angels. The message should bepletely nullified." "Oh, that''s a relief¡­" Moby smiled, sighing his fears away and settling his nerves. "At least I think¡­" She continued. "You think!?" "Well, had I been full power, intercepting such a message would have been child''s y. But now I''m not that sure. At the least, it should be dyed by one year, and at most, it should have beenpletely intercepted, take that as you will." She shrugged. "One year? One year isn''t too bad¡­ I just have to deal with the fact that I won''t have the military under my grasp¡­ I suppose it won''t be that big of a deal. I had an inkling that everything goingpletely as nned would have been too good to be true. So be it, I guess I''m lucky that I still have so much going." Moby''s voice softened as he shook his head and peered up to the ceiling. "Sorry about that¡­" He heard a voice from his side, and he immediately turned to see Avilia looking to her left towards an empty wall. "Sorry for what? You did your best, I really don''t me you. If anything, I''m d and impressed you kept things so under control. I''d have been much worse if I were you." "Heh¡­ I suppose so¡­" She gave a distant chuckle. "I guess you may have figured this out, but that supreme general there was a fake. That was actually Rupert transformed into the supreme general. He left a clone in his hospital bed, I think he did very well. Luckily enough, the supreme general''s body has yet to be found, if there even was a body and his physical one hadn''t faded to dust. He probably has his own special VR room where no one is able to enter but him, so his body shouldn''t be discovered until after the tournament." "Ahhh! That exins why the supreme general was so nice to me and Regrit!" He burst outughing. "That''s some nice thinking! Maybe having the military in shambles is a good thing! You may kill everything you touch, but it may be a blessing instead of a curse!" "You may wanna check your demon vocabry; those blessings sting! But, I appreciate the sentiment, thanks. I look forward to seeing how you deal with this new dilemma." She gradually twisted her head away from the wall and smiled brightly towards him. Out of all things that happened in their discussion, Moby was most taken back at that moment. It took him a few seconds to process, yet he reciprocated that sentiment soon after with a warm feeling in his heart. Little did he know that was only the beginning of the surprises that were toe. An unknown sound abruptly entered, creaking within the room of white, and Moby''s head immediately snapped trying to find its source. Ever so slowly, the door to the room began to open, and out of it emerged a single figure bearing an odd expression. Beyond her bangs, her eyes of brilliant sapphires shined with what seemed like shyness or brimming excitement as she stepped within the white space with footsteps echoing from her ck summer heals. Her dazzling blue hair was left free to wave untied behind her back. Her ck sundress fit snug around her waist, and her gray nnel had their sleeves rolled, not masking much of her stunning figure. "I''m backkkk!" She joyfully announced. "Did you miss me?" Chapter 440: A Loving Reunion Chapter 440: A Loving Reunion "J¡ª Jayden!?" Moby''s mutter turned into genuine shock as those words slipped out of his mouth. "Yeah, Jayden! Did you forget about me already? Pretty rude ya know," Moby was left absolutely bbergasted¡ª never did he expect to see her here. It had been so long since he hadst been with her, but oddly enough she seemed so familiar. From the way she strutted into the room to the expression on her face, it was most certainly none other than Jayden Griffith, his significant other. Still, despite the overflowing rush of thoughts and emotion, there was still one aspect intriguingly missing. "Ah¡ª You''re here!? How did you even get in here!? This room only opens to my finger pr¡ª" As he spoke, Jayden smirked smugly in his direction, and in that moment he stopped, realizing that she was a doppelganger. "Hmmmm? Hey! Why are you looking at me like you saw some sort of ghost?" She leaned over from afar and pouted. "By the way, who is that girl to your side? Are you cheating on me already?" As she spoke, Moby''s eyes widened further, his heart sank, his hairs rose stiff from their pores, and his forehead began to sweat as he internally screamed to himself. And, out of instinct, his head left Jayden''s gaze and snapped to his nk, to the other side of the couch where he rested. "Huh?" But, to his surprise, he found no one there¡ª Avilia who had been previously sat to his side was nowhere to be found. But that was when he was abruptly attacked. In his distraction, a heavyweight fell hurling towards him like a heavy, and when he looked, he was met with a top of blue hair rubbing on his chest, hands quivering, squeezing him tightly on his waist to the point where he could hear her heartbeat past her breasts, and a smooth, flowery scent he would not dare to forget in a million years. "I¡ª I¡­ I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!" She wept. Her voice was shaky, emotional to the bone and her arms began to heavily quake further as she squeezed him tighter. The shirt upon his chest where her face rested began to feel moist, like a continuous stream was dripping upon it. Initially, Moby''s face stayed shocked, his hands up in the sky untangled by her arms. However, slowly, his face began to soften. His shoulders rxed, and his hands fell down petting her head, his fingers running down her silky hair with a smile. "Yes¡­ I missed you two," Moby''s voice seemed silky like a charming melody as it entered into Jayden''s ears. Her grip weakened from his chest, yet their stutter still remained as she lifted her head and looked up to him with reddened, tear-filled eyes and damp, rosy cheeks. For an instant, they locked gazes intently, and in the next, it was their lips that found themselves locked. Seemingly out of nowhere, Jayden''s arms left his waist and flung around his neck, flinging him closer towards her and her scarlet lips with eyes closed. Moby''s softened gaze regained its jolt and his face widened considerably, yet it did not take long for him to regain his previous calmness. He did not show resistance, in fact, he instead fully submitted himself to her grasp as he wrapped his hands around her waist, bringing her closer towards him. Jayden''s eyebrows soared as her face widened, yet her eyes remained shut with a steady stream of tears flowing out, tears of both bliss and mncholic sadness. The darkness from her closed eyelids manifested into a brilliant light of soothing purple as she felt her tongue dance within Moby''s mouth. Her heavily beating heart began to settle down to a normal rhythm, and she let her mind and body run free in the most happiness she had felt in seemingly forever. But that was when the dance ended. Their lips separated, and Jayden finally opened her eyes with a slight hint of disappointment. She knew not how long they were kissing, all she knew was that her body was yearning for more. However, she could not make herself say any of the sorts, especially when sheid eyes upon Moby''s tender look and loving smile that made her smile shakily and wipe the tears that still rained down past her flushed cheeks. "D¡ª Did you really miss me?" She murmured, looking up at him with expectant eyes. "Did you really miss me?" Moby raised his eyebrows. "I didn''t know you were that kind of sappy girl." "Ah¡ª Ah¡ª I''m not! It''s just¡ª" Jayden''s already reddened cheeks turned boiling, and panic overcame her only to be interrupted by Moby''sughter. "Hahahaha! Don''t worry, I get it! And yes, I of course did! Why would I lie to you now!" "Ah¡ª Hahaha¡­" She wiped her tears again heavily and sniffled. "Y¡ª You have no idea how much I wanted to see you again¡­ But, I''m not gonna sit here and lecture you about why you didn''t contact me at all. I know you must have tried your best¡­ I know you had your reasons and I know that you were doing something important¡­ yet still¡­ I guess my over-obsessive side is taking over¡­" "Hmph Hmph," Moby chuckled once more. "You''re not being over obsessive! You''re just showing me that you care!" "R¡ª Really¡­" She muttered. "You''re doing it again! What is it with you? You think I''ve lost feelings already? Do you really think I got together with another girl while I was here?" "No! Of course not! I would never think so lowly of you! You''d be too scared of my wrath to ever dare to do something like that!" One second there was silence, and in the next, a hushed snicker was heard as they both exploded into mutualughter. "True, I wouldn''t want that dark side of yours, I much prefer this one!" "Damn right!" She puffed her chest forward. "You know, I really couldn''t believe it was you when you came in, but now there''s no doubt in my mind. You haven''t changed a bit did you?" " ''Haven''t changed a bit'' is a bit too hasty don''t ya think? I can assure you that I can show you many new thingster on!" "Oh, now you''re getting me interested!" Moby leaned back. "Anyways, I gotta ask, why exactly are you here?" "Hmmm? You do understand that my father is one of the most important people in the country, if not the world. As soon as I heard that you were participating in the tournament you know damn well I had toe spectate!" "Aha, I should have guessed looking back at it." Moby rubbed the back of his head. "I just assumed that you rich kids had a lot of work to do after graduation no?" "Well, you might be right," She nervously smiled. "At first, I had a special post-graduation ceremony to attend to with some other rich kids¡­ My father told me I couldn''t go see your matches and I should just wait until you''re back on earth, so I was kinda devastated for a few weeks. But then! On the day of the tournament, I woke up to find a special VR machine, a ticket, and a message that read "You''re wee, go have fun," in my room from my father. You couldn''t even believe the joy I felt! I still don''t know if my father was just pranking me or if I just nagged him enough to do this, but doesn''t matter now! I came here and got to see you beat some ass! That''s all that matters!" "W¡ª wait! Does that mean that Mason Griffith is here!? Is Abby here too!? Are you not alone? Are Nags and Ray here too?" Moby blurted. "Abby yes, Nags and Ray, no. They really wanted to go, but even I couldn''t get them tickets. My dad had some important work to do, so he''s not here either." "So Abby is here!? Where is she!?" "Hmmmm¡­ Good question," Jayden ced her hands around her lips. "She was just behind me a second ago, but then she left to go wonder on her own." "Wonder on her own!? Isn''t that a bit unsafe!? Has she gotten better?" Moby seemed genuinely concerned. "From what I can tell, she''s gotten much better than before, but nowhere near where she was over a year ago. In fact, this is her first time ever in such a big public gathering." "I''m d she''s gotten better, but still, shouldn''t you be worried?" "Eh, I wouldn''t be." Jayden shrugged. "Abby can handle herself. But, what does have me worried is that she chose to go somewhere else instead ofing here to see you." "You think she''s shy? If even you were shy, I can only imagine how shy she must have been¡­" "Me??? shy!? O¡ª of course not! I would never!" She shook her head. "Anyways, I wouldn''t be too worried. She might have just gone to the bathroom in our mansion and is on her way soon. In the meantime¡­" Jayden paused and a slight smirk appeared on her visage. "I might have let you off the hook not being able to contact me during the year, but now I expect a fully detailed story about everything that''s happened to you during the year! And by everything I mean EVERYTHING! Don''t you dare skimp out on me!" "Eh, I fully expected you to say that. Of course, I''ll do it, BUT! Only under one condition! You have to tell me everything that happened with you as well!" "Easy!" Sheughed proudly. "You''ve got yourself a deal!" Chapter 441: Elizabeths Confrontation Chapter 441: Elizabeth''s Confrontation Moby had all but finished exining all that had happened to him, and now Jayden was just concluding as well. Moby was kept to the edge of his seat listing to all he had missed out on as he listened with intent. "I couldn''t watch anything while up there, the military blocked everything," He sighed. "Not even your own TV show?" She questioned. "Huh?" "Well, I''m sure you already know this, but there''s a whole TV show about you! There''s an actor doing all the roles for me and everyone else, even Alex!" She reminisced. "It says it''s all based on a real story, which it sorta is but some of the events are kinda exaggerated, but it sure makes you look good! Everyone loves it! The budget is insanely high too! I bet some guy must have been really interested in your life and thought he would make a good show out of it!" "Wha? There''s a TV show about me?" "Wait wait wait wait wait! Hold on a sec! You''re meaning to tell me that there is a TV show all about you and you had no idea!?" "I guess so," Moby scratched his jaw until suddenly, his eyes went wide in realization. "Wait, off the top of your head, can you remember the name of the creator or director of the show?" "I think his name was Fredrick Rogan or something," ''Fredrick Rogan¡­ I know that alias¡­ huh, that damn bastard mammon really pulled a fast one on me, I had no idea he had that kind of power. So¡­ That''s why he was so interested in me telling him about my past¡­'' Moby inwardly smiled. "but that doesn''t matter now!" She continued. "I can contact my father and sue the hell out of those guys! My family is in contact with some of the bestwyers in the world and¡ª" "No no! That''s quite alright! If they made me look good then it''s okay. Besides, I think I know the creator, he''s a subordinate of mine." Moby calmed Jayden down and suavely stated. "So you had this nned all along!?" She rested her raised bottom back down on the couch and sighed. "I guess you can say that." Mobyughed. "I still haven''t watched it though, but I''m sure we can watch it together!" "Oh! That''s good! I only watched the first episode and saved the rest for us both to watch! It can be a good time for some alone hours just to ourselves!" She giggled and smirked in his direction. "Of course, but first let''s worry about the new guild. I''m gonna need your help to set it all up and get people on board." "Mhm, I fully expected this." She eagerly grinned and puffed her chest forward. "I''ll do it, but in return, I expect a rank of Sin within the guild!" "Seems fair, you got yourself a deal!" ?? ?? ?? In the world outside of the endless expanse of Moby''s room, the festivities continued as usual. The supreme general''s death had yet to be discovered, and all seemed to be enjoying themselves underneath the twilight of the brilliant sky. Many of thepetitors were hoarded with crowds of people and paparazzi trying to get a word out of them. Some seemed to rather enjoy all the attention and simply gloated in the spotlight, while others did not seem so optimistic. The former seemed to be by far the majority, yet there still existed people that belonged to thetter. "Miss Eleonora! Can we have a statement how you managed to get so far in the tournament as a mere support!? That has never been done in the history of this school before!" A female voice screamed from within the wave of shing lights. "I simply trained and became stronger. With the correct tools and motivation, anyone can be sessful." She casually yet elegantly responded. "Misstress Eleonora! Out of all your choices, why was it you chose to join the newly formed guild of blissful demons? Is there something we are not aware of?" "You know as much as I do," She shook her head before opening her eyes wide with unexpected passion. "BUT! if you don''t see the sheer amount of potential in that guild, then you must be either ignortant or blind. Moby Kane proved himself more than capable of winning this tournament, and I strongly believe in his vision of the future and his sess in this guild." "HikariYami! If you don''t mind us asking, why is it that you have two forms with different personalities? Are you two people living in the same body? What is your secret?" "Ah¡ª I don''t know¡­ Yami is just my sister¡­ That''s all that matters to me¡­" She nervously responded, staring at the endless stream of shing light seemingly unphased. "I see you and miss Eleonora both joined the Blissful Demon Guild and were now walking together. Is it safe to assume that both of you are friends?" "Ah¡ª I guess so¡­" She quietly nodded, overwhelmed looking at all the faces around her. "Aha! I see! So you two do have something going on! How did this unexpected friendship ur?" "Elizabeth Eleonora! Would you care to let us know how you felt about the supreme general''s unexpected outcry today?" "Miss! Adam Walker lost today, did you foresee this?" "Do you have any further ns now that you are finally graduated?" "I''m sorry, but I don''t feel like answering these questions now. I would like some time for peace. Let''s go Hikari¡­" She gritted her teeth from underneath her mouth and walked to the side, Hikari following after her. "C¡ªComing!" Hikari shook herself off only to be cut off by a wall of people once again surrounding her. "Please! Just one more question!" "The people are hungry to know! It won''t take long!" ''Tch, these people are like mindless zombies. What are those newspanies telling these guys to keep them so persistent? Why can''t they just leave us alone¡­'' Elizabeth scoffed under her breath as she formted her final answer to the press, but that was when her expression of anger and disgust turned into genuine shock, or perhaps unease as she witnessed the figure of a tall, burling man towering over the paparazzi like a giant as he strode in her direction. His shoulders were broad like mountains to the point that the ck and pink suit he wore could barely contain his muscle, fighting to rip and pop out. His natural pink beard was well maintained, and the separated mustache from above twisted into circles at its end. His pink eyes were small, and his eyebrows were thick, well exposed from his slicked-back rose hair tied into a small ponytail at the top of his head. With his cheeks raised forming a smile, he lifted his forearm that wasparable to a tree trunk and ced it firmly upon the shoulders of one of the men screaming eagerly with camera in hand. "Excuse me, but would it be possible for me to talk to my daughter?" He spoke in a gentlemanly voice. "Huh? Who''s tha¡ª" The man turned around only to catch his tongue upon seeing his entire figure covered in shadows from the presence of a single man, his face abruptly sweating and twisting as his head immediately fell on level with his knees. "S¡ª sir! I¡ª I mean lord! Lord Eleonora sir! Apologies, I had no idea it was you!" Upon seeing their fellow reporter bow, the beyond stunned crowds crumbled and followed his lead in apology. "Oh, fear not young men! I mean you no harm" Heughed warmly. "It does warm my heart to see how popr my adorable little Elizabeth has gotten! I''m certain you have much to ask her, but I request you to leave for now. I would like to spend some fatherly time with her. I promise to give you as much time as you require with her as soon we get things sorted? What do you all say?" He smiled eagerly at them from above. "You''re far too kind sir! Thank you so much for this!" They all lowered their heads even further. "Great!" He chuckled. Elizabeth, now that you''re free, why don''t we go celebrate your achievements! I truly am proud of you!" With clear fatherly love, he smiled and gestured in her direction, but from Elizabeth''s expression still clear as day on her face, she did not see anythingforting in that smile. Chapter 442: An Unexpected Hero Chapter 442: An Unexpected Hero. "Oh, father! You''re here?" Elizabeth''s face brightened in delight. "You really saved me now, but I didn''t expect to see you so soon!" "Hahaha! Well, you shouldn''t have expected any less from yours truly! I didn''t think you''d underestimate me when ites to matters you''re involved in!" Heughed proudly. "Who''s that to your side? A new friend? Or, are you maybe babysitting her." "Father! Don''t say stuff like that! Hikari and I are the same age! And yes, I would say we are definitely more than acquaintances." "Oh, that''s interesting!" He smiled further. "Tell me about herter along with everything else that you did at school okay? In the meantime, do you mind if I snatch you off her hand?" "I suppose¡­" She sighed before looking down towards Hikari. "Apologies, but this is where you and I shall depart for the foreseeable future. It was truly a pleasure to know you. Thank you¡­ Hikari." To Hikari, Elizabeth''s words sounded more like a final will rather than a goodbye for now. Shepletely understood, yet she could not help but feel a slight pain in her heart and dampness in her eyes as she slowly nodded. "Thanks for understanding¡­ And sorry for leaving you all alone with these guys¡­ Bye!" Hikari attempted to catch Elizabeth''s hands, yet her reaction speed failed her. Before she knew it, Elizabeth''s hands slipped away as she left her side, the crowd of reporters parting to allow her an easy path to her father before closing once more blocking her view of the two pink-haired figures walking away into the night. For once in seemingly forever, she was all alone. For the past year, Elizabeth had always been close to her, and now with her absence, she could not help but feel abrupt emptiness. As the tenseness in the atmosphere calmed, the reporters regained their vigour, and with seemingly more ferocity than before, they pounced on the defenceless Hikari. Her head swapped from camera sh to camera sh, voice to voice, question to question, yet no matter her efforts, she could not handle it all, nor did she know how to¡­ All she wanted to do was run away and scream, yet even that did not seem like a viable option considering she did not want to bring shame upon Moby and his new guild. But that was when suddenly, her consciousness began to slip, and her problem was left in the hands of another. "Hey¡­ What are you all? Mindless zombies?" A cold, sombre voice exited out of her previously shy, jittery mouth like she was a different person. Her hair turned dark, and her slight aura of white shifted into pitch-ck darkness that exploded every camera in sight and blew back all the paparazzi as if they were standing at the heart of a tornado. "Go find some other girl to pick on. I have no interest in your degenerate practices. Now¡­ Leave me be!" ''Y¡ªYami¡­'' Hikari mumbled watching from within. "Ah¡ª Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!" As the screams of pain pierced through the boisterous night, it left nothing but silence in its wake. All those in the area previously enjoying themselves turned theirplete attention on the aftermath, their eyes shifting from the girl who caused it to the victims reeling on the ground. Those were the only sounds heard, the sound of whimpers and hushed breaths. Their pupils were frail, losing colour, and their entire bodies shook with as some crawled away. "M¡ª Monster¡­" All those who looked could not help but be taken aback by the pure desperation on disy, and how this little girl caused grown adults to break down like infants. And in the midst of all this chaos, there was only one man who advanced from the gathered crowds. A man with unparalleled pride in his step, seemingly unphased, if anything he seemed rather amused. It was a man that all recognized. A man that many could not tell where he was in his young twenties or histe thirties. He stood towering well over six feet tall, muscr and lean from head to toe. His medium-length ck hair was parted away from his slightly darkened sky-blue eyes. His beard seemed lightly maintained, enough to seem almost effortless. Donned upon him was a ck suit lined in gold, a golden star shining brightly on his heart for all to see. "Hahaha! I''d recognize that voice anywhere! Hey there! HikariYami! It''s been a while!" He cheerfully greeted with his hands waving in her direction. "Ryker? What are you doing here?" Yami looked dazed for an instant only to return to her usual self in the next. "I''d prefer ''High General Ryker,'' but, I''ll let it slide just this once." He amusingly noted. "Whatever you say¡­" She sighed. "Anyways, why are you here exactly? Let me guess, you''re gonna give me another lecture are you?" "Lecture? Heavens no! If anything I gotta be apuding you for what you did to them! I don''t me you, they''re damn annoying! No, I''m just here to spectate how my former students were doing, and oh boy was I surprised. Especially you, my former disciple! The way you fought was exceptional, it caught me off guard!" He gloated. "Former disciple?" She raised an eyebrow. "I gained my strength on my own, I owe nothing to you, just know that¡­" "Damn, you sure have gotten more honest in the past year. Care for a walk? I bet it sucks to be out alone at a time like this." ?? ?? ?? Alone, Yami sat at a bench overlooking a vast expanse of space and a single source of light that looked identical to the moon. Although all she saw was nothing but a virtual image, she could not help but let her mind drift within the clouds until the clouds ran out of space for her to wonder. "Sorry I''mte," She heard a voice from behind. "Took you a while¡­" She scoffed before looking rather perplexed. "Want an ice cream?" "An ice cream? Is that why you took so long? You know I''m not a child right?" "I suppose," He nervously chuckled. "But, I assumed Hikari would have loved one no?" "I¡­ I suppose you''re right¡­" Yami bit her lip and shook her head in realization. "But, she''s still too shaken from those damn reporters." "Yeah, I can imagine¡­" He sat on the bench and began to suck upon the very ice cream he brought. "You know, you actually haven''t changed a bit fromst year¡­" "Huh? What is that supposed to mean?" "Nothing¡­" He chuckled. "Well, you''re the one who hasn''t changed at all. Same as always!" "Excuse me!!" Ryker looked genuinely offended. "I''mpletely different! Can''t you tell by how much brighter my face looks! I have earned the respect I deserve and I''m not forced to sit through enough paperwork to fill up the entire ocean!" "Hmmm¡­ I guess you do look less like a zombie¡­ And, you seemed to have lost that cranky, panicked look you always had. You might be a tad moreid back I do admit, but maybe it''s because you have no real power over me now to order me around. But still, at the end of the day, you''re still just a school principal." "Not anymore," Ryker eximed. "What? Did they fire you already! It''s about time!" Sheughed openly. "It''s not that either¡­" "Hm? Then what is it?" "Well obviously, I''ve been promoted! With war on the horizon, the military needs their brightest minds and strongest muscle working in headquarters." "And what in that tells me how you''ve been chosen?" "Ah! Of course, you''ve been in the dark about all my great achievements! I''ve made quite the name for myself! Want to hear some of my best ones?" "No¡ª I''m good, you don''t need to¡ª" "So first, the grand beast on Wagou had suddenly sprung up after the had been tame for the past few decades. Many suspect the rise of these monsters has to do with the Shalkers trying to invade our sector discretely without putting our treaty at risk. The monster''s power was growing exponentially stronger, many men had died on previous excursions. Only when I, and my expertise were put in charge of leading the attack did I manage to defeat the beast at its strongest and with minimal casua¡ª" "Okay okay! I get it! It''s really true, you haven''t changed at all! All you care about is yourself!" "Ah! Of course not!" Ryker jumped out of his seat. "I''m doing this all for the greater good of mankind!" "Sure¡­" Yami gave him the eye. "You can believe what you want to believe, but my achievements don''t lie, and the people sure do love me!" "Enough of this none sense. I have something of actual concern to ask¡­" "Okay, sure, ask away." He rxed back onto his seat. "The leader of the Eleonora household¡­ How is he?" "Fredrick Eleonora? Are you worried about that girl who was with you earlier?" "Me? No! Hikari, yes. I do owe her a bit for keeping my sisterpany, but that''s about it." "Ahh! I see! So Shy little miss Hikari finally made herself some friends yes?" "I suppose so¡­" A slight smile appeared on Yami''s face. "Well, if you''re worried about that girl, I really wouldn''t be. Frederick Eleonora is one of the kindest, most respected men in the world! He''s almost like a superhuman with how he keeps so much under control. He is a man of discipline, calcted in his every move and utterly devoted to his work, but his family alwayses first. I guess it''s hard for you to understand, but as a father, he did not see your friend for over a year. Any parent would not yearn for anything but some quality time where they simply talk and rx with no care in the world. Almost like what we are doing now¡­" "Yes¡­ I hope you''re right¡­" Yami sighed and looked up towards the mesmerizing light of the moon. "Besides that, it''s good to hear how Hikari has grown! She seems to have really grown!" He leaned back and closed his eyes. "She still has much to work on. All she did was follow Moby Kane around, who was her only friend at the time. And he sorta led her to new people along his journey. Still, she was forced to break out of her shell andfort zone many times which is good." "Ah yes, of course, Moby Kane, he never fails to impress. Even I didn''t expect him toe out on top today." "That''s where you and I differ. Kane would never be so confident if he could not win. He seems to be both the strongest and the brightest mind of this generation. He holds much of the future, and that''s why I follow it." "I see¡­ So that''s why you joined his guild¡­ I also feel a simr way, especially after thatst fight. If I''m ever in the mood, I might drop by the guild and inspect, maybe even lend a hand¡­" "Suit yourself¡­ ¡­Also, what do you mean by what you said earlier? ''Like we are doing now''! I''m not your daughter old man!" Yami roared only to Ryker''s amusement. "Yeah yeah, anyways, let me tell you about how a few months ago, I saved a rescue team that got themselves stuck and in need of rescuing themselves! On a where¡ª" Chapter 443 When Fire Merges. Chapter 443 When Fire Merges. In a secluded area away from the prying eyes of the masses stood two figures leant upon an edge overlooking the vast shimmering expanses of brilliant clouds below, so thick that the abyss appeared endless past the light of the moon. Their hair shared the same cut of mismatched yellow and orange, and each remained rtively calm, although one clearly seemed to be hiding his state of mind. "Father¡­ What is the reason you have brought me here?" The shorter won spoke ncing down towards the clouds, not looking in the eyes of the other. "I''m your father! What more reason do I need toe to greet my favourite son!" Heughed. "Please, all say the same... simply tell me the truth, no need to make me wait¡­" "Hmmm? What is with the grim voice my boy! Is there something the matter?" The young man shook his head vigorously. "Yes, there is father. I have disgraced our family name and brought only shame. I failed to even enter the top students selected, I did not receive any offers. how could I face you after such humiliation? I simply cannot..." "Disgrace!?" The father seemed genuinely stunned. "Heavens no! If anything, I could not be any prouder! You''re one of the biggest talks of the tournament! In fact, you''ve far exceeded my expectations!" Heughed further and patted him aggressively on the back. "You nearly beat the tournament favourite and put on a show unlike any other! I had lost hope and cursed the heavens when the match was announced, but you proved me wrong! Good job!" "R¡ª really father?" Kai muttered. "Really you ask? You saying you don''t believe me? Oh lord, what have they done to you in that school!? Why act so formal around me all of a sudden as if we never met?" "Ahh¡ª Yes, it''s just been a long time since west met, and I learned many things about etiquette during my stay at the school¡­" He chuckled nervously. "Ah, I see, if that''s the case then it''s understandable! Just know that in no way did Ie to reprimand you, my son! You''ve delivered great honour in our name! Unlike that disgrace of a "brother" you have¡­" His tone shifted abruptly sombre, almost hostile. "Brother? You speak of Regrit?" Kai was taken aback. "The very same! Who else would it be?" "But, he received third ce! He faired much better than I!" "That much might be true. I hate to admit my expectations for him were higher than yours. He was always stronger than you, so I expected more after all that talk about shoving his fist up my mouth and making me beg, licking his boots after he proves me wrong! Me, beg!? Proving me wrong!? Hahaha! Such preposterous words make meugh to this day! Today proved just that! Kai my dear! Your performance was not only more impressive, but that boy''s words and abhorrent senses made him aughing stock for all the judges! That demon is unruly! He even joined that blissful demon guild without any of my permission! When I get my hands on him I''ll¡ª" "Please, father! Have mercy! It was a simple mistake! I''m¡ª" "Simple mistake!?" He roared. "What''s gotten into you all of a sudden!? You''re acting weird! I''ve never seen you defend him like this! Have you two be friends or something!?" "N¡ªNo! Not at all¡­ It''s just¡­" "Just what!?" "Apologies father¡­ I suppose I may have indeed grown too sympathetic, thank you for setting me straight again¡­" As those words escaped the nervous Kai''s mouth, the expression of shock and anger slowly settled in his father''s eyes as he sighed his stress away into the cold night air. And from afar, away from any of their senses, thereid another man hiding in the shadows of an alleyway overseeing them. The entire time, he wore a face of pure malice and disgust, like that of a keen-eyed predator. Had he been any closer, his bottomless hatred would have no doubt been sensed. But only at that moment did he inwardly curse and bite his lip nearly drawing blood. "Rupert, you fucking idiot¡­ How many times did I warn you to not defend me in any way! That¡­ Monster¡­ will never change¡­" Regrit muttered belligerently under his breath as he listened to them continue their conversation. "No need to say sorry, I was at fault for snapping in such a way. I ruined what was meant to be a sincere reunion¡­ Perhaps it was his mother''s words of ignorant hope that set me off. I''ll be sure to teach that wench a lesson¡­" "..." Regrit had thought that his rage and anger had reached their limits, but nothing could "You¡­ How dare you¡­ I swear¡­ If youy a finger on my mother I''ll¡­ I''ll¡­ I''ll fucking¡­ I''LL FUCKING K¡ª" prepare for what that monster uttered next¡­ Something within him snapped, like the chains of primal rage that had been sealed off from the depths of his heart had burst open. He gritted his teeth, his vision became drenched in red with nothing but his target in sight, his subconscious urging him forward. suppressed aura broke out of its shackles, his eyes turned bright like a wolf and his shaking hands and feet began to glimmer in hellish mes as he inched ever closer towards his target. "You¡­ How dare you¡­ I swear¡­ If youy a finger on my mother I''ll¡­ I''ll¡­ I''ll fucking¡­ I''LL FUCKING K¡ª" But that was when abruptly, he felt the tender touch of another grasping him from behind, out of sight and out of mind, her words only barely managing to reach him and insight a reaction. "Please¡­ Stop it¡­" "WHA!! WHO''S THERE!? GET OFF ME!!" He roared, pulling out his twin des from instinct and shing madly towards the unknown voice, leading to a piercing cry that almost sounded like a moan, most certainly one that brought a reaction from the two stood far away in the distance. "Huh!? Who''s there!?" Kai''s father turned around and asked in the direction of the darkness with furrowed brows while Kai looked wide-eyed as though he could see through the darkness clear as day. "Oh no! Honey! We''ve been caught! Let''s go somewhere else." A female voice cried with embarrassment. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!! I''ll¡­ I''ll fuck you up! Just you wait and see!" Another voice escaped shrieking like an unknown beast, and sweat began to appear upon the face of the father. "Damn creepy teens¡­ I always knew someone would try to have sex in this virtual reality, just not so close to me¡­ This is embarrassing... Kai, my dear son, what say you we find somewhere more¡­ uhhh¡­ Private¡­" "Mhm¡­ Yes, father..." Kai nodded as they quickly disappeared from ce and relocated to another. "He''s getting away!! Bitch! LET GO OF ME OR I''LL¡ª GRRRRRR!!" He gritted his teeth shielding his foam and saliva, sharply roaring like a ravenous beast, yet through all his effort, he could not shake off and escape. "Please¡­ Calm yourself¡­" The girl once again spoke in that same tender yet monotone voice with a grasp not too aggressive, almost motherly even¡­ A feeling all too familiar... It was to the point that her words began to quell the redness of his eyes and soothe the beast within back to slumber until he saw red no longer¡­ "I am not sure of your full intentions, but you will certainly ruin any chances and make things worse for both you and the one you want to protect most¡­" All of a sudden, Regrit fell on his knees with a nk expression, slowly shaking his head and rubbing his blurry eyes with an expression all too nk before he truly regained vision and sense of himself. And as he looked up, he began to recognize the soft facial features and exotic crimson hair of the woman who abruptly stopped him, and his nk face could not help but broaden at someone he never expected to see at such a time. "You¡­ I remember you¡­ You''re that girl from earlier¡­ You''re¡­" "Yes¡­" She calmly interrupted. "I am Abbey Reid¡­ A fellow fire-ability user¡­ It''s nice to properly meet you¡­" She bent down and smiled, offering her hand. Chapter 444 When Fire Merges (2) Chapter 444 When Fire Merges (2) Regrit had indeed snapped out of his rage, yet the surrealness of it all still remained in his churning mind. He looked up to the girl offering her hand with puzzlement, shaking his head and blinking several times. Even if it was for a mere instant, he felt as if it were his loving mother''s voice and delicate touch that drew him out of the depths of depravity. Yet, out of all people¡­ It was that girl¡­ He knew not her purpose, and in his current state, he cared not neither. All he knew was that she indeed saved him and risked much for his sake, that much he was certain of. And with that, he decided to grasp onto her offer of peace with little to no hesitation. "Th¡ª Thanks¡­" He grabbed her hand loosely, looking away to hide his reddened face as she helped him back up on his feet. "I am Regrit Oswald, It''s nice to meet you too, once again, thank you for saving me¡­ words cannot express my gratitude." Regrit greeted, jittering ever so slightly as he tried his best to hide his shame and embarrassment yet still somehow seeming very sincere. "There is no need to thank me¡­ I did it out of instinct¡­ Seeing you in such a state had reawoken locked memories inside me¡­ Of a past, I once tried my best to forget. It felt almost as though I was stopping myself frommitting something I would deeply regret¡­" As Abby spoke, there was a slight twinkle in her sights. A subtle heat of red that shined dimly in her previous eyes of gray. The air stood silent for several seconds. Only now did Regrit finally regain his full senses as he looked towards Abby with genuine surprise. She was indeed an odd girl. To most, it was all subtle, yet to Regrit it was clear as day. The one he had envisioned to be strong and courageous did not seem real anymore. Her eyes wavered repeatedly, her smile continued to jitter, making him unsure whether or not it was genuine, and her hands continuously twitched twiddling with themselves. "Ah¡­ forgive me," Abby suddenly bowed deeply. "I must have bored you with my speech, I''ll refra¡ª" "No no no no!" Regrit panicked and waved his hands frantically. "Your story was interesting! I''m really curious about your past if it''s so simr to mine! It just took me so long to process everything, that''s all! Please raise your head!" "Is that so?" She calmly stood. "I suppose that is understandable." She shook herself off. As she raised her head, Regrit could not help but breathe relief out from the depths of his soul, and his thumping heart began to soothe until abruptly, it exploded twice as hard from a sudden realization. "Y¡ªyour left arm¡­ Where is it? Why is it missing¡­" He asked, inwardly gulping. "Oh? That? It''s over there¡­" She pointed towards the ground near her legs, and there sat her missing arm, cleanly severed. Upon seeing it, Regrit''s face twisted pale, his mouth fell open out of instinct and his eyes went round, as before he even asked his question, he was almost certain of the answer. "Did I do that?" "Yes," She calmly nodded. "You cut it off when I was mending your struggle. I would not pay it much heed." "I know this is VR but still! The pain is real! We should get you to a healing station now! We shouldn''t be too far!" Regrit began to panic, yet Abby simply stood still as a pole. "That won''t be necessary," She shook her head. With slow, deliberate actions, she bent down and grabbed her severed arm, gradually bringing it back up to her gaping injury and merely reconnecting it in ce as though it were a children''s toy snapping into ce. However, the arm was still not fully functional nor fully reconnected. Regrit bit his lower lip and took the first step, yet before he could raise his voice, he found himself motionless, unable to speak. Out of the small cracked gap between her two limbs, fire took wing shining out of her flesh with uncanny feather-like sparks of warm, crimson, soothing light. "You see, there was no need to worry," She nonchntly lifted her hands up and began to move her newly attached fingers. "Wha¡ª How¡­ How did you do that!? You have self-healing!?" "I suppose so," She slowly nodded. "My inner spirit is a phoenix after all¡­" "Phoenix!" Regrit blurted. "Now I remember! Yes! You did say you were also a fire ability user! Ried! I remember thatst name! One of the most renowned families in country Z was executed for treason, and only the daughter was saved due to special exemption! That must be you!" "Yes¡­" She nodded. Regrit''s fruition filled him with a mountain of questions, yet he did not want to ask them lest he seem insensitive. "Are you not in a hurry to go back on spying on your father?" She suddenly asked, taking the initiative and catching him off guard in his time of thinking. "No, that''s quite alright," He shook his head. "It will only get me more tilted, I don''t wanna see myself losing control again¡­ Besides, My brother can give me all the inf¡ª" In the midst of his sentence, realization struck, and his lips sealed tight. He became far toofortable around the girl. No one must know that he and Kai''s rtionship was good, yet he so foolishly let his tongue slip. "It''s okay, I already know. Your brother must truly care for you¡­" She shook her head. "What? What do you mean by that?" "There is no need to hide it, he had already told me everything." "Kai did!?" "Yes," She nodded. "Did he tell you toe and find me here!?" "No¡­" She shook her head. "Then what is it!? What''s the reason you came here!?" "..." "..." "I¡­ I came here because I''m weak¡­" "Weak?" He interjected. "Yes¡­ I''ve prepared myself for over a year to meet one single man, yet when the time hase, I am simply too weak to face him. I ran away from my sister to mentally prepare myself more. She is much stronger than I could ever be¡­ And then, in my time of seclusion, I noticed you sneaking in the distance¡­ So¡­ I followed¡­" "But I made sure to stay out of sight! How did you spot me in the pitch-ck darkness!?" "Hm?" She twisted her head on an angle. "Isn''t it obvious? It''s because I''m a demon, just like you. See," From thin air, she pulled out a great scythe taller than her entire body, adorned in red runic text upon its ck metal de. And, with a slight m towards the ground, purple energy began to swirl and conjure until it took form of a ghastly, formless monstrosity with eyes like an abyss and arms like straws. "I''m a Necromancer, as you can see¡­" "W¡ªw¡­ w¡­ Wait! Why did you trust me with such a secret!? Ha¡ª how did you¡­ Ah¡­ How did you know that I was¡ª" "You had joined that guild, there is no other reason." She naturally stated. "The guild¡­ Wait, so you''re not just some stray demon? You''re in on it too!? D¡ª Does that mean the man you are too weak to face is¡­" "Yes¡­ Moby Kane¡­" Chapter 445: Two Sides of the Same Coin. Regrit knew what was going to be uttered out of her mouth, yet the shock did not lessen as those words escaped, and his brain began to spin. "Did he also turn you into a demon?" "Yes," She slowly nodded. "He saved my life, I owe him very much." Regrit was stunned. He knew that Moby had a deep path of rising up from the bottom, and due to their childhood rivalry, he had researched many things about him prior to them entering elite school, nevertheless, he never told him about the specifics. No, it was more like he never bothered asking. He had grown to know him so well during this year where they spent so much as roommates, but now he began to doubt how much he truly knew. "But, enough about me, let''s talk about you." "There''s not too much to talk about. It''s a simple matter, I must kill that monster and save my mother. It''s that simple. And to do that, I have to break past my limits and gain strength. I will not ept any other way¡­ I cannot¡­" "I see¡­ There must be something else you won''t tell me, but I get what you mean. From what I understand, it seems you have some sort of deep-seated family hatred, and your mother must be the only person you love and are trying to protect. Although Ipletely understand¡­" "You do?" His eyes softened. "Yes," She slowly nodded. "That''s why I need you to please stop acting like a child and¡ª" "Like a child!?" He suddenly blurted, yet, Abby''s look did not waver. "Yes, the way you are acting right now is childish. Give up on your foolish ambitions and start¡ª" "YOU WANT ME TO GIVE UP!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ON ABOUT!? The only reason I was even allowed to live is because I was stronger than my brother! Despite everything, I was the biggest star of the Fatebringer family! But now that my father thinks that my brother has surpassed me he will¡­" "I understand¡­" She calmly nodded. "YOU DON''T UNDERSTAND SHIT!! If you did understand, you would have told me to get stronger and beat his ass into submission! Not give up on something "so foolish"! Does this look foolish to you!?" "Yes," She nodded once more, her gaze twinkling like rubies to Regrit''s fiery gaze. "Even I can tell that the man you call monster is far stronger than you. The revenge you''re seeking may bring more hurt to the people you love." "TO HELL WITH THAT!!" He mmed his hands, shaking the wall behind him. "IN FACT, TO HELL WITH ME! I don''t care who I have to sacrifice! I DON''T HAVE MUCH TIME! I may not be strong enough now, but I will uphold my promise to both him, and my mother! I will gain strength with my own hands and¡ª" "There you go sounding childish again. In fact, you are much more childish than even me¡­" Abby sighed. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN CHILDISH!?" Regrit roared. "Think realistically. I mean, defeating him is way too innocent of thinking, and unlike me, you''ve now been given a golden opportunity. Do you not trust your new guild leader?" "HIM!? WHAT DOES HE HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS!? THE ONLY PERSON I TRUST WHEN IT COMES TO THIS IS MYSELF!!" "Yes, Ipletely agree," She nodded once more. "But, does your bond with your new allies mean nothing? Why not let them shoulder some of your responsibility?" "AND WHAT WOULD THEY DO HUH!? Help me kill him or assassinate him!? That will turn the entire fucking household against me and they''d execute both me and my mother! I''m always the number one suspect! You think I haven''t thought of that!? This is the only way!" "So¡­ You really don''t have that much faith¡­" She sighed once again, looking at Regrit''s gritted teeth and clenched fists that would have no doubt been dripping blood from his digging nails had they not been in VR. "THE ONLY PERSON I HAVE FAITH IN IS MYSELF! If after an entire year of training I didn''t surpass him, then I''m even worse than scum! I don''t have time! I don''t know why I''m even wasting my breath on this! No one could ever understand!" Regrit mmed his hands on the concrete wall once again, forming a massive crack that then quickly regenerated before he jumped away, escaping into the deep night wiping and hiding his face. The distress he was going through was evident to even Abby, yet, she did not follow him nor did she attempt to stop him. She had saved him from doing something clearly idiotic, yet all the thanks he gave her vanished in mid-air when she spoke her mind. Undoubtedly, his mentality was chaotic, the way he snapped was not normal yet at the same time, fully expected. After all, she didpletely understand him. And as such, In her mind, she did all that she had to do, and the rest was up to him and Moby to deal with. Even now, she did not fully understand why she followed him, yet now that it was all over, she was d she did. All she could do now is hope that he would not end up in a state simr to herself. With subtle steps, she peered at the dark sky and turned around and looked the way she came. But, when she looked down at the ground, she noticed something odd about her face. A single drop of waterworks fell past the right of her vision and hit the ground below her, and that single drop was followed by another, and another like a leaking faucet. ''Am I¡­ Really crying?'' She thought to herself, instinctively feeling her eyes. Even her heart felt uneasy, even more so to when she was ready to face Moby once again. She could notprehend why, but after what she witnessed, her resolve felt stronger. She managed to pull the strength she knew she had and forget about her weakness. Abby took a deep breath and steadied her motionless visage. It was finally time, she would go and meet the man that once saved her life, her shining sun that pierced her darkness not only once, but twice after an entire year of separation. "Here Ie... Sister... Here Ie... Moby..." Chapter 446: Back Together As Abby moved, the voices of the outside world became dimmer, despite the fact that her path led her from the outskirts of the space to the light-filled, hectic center. All her focus was internal. Her thumping heart had never felt so disruptive for as long as she remembered, and her stiff body seemed to be even slower with every step, as though she was in an odd pocket of time. It was a feeling not too dissimr to what she had felt prior to her meeting with Regrit. She had spent so long mentally preparing herself to meet that one person, yet in the end, her feeble spirit could not bear it and she chose to divert her path elsewhere. She knew she was weak, but her meeting with Regrit suddenly fueled her to push farther than she did before. The odd sensation rattled her, yet, she could never im to hate it. Indeed, for the past year, this feeling in her heart, this nervousness, had yet to manifest in her even a single time. That was why, in face of it all, there was a small glimmer of a smile seen on her face; it was proof of her humanity. Still, despite her conviction, she could not maintain her aloofness from her surroundings for long as the bustling sound of the outside world pierced her self-contained mind and the light of the night-time city found its way into her lethargic eyes. "What¡­ What is this?" She muttered. As she took a single step into the center square, it was as though she had strolled into the heart of a tornado. From all angles, she was pushed around by a vast sea of bodies. Screams filled her ears as she was mangled like a pinball. "FIND HIM!!" "WHERE THE HELL IS HE!?" "HE CAN''T BE DEAD!" "IT CAN''T BE TRUE! SUPREME GENERAL!!" It was absolute pandemonium, yet despite it all, Abby kept her sharpposure, looking up at the reddened faces of the masses, her keen demon ears managing to iste nearly every voice within the ocean of disarray. ''The supreme general?'' Her cheeks twitched. ''Did something happen to him?'' She loosened her ears further, and she began to think. But, before the gears within her mind started turning, she felt a tight, unyielding hold grasp her from her right arm. "Ah¡ª" her mouth opened and her stomach sank. Instinctually, she tried breaking free from the hold, but all her efforts proved futile. "Ah¡ª" Her mouth opened again, looking at the hand that held her. That was when she stopped resisting. Not because she knew there was no escape, but because the sensation from that grasp felt oddly calming, like something she knew all too well. And in the next instant, rather than being dragged into the endless crowd, she found herself soaring high in the sky above everything but the bright light of the brilliant moon. And there, as she looked up at the face of her kidnapper, her thoughts were proven true. "Of all ces, what the hell were you doing stuck in a ce like that? I''ve been looking all over for you!" The manughed. Abby''s eyes twinkled brighter than the very stars above her, her hands shaking and chest thumping ever louder. She knew the man, she could never forget him in a million years, yet it was as though it was the first time they ever met. All she could do was stare at his smiling visage and waving ck hair before unconsciously uttering the very first thing that came to mind. "Moby?" "Hmm?" That was when Moby looked down towards her with a genuine look of surprise, but he received no answer before his face softened once more as they began their slow descent down, their feet now nted on a tall building overlooking the mayhem below. "Abby! Didn''t think you''d suddenly run off on me like that! Where were you?" The grasp on Abby''s hands suddenly removed itself, and the abrupt impact of the only other person stood on that building snapped her out of her daze as she held her tight. "Sister¡­" Her mouth opened. "Were you worried?" She looked around before gradually wrapping her arms around Jayden''s soft blue hair. "Me? Worried? Not really." She chuckled. "I was just curious where you''d run off to instead of meeting Moby. You didn''t really show it, but I was sure that you were even more excited than me!" "Moby?" She spoke once more, before her eyes snapped back to the man gazing at her from afar. And as she spoke his name, that look of perplexity once again reappeared on Moby''s face. "Say that again, what did you call me?" His tone suddenly shifted, eyes broadened, slowly pacing close to Abby who suddenly let go of Jayden, standing but centimetres away from her face. Any normal person what have quivered in his presence, but Abby did not even shake nor stutter as she repeated herself with a single deep breath. "Moby." "HAHAHAHA! Are you really the same Abby? This must be the first time I''ve heard her call me anything that isn''t ''Lord Kane'' or ''My Lord,''" The tense atmosphere subsided as Moby broke out intoughter, but Abby who was ahead of him did not share in the moment and simply stared. "It was told to me several times to cease calling you with such honorifics. So, I stopped, is that a problem?" "No! Not at all!" He wiped his face. "I told you she''s changed! But she''s still Abby. Even though she doesn''t remember much before the past year." Jaydenmented. "Is that true?" Moby leaned in closer, which led Abby to nod. "Yes, I only remember a few things," "Do you still remember me?" "Of course. How could I ever forget! You''re the man who brought me out of my depravity. I owe you very much." "Do you remember Alex?" As Moby asked that question, there was a momentary silence. Jayden, who stood not too far behind had aplete shift in expression, yet she could not force her mouth to speak as she listened to the sound of the breeze. For the past year, she had not mentioned Alex to her even a single time; she did not want to bring her sister pain or make her unlock harsh memories, so even she did not know the answer to this question. "Mostly¡­" She finally answered. "Mostly?" Moby''s face grew puzzled. "Yes." She nodded. "Most of what I remember are emotions from my past¡­ Loyalty, happiness, hardship, hate¡­ But one of those emotions was also love. My memories are hazy; all I remember are odd pockets of memories, especially around the sources, but there was no doubt about the feelings themselves. It was Alucard, my faithful servant who finally conveyed to me these sources, these stories." For the very first time, her face wavered, and her gaze dropped to the ground below. But that was when once again, she was held tight and forced to soar. "I see¡­ Your memories may be hazy, known to you by only stories. But¡­ Your emotions and experiences still are ingrained within your very being. Hold on to them tightly and never let go. Okay?" "Okay¡­" She steadily nodded, slowly wrapping her shaking hands around his broad shoulders. "I''m sure that''s what Alex would have wanted." "..." "Y¡ªyes¡­" Any normal woman who was looking at their man hugging another would have been furious. But, that was not what Jayden felt. In fact, she did not know what to feel. It was a sight she had not witnessed in so long. To her, it was not like the hold of two lovers, but the embrace a father would give to their daughter after a long reunion. Still, that was not the only thing she had noticed. Her new step-sister had beencking many emotions, and this was the most emotional she had seen her in months. In fact, she could have sworn that she had seen a small tear shed from Abby''s eyes, but her disbelief made her reconsider if that was truly what she saw. They continued hugging, but unexpectedly, it was Abby who was the one to end it, letting go and taking a few steps back with a deep breath "Thank you." She lowered her head. "My heart feels more at ease. No wonder I yearned to meet you after so long¡­" She took a small pause. "Nevertheless, this feels wrong¡­ Why are we having such a happy reunion when the Populus is in chaos? Something may have happened to the supreme general¡­ Are you not at all curious or disturbed?" "Ah! Serious and quick-witted as always," Moby sighed. "The answer is, I''m not too worried, because I know exactly what happened, and nothing I can do will change the oues. I''d tell you everything now, but I''d rather speak somewhere more private first." "Understood." To the normal eye, Abby''s mannerisms seemed to suggest things had not surprised her, but her genuine impression could not escape the eyes of her sister. "Sooooo¡­ Abby! You still didn''t tell me what you were doing when you ran off on me earlier!" Jayden butted in and asked. "Oh yes." Abby looked over towards Jayden. "I went to go see Regrit Oswald." "You know him?" Moby raised an eyebrow. "Not well at all... Still, oddly enough, he and his brother are in some of my most vivid memories, despite the fact that he and I had not met ever since we were children." She shook her head. "I still don''t understand it much myself. I had spoken to his brother earlier, and seeing how he acted in the tournament, I felt an odd connection to him. It was almost like my body was calling me to see him." "Ummm¡­ That sounds weird." Jayden remarked before Moby interjected. "Not at all! I see a lot of simrities between the two." "Mhm¡­ He was an interesting man. But, even I could admit that he was not the brightest. He wants revenge, but the way he does it is very odd¡­ When I tried to tell him that, he simply screamed at me and left¡­" "Yeah, sounds just like him," Moby sighed. "But, I wouldn''t worry about him if I were you." "Why?" Abby leaned in closer. "Good question." He pondered, his hands massaging his chin. "I guess you can call it instinct. That man is so headstrong that I''m sure he can brute force his way out of anything." "Now, that''s a ttering way to call someone a dumbass." Jayden chuckled. "You think so?" Moby looked over. "I personally think so," Abby added. "No matter what he does, I do not see a happy ending for him¡­" Moby opened his mouth about to retort, but his line of thinking was abruptly cut off, not by sound, but by sudden silence. The air was filled with the cries of panic from the square, but now, it was as though those screams were a distant memory. And when Moby looked over to the square below, he saw just that. Everyone inplete silence gazing at the previously empty stage. There, he saw someone enter upon the light, a man he did not know for long but nheless well understood. "Greetings to you all, and thank you for your attention. My name is Adam Walker, grandson of thete supreme general, Cade Walker." Chapter 447: A Voice for the People ''L¡ªLate general¡­'' the crowd inwardly gulped, but none spoke out of sheer horror, their faces paler than ghosts. Adam, who stood still on the stage expected their expressions. He took a deep breath and fixed the cuffs on his tight ck suit that looked like something one would wear to a funeral before speaking once again. "I understand what you all are thinking, and I sympathize with your concerns¡­ I can assure you I am far more distraught than anyone in the world¡­ When I find out what happened, or who the culprit was, I assure you I will be the first person to erase them from existence. But, now is no time to panic, nor focus our efforts on it." He reaffirmed his brilliant, sky blue eyes as the wind waved his long, blonde, tied ponytail erratically in the cold, night-time breeze. "We are unsure if the supreme general is indeed dead. For now, he is simply missing, and no amount of trackers could catch his presence. It is a phenomenon that we have yet to experience, let alone understand. We are simply running under the assumption that he is dead. We have to assume the worst-case scenario¡­" "..." He took a pause, followed by a deep breath. "I will not sugar coat anything. Tensions of war between us and the Shalkers have been mounting for a very long time now. The news of the supreme general''s disappearance will not fail to reach the Shalker''s ears, even if we put all our efforts into preventing any information leakage. Now, it is almost certain that the war will rmence within the next year!" Adam''s voice resounded, rattling the spines of those not only standing in front of him, but those as well watching at home witnessing it all unfold. But that was when Adam''s voice echoed once again. "BUT! Now is not the time to panic! THIS is why we need to act fast! I call upon all people of the world to stay vignt! Do as much as you can! Take the initiative to save your own kind! We, the military will be too! When the timees, if we see sufficient¡­ we WILL conscript any fighting capable human! Just as we did before! No matter your race, age, power, or status! All will be joining forces!" "I UNDERSTAND! This is a lot for you to take in all at once. AND, It''s a lot for me to ask! As such! I will volunteer myself, as the flesh and blood of the former supreme general, to take his ce for now, and fight along all of you at the front lines with my own strength! I wish that you would have the courage to do the same! Fight alongside me! No matter how little your efforts are! You WILL be fullypensated! THERE IS NO ROOM FOR SELFISHNESS! THIS IS A TIME TO FIGHT AS ONE AND DEFEND ALL OF HUMANITY!! ARE YOU ALL WITH ME!!" He raised his right fist up in the sky, sending shockwaves that blue back the clouds above, allowing the light of the sky to shine down upon them. The crowd stood mesmerized for what to them, felt like several seconds, mouths gaping before settling on the ferocious, zing gaze of their new supreme general. And as they did, the mes of his gaze extended to the entire space, lighting the hearts of all who heard it aze, responding with their entire being. "YES!! SUPREME GENERAL SIR!!" They screamed in unison, their right fists straight as an arrow pointing to the sky. "I HAVE RECEIVED YOUR VOICES LOUD AND CLEAR! Today was meant to be a day of celebration tomemorate our generation''s strongest! But, today''s events, and my speech right now have sullied that¡­ I don''t want that to happen¡­ As such, please go on with the festivities! Have fun with your friends and families! But, keep what I said in mind! These next weeks may be the final weeks of rxation our current reality will allow! THAT IS AN ORDER! UNDERSTOOD!?" "YES, SUPREME GENERAL SIR!!" Adam stretched his raised fist out wider, taking a deep nce at the crowd. He looked satisfied. He gave a look of firm acknowledgement to all before disappearing, dissolving into a blob of shadows. Yet, even though he was gone, his presence and impact still could still be felt in the very air. "Wow¡­ Everyone''s a lot more pumped about imminent war than I expected¡­" Jaydenmented, gazing down with wide-open eyes, her voice barely even audible from the seemingly endless cheers below. "No, this ispletely expected." Moby took a step to her side. "Really? Is it because of his public speaking skills? I didn''t think someone as quiet as him could pull it off." "No, it''s not that either." He shook his head. "It''s because everyone here is from a rich or powerful family. Correct?" Abby interjected from behind. "Exactly," He smiled, snapping his fingers. "I can almost guarantee you that a lot of the poor people watching at home are cursing the heavens. Everyone here has a lot to gain from contributing in the war, but many of those at home will be nothing but cannon fodder when ites to the battlefield, especially those with no abilities." "I see¡­ that sounds about right now that I think about it¡­ The only exception to the rule is probably those infatuated with the supreme general and his lineage¡­" Jayden pondered. "I bet a lot of people are feeling scared and hopeless right now¡­" "Indeed¡­" Moby solemnly nodded, but that was when a smile manifested on his face from ear to ear with a slight glow in his pupils. "But, that''s where we, and our new guild,e in¡­ ha ha ha! This actually ys so well into our ns!" He couldn''t help but break out intoughter. It was a sight that neither Abby nor Jayden expected or even understood, but one that no doubt made them feel a nostalgic tingle in certain ways. "I assume you''ll let us know when the timees, correct," Abby spoke, leading to a nod in response. "Indeed," Moby''s smile grew even further, resting both hands upon his neck and slowly walking away. "Huh!? You leaving already? But we only just met!" Jayden pouted. "Just met? You and I have been talking for hours!" Heughed, and before Jayden could retort, he chose to continue talking. "Don''t worry!" He flicked her on the head. It won''t be for long! I just have a school farewell party to attend to! Everyone will be there, and it''d be rude for me to miss out! We three can talk moreter! Even with all the news, I doubt your father would pass up on the opportunity for a celebration when I go back to earth! It''s been really fun seeing you two again! See ya!" "Come back soon! I''LL BE WAITING FOR YOU!" He waved his hands and jumped away, smiling and looking down to see Jayden''s teary-eyed look waving towards him, and a small glimpse of a smile from Abby looking above. Moby was now left alone, leaping from building to building on his way to the virtual mansion where the party would soon begin. However, it was not very long until he was joined by another who seemingly manifested out of thin air, hopping next to him. "Oh, Avilia, you were listening the whole time?" He turned around to see the demon lord herself, still wearing that school uniform that oddly did not look out of ce on her body. "Of course I was! When was it in the past year have I ever left your side?" "Yeah, right¡­" He scratched his head. "So, you came here to ask me something?" "Hm?" She opened and closed her eyes. "Do I really need a reason to be with my sessor? I''m with you all the time, is it odd now because you can see my physical form?" "No no! It''s not that!" He vigorously shook his head. "I just asked the question out of instinct!" "Huh?" She sighed. "Well, if you have to ask, I''m here to ask you about how removing your demon corruption has changed your perception of those two. I''m really curious¡­ Like¡­ Did you find that Jayden girl too clingy and annoying? The redhead maybe a little dull or underwhelming?" "Huh? That was out of pocket," He could not help but chuckle. "Abby has gone through a lot, I''m surprised she''s as well as she is now! And Jayden might seem a little clingy, but, anyone would be after a whole year of not seeing a loved one! If anything, you''re way more clingy than her!" "WHA!" Avilia blurted. "Idiot! That''s because I''m forced to put up with you for the future of demon-kind!" "PFFF!" Moby burst out into tears. "I was just ying around! I didn''t think you''d be sobative!" "Arrghh¡­" Avilia shook her head, looking away. "Just answer the damn question already. Now''s no time for jokes¡­ How did removing your corruption make you feel?" "..." Moby''s joyful attitude abruptly shifted almost mncholic, taking a slight pause. "Like you¡­ I was really curious too¡­ No, more like I was worried¡­ Were all my feelings fake? Have I been forcing myself to like people, even though my true self didn''t? I needed answers, and I finally had my first chance to solve them¡­ ¡­ I don''t know if staying with them for so long had deluded even my true self¡­ But¡­ The way I perceive them, at least to me now, seemed to have not changed in the slightest." He twisted his head and gave Avilia a lukewarm smile, but looking at her, she seemed to bear little to no outer expression. "Stop overplicating things dumbass¡­" She sighed. "It might be true, that you may not be where you are now without a little delusion. But now, you understand where those people came from, their habits, their personalities, their struggles, their feelings. And knowing all that, your clear mind decided to make the judgement of how to feel about their current self. That''s all that really matters in the end, right?" "..." "Hey¡­ Avilia¡­ " "Yes?" "Thank you so much for saying that¡­ It makes me feel a lot better you know?" "You''re wee¡­ I guess¡­" She did not even look Moby in the face as she lowered her vision even lower, half closed with a sombre look. Chapter 448: A Show of Goodwill When Moby arrived at the party''s booth, he brought out his student ID and scanned it, waiting for the white light to appear on the metal te before stepping onto it and being whisked away to a new location. It was a process he had now grown all too ustomed to. If anything, the bright, chandelier lights of the new area he appeared in were far more noticeable, contrasting imminently with the darkness of the outside. Looking around, It seemed like he was ced near the edge of a vast chamber that belonged to a grand castle. His entire vision was dyed invish gold, the ground so shiny clean that it perfectly reflected the lit, concave ceiling. Ornamental seats and tables were lined in rows, and nearly every spot was upied by fellow students eating from the wide selection of mouth-watering meals from all around the globe, and behind it was an empty floor for what he could only assume to be dancing. Moby squinted his eyes and took his time analyzing the crowds. Although some notable individuals seemed missing, there were clearly many people in attendance, but the atmosphere did not at all reflect the asion nor the number of people present. It felt more like a funeral than a graduation party for rich and powerful young adults. "It seems like no one really listened to what Adam said huh?" He mumbled under his breath before he began inwardly counting who was missing from the crowds. ''Adam''s not here obviously¡­ No Regrit, no Rupert, no Elizabeth, no¡ª'' "Ho ho ho! Look who we have here! Right on time huh?" That was when suddenly, his train of thought was cut by a deep, scruffy voice he would have a hard time ever forgetting, and as he looked to his side, he saw exactly who it was, although he almost could not believe it. However, his sky blue eyes, scruffy beard andrge, muscr physique confirmed it all. "General Ryker?" "Uh uh uh! That''s HIGH General Ryker to you!" He puffed his chest out. "Oh yeah, almost forgot¡­ But, what exactly are you doing here?" "''What are you doing here?'' Is that the first thing you say to your former principal when you see them? Disrespectful if you ask me! Aren''t you at all curious about anything? It''s been over a year!" "No, not necessarily," "Wow, you''re pretty blunt," He soughed. "But, if you have to ask, I''m here for security reasons. After what happened with the Supreme General, thest thing we want to see is something befall our generation''s future strongest¡­" "Yeah, I''d imagine¡­" Moby began to ponder. "..." "Well, since the atmosphere here is a little dull, why don''t I tell you about this hrious story of when one of my female subordinates was stuck in¡ª AHHH," He suddenly screamed, holding his shins, attracting the eyes of many from the nearby tables. "Hey! What did you do that for!?" He turned around, and his face reddened. "How many times do I have to tell you this old man! Your stories are boring as hell! No one cares!" "Yami?" Moby spoke, eyes widened. "It''s been a while, hasn''t it? Moby Kane." "Yeah, it has," He nodded. "Where''s Hikari?" "Hikari''s tired, so I''m taking over for a while. By the way, thanks for taking care of her for so long! She''s been feeling much better!" "It''s always a pleasure. Hikari is nice to be around." "Mhm! I agree," She smiled before looking to her side. "Unlike this buffoon! If I hadn''t stopped him, you''d have died of boredom! You can thank meter!" "Hey! Since when were you so mean Yami!?" Ryker pouted. "Always have been," "Uhhhh¡­ Ummmm¡­ Anyways, have you seen anyone else around here?" Moby asked. "Anyone else? Yeah, there was one. He''s been waiting right behind us all this time, right?" "Hello Kane, congrats on winning the tournament. I had no doubts about your victory." "Ah, Artorias!" Moby beamed. "Yes, but this is only the first step." "Of course," He bowed gracefully in respect. "Now, what brings you two here exactly?" "I was dragged in by Ryker," Yami shook her head. "Dragged in!? You were okay with going!" Ryker cried. "As for me," Artorias intervened. "I was looking for either Regrit or Elizabeth, as well as yourself, but I couldn''t get into contact. So, I decided toe here for the highest chance of finding you. It seems like my assumptions were correct. The real question is, why would you of all peoplee here?" "Me? Why would I need a good reason to attend a final farewell party between me and all my ssmates? Plus, as the winner of the tournament, I feel like I have a responsibility to attend! Also, I have prepared a little gift for everyone present! A farewell from me to them to cheer up the mood!" It was clear, from the looks on their faces, that neither Yami nor Artorias believed a single word that had just exited Moby''s mouth. Knowing him, they could not fathom that this act was without any ulterior motives. However, one person that knew no better was Ryker who stood not too far away, smiling and patting him on the back. "Now! That''s the spirit! "I''m d you feel that way kid! As the champion, why don''t you light a fire in their hearts? Make this event seem like an actual party!" "I''ll do my best, thank you, sir," He cracked his fingers, brightly exposing his purple aura. All eyes now on him, He leaped majestically high on in the air, forming and throwing an icicle towards the center of the empty dance floor where he would immediately teleport in a fancy explosion of light. "Greeting my fellow students! And sorry for such an abrupt disruption! I''m Moby Kane, the champion of today''s tournament and I''vee here¡ª" "HEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU''RE DOING!? Think you''re so tough over some lucky victory huh? Don''t get ahead of yourself orphan boy! Since when did you be our leader!?" An angry voice stormed out of his seat, a vein building under his gelled blonde hair, his mouth further distorting his long, sharp nose. "Hm? Luke Ingsworth is it? I never imed to be anyone''s leader. I just came to present a gift to everyone here! To cheer you all up after the dreadful news about our Supreme General." "Ah¡ª" The man abruptly halted his step, cold sweats running down his face. "H¡ªHow do you know my name?" "I know a lot of people''s names, well, I at least try my best to remember! We''re all in the same school, and you''re all people of note! As for you, you''re an easy person to remember. Luke Ingsworth, son of famous entrepreneur, Thomas Ingsworth." Unconsciously, upon hearing his father''s name, he took a step back and inwardly gulped, eyes filled with uncertainty. "Heh, well, I suppose it''s not normal to remember the names of schoolmates you never met," He scratched his head. "But, that''s part of the reason I came here, as a show of goodwill! Now, I''m sure you''ve all heard of the Mammon right?" As those words were uttered, the entire crowd shudders as one, and gulped a mouth full of saliva that did not reach the bottom of their sunken stomachs. "What''s with the look? I know you all know him. He''s not exactly a secret," Moby shook his head. "I''m sure that most of you have been paying him your points monthly right? Either to save a loved one or to prevent sensitive information from leaking out¡­ Right?" He walked around smiling closer to Luke standing stiff, the echo from his shoe taps the only thing filling the spacious room. "H¡ªhuh!? What the hell are you on about!? You taunting us!? We don''t know anything so crazy!" Luke scoffed,ughing in the approaching Moby''s face. "Hm? What''s with this attitude?" Moby wondered. "Scared that there was a spy from the Mammon among us?" Luke gulped deeper hearing Moby''s remark. "Well, don''t be! Because there is no spy here! You have my guarantee!" He took several resounding steps, inspecting the cold reactions from the crowd before he stood still and continued. "I know this for one hundred percent because¡­ The Mammon is already dead¡­" Chapter 449: Denial "HUH!?" "I killed him, didn''t you hear me the first time?" The previously tense silent crowd went up in arms, even the security guards patrolling the room could not help but open their mouths gaping before immediately contacting a higher authority to verify. With those few words, Moby managed to totally transform the crowd from a sad, empty husk toplete shock and outrage. "What''s with this sudden shift in attitude? I thought you all had no idea who the Mammon even was?" "You! Stop messing with us!" Luke screamed, the voices from the tables behind him reinforcing his words. "Yeah! We know who the Mammon is! For fucks sake, he''s probably one of the most notorious criminals! But none of us have ever dealt with him! There''s no way someone like you would be able to kill him after not even the entire military could do that! Stop talking out of your ass!" "If you came here just to say that! Then get the hell out!" Another angry voice roared out of the crowd. "You probably lied and cheated your way to the top just like you did now! Trying to frame us for colluding with a criminal?!" "I always hated you, but I never let it known because of all of your fanboys, but since everyone speaking their minds now, FUCK YOU!" Moby looked at the crowd, swaying his head from side to side. Indeed, he expected such a reaction, in fact, he expected one even worse. Although it seemed like the students were very vocal, it was a smaller percentage than he anticipated; a vocal minority. There was a silent crowd spectating within the rows of tables of those who either believed him, even slightly, or those who simply wanted to watch to see things unfold. "I knew that you wouldn''t so easily believe me¡­" Moby shook his head. "So, I came with evidence!" He inwardly chuckled, pulling out a thick, heavy, dictionary-like book of out of thin air. "First of all, General Ryker," He looked in his direction. "It''s high general¡­" Moby heard him mumble under his breath before speaking aloud. "Yes Kane? Do you need me with something?" "If it''s not too difficult, can you check the address, 301 Flunder street for me? His corpse should still be there, only a few days old." "Sure, I can check, but, the Mammon can change faces, how can you guarantee it''s him? That''s part of the reason he has remained on the loose all this time." "Simple! All the evidence I need is from this book!" He raised it high in the sky, showing everyone its covers. From the outside, it seemed like nothing more than a nk covered, old journal, but on the inside, it housed so much more. "Kane¡­ You do understand that if that corpse was indeed the Mammon''s, you''d be charged with vigntism. We needed to capture him alive and squeeze him for all he''s got." "Don''t worry, general, my actions were inplete self-defence! He and some of his goons snuck up on me at night. I had to do what I had to do." He shrugged. "STOP WITH THE BULLSHIT!" A voice cried out from the tables. "Why would he want to target you?! And he''d never actually go out himself!" "An excellent question! Thank you, Billy!" Moby pped. "Unlike many of you, I''m a man who''s very hard to ckmail. I have no family, no prestige, nearly nothing to speak of! My mere existence is a threat to him! So, he hired his strongest warriors to bribe or kill me. In fact, he was so confident of winning that he decided to stay on a rooftop to spectate the entire thing! What an idiot! He underestimated me and paid the price! His final moments were pathetic as he took his own life!" "Stop tooting your own horn! That''s just a story! You said you have evidence! Show us! And, if you really did kill the Mammon, why didn''t you report it immediately to the military?" "Impatient aren''t we? I''m getting to that¡­" Moby waved his fingers, closing his eyes. "I was gonna report it to the military, until I found this book hidden on his person¡­ This single book contains all the intel the Mammon has ever gathered on everyone in the school since its inception¡­ Including passwords to ounts holding tens of thousands of points he had been syphoning from all the students." The crowd fell into silence once again. An odd feeling ate at their stomachs. The mere thought of a book like that sent many into a shuddering, self-contained frenzy, praying inwardly for it all to be false. Yet this time, it was the military personnel more intrigued of all. "Before you ask, don''t worry. I''ve yet to even look past the first page." He smiled. "You see, If I had called the Military, they would have no doubt seized this book, and its information would have sounded trouble for many of you, and I didn''t wanna have that happen." "There''s no way a book like that exists! Why keep it in a book? Are you trying to ckmail us now under a false pretense?" "I''ve heard the mammon was a superstitious person. He didn''t want his data hacked or leaked, so he kept it all in this special book. Also, ckmail? Heavens no! I have all of your best interests in mind!" "Best in mind!? You trying to sound like a hero now! I bet this book is also a lie, just like all that stuff about the mammon!" "Hm? Is that so?" Moby smirked, trying to hide his amusement. "If you''re so confident. Why don''t we test it out with you as a guinea pig? If you agree, then stand up and state your name!" "Sure! I have nothing to hide anyways!" The man called upon shrugged. A man of average stature, yet possessing an odd allure. His tanned coloured skin made his exotic green eyes pop, his curly pitch ck hair elegantly swaying to his left. From the way many of his peers looked at him proudly smiling, hemanded much attention and respect. Although he did not participate in the tournament due to hisck of physical power, he more than made up for it in other ways. Besides Elizabeth, he was one of the top prospects in the support division of Elite School. "My name is Kadeer Moosny. I''ve never been contacted by this mammon, and I guarantee you will find nothing in that back of yours! I''ve never done anything bad enough to put me in such a book!" He stood up proudly proiming, and although none spoke, all clearly admired his perseverance and nobleness, giving him mental apuse. "We''ll see¡­" Moby couldn''t help but giggle, opening the book and skimming through all the pages until he reached the ''M'' section. And, upon seeing its contents, he could not help but break out a grin of amusement spanning his face from ear to ear, covered by the gigantic book in his face. "Sir Moosny, Ipletely believe you¡­ There is nothing pertaining to you at all. You''ve done nothing wrong." "See¡­" Hezily sighed. "As expected. I told you there was nothing¡­ And I bet I''m not unique. I''ve now proven that that book is nothing but a farce¡­ All of you can now rest assured that¡ª" "BUT!" Moby suddenly interrupted, and all the eyes of relief ogling Moosny fell back towards the confident-sounding man. "That doesn''t mean that your parents are void of any wrongdoings¡­" He sighed, looking saddened. "WHAT!?" Moosny roared, breaking his calm demeanour. "Insult me all you want, but don''t you dare bring up my parents! They are more noble and righteous than any person on earth!" "I''m sorry Moosny, but it''s all written clearly here¡­ I don''t want to leak it if¡ª" "LEAK IT! GO AHEAD AND LEAK IT!! I DARE YOU! It''s all false information anyways! And when it''s proven false, I''ll sue you for nder!" "... I really didn''t want it toe to this. But, if this is what it takes to prove myself, then so be it. You''ve brought this on yourself." He shook his head in disappointment. However, that was only a facade to his inner anticipation. "Ramsey Moosny, your father is an underground human trafficker. To further his goals of creating new potions and medicine, he buys people off the ck market to personally experiment on them in less than legal ways¡­ Some of these ves he buys also to be in his secret harem, using them as ves for whatever he sees fit¡­" "YOU UNCOUTH MONGREL! SUCH PREPOSTEROUS CLAIMS CAN NEVER BE REAL!!" He snapped, marching up towards the dance stage where Moby stood with steps that sent tremors echoing through the space, shaking the tables. "My father would never do such harm to others for experimentation! His entire life goal is for the betterment of mankind! He would also never dare cheat on my mother! There is also the fact that if this was true, the Mammon would have no doubt used this information to ckmail me as well! But that never happened, did it!" "You know, there is a reason for all of that, and it''s all written here¡­ It''s because your father is the one ckmailed instead¡­ He''s been sending millions to the Mammon every year to keep his mouth shut, and part of his deal was that you were to never know the truth. Seeing your reaction, I now know exactly why¡­" "Just shut your mouth already!" Moosney had now reached the edge of the dance floor, his face was reddened, and his fists were clenched. Had he not been stopped by military personnel, he would have no doubt instigated more trouble. "What''s going on? You were acting so calm before, why the anger? Is it because deep down, you are afraid what I''m saying is the truth? If you''re confident, why not just calm down? The truth will eventually be revealed." Chapter 450: The Scary Hero All that Moosny could previously see was red. But, as soon as Moby''s words were uttered, reality struck him. He took a quick nce at himself and then back to the tables around him with an expression he did not assume to see. And with a long, deep breath through his nose, he spoke. "You''re right. My emotions have gotten the best of me. The truth will soon be revealed, so I have nothing to worry about." "I see, thank you for your understanding." Moby nodded. "In hindsight, I don''t me you at all. Had I thought someone had ndered my parents, I may have even done the same. It''s a natural reaction!" He smiled. "Well then, why don''t we find the truth? Shall we?" "Go right ahead¡­" Moosny waved, sitting on a nearby table behind the watch of the two guards that stopped him. "Like I said before, I have nothing to worry about, it''s only you who''s losing," Moby gave him a glimpse of acknowledgement before looking to the side. "General Ryker!" He called. "Yes?" "Can you please investigate Albaz, number, X122. Check the underground cell in sir Moosny''s main office, essed by a key card hidden in his desk''s third drawer, concealed under the wood. In the cer itself, you will find machines that he''s been trying to keep secret, along with several people, even children that he''s used for experimentation¡­ The Harem is found on Looloo, number Z468." "That seems overly specific¡­" He was taken aback. "Well, I''m not making this up. It''s all written right here!" He lifted the book to let all see once more. "Okay, I''ll go personally check to help you settle this debate. Harold, you take over in my absence, I''m trusting you," High General Ryker looked over to a guard on his side, putting his hands on his shoulders before walking over to the nearby teleporter and leaving the room. "Now we wait¡­" Moby closed his book and materialized a chair made of ice, sitting and patiently watching. All waited inplete and utter silence. None dared walk out of their seats, and the most that was heard was mere whispers. The previously rowdy crowd grew even tenser, something they did not even know possible. Whenever they peaked in Moby''s direction, he was oddly confident. Even those inplete denial began to harbour doubts as reality set in¡­ They only just realized their clouded judgement. Had it been any other man, they felt their reaction was warranted, but this man was Moby Kane, the man known to do the impossible. And seeing how calm he looked, he was no doubt serious. The reality that all of their past, and personal data may be exposed sent shivers down their spine. Even those like Moosny, who have never been contacted by the Mammon nor did anything wrong felt their stomachs copse inside out under the pressure. Several silent minutes had passed, and Moosny began to notice the crowd''s unrest. He felt insulted, it was as though they had fallen for Moby''s nderous words towards his father. "What''s with all the sad faces? Do you really think my parent would do such a thing?" He broke the silence, a vein popping through his forehead. Yet, all that his peers could do was give him a silent nce as none responded. "I''m on your side Moosny¡­ I also pray that your parents did nothing wrong¡­" Moby''s voice broke out. "Huh? You can''t be serious!? What do you mean?" "I mean, that I''ve yet to test to validity of this book myself. So, I pray that its contents are wrong¡­ It would save me a lot of trouble." "Are you trying to backtrack now!" Heughed. "See! He''s nothing but a fraud! I told you all!" He gazed at the crowds proiming with open arms, yet many looked away from his gaze, and none shared his enthusiasm. "You''re misrepresenting my words Moosny. I never said I wasn''t confident. All I said, was that in the very slight chance that this is false, I would be happy. But, considering this is the mammon''s treasured book, I highly doubt it would contain false information." Moosny opened his mouth ready to retort, but before he could utter a single breath, it was taken by a man''s abrupt reappearance. "General Ryker! It''s nice to have you back! How did the investigation go¡­" Ryker''s visage looked ghastly, his skin shiny from the sweat secreting from his pours. It waspletely unlike the man they all knew, which filled all with even more horror as they awaited the verdict, all but Moosny who kept his face of confidence. "I''ve finished everything for now¡­ Though¡­ We''re still in the midst of this investigation¡­ But¡­ ¡­ It''s all true. From where to find the key, to the types of people found in that basement¡­ I can''t disclose the details¡­ All I can say is that it was¡­ Inhuman¡­" "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ON ABOUT!?" Moosney mmed the table he sat in, shattering it in half. "I''m sorry son, but your father is a despicable human being. And, although I doubt you had any involvement, you will be put under arrest for questioning," "SHUT THE HELL UP!! THIS HAS TO BE SOME MISTAKE!! MY FATHER WOULD NEVER¡ª" "I''m sorry son¡­ but it''s all true¡­" Ryker shook his head. Upon hearing the General''s words, the two guards immediately reacted. "LET GO OF ME!! MY FATHER MUST HAVE BEEN FRAMED! HE''S THE BEST MAN ON EARTH!! HE WOULD NEVER¡ª" They continued dragging the rabid, resisting Moosny in cuffs before escorting him towards the teleporter as all watched the sad, pathetic breakdown of a man previously regarded so highly crumble to such a sorry state. "Now, do you all believe me? Or, does anyone else want to volunteer?" "..." "Good!" He shook his head, acknowledging their bewildered, silent response. "I didn''t want to have to do that again to my fellow students¡­ It pains me," "K¡ª Kane¡­ What exactly do you n to do with that book¡­" Luke, the man who initially spoke, gulped and asked. "Your worries are warranted, I''m about to exin the reason why I even came here. Like I said before, I''vee bearing presents!" He cheered. " I''ve gained ess to ounts filled with all the points syphoned out from you every month. So, I pledge to return everyst point to its original owner!" Faces from the crowds brightened, only slightly. Nevertheless, it did notst for long, if anything, the terror building increased as Moby prepared his second present. "And before I say the second one, I would like to reiterate, that this is the only known copy, and I''ve yet to read past the first page. So, knowing that, I would like to present to you, my second present." Slowly, he stood up, lifting his right hand hovering with his palms open to the ceiling, forming a purple, me-like aura, and with his right arm, he brought the book out and set it dangling above the mes as all stared in disbelief unable to even fathom their eyes. "HE''S GONNA BURN THE BOOK!! DON''T YOU DARE LET HIM!!" Ryker roared, and guards from all around the room rushed him from all directions. "Toote," Moby beamed at their effort before dunking the book in the heat of his demon energy as all watched its pages disintegrate into flickering mes dancing through the air. It was a conclusion they could have never imagined in several lifetimes. "HOW DARE YOU BURN THE BOOK BOY!? Are you colluding with criminals!?" A guard who had reached Moby snapped, trying to grab him by the collor before casually being side-stepped. "No, not at all!" Moby felt almost insulted. "Most of that book''s contents were not even criminal activity. It was family secrets and techniques that should never be leaked, especially to the military! As I stated before, I have my fellow student''s best interests at heart. I believe the Military would have done more evil than good with that information by leveraging power away from the big families and guilds." "You think we''ll believe that!?" The guard scoffed. "High General Ryker! I request permission to arrest him!" "..." But his screams gained him no response. "High General!? Are you there!? I request permission to arrest¡ª" "We can''t do that¡­" Ryker shook his head. "WHAT!? Why not? No man is above thew!" "Correct." Ryker agreed. "But, if we arrest the man who won the tournament at the same time the news of the Supreme General''s death spreads, there would be outrage. And, more importantly, under section 321 of our code, if he really did speak the truth, we have no grounds to press charges or even make his arrest public. All we can do for now is question him with a lie detector." "I understand, and I willply," Moby showed no resistance. "Thank you Kane," Ryker nodded, jumping up andnding directly beside him in the middle of the empty dance ground. The sight of Moby being escorted by Ryker instantly contrasted with that of Moosny''s. It was inplete silence, all too calm. The mere fact that he had not even bothered to restrain him spoke volumes. Just like before, they did not utter a single word, but the thoughts brewing in their minds were far different and could never bepared. Their all went on an emotional rollercoaster, and the ride had finallye to a stop. Their beating hearts that nearly exploded out of their chests began to settle along with an odd sensation of relief that most had not felt ever in their lives. And, although they did notmunicate, most came away from this learning something new, sharing a single thought: "That man is scary, but he''s also my hero," Chapter 451: Home at Last It had now been several hours since Moby had left the virtual space and returned back to the real world. After being escorted to his quarters to grab all his personal belongings, he made his way back to earth where he was transported to the Country Z central military ce of operations where he was questioned by General Ryker. The interrogation itself was rtively brief, a few simple questions on a lie detector that Moby had answered with no care. The rest of his time was simply spent waiting for them toplete the appropriate paperwork and security measures before allowing him to leave. The main questions of note were that if the book was indeed filled with family techniques, and if the Mammon was in fact dead, the answer being yes to both. It was nothing that Moby could not deal with. In the interrogation room, Moby waited, and the passersby made the situation even clearer in his head. The military was inly distraught over the loss of the book, but due to thews preventing them from spying and stealing family secrets, their hands were tied. Of course, Moby was well aware of this prior to his antics. He would have never done anything so reckless without the reassurance. "Kane! You''re free to go!" A woman dressed in military attire entered the room and bowed. "Thank you for your patience, your storage rings are with me," She presented him with two rings, the one that he personally owned, and the won he had won for receiving first ce. "It''s okay, I should be the one thanking you for the great treatment." Moby bowed towards her and smiled, grabbing the rings and walking straight towards the entrance through the gray, nk hallways. On his way, he checked the contents of both his rings, making sure that all was there. And, of course, the mammon''s book was missing. He had destroyed the book in VR, but its actual contents had also disintegrated from the real world. This was due to a new feature that was recently implemented into virtual reality. One was now permitted to link a storage ring onto a pod, allowing them to materialize those very items in the virtual space with a multitude of customization features. One of those was to link the condition of an item, so if it were destroyed in VR, it would also be destroyed within the ring. Initially, this option was only conceived to give people the opportunity to further mimic true realism, but instead, Moby used it to further his own goals. Of course, the mammon was not dead, and nor he did ever care about helping his ssmates. This was all a ploy to gain the favour of not only themon folk, but the rich and nobles as well. The only people he had angered in the process was the military, however, that was a small price to pay for a nearly perfect public reception. Everything was going just as nned, and it was all possible due to the mammon''s hard work. In a way, Moby did not lie, the old mammon was dead. The new mammon had long abandoned schemes like his den of gambling and had moved on to much greater things. He had siphoned all these points in order for Moby to purchase sensitive information about the military so he could find out what had happened to his parents, but now that there was no use for them, it made for a perfect excuse to seem like the hero. When the mammon had handed him that book, he could almost not believe his eyes. So many people were bribed and deceived by a single man, all due to his newfound doppelganger abilities. Every man had a price, if one man would not crack, their most trusted friend would. That was what the mammon did. He broke his way through the socialdder and dismantled it with lies and deception. As a person, Moby could not care less about him, but as a servant, he was exceptional. He was proud of himself for turning him into his ve. His current and only fear pertaining to him was that he would gain so much influence to get things mixed in his head and try to usurp him. He doubted it would ever happen, but in the case it did, he was certain of himself to handle it. As Moby turned the corner, the exit was finally in view. He took a deep breath and snapped himself out of his internal thoughts before dawning both rings on his fingers and opening the swinging doors. He was greeted by a dim, orange light shining from the horizon, beaming through the tall skyscrapers. He had been in that military base for so long that the sun had begun to rise on a new day, the first day of his adult life. The mere thought of it all brought a grin on his face. He knew that war with the shalkers was soon, that the angels may be notified of Avilia''s actions in around a year, but despite it all, all that was on his mind was the tingly anticipation to see the fruits of hisbor and the ns that he had been working towards for the past year finally unfold. But that was when a sound pierced his self-contained bubble, and his attention was diverted downwards. "HEY!! MOBY!! What the hell are you smiling there for huh!?" Without a doubt, that Jayden''s voice, but when he looked down, hers was not the only face he saw. There were an entire group of people waiting at the bottom of the long, winding steps leading to where he stood. Jayden, Abby, Artorias, Mason, Ray, Nags, and even Alex''s parents were all there to greet him after they had not seen each other for over a year¡­ "You said you''d be back soon, and then you go ahead and get your ass arrested!?" ''Heh¡­'' Moby could not help but chuckle. ''I really am back home, aren''t I?'' Chapter 452: Reunion and Seperation "I wasn''t arrested!" Moby shrugged, stretching his limbs, walking slowly down the stairs. "It was just a simple interrogation!" "Keep telling yourself that!" Jayden pouted. "I''ve been gone for over a year now! What more is a few more hours?" "Since when were you so heartless!" Jayden clenched her fists and jumped up towards him. Moby looked up and was taken aback. From under her dress, he was able to see nearly everything¡­ His face reddened, and his reflexes fell to the point that he had almost forgotten to catch her as she tumbled down on top of him. "We still haven''t even touched outside of VR! Doesn''t the real me feel so much better!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him in and giving him a kiss on the lips as he held her by her two legs. His cheeks initially flushed, especially when thinking about all those who were watching, but eventually, he surrendered himself to her grasp and followed it with a hug. "See, real life is much better¡­" She brought herself back and blushed. "I suppose¡­" "HEY! Jayden, sugar puff! Stop hogging him to yourself! You already had your way with him in VR! Let us have a turn!" "WHAT!?" Jayden turned around and blurted in outrage. "I''m not letting you take turns kissing my boyfriend! Especially you dad!" "Jayden, honey¡­ You know that''s not what I meant¡­" "He he! Fine!" She gave Moby a final smooch and let go, now tightly holding him instead by the hands. "Mason Griffith! It''s been a while, hasn''t it?" From memory, Mason had barely even changed. The only difference he could even notice where the slight strands of gray sprouting atop his head, but to the naked eye, it was nearly impossible to perceive. He looked as slick and muscr as ever, even further entuated by the fancy, well-fit suit he wore. A trait that was actually shared by all of those who hade to see him; they were all dawned in formal attire. "Huh? Not calling me father-inw now? You''ve really matured, haven''t you? You look like a new man already!" "Oh, you give me too much credit. I haven''t changed in the slightest. It''s been so long that I''ve forgotten my manners, father-inw¡­ By the way, what''s with the fancy clothing? Am I really that important?" "Oh, this?" He looked down, feeling his suit and suavely fixing his tie. "Well, you see! I had actually organized a party for your return. But, I had to cancel it! Since, guess who was the only man not in attendance?" "Oh, sorry¡­ Jayden even told me that might happen¡­" He used his free arm to scratch the back of his head. "Eh, doesn''t matter anyways, you''re back now. Parties are boring," Nags sighed, parting his light blue hair from his eyes. "Also, hello again. Hope you haven''t forgotten about me." "No, I don''t think I did." Moby''s words were firm, but, he would be lying to himself if he said that he was not the person he remembered the least. "I hope all''s been going well for you." "Yeah, I guess. I got top of the school this year, but, it''s nothingpared to what you did." "Nags, I think it''s unfair topare yourself to a genius like Kane. Getting top of your grade is a considerable aplishment." A tall man to his side casually fixed his sses. It was a man that Moby did not even recognize at first. His tall yet lean build, chiselled face, smooth, parted hair and bright keen eyes did not match any of the faces he had stored of any of his servants. It was only when Moby sensed his energy signature and checked his status did he finally recognize who that face belonged to. "Ray? Is that really you?" "Yeah, it''s me. I''m surprised you even recognized me¡­" He beamed in delight. "Well, Jayden did tell me that you look really different. But, looking at you now, she undersold it. You''re almost as tall as me now!" That man did not seem like the short, timid Ray he knew before. Not only his looks, but his aura also changed. The demon beautification process had truly done him wonders, although it seemed like it took its time to kick in. On the other hand, Nags remained him same, short height, and his face barely even changed from what it was prior. It seemed like even demon gics had their preferences. "I''ve grown more than just in size! I have many things I want to show you around myb¡­" "You''reb?" Moby''s eyes glowed. "Interesting," He was more than intrigued. "I''ve devised a few new inventions that I''ve yet to reveal to anyone. It would be an honour to show them to you first. I''m certain they will help you create your new guild." "I''ll look forward to that." He nodded. "What''s with these introductions!? Is no one gonna congratte the boy after such a victory? Shame on you all!" "Joseph Heart? Alex''s father? what are you doing here?" He gazed at the purple-haired man towards the back. Unlike his friend Mason, old age was not as kind. Large strands of his hair had gone gray, and his face became far more wrinkled than before. "Am I not allowed to be!? I was so moved by your speech that I knew I had toe! Thank you so much for honouring Alex in your speech¡­ It brought a tear to my eyes¡­" He bowed down respectfully, and his wife followed suit. "Please! Raise your head!" Moby panicked. "It was only natural I''d do that! Without him I would have nevere this far!" "Thank you so much for saying that!" They refused to raise. "Your matches were always wonderful to spectate. We knew you''d win in the end¡­ I just had toe here to let you personally know this¡­ Since you''re creating a new guild¡­ You have my full support! Ask me anything, and I''ll do it to the best of my ability!" "Ahhh¡ª I really don''t need anything, but I suppose a little funding won''t hurt." "Consider it done!" He lifted his head, cing both arms on Moby''s shoulders and smiling. "But, if you don''t mind, I''d like to begin quick. I''m sure you''ve already heard about the supreme general''s disappearance?" The joyful crowd suddenly turned sombre upon hearing Moby''s words. "I was trying to avoid that so as to not dampen our reunion¡­" Mason nervously chuckled. "Sorry, it''s my fault for doing it. But, that''s why I need to begin advertising and building my guild as fast as possible to prepare." "Ipletely understand." He nodded. "I''ll also lend my support." "I was counting on that actually. I''m also gonna need to borrow Jayden''s butler. From what I''ve heard, he''s an expert at this. I''ll also need a base of operations, at least a temporary one for now until we can buy a and begin construction of a proper base." "That''s very ambitious! But, it can easily be done! You got the hard part out of the way with the guild weapon, leave the rest to us!" Josephughed, grabbing Mason with his left. "Yeah, we''ll do our best. I''m sure we''ll make back the money quick anyways with you as the leader, we''d make back our investment in no time." He joined his friend inughter. "Thank you," Moby smiled. "By the way, if you don''t mind me asking. How did you even find me? They said they''re not even gonna make my arrest public." "That would be me," Artorias raised his hands, speaking for the first time. "I used my sensory to make out your mana. At first, I did not want to do it. But eventually, I was dragged into it." He sighed. "I see," Moby acknowledged, before noticing that someone was missing. Artorias was not the only one who was there for the graduation party¡­ "By the way, where''s Yami? And have you seen any sign of Elizabeth or Regrit?" When Moby returned to his room earlier, he noticed that all of Regrit''s belongings were not there. He was clearly back on earth, yet no matter how much he tried to contact him through mind-link, nothing woulde of it. The same went for Elizabeth, and as for Yami, he had yet to even attempt. Normally, he would go out and seek them, but in his current situation, he could not afford the time. He would first have to prepare his guild before he went out to find the missing members of his group. "Regrit is probably back at his family mansion along with his brother. But, that''s only an assumption. Elizabeth on the other hand, I have no clue about herst whereabouts. I think Hikari was thest person I saw with her. The only person I do know for certain is HikariYami. They are both going to try and see Regrit¡­ At the Fatebringer family manor¡­" Chapter 453: Fatebringer Summer had just begun. It was a time of calm and celebration for most around the world. The glimmer from the twinkling sun and the smell of the humid fresh wind breeze brought joy to people worldwide. However, the fresh summer scent was especially sweet for the families of those attending the esteemed Alexander Davis school of elites, as they had not seen nor heard anything from their children for nearly an entire year. Although there were usually exceptions from those who delivered disappointment to their family names, many returned proud to their households and were epted with open arms. Such a reality was expected to be true for the reputed Fatebringer household. Especially on such a warm, sunny morning, they expected to wake up to d tidings. Yet, that was far from what had actually happened. Within the enclosed, rocky walls of the estate was the mansion itself. No, the word mansion would not nearly do it justice. It was a castle, one that not only towered high above, but also spanned for kilometres on end. The architecture was unlike anything in its area. It did not house slick, modern designs and smooth exteriors. No, although it was built on the soil of Country Z, which was once known as the United States, it had apletely Asian-inspired architecture. Made out of mostly wood and stone,yered with darkened, thatched roofs ending in sharp tips separated the many floors, along with verandas not only on the ground floor, but also on many of the elevated rooms. As it went up, the castle became thinner and thinner, until it reached an open room towards the top and a point, proudly disying a ming fire insignia that did not yield nor dim even on the stormiest of days. Indeed, the main building itself was magnificent, taking most of the attention from anyone gazing with awe. However, that was not what took up the most space. There were many other buildings surrounding the castle itself of differing sizes, each with its own identity. It was as though it were a surrounding vige. Such an estate was far too grand for a single family to preside, but that was because that was indeed the case. The Fatebringer household was a long, winding hierarchy, spanning generations. Over a thousand years ago, in what was once known as Japan, the Fatebringer family was first documented. They were documented not for their power, but for their oddity. They did not look like the rest of the residents, nor even speak the samenguage. They were an anomaly, almost like a circus attraction. They were the very first foreigners in thend of the setting sun¡ª a group of fishermen lost at sea and swept by the shore. For years, they struggled like worms trying to survive. Where ever they went, they were treated like animals, shunned and sphemed. They did not fit in anywhere, so¡­ They didn''t. They ran away into the forests to hunt for food, and stayed by the shore to see if they could catch any fish, but in the end, it was all for nought. They were no doubt going to perish. And, that would have been the case until one day, they were found dying on the floor. No, it was not them, but he. There was only one man remaining. All the others had already long passed. He was on the cusp of joining them, when he was saved by a kind, old warrior monk. He tended him back to health and kept him well fed, despite not knowing or even sharing a singlemon word. That old man eventually taught him not only how to read and write, but also how to fight. If he were to survive back within society, he needed to know how to defend himself, and how to demand respect. The man, now revered as Arturo Fatebringer, learned the sword so fast, that he had, only in a few years, be the most feared man on the ind. None dared challenge him, nor even ridicule him. He was no longer an animal, but now a demon. But, he did not use his power to terrorize and bring wrath upon those who were responsible for killing hisrades, but instead, he lent his aid, opening the very first Fatebringer dojo. Although there were only a few who were brave enough to join, that first dojo marked the birthce of the current Fatebringer family, and its trajectory for the future. At least, that was what was written in the legend. Today, the main family had relocated to the west, and not only housed itself, but twenty-five other sister families as well. The Fatebringers were the one and only ruling family, yet they were not even all of an identical bloodline. No, any member of the twenty-five families had the right to be bestowed with the Fatebringer name. All they had to do was prove they were worthy through their own merit and power. The only exception was the children of the current ruling leader. As long as one held even a hint of Fatebringer blood, they were worthy of potentially holding its name. There were only two ways to im the right of leader. The first, and mostmon of which being that when the current leader died of old age, all current Fatebringer members were to duel to decide on who was the strongest. The second was for a current Fatebringer member to challenge the leader and defeat him in a formal duel. But if they failed, they were to be exiled from the family and never return. Many such challenges were done¡­ But, for the entire history of the Fatebringer family, only one man had ever actually seeded. The current, and most powerful leader in the history of the family, father of both Kai and Regrit, Aluber Fatebringer¡­ ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? Within the grand courtyard, the flowing rivers surrounding the small, man-made ind at its center were oddly calmer. Salmon and Catfish ssh elegantly within the stream, slightly hidden by the harsh light of the reflecting, unobstructed sun. Therge, cherry blossom tree had nearly lost all of its pink petals as spring ended and summer began, small lingering leaves slowly falling towards the soft, well-tended, flowery grass. Within this ce sat one man on arge cushion, sipping tea over a table. Despite his clear, considerable age, his hair was an odd mixture of pitch ck and orange. His keen hazel eyes were surrounded by wrinkles, his nose was arched, possessing many blemishes, and he wore a simple, long, white robe. Nevertheless, the man was not alone for long, as he waster joined by another, wearing simr attire. He was well in his youth, his hair a mixture of ck and blonde. His smooth, handsome face and calm, aloof nature could be seen in his every step as he strode past the bridge over the river and slowly sat down beside his elder. He took a deep breath and opened his ocean blue gaze. "Apologies master¡­ I''ve made you wait far too long¡­ There was someone at the door¡­" He deeply lowered his head. "What''s with this attitude Kail? Not even a simple hello or good morning?" "Ah¡ª Apologies mast¡ª" "Hahahaha! It''s fine! I''m just ying with you boy! I don''t mind the wait!" He crackled in his usual raspy voice. "Well, who was it? We haven''t had any visitors in years!" "It was a young girl, master¡­ She said her name was Yami, and she was there on the behalf of her sister, and demands to see young master Regrit¡­" "Oh?" The old man''s eyes lit up. "So, Regrit''s made a friend on his travels eh? That must be that same young girl during the tournament¡­ So, did you let her in?" "Absolutely not sir!" "Eh? Why not? Could be fun!" "Sir! You know that none are allowed entry without authorization! And, she even threatened me when I rejected her! I would not trust such a girl inside our estate! Especially after the news of the supreme general''s passing!" "Kail my boy! You''re being too tense¡­" He brought out his closed Uchiwa fan and smacked him in the head. "Girls do many crazy things in the pursuit of love¡­" "Love?" He held his hurting head in confusion. "How do you know she''s not some spy? Or one of sir Regrit''s detractors?" "Eh, just a hunch I guess. I''ve been alive long enough to have a good grasp on these things¡­ I was quite thedies'' man in my young days you know?" He giggled. "Excuse my words master, but now is not the time for jokes! We must prepare for all-out war! What is it that you called me here for?" "... I understand¡­ We have many things we must aplish¡­ But, I called you here for a selfish, personal request¡­ Sorry, but will you humour this old man for onest time?" "S¡ªsir¡­" Kail was taken aback by his master''s sudden switch in tone. "Yes! I understand! I''ll do anything!" He deepened his sights and deeply lowered his head. "Thank you¡­" The old man beamed. "As you know, Regrit and Kai returned yesterday night¡­ But, are you aware of Regrit''s current whereabouts?" "Ah¡ª yes, I believe so! I think he should be nning to go meet his mother¡­" "I see¡­ Kail, as Regrit''s former friend¡­" "I wouldn''t say, friend master¡­" "Fine, sparring partner¡­ I urge you to go out and save him for me¡­" "Save him!?" Kail jumped out of his seat. "Yes, I would do it myself if I still had power in me, so I''m asking you, who I trust most, to do it instead¡­" "Save him from who!? Will his mother be punished for his actions at the tournament!? Is he going to try and protect her!?" "No boy¡­ That''s not at all what I fear¡­ Kail, you must save him¡­ from his own¡ª" Chapter 454: Mother Ever since his arrival home, Regrit had been awfully silent. He did not speak a word nor bat an eye to anyone, to those who were mocking him, and to those who were trying to console him, both were treated the same as he strode to his room. For an important member of the household, his room was very modest. Just a simple bed, and the rest was an empty area which gave him enough space to train and swing his sword. He was only out for a few moments, yet his slow steps, clenched fists, and darkened eyes did not escape the gaze of those who saw him, and rumours began to spread. None were good for Regrit''s already tarnished reputation, yet all that did not matter in Regrit''s heart. Only one thing in the world kept his mind upied, and that was the face of his dear mother. All he did was close his eyes and take deep breaths in his chamber, on the grounds where he once trained tirelessly day and night. His heart was thumping so loudly that those walking by his room could hear the tremors echoing within the wooden ground. For hours, he remained in that position. He did not know what to expect, all he knew was that he was scared¡­ He was in a sorry state, one that he could not dare meet his mother in. As such, he prepared, ridding himself of any hesitation, a task that he found nearly insurmountable, but one that he must do for her sake. All was for his mother. His entire being existed to serve her every need. As long as his mother was happy, he would be too. Nothing in the world mattered as much as his mother''s smile and love... And, that was all he needed... That was all he aimed for with his every action... He had not felt like this in his whole life... And how could he? For, going to meet her now, seeing her face once more, will be a validation for his entire existence... "I¡­ I think I''m ready¡­" He mumbled to himself after taking his final deep breath that seemed to have sucked the air out of the entire room. With slow, jittery steps, he wiped his aching eyes and forced himself up, opening his sliding door, walking through and ignoring the oddly stiff, nervous guards watching over him as if they were none existent. As he looked at the hallway forward and took his first step, his field of view widened, and the world began to turn all around him. The distance between his room and that of his mother was only a few hundred meters, but to him, it felt like the span of a hundred marathons. He had thought he had finally prepared himself, but the pain became even stronger. ''How will she be?'' ''Did they do anything to her?'' ''Did she change¡­ ?'' ''Is¡­ Is she proud of what I did¡­ ¡­ ¡­?'' Those were the questions that ran through his mind over, and over, and over again until the door to his mother''s room finally came into view. He gulped, yet that gulp reached nowhere in his endlessly sinking stomach. His ribcage rattled, his heart felt like exploding, and he felt weakness in his knees to the point that even a single step made his body shudder and croak. Slowly as he walked, he began to ask those same questions over again in his head¡­ But only when he brazenly took grasp of the door''s handle did the question that truly mattered pop up in his mind¡­ One that he had been trying to suppress the entire time¡­ "Does she¡­ still even love me?" "..." *SLAM* "I''m back home mom!" His eyes were closed, and despite his pain, he tried his best to speak in the way he normally spoke. "Ah¡ª" But when he opened his eyes¡­ He bit his tongue, his sight dissolving around him. Her room was normally messy, but nothing like this. The tiny room was in mayhem, tatami mats shred, the lightbulb above cracked and flickering. The bed sheets were torn, hints of red all over them and on the cracked, torn, surrounding walls. The stained, flipped couch had cotton ripped all around it, and most noticeable of all, right in front of it was a TV flickering gray with a remote pierced deep into its screen. Although dyed, Reality began to sink in¡­ "What happened¡­ did they¡­ N¡ªno¡­ Aluber Fatebringer¡­ what have you¡ª I WILL¡ª" But, it seemed like the reality that sunk was an incorrect assumption, for there was something else that sunk even deeper¡­ *CLANK* A tingling sensation, and the sound of nking rung in Regrit''s dazed mind¡­ ''An assassin!?'' He clenched his fists in a pure, raging fire and turned around to snuff whatever had tried to wound him. "Ha¡­ ha¡­ ha¡­ ha¡­ it didn''t work¡­" As those grim, yet soft-spoken words entered his ears, his mes of unbridled fury vanished, and he froze stiff in ce. He could not believe his ears. It had to be some sort of trick, another means to y with him. He tried to force himself to believe that¡­ Once more he gulped and turned his head¡­ And as he did, he witnessed a shaky, thin hand holding a knife stab right through his clothes¡­ And as he looked up, he saw that face¡­ It was undoubtedly, that very same face... that gray, orange gaze peering at him through the shroud of thick, fuzzy, tangled, filthy blonde¡­ And under it, a pair of bleeding, chapped, crusty, lips forming a deranged, twitchy grin that spanned their face from ear to ear. "Regrit¡­ Why didn''t it work¡­ Why are you still here¡­ Regrit why¡­ Regrit why¡­ Regrit why¡­" Those same hands holding the knife began moving again, ever slowly¡­ *nk* ¡­ *nk* ¡­ *nk* ¡­ *nk* ¡­ *nk* "Why is this not working? My dear Regrit¡­ Why won''t you¡­ Just¡­ Die?" ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? "Save him!?" "Yes, I would do it myself if I still had power in me, so I''m asking you, who I trust most, to do it instead¡­" "Save him from who!? Will his mother be punished for his actions at the tournament!? Is he going to try and protect her!?" "No boy¡­ That''s not at all what I fear¡­ Kail, you must save him¡­" "from his own mother¡­" ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? "I¡ª I''m sorry master¡ª I''m too weak¡­ I just can''t do it¡­" The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!